Christmas Greetings from the Caldwells

Christmas greetings from our house to yours this beautiful Christmas season! The big news around here is that Western Washington is having its first white Christmas in many years, with record low temperatures, too. We’ve seen a record 20+ inches of snowfall over the past week and the children even got to start their Winter break 3 days early. If it wasn’t so cold and we had more winter gear, they might enjoy it a little more, though they did make the snowman seen here.

2008 has been a good year for the Caldwells, not as much big news as previous years, which is kind of nice. Paul had a couple job changes. He started the year out as an Inventory Manager, and then tried his hand at car sales. Of course with the declining economy that wasn’t the best move and he found it a lot tougher than he had anticipated in the beginning. After another job search he landed at AutoZone in August and he is now managing his own store 30 miles away and enjoying it.

My home-based consulting business has gone very well this year with one client/contract after another. Right now I am awaiting word on a new contract. (They came to me and requested that I respond to the RFP so though it’s not a guarantee; it feels very positive.) If I’m awarded the contract, I will be the Project Coordinator for a newly formed County Parent Advocacy Coalition. It is a part-time position and will keep me busy for 2009. I will basically be the go-to person assisting families and their sons/daughters with disabilities, providing them with information and resources regarding local services available. It will also mean some travel away from home, working with legislators in Olympia as we advocate on behalf of families in our county. However; I am very excited about the potential for this position and what it will mean for our county families and individuals with developmental disabilities. It is a huge blessing to have the opportunity to be paid for my passion and to continue working out of my home office, with Hannah Mae close at hand.

Speaking of home, our girls are growing and changing every day as children do. Life with each of them is so much fun. We are proud of each of them in her own special way. Jeanna is 12 and in 7th grade this year. She had straight A’s her first term and is working hard to maintain her 4.0 gpa. She is playing her violin in the orchestra for the 4th year in a row and is getting very good on it. She just wrapped up her first volleyball season on her school team and seemed to enjoy it. She attends a couple of different girls/youth groups and has quite the social calendar. Whenever she’s not otherwise booked, I hire her to help me out babysitting her sisters. (Such a relief to be able to get out the door without 5+ extra bodies all the time.)

Jessica is 9 and in 2nd grade in a regular classroom. She is continuing to progress in every area, though certainly at her own pace. She is learning to read with expression and is now reading signs out loud as we drive around town. She continues to amaze us in so many different ways. A big challenge for her right now is trying to figure out the latest member of our family – young Hannah Mae… Jessica finds her unpredictable and can’t quite figure out what toddlers just doesn’t understand yet.

Haley is 8 and in 3rd grade and a smart cookie, too. She is making excellent grades in every subject and is a wonderful and compassionate, protective “little” sister to Jessica at school. Haley is also a very responsible young lady and quite a wonderful “Mother’s Little Helper”. She helps out lots with Hannah Mae, especially in the entertainment department. They are especially fond of “chasing” each other around the kitchen and laughing their heads off at the silliest little things. I love listening to their big and little girl giggles! (There is never a dull moment at our house between the hours of 7 am and 9 pm…) Jeanna, Haley and Jessica attend GEMS (Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior) Girls club together and really enjoy it.

Molly turns 5 in a couple weeks and is in preschool this year. She comes and visits about once a week or so. She is very precocious and a ball of energy (like Haley and Hannah Mae). We have some very precious quiet tender moments with her as well. She especially likes to come with us on special family outings and we do our best to include her in them as much as possible. She’s a great little story-teller and especially loves to help “wash the dishes” (…or anyone close by) with the sprayer.

And then there’s Hannah Mae who is now 19 months old, busy as can be and into everything!!! We are a gated community around here with no less than 4 gates up around the house, door knob covers on every door and door locks on every cupboard. It’s a good thing I have so many extra sets of eyes and hands as they certainly help me keep an eye on her and keep her from too much mischief. She is talking lots and putting a couple words together at a time now. Her/our biggest achievement has been that I am finally able to put her to bed awake and she gets herself to sleep without having to be held or rocked. Though we’re going through some minor withdrawals (Paul more so than me…), it does feel very good not to have her attached to me so much!

We are so thankful for my Mom & Dad living a mile away from us now. Mom is Jessica’s personal care assistant on weekday afternoons, helping Jessica with her homework, bathing, and “chores”. This is a huge help and benefit to all of us. Couldn’t ask for a caregiver who loves Jessica more or who is easier to work with! Next best thing to mom or dad is always “Mimi”! All of us love having her here every day. Mom is a hard worker and always on the go.

Dad continues to have his health issues. He is recovering right now from rotator cuff surgery a couple weeks back. He is funny as ever and knows just how to keep us all laughing. (He was the “funny guy” behind the photographer for our family pictures.) They have been pastoring here in Mt. Vernon in one capacity or another ever since they got here and are right now in a bit of a transition. Dad continues to preach and fill-in whenever/wherever he can and they are both a breath of fresh air wherever they go.

Paul & I continue to lead/host a small group in our home every week and we have made the best friends ever through this group. The group continues to grow and we thoroughly enjoy this avenue of ministry and outreach together. We love our church family and all the wonderful amazing friendships in our life.

Marriage and family is a delight for Paul and I and our 5 girls together. Paul spoils me rotten (and I try to spoil him back…) Paul surprised me last weekend with a wonderful “second” honeymoon as we escaped to the Salish Lodge and Spa overlooking the beautiful Snoqualmie Falls. He took care of all the details including child-care arrangements and even packed their bags. It was an amazing heavenly 36 hours alone together in the most romantic atmosphere ever. I am so-o-o blessed!

We would love to hear from you and your family and especially love seeing your pictures too. We pray this letter finds you enjoying this holy season as we celebrate the birth of our risen Savior. Have a very Merry CHRISTmas and may His richest blessings be yours in 2009!

Love and Blessings,

The Caldwells
Joy-Grace & Paul
Jeanna, Jessica, Haley, Molly & Hannah Mae.

P.S. Here’s a Christmas poem for you, written by Haley (with a bit of help from me), just for fun.



I look outside
And what do I see?
I see snowflakes falling
In front of me

Snowflakes are beautiful
Snowflakes are light
Snowflakes are falling
It’s quite the sight

It’s icy and cold
It’s fluffy and white
Slippery and wet
Reflecting the lights

The trees now transformed
With blankets of white
As the snowflakes fell
All through the night

There’s three more days
‘Til Christmas Eve
To open the gifts
We will receive

Christmas is coming
Not fast enough
For all of the kids
Who want lots of stuff

Is it all about stuff
Or what is the reason
For all the traditions
Of the holiday season?

The reason for Christmas
Is all about giving
Love, hope, and peace on earth
It’s Christ we’re celebrating

With family gathered
‘round the tree
While Papa reads
The Christmas story

We take a moment
To reflect
On Jesus Christ
The Best friend we’ve met.

Joy to the World! The Lord is Come!

We want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas! May the peace, love and joy of the Season be yours now and throughout 2008! We send you all special hugs and greetings from each of us.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas & New Year Blessings!

Merry Christmas from the Caldwell Family to all of you. Most of our shopping and baking are done. With 3 days left of school, my biggest stress is wondering how to keep these pretty girls busy during the upcoming Christmas Break... looks like more baking, crafts, games, and giggly sleepovers...

2006 has been a blessed year for all of us. Paul finally got his long awaited promotion. He is now the Store Manager for Burlington Thrifty Foods and is really enjoying the challenges and opportunities that it presents. We are headed over there in a little while so the girls can visit "Santa". Jessica can hardly wait! Jeanna could care less and Haley says, "I know who Santa REALLY is!" (ha!) Paul is such a hard worker! He works 10 to 11 hour days at the store but is never too tired to do his fatherly routine when he gets home, playing hide and seek, guesssing games, listening to the girls read, brushing their teeth, tucking them in, and keeping them all in line - something much easier to do with him around, than me alone! (Something about Dad that means "Yes, sir!")

We are very proud of our 10 year old, Jeanna, as she continues to excel in 5th Grade and all of her extracurricular activities. Busy as ever, she is playing the violin in the MVSD 2nd year Orchestra and enjoying it immensely. She was also playing the flute in band but has just decided that it is too much and needs to focus on one instrument at a time for now - good choice! She was elected as Secretary for her second year on the Madison Student Council, learning leadership and organizational skills there. She is continuing to do well on the SVY Chinooks swim team, working very hard to qualify for Regionals, though she's not quite there yet. As if that's not enough, she is also part of Mad Muse, a weekly after school club that works on journaling their "Madison School News" - in print and video medias. Jeanna is learning "domestic skills" at home; she's a tremendous help around the house with her sisters, learning to cook, clean, and shop for bargains on a budget! She can't wait to babysit and earn more money... am I ever glad for that... looks like she'll get lots of practice soon enough! Her favorite early Christmas present this year was getting to go to her very first "LIVE Concert" in Seattle with her best friend, where she saw "High School Musical". 10 years old, going on 15 already :)

Jessica, 7 years old, continues to make wonderful and amazing progress in all areas. She is in a regular 1st grade class, reading on grade level and learning very basic addition and telling time. She is dearly loved by her classmates and teachers, who continue to be amazed by what she is able to do and learning to do! She has the biggest smile and best laugh ever! She is practically running everywhere these days, keeping me very busy trying to keep up with her. (She's actually been lost for a few minutes a couple of times this fall, giving me big scares. Of course, she doesn't even realize what she's done, which is the most frightening part of all.) This is Jessica's favorite time of the year as she lives for Christmas & Santa. We have also been teaching her about this being Jesus' birthday but at this point, much to our chagrin, Santa is much more exciting to her - with presents, the North Pole, red suits, Rudolph and Barney..., yes, Barney... go figure!

And then there's our 6 year old, "Princess Haley". We couldn't be more proud of her. She is an excellent 1st grader, reading at a 2nd grade level already. We can't spell any words or secrets around here anymore at all without these "smart cookies" sounding it out and saying the words before we do! Haley is very conscientious with her school work and loves the feeling of getting all her lists done right away. We have a school day morning checklist for the girls that helps them stay on task as they get ready for school... (the typical... make bed, get dressed, eat breakfast, make lunch, wash face & hands, brush teeth, pack backpack, etc...). The other day Haley asked me how long she was going to have to do this list. I told her that in reality she would always have a list... as these were things that all of us did every morning before we went to school, work, etc... the only difference was that as we get older we add more things to the list. She wasn't so sure about that. Haley is a delight and full of energy. I do believe her favorite subject is math... as she doesn't miss a beat with what's going on in a day, what's coming up, how many days 'til Christmas, how many more days 'til Mimi & Papa come from Canada..., how many more months 'til everyone's birthdays, the baby's arrival, etc.

Then there's Mama and Baby. We are doing well. I am in my 17th week of pregnancy now, officially due May 30th. The whole family (good friends: Patty & Jason, too!) came to my last Doctor's appointment this past week and got to see Baby on the ultrasound. It was very exciting as Baby had both hands up at his/her face waving at us. Jessica says that Baby waved "Hi & Bye". (very cute!) All preliminary blood tests and ultrasounds are very positive and reassuring that everything is normal with Baby thus far. According to my latest bloodwork, my chances of having a baby with Down syndrome again have gone from 1 in 90 to 1 in 650 - pretty good odds! Honestly, I have tremendous peace and positive feelings about Baby and have not worried at all but it's reassuring nonetheless when the medical professionals confirm it. Since entering the "magical" 2nd trimester, I have been feeling much better - less green and more energy.

I am still in shock some days, that we are doing the "baby thing" again, having to shop for baby furniture, strollers, car seats, layettes, etc. and knowing that life is going to change for all of us yet some more. We'll have less sleep, more mouths to feed, more laundry, more tears and more laughter. I know that in some ways I'll have more help with all these "big" girls around here but then again we thought mornings and bedtimes were already busy!!! :)

As far as general things on the "home front", we pulled our house off the market for Dec & Jan so we can relax a bit more and then we'll try to sell again come February. With Baby's arrival we still need that 4th bedroom - sooner than later. I have been blessed with another part-time contract, working from my home office, for a wonderful local organization that provides educational, therapeutic and behavioral programs for children with special needs. What a Sovereign blessing and provision for us for the next few months!


We had the privilege of celebrating Thanksgiving twice this year. We had "Grandma Dot" & Aunt Joyce from Texas here along with my folks from Alberta during Canadian Thanksgiving and had a most wonderful time. It had been over 2 years since I had seen Grandma & Aunt Joyce and the first time Paul & Haley had met them. We had a precious few days together, never long enough! It's hard to be so far away from family so when we're all together we treasure every moment - counting down the days 'til we can see each other again. Then for US Thanksgiving, we had a quieter celebration just the 5 of us. In the evening we had our dear friends and adopted family, Steve, Patty & Jason over for pie and coffee.

Meantime, we continue to enjoy our church family and the activities that we're involved in. I am blessed to be part of a great team of ladies who leads Women's Ministries. Last week I "MC'd" our first annual holiday brunch and fashion show which was a beautiful success, with over 80 women in attendance. The best investment of time & money that Paul & I have made thus far was taking a weekly class at the church this fall, Financial Peace University, taught by Dave Ramsey. It has completely changed the way we spend our money and how we think about our finances from practical and Biblical perspectives. The best part about it is that the principles are working!! (It should be mandatory for every high school graduate and newly wed couple!)

So there you have it, a few highlights of our family life and how we're doing. Here is our Christmas Card from all of us to you. This picture was taken just after Thanksgiving during our "once a year snow storm". You all are always welcome in our home! Come and see us anytime! We pray you have a wonderful Merry Christmas and that all the Blessings of our Lord Jesus will be yours in 2007!