Christmas Letter 2008

December 2008

Dear Friends and Family, Another year has passed by much too quickly! We kicked off 2008 by moving (yet again) into a different apartment in Clarkston, Michigan. Although our apartment home is crowded and three flights up, we are just ten minutes from every thing we need including family, church, preschool, the grocery store and the mall (a definite need). Despite Michigan’s economic crisis, we are growing to appreciate our surroundings and are feeling more at home each day. We had a great summer, starting in June by traveling to Mackinac Island for our 5th wedding anniversary. We rode bikes around the entire island and bought Mackinac’s famous fudge, which we still have in our freezer. In July we hosted a family reunion and were happy and exhausted at the end of that week. On July 18th, we found out that our family of three will soon become a family of four! We spent August in California and did some great sightseeing. Maci laughed at the lazy sea lions by the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, opened an oyster to find a gray pearl in San Francisco, and walked all the way through a fallen sequoia tree in the Big Tree Forest. Since the summer things have slowed a bit. Maci started preschool in September and is loving every minute. Her personality is a hilarious mixture of fun, sweetness, and determination. We are amazed at her ability to learn quickly and we struggle to keep her mind occupied! She talks about the expected arrival of her baby daily and is busy making big sister plans. We can’t imagine our lives without her and, actually, the pre-Maci days are getting to be a pretty fuzzy part of our memories. Jared has had quite the travel adventures this year. Two days after we found out we were expecting, his job sent him on a four month trip to Stockton, California. Without complaint, Jared traveled about 20 hours each weekend to come home and see his family. At the conclusion of the project, he seemed to have developed a better appreciation for home-cooked meals and Sunday nights at home! He is a wonderful father and husband and is Maci’s new favorite since he’s been gone. He feels blessed to still be employed and will try to avoid the nationwide lay-off trend! For now he keeps busy with his young men’s church calling and keeping up with sports. I (Summer) am working hard on growing big as a house. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new baby girl sometime in March. I keep busy with Maci’s preschool and as always am overwhelmed with self-inflicted personal projects and hobbies. My calling with the 8-11 year old girls at church helps me remember my creative side. The holidays make me homesick for the west, but the snow reminds me that the west can wait. I have really enjoyed having two of my brothers and two of my cousins and their families here in Michigan. Now, if I could only convince the rest of our families to move this way, we’d be set! This holiday season I am grateful to have my health and at least a portion of my sanity. As always, we love this Christmas season. We have so much to be grateful for and take comfort in the faith of our friends and family at times of uncertainty. We have been reminded of the purity of the Savior’s birth and life and are so blessed to have this time to reflect on the things that truly matter. We wish we could say what next year will bring for us, but we are less sure than ever about what lies ahead. We miss you all and love hearing about your lives. Visit our blog at www.jsbell.blogspot.com for more life details. We love your comments and your blogs as well! And if you are ever in Michigan, don’t forget to stop by! Love, Jared, Summer, and Maci Bell