All Of Our Christmas Letters

Our First Christmas Card (we were engaged at the time and sent it out via email) -- 2002:

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We put this picture on our 2003 Christmas Card as our first one via the mail:

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The next year, I decided to start writing newsletters, but I also sent out the following picture: The Rodgers' 2004 Christmas Letter:

We hope that everyone had a wonderful year and are enjoying the holidays! Today we received the first snowfall of the season -- the flakes looked beautiful falling from the sky, creating a white blanket across our lawn. We couldn't help but act like giddy children, excitedly anticipating the arrival of Christmas. What a perfect time to reflect on the past year and catch up with family and friends. So, in true "married couple" style, here is our 2004 newsletter!

In January, Joe began graduate school at the Univesity of Nebraska at Omaha. He is planning to receive his Masters in computer science with a computer architecture emphasis. He has been employed at Northrop Grumman for twenty months and still enjoys his position as a Software Engineer. He hopes to finish grad school in August 2006.

In February, we became members of Christ Community Church, where Andrea recently signed up to start volunteer work. They often need help editing video, so Andrea is looking forward to using her skills from when she worked as a tape editor for a television station two years ago.

Meanwhile, we were living in an apartment in La Vista, Nebraska (10 miles south of Omaha) and knew we would like to stay in the area for a few more years, so we bought a house! It is east of our old apartment, in Papillion (five miles from where Joe works in Bellevue). We moved on March 26th and immediately fell in love with the white and brick tri-level, built in 2002, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Nebraska has been a perfect "first home away from home." We have the wonderful city, as well as the peaceful countryside. It has allowed us the freedom to grow and mature, with the familiarity and security of the Midwest. We are close enough to Iowa that we can visit often, yet far enough away that we have started our own adult life.

On April 26th, we celebrated our first anniversary by staying in the same honeymoon suite from our wedding night in Des Moines. It was very romantic!

For Memorial Day weekend, we took a short trip with Andrea's mom, stepdad, and Grandma Sweeney to Branson, Missouri. We were impressed with the beautiful scenery.

The rest of the summer was spent visiting family and friends, and entertaining guests who stayed with us.

In the fall, the radio station where Andrea had been employed for the past year (as a radio host and office assistant) sold to a national owner, which means that there are no longer local employees. Andrea is using this time to pursue her life-long dream of being an author. She hopes to have a novel ready for publishers this summer and, depending on the feedback, will either continue as a writer or will return to a "normal job" until another time. Andrea enjoyed working in radio, but has never felt happier or more fulfilled than when she is writing.

Despite it seeming like we never have free time, we managed to take several short trips to Iowa, Missouri, and California. The autumn concluded with a happy Halloween; Joe carved two pumpkins while Andrea baked the seeds and sugar cookies. Together, we handed out candy for the first time to trick-or-treaters.

For Thanksgiving, we had an enjoyable family celebration in Iowa. No sooner did we return, when it was time to put up decorations, turn on the fireplace, get out the hot chocolate, and begin shopping! Between all of the activities, we celebrate Jesus; birth and are reminded of how fast the year goes and how we must appreciate every moment. We can't believe it's already been a year since our first Christmas together -- but we are thankful for the blessings in 2004 and hope that next year is even better. We wish the same for you all as well.
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The Rodgers' 2005 Newsletter:Happy Holidays! We hope the year ends on a good note for you and that 2006 is even better! This past year was busy as usual for us...

January: Joe began another semester of grad school at UNO and Andrea (an aspiring author) spent the month writing a novel that she had started a few months prior.

February: After a month off, Andrea returned part-time to the radio station where she had been employed since August 2003. (Joe continues to work as a software engineer for Northrop Grumman.) As you might recall from last year's newsletter, a national company bought the radio station during the fall of 2004 and originally there were not going to be local employees in 2005. Fortunately, most of the staff was able to keep their jobs and Andrea was offered a position compatible with her writing: to host a five hour show each weeknight and six hours on Sunday evenings (which she continues to do). On the downside, this prevented free time for church volunteer work, mentioned as a possibility last year.

March: Good things come to those who wait! Andrea had wanted a pet since the age of three...and finally became a dog owner on the 19th! Bella is a blonde maltipoo (maltese/poodle), born on 1/30/05. She weighed 2 lbs when we welcomed her into our home and is now an adult weight of 9 lbs. Bella is non-shedding, quiet, easy going, sweet, loving, and always happy -- we couldn't ask for a better dog!

April, May, June, July: We celebrated our second wedding anniversary on 4/26/05! Our busy summer included Andrea's brother's high school graduation, a trip with friends to the Omaha Zoo, Joe's twenty-sixth birthday, and spending time with family in Kansas City.

August: We took a vacation to beautiful North and South Carolina and visited a friend, as well as toured Biltmore Estates, the BMW factory, hiked up Mount Mitchell (highest peak east of the Mississippi), Caesar's Head, High Falls, Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, Dupont Forest, shopped in Hendersonville, and took a boat ride across Lake Lure (the site of Dirty Dancing). Andrea also had surgery to check for endometriosis, but fortunately was diagnosed as 100% healthy.

September, October November: It was a beautiful fall in Nebraska! In between taking Bella on many walks and to the park, we celebrated a quiet Halloween at home, visited relatives in Grant City, Missouri, shared a Thanksgiving meal with friends in Omaha, and then celebrated with family and friends in Iowa. Also, on November 21st, Andrea completed her novel! The previous month she joined RWA (a national organization of published and aspiring writers, editors, and publishers) and attended their Omaha writer's group meeting on November 12th. She plans to spend 2006 working with this wonderful group to prepare her manuscript for publication!

December: Joe will finish another semester of grad school on the 13th and looks forward to graduating at the end of the summer! Meanwhile, Andrea will turn twenty-six this month and we will celebrate Christmas with family in Iowa and Missouri.

The New Year is a mystery for all of us...our hope is that it is memorable and happy for you!
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The Rodgers’ 2006 Newsletter:It’s that time again! The holiday spirit is definitely in the air at our house! We hope that you are able to treasure this season, too, and that it will bring fond moments to remember forever.

Our year started similar to the last two! Joe returned to grad school at UNO, along with work as a software engineer at Northrop Grumman. Unfortunately, before the semester was over, he learned that the one class he had left of his Masters program was not being offered in the summer, which meant he would not graduate in August as planned. On the bright side, his final class this fall has been easy enough for Andrea to take (she does not really believe Joe when he says this)! After 6 A+’s and 6 A’s, Joe will graduate on December 15th with a cumulative 4.0.

Meanwhile, Andrea continued to host a six-hour show, five days a week at the radio station where she’d been employed since 2003. Also, as you may remember, Andrea joined the national Romance Writers of America, so she began working with a couple of local best selling authors to learn more than she could imagine about the writing, editing, and publishing business. The women have been a Godsend—truly believing Andrea’s dream to be a published author WILL happen. One of them recently wrote, “Your talent will bring you great success—I can just feel it!”

With the authors’ support, encouragement, and help, Andrea left the radio station in April to become a full time writer for real this time, haha! It was decided that she start fresh on a new manuscript for a specific editor her mentor knows personally at the popular publishing company, Harlequin! The novel was completed in June, editing was finished in August, and it made the editor’s desk in October. The London office expects to have an answer by Christmas about whether or not it will be published. Regardless of the outcome, Andrea is incredibly thankful to her husband for making it possible to do what she feels she is meant to do.

Andrea’s highlight was when she was given the official title of “Professional Author” by the Romance Writers of America after confirmation that a publishing company is reading, critiquing, and considering her manuscript for the very first time (a tough door to get through). She also serves as librarian and photographer for the Omaha chapter of the RWA.

The path to publication is obviously a slow road—but worth it. In November, Andrea began writing her second manuscript for Harlequin. Besides romance, Andrea also hopes to write young adult fiction, adult mainstream, and mystery/suspense.

As for our mutual news: we bought a second Maltipoo dog, Cosmo, in February! He & Bella are ten months apart and sweet as can be.

We conclude with exciting news about Andrea’s nineteen-year-old brother. In July, he won third runner up in a New York acting competition of 3,000(!) and received their “Best Actor of the Year” award. After meeting with agents and managers, he signed with the agency that represents the new Superman. Jacob is currently taking a break from college (for Pre-Med) to pursue acting! He has been living in Hollywood since October and landed his first part less than a month later as a “bad boy” in a motorcycle safety video. We will let you know when you can catch him on television or in a movie—as well as when Andrea has a book in stores. Until then, have a wonderful last month of 2006 and one of your best years in 2007!
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*I did not send a picture in 2007
The Rodgers’ 2007 Newsletter:

Merry Christmas!

It was quite a year for us. In January, Andrea made a list of four major goals to accomplish in 2007. Note to self: next time, don’t have them fall under the world’s list of most stressful events. Fortunately, we made it through, feeling as if this was one of the best years of our life.

It began when Joe informed Andrea that he wanted to pursue a hobby of remodeling & selling houses. This meant that we would stay in the Omaha area rather than move to a new state, as had been the plan this year. Although Joe had been content and enjoyed his work at Northrop Grumman the previous four years, he would not be able to advance despite the Masters degree he received last December. So, he applied to Lockheed Martin (just down the street from NG) and was given a promotion that he couldn’t refuse. He began work in May 2007, and in October was offered title of Lead Software Engineer—a position that Joe had told Andrea back in college was his goal. He has been very happy the past 6/7 months and is thoroughly enjoying his new co-workers and employment.

Needless to say, we began to look for a new house—a home where we could raise our children and live for a very long time. We signed the contract for “the one” in June 2007 (just a week after the 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house was built), and moved on August 29th. Joe had taken real estate classes from February thru April and so we had the very time-consuming and anxiety-filled task of selling our old house ourselves. . .but we did.

With two goals checked off our list, it was time for #3. Just five days after moving into our new home, we were happy and excited on Labor Day to learn that we are expecting our first child!!! Although Andrea experienced severe all-day sickness for eight weeks, we have been having fun preparing for Baby Rodgers. We can’t wait to learn on December 18th whether we are having a boy or girl. Logan or Kristianna is due around Mother’s Day 2008.

Finally, it was a dream come true for Andrea when the novel she had written this year was chosen for publication to be released in most bookstores in early 2009. This was especially worth celebrating, since the book we mentioned last year (her first to be submitted to a publisher) had come close, but ended up not making the final cut (her particular editor liked it, but the executive editor who makes the final decision had encouraged Andrea to write another book for them instead).

Unfortunately, it was too good to be true, as on October 9th Andrea learned the devastating news that the publishing company, Harlequin Everlasting Love, had been dropped (closed down). Their last book will be released in January 2008.

Now that the shock has worn off (Andrea has since learned it is not uncommon for publishing lines to close, and she has spoken with many authors who have had similar situations), she is trying to market her manuscript to agents, hoping to find another editor who believes in her book. Despite still feeling bummed, she is thankful for how close she came. The average time for most fiction writers to be published after their first submission is seven years. Andrea received her first acceptance after one year. Hopefully that is a sign that Andrea will have her “dream job” soon as well. (Next time her yearly goal will be that her book ends up in stores, rather than to just have an editor say “yes,” which was how she phrased it this year, haha.)

Overall, though, the book experience, as well as the baby, house, and Joe’s new job were all blessings that were definitely worth the work. And, we did have a very nice break April 28-May 4 when we took a relaxing and fun vacation to Colorado Springs, where we stayed in a secluded cabin in the mountains. We visited Joe’s oldest sister, as well as toured Cave of the Winds, Garden of the Gods, U.S. Olympic Complex, U.S. Figure Skating Museum, Seven Falls, Ghost Town, and the Florrisant Fossil Beds. We would love to return in the future.

As for our two Maltipoo dogs, Cosmo turned two on Halloween, while Bella will be three the end of January. They are anxious to have a fence for the very first time, which will be installed by December 14th. We have no goals for 2008 (we are done with major life events for a while), except to finally decorate our home, as Joe has put his “flipping houses” hobby on hold until after he finishes our basement.

Each year is always full of ups and downs, but hopefully 2008 will have very few downs for all of you. In the meantime, enjoy this wonderful season! Christmas decorations, carols, stories, movies, church events, snow (if you’re in the Midwest), shopping/gift-giving, and most of all—family & friend gatherings, and celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Happy Holidays!
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The Rodgers' 2008 Newsletter:Dear Family & Friends,

While growing up I loved reading Christmas letters that my mother received each year. I begged her to let me open the envelopes, and I especially enjoyed the pictures. It seemed unbelievable that someday I would send out my own Christmas letter.

I actually wasn’t going to write one this year, since this has been an extra busy holiday season, but I still love to receive them (only from my address book these days) even though you are all busy, too—so here is the Rodgers’ 2008 Newsletter :-)

Joe and I spent January thru April in my second and third trimesters of pregnancy. In last year’s letter I mentioned I’d had a difficult first trimester with all-day sickness. Unfortunately, I never did have an easy pregnancy (even after the sickness ended last December). But, I loved childbirth and I easily transitioned into being a new mommy—enjoying every second right from the start!

Logan James Rodgers was born at 10:30 AM on 4/18/08. His original due date was 5/13 but he was no preemie: he weighed 7 lbs, 13.7 oz and was 20.5 inches long. I went to bed feeling normal on 4/17 until my water broke (gushed out) while I was sleeping. I was fully dilated within three hours. I’d already planned ahead of time to do things naturally (using HypnoBirthing techniques), and because I had the fastest first-stage labor possible, it wasn’t hard to stick to that plan. Unfortunately, Logan was face up and so my pushing phase took an additional four hours. Even though it was extremely exhausting, it was still a wonderful experience without much pain, and everything turned out well—with the exception of jaundice. (We spent the first week in & out of the hospital because Logan had to be under lights in an incubator.)

May was spent getting to know our son, a very smiley/happy, active, easy-going baby!

In June we were shocked to discover that Logan has a brachial cleft fistula (a complete hole) on his neck. Fortunately, in July and August, we met with a plastic surgeon and ENT, and learned that he can wait until January for surgery, and the procedure will not be complex. Generally babies are able to go home within 24 hrs and only need a Tylenol afterward for recovery. Logan should have no future effects from this genetic trait, and the scar from surgery may not even be noticeable when he is an adult. Still, it will not be an easy day for us so we appreciate your prayers!

In September, at five months old, Logan reached 20 pounds. (The 90th percentile for his age.) Yes, he is strong! I think Joe (who could bench 345 lbs) is going to have competition when Logan can lift weights, haha. He has since gained two more pounds and is also in the 75th percentile for his height. We told him to enjoy being tall while it lasts!

Logan’s first Halloween was in October, where he dressed up like a clown and helped hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Also, his first two teeth popped through three days prior! It has been so fun for us to watch Logan discover the world and all of his “firsts.”

For Thanksgiving in November Logan took his first long trip, to Colorado Springs, to meet Joe’s oldest sister and family. He was so excited to play with the other two babies born this year (Feb & June), that he barely slept or ate while we were there! Despite it being hard work for us, it was still a great time.

Now, in December, Joe & I are looking forward to our first Christmas with Logan! We continue to have so much fun with him. . .he is the greatest blessing of our lives and makes us so incredibly happy.

As for our dogs, they have adjusted well to their little brother. Cosmo can’t wait to play with Logan, and Bella gives him a little kiss every now and then.

Joe’s job at Lockheed Martin (where he has been employed as a senior software engineer for the past 19 months) is still ideal, and he enjoys golfing during his free time. In July he was baptized (Logan was dedicated) at our beautiful neighborhood Walnut Creek Lake. Also over the summer Joe took a vacation with his mom and both sisters to Branson, Missouri for a little R&R.

Due to my pregnancy continuing to be tough during its second & third trimesters, I wasn’t able to take the time to follow through with my plan in last year’s letter of finding a new editor (after my book, which was going to be in stores next month was dropped due to my publishing company, Everlasting Love, closing). And, once Logan was born and I discovered how fast babies change & grow, I didn’t want to miss a thing—so I am just now picking up where I left off last year with fiction writing.

However, I became a “work at home mom” in July when I was hired as a paid online freelance writer. It has been rewarding to have hundreds of readers from around the world religiously read my blog and website articles about pregnancy and motherhood. My blog was selected as one of the best on “The Classy Closet” (a popular mom bloggers site) and was featured on blog talk radio as “blog of the month,” as well as a Harvard doctor asked if he could feature my posts on his website!

So, although this will be the first year since my first book in 2005 that I didn’t finish a manuscript, I am plenty busy and content, enjoying getting together with other moms for playdates as often as possible.

We hope you all find time to do the things that you enjoy, too, during this busy holiday season. . .

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
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The Rodgers' 2009 Newsletter: For the Rodgers’ family update: In February, at 10 months old, Logan had surgery to close a hole in his neck that he’d had since birth. We are thankful that the procedure went smoothly. Logan didn’t show pain, so we never even had to give him Tylenol. We were able to leave the hospital two hours after the surgery, and he immediately returned to his active, happy, healthy self. The scar is hardly noticeable now.

Logan is a naturally independent and confident little boy. His personality has always been sweet and gentle. He loves the outdoors and spends all day running, jumping, and climbing. He enjoys helping Andrea around the house and claps for himself when he is a “good boy!” Joe and Andrea stay constantly entertained by him, he is so much fun.

Andrea loves being a stay at home mom and is very grateful for the special experience. In the spring she realized that, after 11 months, it was okay to take a break each week. We still haven’t hired a nighttime/weekend babysitter, but we found a daytime sitter for Logan: a woman who had raised seven children with an at-home daycare for twenty-six years. One full day each week (8 hrs), Logan goes to her house (5 minutes away) where he loves playing with other kids and toys.

In last year’s letter Andrea said that she was beginning to search for an agent to send a second copy of her last manuscript (after an editor approved it for publication two years ago until the line shut down). However, Andrea overestimated her ability to multi-task chasing after an active boy! So, Andrea decided not to renew her membership with the Romance Writers Of America or continue her “author website." Some day she will return to fiction writing but for now she still gets paid to write freelance articles about pregnancy and motherhood (which she has done since July 2008, although no longer for the medical site). She enjoys researching, and has received several awards for helping other moms and moms-to-be. Her blog is one of the top on sites such as MomDot, The Mom Blogger Directory, and Moms In A Blog.

Logan turned the big #1 on April 18th (complete with a Lightning McQueen themed party). It was a year of many milestones. During his fourth month he could roll both ways, sit unassisted, and stand holding on to furniture, at seven months was crawling, nine months was running when holding on to something, and during month ten began walking/running on his own. By fourteen months old he began saying all words on his own to communicate, and his first sentence during month eighteen -- although most days he is a quiet child.

At last check, Logan was 25 lbs and 34.5 in. tall (the 40th percentile for weight and the 95th for height – it’s true, somehow he’s taller than 95% of other boys his age).

Logan’s year was filled with swimming for the first time, taking walks and going to parks every day, spending time with Andrea’s friends/other moms & kids (Andrea and one of her friends formed “stay at home mom day,”) going to the zoo, attending Nebraska’s VERY impressive Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, and visiting places like The Amazing Pizza Machine and Fontenelle Forest.

Joe & Andrea celebrated anniversary #6 in April, and Joe turned THIRTY on July 3rd. (Andrea will, too, on December 21st), so we had a joint birthday party the last weekend in July.

Joe enjoys his job as Lead Software Engineer for Lockheed Martin. For fun, he spent the spring, summer, and fall in a golf league that he’s participated in for the past five years.

His favorite part of the year was seeing a Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field on November 8th. As a huge Bears fan, it had been a goal for many years. Although they lost, we enjoyed sitting in the fifth row in 70 degree weather. While the two of us were there we also went to The Blue Man Group, The John Hancock Center, and ate at Giordano’s Pizza. It was action-packed for just 24 hrs, but in October we’d taken our first getaway in 2.5 years (to Lake Rathbun, Iowa) where we did nothing but relax!

Logan went trick or treating for the first time on Halloween, dressed as a tiger. We’re not sure who had more fun – Logan or his parents :-)

Sadly, we found out in November that our male maltipoo, Cosmo, has cancer. He had just turned four years old on Halloween so it was a surprise. Bella is doing well and will turn five in January.

We spent Thanksgiving in Iowa, visiting our families - and for Christmas we plan to do the same!

If you would like to stay current on all of our pictures each month, please add the following site to your computer’s bookmarks: http://picasaweb.google.com/AndreaMRodgers.

We still enjoy living in Papillion – you may have heard CNN and Money Magazine rated it the #3 suburb in the U.S. to live!

We hope that you all have an excellent year in 2010!
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The Rodgers' 2010 Newsletter:We have wonderful news to start this year’s letter: Logan is going to have a brother or sister in July 2011!!!! We learned the news the week before Thanksgiving so it has been a great blessing during this holiday season.

The 2010 year began with a call from an award-winning production company in New York regarding Cosmo’s cancer last year (after reading an article written by Andrea). Being a Petland dog, Cosmo’s story was considered for a documentary about the negative dog store. But, thankfully, Cosmo has been cancer-free for over a year so he was not one of the sad cases featured. He just turned five, while Bella also continues to do well and will be six in January.

During the colder months, we took Logan to The Omaha Children’s Museum, while the warmer months included The Splash Pad, Adventureland, The Iowa State Fair, and swimming in a public pool (among many other activities, including the same that were listed last year). Logan also had an Elmo-themed 2nd birthday party with family in April. He goes to an at-home daycare two days a week which he enjoys, and continues to have a kind and appreciative personality -- he’s made our job as parents pretty easy. There has not been a day in his life that he hasn’t made us smile, laugh, and feel giddy!

In the fall, Logan moved to his big boy bed and room. He loves cars and trucks, so it wasn’t hard to transition him since his new bed is a firetruck! As of November, he has also been wearing underwear at home; it’ll be nice when he doesn’t need diapers in public, either!

For Joe, there were some changes this year with his job as Lead Software Engineer at Lockheed Martin, including more overtime than he had ever worked, so both he and Andrea were glad when it ended in October. That month the two of us took a trip to Chicago to see another Bears game. Although the Chicago Bears lost to the Seattle Seahawks, we had a fantastic time. We had fourth row seats and great weather. We also visited The Navy Pier and ate at nice restaurants.

Thanksgiving was spent with family, and Christmas will be as well.

All of our photo albums and home movies are still posted online and updated weekly at http://picasaweb.google.com/AndreaMRodgers

We look forward to your letters and cards (we keep them in binders) and your photos (we have a special photo album).

May you all have a blessed Jesus’ birthday!
The Rodgers
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The Rodgers' 2011 Newsletter:

*You can see our Christmas card in the previous post on this blogsite (Our 2011 Christmas Card).

“Is this heaven?”
“No, it’s Iowa.”
-- Field of Dreams

In February, Joe decided to check out a job opportunity in our homestate of Iowa. He applied and interviewed with Wells Fargo in West Des Moines. Joe was offered a software engineer position in May.

We enjoyed our 8 years in Nebraska with our friends, activities, and job (Joe spent his first four years working at Northrop Grumman and our second four years at Lockheed Martin). . .but we were excited at the possibility of returning to where our family and old friends were. Joe accepted the position and began work on June 13th. The job has been more laid back than his previous couple of years, and it has been a positive change for our family.

If you recall from last year's letter, Andrea had discovered that she was expecting baby #2 in July (we learned in March that the baby was a girl)! So, Andrea and Logan stayed in Papillion for the remaining month of pregnancy, while Joe spent the weeknights at his mom's house in Newton.

Krissa Anne came into the world on July 15, 2011, weighing 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 20.5 inches long. It was a fast labor (from Andrea's first felt contraction to Krissa's arrival was less than 45 minutes; the pushing phase only three of those minutes).

Krissa surprised us by both rolling over and sleeping through the night her first week. Just like Logan as an infant, she is very smiley. She has melted our hearts, including that of her big brother's. Right away Logan informed us that she was “the best baby ever” and he wanted to “keep her forever.” Even four months later, he acts as if she is his favorite toy and has said, “thank you for giving me a sister!” Krissa took an interest in him before anything else, and continues to laugh whenever he entertains her (which is every day). We hope their friendship continues for life!

We were glad that Logan's adjustment to having a sister went easily, since the move caused additional changes in his life. We decided to build a 5-bedroom, 4-bathroom house in Waukee, Iowa, but it was not completed until October 14th, so we stayed at Andrea's dad and stepmom's lake house in Bondurant after moving out of our Papillion home on August 8th. (Our old house was put on the market August 15th and sold on September 15th.) It took a month to unpack, organize, and decorate but we are finally settled.

Logan is three-and-a-half years old now (his third birthday on April 18 was Mickey Mouse-themed. In last year's letter we mentioned that he had been accident-free-in-underwear at home for a month; public places happened just in time for his birthday).

Logan's babysitter (of two years) resigned in the spring, so he began going two days a week to La Petite Academy. After his first day of preschool he said, “That was fun, can I do that again?” and never cried from his second day through his last day, three-and-a-half months later. We haven't had a chance to start him in preschool in Iowa yet; aside from Joe's mom and Andrea's dad & stepmom – Andrea's mom and stepdad live in Ankeny, so the grandparents have been enjoying getting to see their grandchildren often.

Our saddest moment of the year was in June when Andrea's paternal grandmother passed away at the age of ninety-seven-and-a-half-years old. Although we were not able to attend the funeral due to Andrea having signs that she would deliver Krissa a month early like Logan (but it turned out she was only one week early this time), we were fortunate to have visited her in May and able to say goodbye.

Andrea's brother, who we wrote in our 2006 Christmas letter had moved to Hollywood when he was nineteen, decided to leave acting (over the past five years he was in various independent films and a national palm pilot commercial which we enjoyed seeing numerous times a day during the Christmas 2008 season). He was married in July and moved to Texas in August where he is finishing college with a degree in Psychology.

Bella, our maltipoo that will turn seven in January, had surgery in October for a stone in her bladder. Fortunately, she has been doing well since. Cosmo just turned six and has been cancer-free for two years.

For Halloween, Logan was Superman and Krissa wore Logan's first costume as a clown. The four of us enjoyed trick-or-treating around our new, friendly neighborhood (Glynn Village) that has four playgrounds, walking trails, and a pool.

Although we miss our friends in the Omaha area, we know this was the right move for us – it feels like a perfect fit: The Rodgers Family is complete in the home we plan to remain. So, despite the stressful year, we have had great joy. . .and look forward to not having to travel for this Thanksgiving and Christmas!

May you all have a wonderful holiday season!

(Krissa and Logan's lives are well-recorded through pictures on our picasa site - we have a new one since last year's letter, the address is: http://picasaweb.google.com/ajrodgerskids)