The White Family Christmas
2007
What a year 2007 has been for our family! This year has brought such excitement and joy that our hearts are overwhelmed this holiday season.
The biggest news, of course, would have to be the birth of our gorgeous twins, Joel and Evan. Sarah found out she was pregnant in January, so the year has truly revolved around their arrival. After a long and difficult pregnancy, the boys were born September 6th, prematurely but in great health, and we've been on the parenting rollercoaster ever since. The boys are constantly thrilling us with their precious smiles and adorable coos; each day brings great anticipation as we wonder, "What will they do next?" The most recent excitement took place as Joel and Evan acknowledged each other for the first time! The moment was extra special because both Mommy and Daddy were there to witness it. It was truly a moment we will always treasure.
Besides the babies' birth, we've had other big family changes as well. Todd decided to leave teaching and join the administration field. He is now an assistant principal at Westfield Community School, a K-8 school in the same district. The move was necessary with the growth in our family, and while he was sad to leave a position he had held for seven years, he felt ready to take on a new career challenge. It turned out to be a great move for him. While Todd misses being in the classroom, he finds each day's challenges to be rewarding, and he couldn't have asked for a better staff to work with. Though the job is hard, he comes home happy each evening, and looks forward to going to work each day. The only downside is that he misses spending time with his babies!
Thanks to Todd's career change, Sarah has been blessed to be a stay-at-home mom. Her new motto is, "I work, I just don't get a paycheck!" Boy, does she work! Each day flies by, and it is easy to feel like nothing has been accomplished. But the boys are healthy, happy, and growing beautifully, so put in the right perspective, she's accomplishing plenty. (Unfortunately, that's not getting the dishes done any faster, but a few dirty dishes never really hurt anyone!) Sarah is putting her old Sunday School nursery skills to good use. She sings songs, tells stories, and performs dances for the boys every day. We can definitely see that they love a good song and dance!
The final, and most difficult change in our family has been having to say goodbye to our three dogs. We tried hard to make it work, but Reuben and Remmie just never were able to adjust to having Joel and Evan around. As they were our original "babies", we tried for many weeks to tough things out, hoping they would adjust. Sadly, they only seemed to become more stressed as time went on, so we knew we had to let them go. Jack never minded the babies, but his rambunctious nature made us decide that he'd be better in a different home as well. (This was actually something we'd been contemplating for a long time; he really needed a much larger yard than we have.) Needless to say, it was the hardest decision we'd ever had to make, but we knew (and know) in our hearts that it was something we had to do. We take solace in the fact that the boys are at the best shelter around, and we've stayed in touch with the management so we know they are doing well. Hopefully they will find new families soon, as they are absolutely wonderful dogs that deserve forever homes.
With all the big changes, sometimes it's hard to stay in touch with everyone we care about. We'd love to hear about how you are doing, so please drop us a note sometime! You can email us at whitepeapod@gmail.com
Best wishes to you and your family this holiday season and in 2008!
All our love,
The White Family
Todd, Sarah, Joel and Evan
The biggest news, of course, would have to be the birth of our gorgeous twins, Joel and Evan. Sarah found out she was pregnant in January, so the year has truly revolved around their arrival. After a long and difficult pregnancy, the boys were born September 6th, prematurely but in great health, and we've been on the parenting rollercoaster ever since. The boys are constantly thrilling us with their precious smiles and adorable coos; each day brings great anticipation as we wonder, "What will they do next?" The most recent excitement took place as Joel and Evan acknowledged each other for the first time! The moment was extra special because both Mommy and Daddy were there to witness it. It was truly a moment we will always treasure.
Besides the babies' birth, we've had other big family changes as well. Todd decided to leave teaching and join the administration field. He is now an assistant principal at Westfield Community School, a K-8 school in the same district. The move was necessary with the growth in our family, and while he was sad to leave a position he had held for seven years, he felt ready to take on a new career challenge. It turned out to be a great move for him. While Todd misses being in the classroom, he finds each day's challenges to be rewarding, and he couldn't have asked for a better staff to work with. Though the job is hard, he comes home happy each evening, and looks forward to going to work each day. The only downside is that he misses spending time with his babies!
Thanks to Todd's career change, Sarah has been blessed to be a stay-at-home mom. Her new motto is, "I work, I just don't get a paycheck!" Boy, does she work! Each day flies by, and it is easy to feel like nothing has been accomplished. But the boys are healthy, happy, and growing beautifully, so put in the right perspective, she's accomplishing plenty. (Unfortunately, that's not getting the dishes done any faster, but a few dirty dishes never really hurt anyone!) Sarah is putting her old Sunday School nursery skills to good use. She sings songs, tells stories, and performs dances for the boys every day. We can definitely see that they love a good song and dance!
The final, and most difficult change in our family has been having to say goodbye to our three dogs. We tried hard to make it work, but Reuben and Remmie just never were able to adjust to having Joel and Evan around. As they were our original "babies", we tried for many weeks to tough things out, hoping they would adjust. Sadly, they only seemed to become more stressed as time went on, so we knew we had to let them go. Jack never minded the babies, but his rambunctious nature made us decide that he'd be better in a different home as well. (This was actually something we'd been contemplating for a long time; he really needed a much larger yard than we have.) Needless to say, it was the hardest decision we'd ever had to make, but we knew (and know) in our hearts that it was something we had to do. We take solace in the fact that the boys are at the best shelter around, and we've stayed in touch with the management so we know they are doing well. Hopefully they will find new families soon, as they are absolutely wonderful dogs that deserve forever homes.
With all the big changes, sometimes it's hard to stay in touch with everyone we care about. We'd love to hear about how you are doing, so please drop us a note sometime! You can email us at whitepeapod@gmail.com
Best wishes to you and your family this holiday season and in 2008!
All our love,
The White Family
Todd, Sarah, Joel and Evan
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