**Thanks “D” from Photo[e]Motion Photography for the pix. I miss you! M
As I sit to write our 2009 Christmas letter I keep thinking “wow, we sure didn’t see THAT coming in ‘08!”! But here we are! At the end of a 6 month transition and decorating the admittedly smaller 2009 Christmas tree!
Kids. Madie is 9 & Garrett is 6. Crazy! This year Madelyn discovered a love of gymnastics and Garrett a love for any sport that involves a ball. Both appear to have their daddy’s athletic abilities (thank God), his love of teamwork (again, Thank you God) and my “whatever…2nd string is fine” attitude (2 out of 3 ain’t bad).
Madie is presently in 4th grade which means mom & dad are no longer “mommy & daddy”. She will occasionally still hold our hand as we walk, but day by day we are becoming less cool and our advice is often followed with an eye roll. Having said that, she has one of the kindest heart in all of TX. Garrett is in Kindergarten and is all boy. All cuddles result in tickle wars, all stories from school involve farts and he finds new ways to antagonize his sister every day. Garrett makes us laugh every day and is just plain ‘ole fun to be around. We are very very lucky to have kids that genuinly love each other…oh they occasionally fight like cats & dogs, but all in all, they’re buddies.
2009 was unfolding and life was rolling along. Kids were busy, my business continued to grow and Matt continued to be challenged and enjoy his work. Then it happened. God threw us the curveball we never saw coming. In June, Matt was approached about and invited to apply for a job that was undeniably great.
Do you remember the commercials for Nestee Iced Tea? The one where the people would take a drink of their iced tea and fall backwards into a swimming pool? The “Nestee-plunge”. Well, that pretty much sums up how we felt throughout the entire summer. As the details to the job, the interviews and the decisions unfolded we talked, we researched and we prayed. All the while all I could imagine was that commercial – I felt like we were standing at the edge of a pool, spreading our arms outstretched and falling backwards, somewhat blindly, into this decision and into our faith. It was exciting and scary. It felt out of control and peaceful all at the same time.
Then it happened…the thing we never saw coming at the beginning of 2009. Matt was offered and accepted the position of Assistant City Manager in Farmers Branch, TX (north Dallas) and we hit the water in our personal Nestee-plunge. After 7 great years in Wichita Falls we were moving. Mid-September Matt moved into an apartment and began his new job. 6 weeks and 2 days later (but who was counting) my business was wrapped up, we had found a school for the kids and we all moved into daddys apartment, now “home”.
So here we are! Living & working in Farmers Branch! The four of us, the dog and the guinnea pig are all living within 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms & a 1 butt kitchen, but ya know what? We are all together and that’s all that matters. We are still trying to sell the house in Wichita Falls (anybody interested?!?!) but we are in our groove! It only took Matt about 24 hours to get used to his “pad” being home to all of us. He is getting a lay of the land (the city) and is enjoying the new job and all of the challenges it brings. I continue to be grateful that I can call my best friend my husband and I’m very very very proud of him.
As for Madie & Garrett, it took the kids maybe 2 days to be comfortable in their new school. They are making friends easily and are already becoming involved in sports and activities here. They are just happy to be here and as G put it, “no more Sunday-Daddy-goodbyes!” Me? I’m enjoying something I’ve not had in a long time….Time. It took me no more than 3 days to get comfortable with my new stay-at-home-mom, or as the case may be, stay-at-apartment-mom, status! I am continuing my photography here in “the Branch”, but I’m not planning on really hitting it full-speed again for awhile. For now, we are all just focusing on smooth transitions and time together.
This move has stretched us all and already I see how we have grown in our faith and as a family because of it. We didn’t see it coming, and moving away from Wichita Falls was hard, but we are good. Life is good.
2009 was an unexpected but great year. As we prepare for Christmas and the turn of the New Year we are excited for all of the unexpected turns that 2010 will certainly bring. We find ourselves once again counting our blessings and feeling humbled & grateful. We hope that this letter finds you all happy, healthy and ready for the New Year and the “Nestee Plunge” that you might not see coming in 2010! God Bless & Merry Christmas!!
Matt, Micki, Madelyn & Garrett Benoit
Everyone who knows and loves babyCarlee knows and loves her smile…but I’m gonna be selfish here because I miss her so much….THIS particular smile on THIS particular day was for MiMi…..that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
~M
I love you sweetheart!