New Years Letter - 5 Years Ago

Tonight we removed the decorations from our Christmas tree as the holiday season ends. As we look back to 2013 and the surprises it brought with our sudden return to Delaware, we are most thankful that Adrian got his Christmas wish and had no seizure this holiday. We look forward to 2014 and hope that it is "the year of recovery" as Adrian said today.

As we hope and pray the best for each of you this coming year, I'd like to share a letter that I emailed out to friends and family on New Years Day 2009, five years ago.

New Years Letter 2009

I often try to send out a letter with my Christmas cards, but even though the most amazing thing possible happened this year (having our precious little bundle), I somehow never made time for a letter. So on this first day of 2009, I’d like to take a few minutes to fill you in on the latest at our household and wish you a Happy New Year!

My siblings and I as my youngest brother Aaron graduated from high school in 2008.

This photo was taken just weeks after we learned the baby girl I was carrying had spina bifida.

Here I am 7 months pregnant with dear friends, Summer of 2008

For the first time in my adult life, I did not stay up until midnight last night to welcome in the new year. With baby girl tucked away in her crib, we did not feel compelled to stay up on our couch and watch the giant ball drop in New York – not really that exciting. However, soon after midnight a cry from the nursery had me up welcoming the new year mommy style. Adria has actually been a champ about sleeping through the night for the last couple months (often from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.), but something’s been waking her the past few nights, maybe teething or a little cold.

Our Family Photo Christmas 2008

 

She is really an amazing little gal. Smiling and laughing at us often now, and she’s learning to use her vocal cords to make a wide range of very audible vowel sounds. We love conversing with her. In early December we had another huge answer to prayer. We took her to AI Dupont Hospital for her monthly head ultrasound and visit with the neurosurgeon. There was a good chance she would need surgery if the fluid on her brain increased again, as it gradually had been. We were very nervous, but praise God, there was no increase, so now she most likely will not need surgery! At that visit, we also learned that she was almost 16 pounds. Yes, our little sweetheart has more “natural cushioning” than most babies her age, and we love every pound of her. (Adria was just four months old when I wrote this.)

 

As for Adrian and I, we celebrated 5 years of marriage on Nov. 22, and even managed a weekend getaway with baby to a charming log cabin in the Poconos. Adrian is an exceptional stay-at-home Dad, providing excellent care for our daughter, cleaning the house, washing laundry and occasionally making dinner as well as doing some side jobs and many projects around the house (impressive, I know). This has helped my transition back to work in November go fairly smoothly. However, as a new home sales rep for Ryan Homes, it’s not exactly an easy time to sell. I actually had a great year with them and have been thankful but am hopeful that 2009 can bring better economic times. (It was actually much worse in 2009 and 2010...as we now know.)

This is the townhome community in Salisbury, MD where I was sent to sell homes after Adria's birth.

 

For now, our little family will continue with our current lifestyle and be amazed as we watch the growth and development of our Precious Angel (who, by the way, is in my lap chatting to me right now).

Blessings to each of you this year!

Julleanna on behalf of the Seely Family – Adrian, Adria Mychelle, and Max 

 

To view more photos from 2008, click on this link: http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5268691&l=6406c&id=749275133