Christmas, New Year 2012 and Moving Letter

“Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush; anxious for greater developments and greater wishes and so on; so that children have very little time for their parents; parents have very little time for each other; and the home begins the disruption of the peace in the world.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta

January 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

For the whole month of December I was working at practicing the virtue of peace.  As you may suspect with two small children, an upcoming move and the hustle and bustle of our culture around Christmas—this was at times just a worthy goal.   There have been a few moments when it seemed nearly impossible!  However it has been helpful for me to recall who the source of all peace is and how important this virtue is to cultivate! Our hope is that you have peace in your home this holy season and always even in the midst of your busyness.

And boy have our lives been busy this past year!  We were blessed to have a year full of visits and reunions of one form or another.  From the many house guests that have graced us with their presence- family from near (WI) and far (CA) and friends from far (Italy, NE, MN) and near. To the numerous road trips to the Shrines of Our Lady of Good Help and Our Lady of Guadalupe (to meet with classmates and teachers from my masters program), Brewers vs Twins @ Miller Park (instigated by a college friend),  and Winona, MN, too.  I was also blessed to attend my dear friend Bente’s wedding in Oslo, Norway this fall. My parents and Julia and I made the trip over the pond for the event and what an event it was!  And we spent time in AZ just before Christmas getting some R&R.

Beyond travel our home lives have been full of activity.  This summer we gutted our kitchen/dining room to do some updating. The result was beautiful and made cleaning up spills pure pleasure after having carpet under the table for so long. However, that joy was supplanted by another when God placed in our path an opportunity to buy a home a little bit larger for our young family.  And so, this fall, we began plans to move three miles closer to the river (Mississippi). 

Our new home has been FULL of God’s handy work from the beginning.  The three bedrooms and full basement have offered plenty of room to grow, the yard with extra space to run has the girls excited for spring, the location just down the road from friends and particularly a farm has Kurt ready to putz on projects in his spare time and the view I just can’t get enough of it!  We are so grateful for the help of many people who assisted in our transition here!

The girls continue to grow up in front of our eyes. Katie, 3, has started preschool at home traveling the Alphabet Path.  We are learning so much.  She enjoys reading, practicing her letters, pretending,the Brewers and getting out of the house to socialize as much as possible (which she comes by naturally).  Julia, 1, is no longer a baby.  She is our daring daughter unafraid to scale great heights and seek out the realms of the forbidden cupboards, table tops and drawers.  Her vocabulary continues to grow.  She will parrot most anything.  JuJu is also quite proficient at shape puzzles and tormenting her sister who she would like to be just like most days.  I continue to enjoy life at home.  Kurt’s been perfecting his smoking (meat) and baking. We have happily been taste testers!  Please consider this an open invitation to stop in for a beer, coffee or drink of choice and visit of course!
Love and Peace,
Kurt, Angie, Katie and Julia

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