2005 Family Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas to everyone! I decided to do our family letter on the blog this year, since I can include more pictures. 2005 has been a big year for us.

Emily and the remains of her birthday cupcake

In February, Emily celebrated her first birthday. She got her traditional first taste of Sprite, and that was the day we discovered her fascination with books-- just like her big sister.

Reading with Daddy

Since then, Emily is always found throughout the day sitting in the middle of a pile of books, turning pages and talking about the pictures. At church the nursery leaders learned the best trick to calm Emily down when Mom and Dad drop her off-- they immediately offer her books. Sometimes I will peek in and watch her looking at books while all the other kids are playing with toys or playing a game with the teachers.

Stephen, 1 day old

We eagerly, and nervously, anticipated the birth of our third child this year. Stephen Daniel Vogler was born on June 23, 2005, which just happened to be our 7th wedding anniversary. We had planned on doing a c-section on June 24th, but Stephen decided the 23rd was too special of a day to pass up. He is 16 months younger than Emily, which is a closer gap than we planned on, but God knows what He is doing, and our family is really enjoying this new addition to our family.

Playing on the floor (3 mos. old)

Stephen has been blessed with a large mop of hair, and had his first haircut in September when he was 3 months old! Stephen is doing all the normal little baby things-- rolling over, smiling, grabbing and chewing EVERYTHING, and right now he learning how to sit up by himself.

Blowing out the candles (yes, there are 5 of them!)

April turned 5 this year and had a special Strawberry Shortcake "girls only" birthday party. She is an amazing girl, very smart and very perceptive. She started reading on her own this summer, right before starting Kindergarten in August. She often likes to write "stories", and will come up and ask me how to spell lots of different words. April lost her first baby tooth in July, and just a few weeks ago the new big tooth started to show in the gap. Now she has two more loose teeth and can't wait for them to come out as well. April is having a wonderful time going to Kindergarten. She talks all the time about her friends in class, and the fun "centers" they have in her classroom.

Thanksgiving school craft projects

April is very excited for Santa to come this year. A week ago she and her best friend were sitting in the back of the car while we ran errands, and they were talking about other friends who do and do not believe in Santa. One girl they discussed was not a believer, and they were very concerned about this. "I wonder why she doesn't believe in Santa? Maybe they don't have Santa in the state she used to live in."

Hello, Handsome!

Dan is enjoying working at Computer Nerdz, as always. The past several months he has talked a lot about starting his own computer repair business, and has been putting a lot of thought into it. We plan to examine our finances next summer, and decide if we are ready to begin our own business.

Dressed up for a Christmas party

Jean went on her own little adventure this fall, and studied for the state life insurance exam. She passed with flying colors and became a life insurance agent with Primerica. She chose to primarily be a referral agent for now, since that is the best way for her to keep a business going while staying at home with two babies. She works with her brother-in-law, Robert (who was her recruiter) to make appointments with clients, and then tags along on the appointments. As she gets more training, she will start doing some of the presentation and consulting herself. Jean is still with Gold Canyon Candles, and still in love with them.

Playing on Gramma Sue's trampoline

We enjoyed seeing several family members this year. In February we went to San Diego for a week to visit Dan's parents. Dan and Jean got to have a weekend to themselves at a beach resort while the girls spent time with their grandparents and aunt Sarah. It was a very fun vacation for all of us. In May we were extremely blessed with an offer to purchase a minivan from some friends. It was something we had been planning and praying for, and the Lord opened the windows of heaven for us. We were so lucky to get an extremely affordable offer for a vehicle in excellent condition. A couple weeks after we got the van, Dan's sister Julie came down from Oklahoma City, and we gave her our Chevy Cavalier.

Having a tea party with Gramma Mary

In June Jean's mom came to help the family when Stephen was born. But her trip was cut short when Jean's grandmother, who was in poor health in a nursing home, passed away. In July Dan's mom and sister Sarah came to visit for a couple weeks. April and Emily had a great time playing with their grammas.
The Lord has blessed us so much this year, in so many different ways. We pray that the Lord will also smile down on each of you this Christmas season, and bless you with his grace and love.
We love you all!
The Voglers

Emily flying