Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year!
Dear Family and
Friends,
Boy,
it has been an eventful year for the Neeley household! So much has happened
that we decided to publish our first Christmas newsletter and send it to you
all! We hope this letter finds you well.
Brad
celebrated his 1st year of full-time employment at In The Round Design
Group this past October. He loves working there as a web developer and is
growing by leaps and bounds in his programming skills. In March, Brad took
advantage of the new company insurance by meeting his yearly deductible during
an appendectomy to cure his chronic appendicitis. He also celebrated his 1st
year anniversary of being the Young Men’s president in our church ward, meaning
he works with the boys ages 12-18 at church. The boys are fun to work with and
always keep him on his worst behavior. Marie is not happy to have gained a
teenager this early…
Speaking
of Marie, she enjoyed the year as a full-time stay at home mom, keeping the
sanity (or some semblance of it) rooted in the home. In May, she got Brad out
of one of his morning church meetings early to welcome a new baby girl, Ruthe
Maedean. Marie has enjoyed seeing the two sisters grow and interact ever since.
She serves as a primary teacher at church, teaching the 5-6 year olds. The
majority of her year has been planning, preparing and taking the forefront in
our search for the Neeley mothership (a.k.a. our first house!). She was the
brains behind the operation.
On
Dec. 7th, we finally closed on our house after having an offer
accepted by the sellers on August 12th. Don’t worry, we still have some
hair left on our heads. J Moving
day was December 11th; we’re slowly getting settled in. We love our
home. Come visit us sometime!
Charlotte
Naomi turned 2 this year and has been dazzling her parents with her intelligence
and wit. She always knows how to make
her parents laugh and has a great Neeley personality (she fits right in with us
weirdies). Some of Munchkin’s favorite things are cars, tools, horses, and Bambi.
She is learning the alphabet and her numbers this year and really enjoys
practicing. She loves the number 11. She counts, “1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 6, 11, 9, 11”.
She loves nursery. Anytime we go to church, even when it’s not Sunday, she
recognizes the road and asks “We go to nursery?” She has a great interest and
enjoyment in playing the piano and listening and dancing to music. We’re so
blessed to have her shining spirit in our home and family.
Ruthe
Maedean made her grand entrance on May 27th (a day before her due
date!) weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches long. She is named after Brad’s
Grandmother (Ruthe Charlotte Hollrock Neeley) and Marie’s Great-Grandmother (Francis
Maedean Harrison Harkins). Baby Ruthe (aka: Papoose or Poosa) has her daddy’s
crazy-eyes and goofy smile, and her mommy’s cuddliness. She amazes (and frightens) us every day with
how mobile she is becoming. She started rolling over consistently at only 3
weeks, sitting unsupported at 4 ½ months, and crawling a week before she turned
6 months. She keeps her mama on her toes! …and sometimes has mama’s toes in her
mouth. She watches and learns from her sister’s every move. Naomi and Ruthe get
along great and just barely started sharing a room in the new house. Mommy and
Daddy finally get their own room again! J
We
thank you all for your friendship and love towards us. We love you all and pray
for you often. We know Jesus Christ is
our Savior and Redeemer. We love this time of year to be able to celebrate the
miracle and gift of His birth, truly the greatest gift we have all received.
His life and works have made it possible for all of us to return to live with
Him and our families forever. May you have peace and glad tidings this
Christmas and throughout the New Year!
Love,
The Neeleys
Brad, Marie, Naomi & Ruthe
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