Our Family Christmas Letter!

I had this letter already written before I decided to save us a bit of moolah on postage. So, here you have it bloggy style this year.

Sorry for the excessive verbage. It fit nicely on one sheet of cute Christmas paper, and it was originally intended for people who don't read this blog - and who therefore don't already know all of these details! Feel free to skim......

Dear Friends and Family ~

I am always amazed at how quickly the months fly by, and I can hardly believe that we have already entered another Christmas season! If there was one word that could describe the Booker’s lives these past twelve months it would be: WHIRLWIND. It has been a wild ride this year ~ one in which we feel we have hardly had time to catch our breath. Yet, it has also been an adventure and a year of trusting the Lord like never before; and for that we are grateful.

At the end of the summer, Kevin finished his final graduate class at Philadelphia Biblical University, and our chapter of being students in “the big city” came to a close. Kev graduated this month with a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and two Bachelor’s degrees - one in Business and another in Bible. We will be forever thankful for those three years in Pennsylvania, and we have made some lifelong friends who must now come and visit us up in “God’s Country!” :0)

Upon completion of his studies, Kev candidated and accepted the positions of Pastor of Family Ministries and Worship Leader at Calvary Baptist Church in Brewer, Maine, and we moved our little family back home to our “roots.” We are enjoying getting to know our new church family, and it has been wonderful making new friends and also reacquainting with so many old and dear.

Even though we are “home,” it has taken us some time to fully adjust as we made two different moves within two months and also experienced several weeks of some sort of sickness that none of us seemed able to shake. To add to the excitement, I crashed our “new to us” car just a couple of weeks after purchasing it, and as soon as we got it fixed, our other car promptly bit the dust! Joy unspeakable! We feel as though we are finally settling in now, though, and we are starting to experience the new “norm” of life for our family. We have a roomy, two bedroom apartment located in a Christian owned and operated hotel with café that is just a mile down the road from the church. The kids love being able to share a room together, and we often hear them giggling long after we have tucked them into bed for the night!

Kaden is now 4 ½ years old and seems to be growing up so quickly that I am afraid to blink. He is still obsessed with bugs and creepy crawlies of all kinds, and all summer long we had a plethora of tadpoles, beetles, worms, frogs, and salamanders living with us! We had a great time hatching frogs from tadpoles, beetles from wax worms, and moths from caterpillars; and we daily go on all sorts of adventures to try and find new “pets”. Kaden collects the “treasures,” and Jesse “loves” them to death! It is most definitely a boys’ world here! Kaden also loves books and music, painting, playing with his new friends, and all things outdoors. His silly sense of humor continually keeps us in stitches with Jesse as his biggest fan! Kaden is a wonderful big brother, and his sweet, tender spirit is a constant delight to us.

Jesse is now 1 ½, and I honestly have no idea where our baby went. This past winter we had a horrible scare when he grabbed hold of my hot curling iron and was unable to let go. We went through weeks of tending deeply burned hands which ultimately ended in skin grafts and a cast for his first birthday. This was truly the most traumatic thing that we have ever been through as parents, yet I fear that it is only the beginning with this one! Jesse is curious and fearless, and that combination is terrifying! It is a rare week that goes by where he does not have some sort of bruise, bump, or black eye from one of his tumbles. We like to call him our “wild child,” yet he also has a tender little heart and a hysterical sense of humor that redeems his oh-so-strong will. He is definitely the life of our party!

I am still living my dream in being able to stay home with my boys. I feel blessed to be near both sets of parents and so many wonderful friends who are in the same stage of life as I. A parent of children who are now grown and gone reminded us just weeks ago that we are truly in the greatest season of our lives right now. The days may be crazy and full of chaos, and we may wonder if we’ll ever get a complete night’s rest again, but they are also very full of life and love; and we would have it no other way!

Our hearts are full this Christmas as our home is filled with laughter and silliness, the pitter patter of
little feet, and the craziness of life. Merry Christmas to all of you! May you have a blessed
Holiday season celebrating with your loved ones.

Much love!

Amy and the Boys ~ Kevin, Kaden, and Jesse

December 2008

“For unto you is born this day, in the City of David,
a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” ~ Luke 2:11