New Year's Update

Some folks may be receiving this via snail mail, but for all those even remotely interested, I am posting our family's update letter here.

Happy New Year!

Greetings from the Baumgartners! Is it already 2009? As you can tell, we missed out on the Christmas card tradition this year, so we decided to send a New Year’s update instead. These three little ones keep us busier than you know and we made so many fun memories in 2008! We took trips to West Virginia to see Aunt Jill, Ohiopyle and Raccoon Creek State Parks for camping, Apple Canyon Lake, IL for our summer vacation and to Michigan for Aunt Sara’s wedding.

Eric is 5 and loves kindergarten at BCCS (Beaver County Christian School), especially riding the bus! He also has quite a head for math and is sounding out new words every day. He loves to tinker… give him a cardboard box, tape, glue and some scissors ands he’s in heaven. He also loves Legos and K’Nex blocks and riding his bike without the training wheels, which he just learned to do a few weeks ago! Eric also played in his first season of pee-wee soccer this fall and scored in his very first game! He just got a palate expander (to widen his top jaw) installed in December so he is getting used to having metal in his mouth. He has been a real trooper about it.

Anna will be 4 in March. She is such a little mother, playing with her dolls and doll house every chance she gets. She loves to sing and dance and is always making up new songs. She is the quintessential drama queen and is so expressive that we laugh out loud a lot. She looks forward to starting preschool this coming fall and is already telling us about the “Belle” birthday party she wants to have. We continue to hear stories about “Chica”, her imaginary friend. Anna has recently discovered her love of broccoli too and can eat it by the truckload. She is still a tiny girl though, at only 31 pounds!

Caleb is every bit a 2 year old! He loves to say “no” and do all things himself. As you may have seen on our blog, he also fancies himself a “Guitar Hero” and loves to rock out! We got him a toy guitar for Christmas which was a huge hit. He also loves to play superheroes, and thinks fixing things with his tools is thrilling. We had to lock Chad’s work room in the basement because Caleb kept sneaking in there to tinker. “K.K.” as we affectionately call him, also loves to color on walls, dump out bottles of shampoo and generally make huge messes. He is a joy though, and we wish he would just stay little, a little while longer.

Chad is doing well too! His job in Advancement at Geneva College is going well and he continues to enjoy teaching computer classes too. In 2008, he began to pursue an interest in fly fishing, so he has gotten in some practice with that. He has a heart for Men’s Ministry at our church and is praying about how to become involved more. He meets regularly with a friend for prayer and accountability and that has been a blessing; he has also been teaching middle school boys in Sunday School this year. Chad is such a good dad... he loves being greeted with screams of joy at the door each day after work and jumps right in to wrestle with them all. When there’s a free moment, he can be found running on his treadmill, playing computer games with friends, and like his boys, tinkering.

Joanie is happy juggling 3 kids, consulting work, church work and anything else she can think of to fill the time. 2008 was definitely a busy year. Joanie just completed over 2 years of consulting with Duquesne University, and as of January 5, she has started a new contract with Geneva College. At this writing, she is also awaiting confirmation on a secondary contract with Waynesburg University. She is still managing online communities for the alumni of these schools. At church, Joanie worked on planning the fall Ladies Retreat, and has become part of several other church committees. She spends two hours a week leading a discipleship group of 3 college girls and has been so blessed by them! Joanie is headed back to the YMCA with a new work-out buddy this month... no more baking!

Chad and Joanie also did a great thing this past November, in anticipation of celebrating their 8^th anniversary in December. They went to a Family Life “Weekend to Remember” marriage retreat in Cranberry Twp., PA. Grandma watched the kids for the whole weekend and they got to stay at the hotel! What a wonderful time of reaffirming our commitment to one another and to God’s perfect plan for marriage! As a result of that retreat, we are considering leading a small marriage group called Homebuilders starting in March.

So 2008 was full of fun, growth, memories, challenges, and joy. We are so thankful to God for His love and care for our family, for the way He always meets our needs, and for how He shows abundant grace and goodness to us. May He show Himself as faithful in each of your lives in this wonderful New Year.

With Love,

Chad, Joanie, Eric, Anna and Caleb Baumgartner