Merry Christmas...

"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

It has been five years since I have written a Christmas letter. In that time we have: moved from Corvallis to the Portland area, started new jobs, bought a house, had two babies, taken many trips, had many adventures, etc. I stopped writing letters because I started blogging, and everything I wrote ended up sounding redundant. I realize, however, that not everyone is able to read our blog regularly and perhaps there are a few out there who would enjoy the brief update on the goings-on in the Brownlee household.

Merrick: Merrick is still working for Mindspeed and seems to be enjoying it. Just before Thanksgiving he finished his fourth chip for the company... though I can't tell you what it does. During crunch time the job can be stressful, but the rest of year we love the laid back work environment, the flexible hours, and many vacation days. When he isn't working you will find Merrick wherever his girls are - the font yard, the park, the bonus room. The girls love when daddy comes home and the real playing begins.

Hannah: I am still staying home full time with the girls and I love almost every minute of our days together. We fill our time with Bible studies, errands and outings with friends. I often feel over committed, but then have no idea what to cut out of our schedule. In March I had surgery on my sinuses to fix some chronic issues I was having. All went well, and I am pleased with the results. This summer I had the opportunity to partner with a good friend and dive head first back into wedding planning. My busy schedule caused a crazy summer in our household, but it was a lot of fun to get out of the house a bit and use my skills for something productive.

Grace (4 1/2): 2011 was a big year for Grace. She learned to read, learned to ride a bike, is learning to swim, attended her first day camp - a gymnastics camp in March, followed by four more - round two of gymnastics camp, two soccer camps, and VBS. The camps were good practice as she will be starting Kindergarten in the fall, and though it is hard for Merrick and I to imagine her being in school, she is so, so ready. She is a quirky kid - silly, sweet, and obsessive-compulsive about many little things. She loves the color green and loves roller coasters. She has a great imagination, but typically wants to use items only for what they were intended (she would never use a toy train on a car race track or play with a rubber duck anywhere other than in the tub). Right now we are especially enjoying her use of grown up phrases, ie "I'm going to make a point of..." or "I'll just stick with..."

Claire (2): This girl is going to be trouble. There's no other way to put it. She is a pistol. A spit fire. She has developed the fine art of back talking and usually does it in a way that we are too stunned to correct. We do our best, but usually one parent is laughing so hard at what she just did or said that the other has to step it up, control the giggles, and deal with the naughtiness solo. Claire keeps us on our toes. She can get in to trouble faster than I can switch a load of laundry from the washer into the dryer. She is a smart little girl - can count to 20, knows the whole alphabet (though "L, M, N, O" usually sounds more like "ellalalaP!"), loves puzzles, has an incredible vocabulary, etc. But oh man is she stubborn. Where as Grace was a people-pleaser and rule follower, Claire tends to be more self-pleaser and "do whatever sounds best to her at any given point in time" sort of girl. Don't get me wrong though, even at her naughtiness she is often very sweet, cuddly and oh-so-amusing. There is never a dull moment if Claire is around, and we almost always have really good stories to share.

Family: After living through Claire's medical scare just one year ago I feel more aware of the many blessings in our lives. We are healthy - praise God! We have an amazing church, and a home group we are really enjoying. Merrick's parents moved  north this year so now both sets of grandparents are only half an hour away from us. We love having so much family nearby (and really miss those of you who are further away). We are surrounded by an incredible group of friends - who are really more like family - and through whom we have a really great support system when needed. I could go on and on, but my point really is just that we are blessed, and we are so very thankful.

I hope that this letter finds you all well and enjoying peace and rest during this holiday season.
Merry Christmas!
Love,
The Brownlees