Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

So, the Christmas cards are out, the presents are wrapped and under the tree and Christmas is just a few days away… and yet I feel like something is not quite right. While I was pounding my third mile on the treadmill tonight, I realized that my Christmas card didn't say everything I wanted to say. I feel like this year’s story needs to be told… and not just in pictures and a drawing. I even considered sending an addendum, but instead settled on a post. So here goes…

2007 was a year like no other at the Lippold house. It began very innocently, in the depth of the quiet January snow and over the course of the twelve months it spun up quite the whirlwind.

Lily learned how to read this year. My budding academic at 5 is reading at a 3rd grade reading level. This past spring I sat down and taught her how to do it and away she went. The Queen of the house indeed, Lily has also taken up many extracurriculars and over the course of the year has been in swimming, piano, gymnastics, dance, tennis, soccer, Spanish and Kidratee, not to mention preschool. I feel like my role in her life has moved from teacher to taxi, but she enjoys it and has become quite the social butterfly. It was very challenging for Mike and I to decide whether she ought to attend Kindergarten a year early, but we erred on the side of caution and held her with her age. We will see how that decision plays out when my baby starts Kindergarten in the fall, but right now I enjoy watching her be a kid and plan her “animal adventures” with her friends.

Peter, my little Spiderman, turned 3 this year. Perhaps my favorite moment of many from this year was his “Cars” potty party, where we transformed the house into a movie set to potty train. Quite a boy indeed, he loves sports, cars, animals, motorcycles, and playmobile. When not playing with his sister, he is watching Adrian Peterson or Joe Mauer with his Dad. Mike has really enjoyed watching and playing sports with him this year… and perhaps his highlight was taking him to the Twins new stadium ground breaking this past August. Peter has really come into his own lately and is such a social and enthusiastic kid. After every meal he asks me if I can tell he has grown…he wants to be big so badly. Like his big sister, Peter has been involved in swimming, gymnastics, Spanish, preschool and Kidratee. His favorite being Kidratee, where he has earned his white belt. I really enjoy watching him grow.

This past year Mike and I lost our third child, Oliver William Lippold at 18 weeks gestation. While we got to hold him and say our goodbyes, I still feel like I didn’t have enough time with him to say everything I wanted to say. After two months, I feel like I am already starting to forget what he looked like. This makes me sad. Oliver’s brief stay in our lives has changed our lives profoundly. I will never again look at a newborn the same. We were very blessed to have Oliver for the short time we called him ours. As a poem I was just given says, he is spending Christmas with Jesus this year.

Mike and I are getting along as best as we can right now. Mike took a new job in May and has been traveling on occasion. Together we took a trip to New York for our birthdays, which was fabulous. We have always wanted to travel together. We also took some time away to visit Two
Harbors and Duluth for our annual trip to Grandma’s Marathon. Mike finished his 5^th marathon at Twin Cities this year, but is still on his quest to qualify for Boston. He will try again at Grandma’s in June. As per my “one marathon for every baby,” I will run Grandma’s this June in honor of Oliver. I feel that he deserves a try for a personal best.

Other than that, Mike and I said goodbye to the Grand Prix this year and bought a mini van (despite Mike’s protests). We also cleared out our garage and are actually parking in it. But mostly we are still trying to figure out what we are going to do with the rest of lives…now that we are 29. It’s amazing what one year has taught us about our life’s plan…about our selves… and our marriage. It has been truly an enlightening year.

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy and happy. We love you all and wish for you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Love,

Jennifer

posted by Jenny at 8:54 PM   | 1 comments