I’ve been toying around with the idea of not writing a Christmas letter this year because I didn’t think we had anything especially important to share. I decided I’d give it the old college try first before giving up.
Merry Christmas to all from the Newell family! We hope the holiday season finds you happy and healthy.
Our last year ended with some trips around the Midwest to my brother’s in the Cities and Becky’s cousin’s Nate’s wedding in the middle of a snow storm in Chamberlain, SD. We took a mini-vacation to a water theme park in February and we got to learn how brave Katie is and how shy Amelia is. This summer we made a longer trip to Branson, MO for Becky’s family reunion, and we had a lot of fun and somehow survived the 13 hour car ride both ways.
Amelia turned 1 in February this year and started crawling just before her first birthday. She started walking this June and even though it took her a long time to start, she was pretty mobile right away. She gave us big scares in April and June when she had what turned out to be febrile seizures. She’s doing fine now after lots of testing this summer, and she’s out of the most likely time to have another one. She is mostly characterized by her motor and her appetite. Anyone who’s had a meal with Amelia finds it fascinating that she can down as much food as the average man. She routinely outeats Katie and Becky and gives Eric a run for his money. This, and she’s all of 20 pounds.
Katie turned 3 in January has really already turned into a teenager, it seems. She sang in church with her dad this summer, started Sunday School and pre-school this year and took it all in stride like it’s no big deal. She’s writing her name and coloring, signing songs, making puzzles, having sleepovers with friends and enjoying the library. We’re thinking about applying to colleges here this coming summer. She loves to stay busy and she’s always singing a song or trying to catch the latest episode of Dora the Explorer.
Becky turned 22 again in April and has enjoyed keeping up with the girls this year. She switched roles at Microsoft this summer and has enjoyed returning to the support side of the business where she works with developers on our most complex accounting product. She finished second for the second year in a row in the big Potato Days Whist tournament, so she reminds Eric of that at least weekly.
Eric got a year older in October and has been keeping busy with work, the girls, the School Board and providing armchair analysis to the Minnesota Twins. He’s traveled to San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Kansas and Atlanta this year and somehow volunteered to lead a campaign to raise funds for a Day Care project in town. All this volunteer work in the community paid off when he was able to talk the local grocery store into stocking Tab this fall.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all and anyone who’s lost a loved one over the past year. Merry Christmas and we hope to see you soon in the new year.
Eric, Becky, Katie and Amelia Newell
Eric's space 