December 20th - Merry Christmas Family and Friends!

Merry Christmas to All Our Family and Friends From Afar and Near!

As we prepare for Christmas, we find ourselves feeling ever grateful for having such supportive, encouraging and loving family and friends in our lives. Our adoption journey over the past year(s) has included many ups and downs, but we have always felt comforted and encouraged knowing that so many of you are out there thinking and praying for us. We truly cannot thank you enough and tell you how much you mean to us.

We are still praying and focusing our efforts on a Christmas miracle, but also know that it will all come together in God's timing. We received some encouraging news about a potential opportunity in the recent weeks so, we are just hoping and praying that it will all work out.

The below verse is one that we find ourselves resting in throughout this journey. We hope it brings comfort and encouragement to all of you as well, especially needed during these difficult economic times.

Psalm 32: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you .... the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts him."

Aside from adoption efforts this year, we have been busy on other fronts. I cannot say that we have been to any exotic destinations or done anything out of the ordinary. However, as you all know us, it seems like we are constantly in the midst of change. Malcolm seems to thrive during times of change or at least adapts better than I do at times. Although, I am learning to "go with the flow" more now. To my point, Malcolm has taken on a new work opportunity requiring a company transition. He has been working hard, but enjoying the new challenge. I am still working in the biotech industry and continue to enjoy this line of work. However, our current economic situation has brought some uncertainity and struggles in the industry along with many other industries.

For the third year, we were a part of the Richmond Marathon Training Team. While it requires a good bit of time to train and can seem like a chore at times, we always look back at the end of the season fondly. We have made some good friends and lots of good memories.

Our families are doing well and we have had several new additions during the year. Malcolm's brother, James and our sister-in-law had a baby girl last Spring, Elisa. She is adorable! My brother, Chip and his wife (our sister-in-law, Mandy) had a beautiful, healthy baby boy just a few days ago. His name is Samuel August and they are going to call him, Sam. (I just love that name.). We can't wait to get out to TN to see them and love on our new nephew. Also, our niece, Hannah (Sam's sister) turned 2 this past February. She is the most precious girl and looks like her momma - gorgeous! Malcolm's other brother, Clark and our sister-in-law, Suzy had a little girl last Fall and she turned 1 this year! She is quite a ham and we love her dearly! We so wish we could see our nieces and nephews more often than we do! We hope that will happen more often in time.

To that point, we so wish we had gotten to see more of our friends and family over this past year. We are determined to make more of a point to see those dear to us in 2009. After all, we feel that relationships are what is truly important and constantly reminded of that when we get words of encouragement and support from each of you. Please know we are here for you all even if not physically close. We are here if you need to talk or need us to pray for something going on in your lives. You all mean the world to us and we are so thankful to have you in our lives.

We wish you all many blessings and happy memories this Christmas season!

Lots of love to you all,
Christy and Malcolm
lovingparents@live.com