Happy Holidays to you and yours! Our family has experienced
an amazing year, full of family, friends, and adventures,. We wanted to share our year with you, but
mostly we are writing to let you in on a new and exciting part of our lives. .
.more on that later!
One of the highlights of 2012 for us was Evelyn’s first dance
recital. Several of Bard’s family members, including Evelyn’s great grandmother
from California, traveled up to see her perform so we all had a wonderful visit
over her recital weekend. For Kristin it
was emotional and moving to dance onstage with Evelyn after two decades of
teaching ballet to hundreds of other little ballerinas-there were a few tears
shed and a few million pictures taken!
Then,
the summer was a whirlwind of Sports Camp-an event that our church puts on for
kids in the neighborhood-a trip to the San Juan Islands for Kristin and Bard, a
visit from Bard’s younger brother, a family camping trip, and a vacation to San
Diego with Kristin’s parents and brother’s family.
The
summer culminated in a trip to the East Coast, which was an emotional blend of
sadness, joy and lifetime memories. Our
trip was last minute; Bard’s grandma passed away at the end of August,
following Bard’s grandpa who had passed away in November of last year. These two people were a treasure, part of a
lost generation who exemplified grace, beauty, dignity, and life at its
best. Their loss will always be felt but
their legacy will live on. Bard’s grandma was truly effervescent and to
celebrate her life was one of the most meaningful experiences of our year. That
emotion was directly followed by an incredible trip to New York. A previously scheduled business trip allowed
us to visit Bard’s grandparents in Albany and to be in Manhattan for several
days as a family. We entered the city on
9/11 and spent time at Ground Zero, which was a tremendously visceral
experience for both of us. You may know
Bard’s story of being there during the terrorist attacks and the power of that
memory, along with Kristin’s dream of visiting New York created such a palpable
experience that I doubt we will encounter anything like that again.
That
brings us to fall. Honestly it’s hard to believe that Cecilia will soon turn 2
years old! She is an absolute delight and we’ve filled our fall with fun family
time enjoying our beautiful growing girls.
Which leads to next year. 2013
will likely bring the biggest change, challenge, and intensity that we’ve faced
as family. You see, we are beginning the
process of adopting a baby boy from Russia!
Kristin visited a Russian orphanage years ago and felt God laying on her
heart to one day embrace a child from that community. Since we have both been
to Russia and in fact our very connection is based on that country, it only
seems natural that Russia become a tangible part of our family. Also, sadly, Russia is one of the worst
places in the world for orphans. The
need is unfathomable; over 700,000 children are designated orphans in Russia, and
less than 15,000 of them will be adopted each year. Russian orphans age out of
the system at 16, after which the majority enter a life of drugs, crime and
prostitution. 
Adoption
will present many tough challenges. But
the very foundation of our faith is that we are adopted into God’s family,
redeemed by His perfect love. We hope to
share that love with just one child. And
we hope to bless other orphans in Russia through this process as well. Over the next few months we will use our blog
and Facebook to post information about the adoption, and about how you can help
other children in Russia through organizations working to support orphan care
in Russia.
We have been so blessed this year, a time of vacations,
little extras, and lots of love. Next
year will bring challenges that we cannot currently imagine. But ultimately we
know it will once again be a year full of blessings and love. And that’s all that matters. Please join us in prayer, in spirit, in
family, and God willing, by next year you will receive a Christmas letter from
us introducing our precious son!
No comments:
Post a Comment