Merry Christmas!

Hull Family
Christmas 2010

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11
　
We Are So Very Blessed!!!

Dear family and friends!

What more can or do I need to say??? We are! It has been another year of excitement and change. As usual, I take this time of year to reflect back, not only on the last year, but at the last several years. I’ve started keeping our Christmas letters in a binder so that years from now as a family we can look back and read of the blessings God has given us.

With two little ones and a big black lab our house is filled with endless energy! I can’t say there is ever a dull moment. I am amazed at how they are changing… a new accomplishment, a new word, growing inches taller, etc. But what I love the most are the cuddles, snuggles, hugs and kisses, and giggles. I recently shared that I don’t think I have smiled as much in my life as I have in the last three years… and the previous 35 were great with lots of smiles, so you know the last three have been incredible.

Cooper (2 ¾) never ceases to amaze us. I love this age, but then again, what age haven’t I loved!?!?! We can actually have a conversation and understand each other. He is so loving… especially to his sister. He tries to help her and will comfort her if she is upset. He still calls her “Baby”, but we are hearing him say “Tess” more and more. Cooper is like a little sponge soaking up everything around him. And he is an incredibly observant child! He has full sentences and puts concepts together that I didn’t even think he could. He has mastered the upper case alphabet and is trying to learn the ABC song and the letter sounds. He has most of the lower case letters figured out, too. He can also accurately identify most numbers (0-9) and is trying to count. His love of balloons continues and his new favorite show is Super Why on PBS. He loves big trucks with fire trucks being is favorite. He takes after his daddy in his love of being outside and could spend endless hours on the swing set! Nothing melts my heart faster than hearing him say, “Luv you.“ What an incredible child!

Tess (16 months) is so incredibly special herself. She is our snuggler. The last 16 months have been a blur. She is changing so much it is hard to keep up with her. It seems like she went from scooting to crawling to walking to running… in fast-forward. There isn’t a toddle to her walk… she walks like a little girl. Of the two, Tessy is the mischievous one!… not bad, but very mischievous. J She keeps us on our toes. I can’t count the number of times she has made my heart stop… climbing the kitchen table, the coffee table, the basement stairs, the swing set ladder… oh my… she loves to climb. She, too, is very observant! We are amazed at how much she understands. She has a few words with “pup” probably being her favorite as Cierra is her constant companion… or maybe more accurately she is Cierra‘s companion. She has an incredible smile and gives the best hugs and kisses!

Our biggest news this year is the blessing of another baby that should arrive the end of May!!! Wow! I’ve seen our little one on ultrasound twice so far and it is such a beautiful little “bean”. Steve will get to go with me for the anatomy ultrasound the end of the month. God has blessed us with two very special kids and now He is entrusting another child to our care! I can’t imagine what it will be like to have three to cuddle, three to share smiles and giggles with, and three to watch grow! As I said, WE ARE BLESSED!

Cierra is our boundless energy of a pup… well she just turned two, but in Labrador years that is still a pup. She is so wonderful with the kids! She lets them do things that we probably couldn’t do to her (trust me we watch to make sure no one gets hurt). There is a very strong bond between Cierra and Cooper and Tess. It is the ultimate “boy and his dog” and “girl and her dog”. I don’t think there is a Lab more loved! She, like most Labs, loves to chase the tennis ball and SQUIRRELS! Oh to have the life…

Steve continues to work as a Process Engineer with Kerry. He keeps very busy and seems to enjoy the problem-solving challenges that type of job can bring (except maybe the calls during the middle of the night). Cooper gets very excited when he sees “Daddy’s towers”… someday we’ll have to teach him they are called silos. Steve is also very busy when he comes home as he has two little ones that are sooooo excited to see him! It is non-stop hours of “Play, Daddy!” He is a wonderful father! He takes great care of our home and yard and is such a great gardener that we get to enjoy yummy produce throughout the summer. If I could learn to can we could probably enjoy that produce throughout the year.

A big change for me this year was the decision to leave my career in organ and tissue donation. It was a very rewarding 10 years that I spent with LifeSource, but my heart was being tugged at and in March I was ready to be at home with the kids. While they were being cared for by some very special people and we loved the center they were in, I wanted to be the one to spend those 50+ extra hours with them… to see Tess’ first steps, to watch Cooper’s love of letters, to watch them grow during their waking hours. It really wasn’t a hard decision to make! There is no title better than Mommy!

So there is a bit of 2010... 2011 will be interesting and wonderful, I’m sure!

Christmas blessings!

Love,
Jen, Steve, Cooper, Tess & Cierra