The Christmas Letter That Didn't Go Out

I'm sure many of you know how bad I am about sending out Christmas cards or letters. Really, I am very jealous of people who do these so well. I just never know what to say without boring people to death or bragging about my son. The crazy thing is that I buy Christmas cards EVERY YEAR; I just never get around to sending them out. But I think they are a great way to sum up the year and let friends and family know what is going on in your life.

So, here's what our Christmas letter would have said if I had actually written one and sent it out.

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas! As the year comes to a close, we wanted to let you know we are thinking about you and hope you are doing well. We have appreciated the friendship, love, and support you give to us and want to let you know what is happening with us.

I guess I should start with Tyler, since he is the center of our lives. He is getting so big (he's 21 months old), which brings mixed feelings of sadness about how quickly he's growing and joy at watching him learn and grow. He talks almost nonstop, even if we can't understand everything he says. He says a lot of words now like doggie, mom, daddy, one, two, cool, wow, I love you, hey, no, Sadie, beep, park, go for walk, and many more. He's quite the comedian and will do anything to make us laugh; he keeps us very entertained. He's definitely a daddy's boy and absolutely adores Chris. He follows him around the house when he gets home from work and runs to him for safety when I try to put him in bed or change his diaper. We feel very blessed to have him our family.

Early this year, Chris won a bid to do the plumbing for a big construction project in Hurricane. Since last year had been a slow, difficult year, we felt this was the opportunity Chris had been waiting for and were very excited about it. After praying, going to the temple, contemplating, etc., we received confirmation that we should move to St. George to start this project in August. So, we put our house on the market in May and moved to St. George with Chris' brother and his young wife in July.

Unforunately, the project was put on hold 6 weeks after we moved here, and we don't know when or if it will start. Our home still hasn't sold due to the down housing market. But we still feel like we are where we're supposed to be and we're doing what we should be doing. Luckily, we have had just enough work to keep our business going and our bills paid, but we wonder how much longer we can keep going.

At the close of this year, we wonder what is in store for the Hood's? We face the difficult decision of whether to keep plugging along with our business until the economy improves, or to close our business and look for other opportunities. Only time will tell.

Although, this has been a roller-coaster year (or, two years), we feel we have been very blessed, even if it hasn't been in the ways we had hoped for. We have witnessed small miracles, and we have felt love, concern, and support from our family and friends. We know our Heavenly Father knows who we are and is watching out for us. We've found that through good times and bad, we still love each other and are grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We also look forward to the new year with hope and optimism. We hope you feel the blessings of our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ as well. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

Love,
the Hoods