Yes, I am breaking all rules in the etiquette book posting this.
From our home to yours…
Greetings from the newly expanded Crawford Family! We have had quite the year with lots of changes and lots of news. In past years, it seems that my opening line usually has something to do with the year passing by fast. This year, it didn’t pass by that fast…I think because I spent 9 LONG months of the year carrying a baby. If you have ever been pregnant, you know what I am talking about when I say 9 LONG months.
Let’s start with the biggest news of our year…the birth of our 3rd son. Yes, another son. I don’t think my husband has the ability to produce a female child. At the end of 2007, we were ready to make a final decision on whether or not we were done having children. There were the days that we thought that 3 would just really complete our family. Then there were the days (usually when the boys were bouncing off the walls) that we were DONE. We were definitely leaning towards being done…until we found out we were expecting in January. SURPRISE! Little Elliott came into the world on September 16th . His online birth announcement can be viewed at the following web address…. www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=3030764&alb=0
Elliott had a bit of a rough start and was in the Intensive care unit for 11 days. He was born with immature lungs of a 28 week old baby. It was a trying time for our family. The boys were confused, we were scared. However, God is good and did not fail. Elliott is a healthy little guy and is so much fun. He doesn’t have really any good stories to tell at this point. The boys love watching him smile and coo. It is such a neat sight to see Andrew and Owen as little nurturers.
Andrew is a second grader at the same school he has been at since Kindergarten. He is starting to figure out where he fits into this big, big world. It amazes me with the things he comes home with. Just today, we were eating out with friends and he couldn’t finish his fries. He knew ice-cream was talked about earlier in the lunch. He asked me if he could have an ice-cream and I told him that he had to eat more of his fries. He responded with this…”Mom, the real reason why I don’t want to eat my fries is that when you eat fries your blood becomes hard and it can’t move through your body…that is why I don’t want to eat my fries and I just want to eat ice-cream”. Ha…we couldn’t help but laugh…we really wanted to give him the ice-cream just for the sake of knowing about clogging of the arteries.
Andrew enjoys skateboarding and challenging all of the older kids at school at tether ball. He is quite the little player I may add. This year he kept asking us to put a tether ball court in our backyard. Aaron objected to the idea…but all it took was for Aaron to go away for a week . Upon his return home, a tether ball pole was installed in the backyard. The boys love having it in our backyard and Owen has now taken up the sport. Andrew also played soccer again this year. He really enjoyed playing and will most likely play in the spring.
Owen started kindergarten this year. I miss having him home. He was my little coffee shop date on Fridays. Kindergarten has been so good for him. I absolutely love his teacher. He is doing very well and loves to learn. He is at the stage in life that he needs to know how to spell EVERY word that comes out of his mouth. I believe he is going to be one of those kids that becomes a reader overnight. He wants the challenge of learning how to spell difficult words…it is just his nature. Owen also played soccer again this year. He has been on the same team for 3 seasons. It is so much fun to go to his games. I guess I have become one of those moms that will soon put a soccer sticker on the back of her van that says “Soccer mom”. That is not a hint. Please…do not get me one of those stickers.
Owen has a great sense of humor. He is always making Aaron and I laugh. Kids really say the darndest things and when it comes to Owen, he just says it. Owen lost his first tooth this year…yeah, exciting news isn’t it. Well, the other part of the story is that he was super stoked about the tooth fairy. Our tooth fairy isn’t the best at remembering to come and get the tooth. Every morning for about a week (no joke, bad fairy) he would check for his cash…no money. He finally wrote the following in a journal of his. “I wunder whin da tuff fary is gong to come”. In an adult translation…“I wonder when the tooth fairy is going to come”. Yes, the tooth fairy felt really, really bad and made sure to come that night. I think she redeemed herself by leaving 2 dollars instead of 1.
Aaron is still working at the same company based out of Chicago. He traveled some this year, but since the Elliott has been born, the traveling has been minimal. Aaron loves to ski and was able to take a ski trip earlier on in the year. The pictures are just breathtaking. I am not much of a skier for I inherited my mother’s bad knees. It is pure torture for me to get on a pair of skis. So, for him to go on a fun ski trip like this is just so fulfilling to him.
Aaron is such a good dad to his boys. There have been so many nights in the summer that they are outside playing pass with the football until 9:00 at night and I just watch in amazement. I love watching the boys play with him. I am lucky to have such a great husband who loves his kids and enjoys playing with them and making them feel special.
As for me, I am a mom again. My days aren’t too exciting lately. I have adjusted to having another baby and have adjusted to a new routine. I am not always on time for everything, but I have adjusted for the most part. I change diapers, feed a lot of bottles and do a lot of snuggling during my days at home. I thought having an infant and 2 older boys was going to be easy. WRONG! I think it is actually harder than when I just had the 2 smaller ones at home. I am not saying that that was even an easy task…it was just very different. I think the reason is that now, my boys actually have social lives…soccer, school, friends, parties, and so forth. Poor little Elliott is always being waken up from naps to pick the kids up to go here, and go there.
As for my business, I originally thought that I was going to take a break. It is hard to stop your job when you LOVE it. I photographed several families this year but kept it manageable. It was a good year all in all. I have also taken up blogging /online journaling. I have always loved the idea of keeping a journal for myself, but always hated writing. My hands would get so tired. I love typing and online journaling has been a lot of fun for me this year. I originally started journaling to keep my family members up in Michigan updated on our lives and to use it as a way to sort out my thoughts with the help of other‘s thoughts. It has now been a way for many of my old friends to stay connected with me. If you are interested in keeping up with the crazies in our house, you can visit the site and see for yourself how crazy we really are. www.judycrawford.blogspot.com
In wrapping up our letter, we always say….We hope this season brings much Joy for you . If you need a place to stay when you pass through, remember you are welcome at our home. After reading about the crazies on our blog, you may reconsider or… you may want to join in on the fun! Remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas. The birth of Jesus Christ. Keep it close to your heart this Holiday season and remember all of the abundances he gives. May this upcoming year be a year that you draw closer to the ones you love.
Oh, Happy Everything!!!
Love,
Aaron, Judy, Andrew, Owen and Elliott
