We left a few things out of our 2010 Christmas letter. I guess we will just have to start making it 2 pages. The new parts are in bold:
We started out 2010 with Jonathan working at Texas State Technical College as an instructor and I continued to stay home with Hallister and run 3 Strands Graphics. I also worked at Antioch, the church we attend, on Tuesdays helping with childcare during staff meetings. We were expecting our second son June 25th.
In January I tried to start a Bunco group in Waco. It is a fun dice game that I was playing in Georgetown but wanted to not have to drive so far. We meet once a month. A normal group has 12 ladies and at our first meeting only 4 showed up. After two more months of this I gave up. We couldn't play without consistent people coming. Then a friend told me about a MOPS Bunco group. I joined up with them and have been playing ever since.
In March we sat down with our financial advisors and tried to figure out how to save money, so I didn’t have to work at all once our second child arrived. Our biggest debt was our Ford Explorer. Some friends of ours were selling a car for cheap. We decided to use our savings to buy it and sell the Explorer, getting rid of that car payment. The day we were supposed to go purchase the car the doorbell rang and our Lifegroup (Bible study group) was standing outside surrounding the car. They had all pitched in to buy it so we didn’t have to use up our savings. We felt truly loved and blessed that God provided through them so I could stay home. We sold the Explorer and were done with car payments. And we mention this, not to brag, but just to reveal God’s faithfulness. I stopped working at the church and started working twice a week for my old boss designing the magazines. I became her employee again rather than having her as my client. I appeared in the play our church put on called Sons of the Field, a different take on the prodigal son. I missed acting and think it is a great way to share the gospel through drama. I played a mom with 2 girls. It was a lot of fun.
Also in March Jonathan turned 30. I surprised him with a guys camping trip. His friends came and kidnapped him (literally - he was mowing the yard and they grabbed him and threw him in the car) and they went out to our friend John Foster's farm in Eastland. They had burgers, enjoyed shooting at old toilets and junk, and a Bible study time.
In March and April I developed a really bad cough. It was miserable spitting up snot and having to sleep sitting up a lot. The doctor finally diagnosed it as whooping cough. After two z-packs and different cough medicines we finally found one that controlled it. Since I was pregnant there were few things I could take. Also from coughing so much I ended up bruising my rib and had to wear a large bandage around my whole waist to try not to move it very much for a week. Jonathan went for training in Reno to come back and develop a new class at TSTC. I was thankful for family and friends helping with Hallister or just inviting us over for meals. Hallister greatly missed his daddy.
In June we celebrated 5 years of marriage by traveling to Dallas. (Our anniversary is July 9th but since I was 8 months pregnant we celebrated early.) I introduced Jonathan to Wicked, a Broadway show about the untold story of the Witches of Oz. He is now hooked and wants to see it again. We enjoyed a yummy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and walking around a park near an airport. This was also the last month that I designed the Waco kids and wedding magazines that I had been designing for 5 years. It was a hard thing to let go, but I knew I could not handle raising both boys and working the magazine deadlines. My x-boss still calls me on occasion for back up designing. We got a new roof put on our house, and thankful to meeting a good roofer through a friend we got a great deal and ended up only paying half of our deductible and insurance the rest. It was such a blessing.
Preston Conner Senn decided to arrive July 6th. His birth was much anticipated. He weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz. We were hoping for a VBAC, but my midwife said that his head was probably too big to fit in my pelvis. We were grateful to welcome into the world another healthy son.
In September Hallister turned 2. We celebrated his birthday at Faith Rest Ranch where he got to ride a pony for the first time. I started to work as a substitute at Austin Avenue United Methodist Church on Mondays and Wednesdays. It was nice because I could take the boys, and they were actually both in the same class with me. This month I joined MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers). We meet every other Wednesday from 9-11:30am. We have a big breakfast and then either a speaker comes or we do a craft. I also got recruited to design the monthly newsletter so I enjoy that.
Although Jonathan was enjoying teaching the students as an instructor at TSTC, the work load was increasing and becoming difficult for our family. In October Jonathan started his new job with Curves International. He works on the owners’ helicopter and three airplanes, and even on occasion he gets to chase the hot air balloons in the Curves van. We are thankful God once again provided for us. Jonathan received a raise and was glad to be a mechanic again. We are so thankful that with this job we will be able to complete step #2 of Financial Peace University, paying off all debt besides our mortgage, by January 2011. We give God all the glory!
This month I decided to simplify my life and just focus on our boys. I quit working at Austin Avenue and decided to close my business at the first of the year. I have had a few clients after Preston arrived but it is very difficult to work during the day with both boys, and I really only make enough to pay the bills and taxes. I decided that I wanted to focus my time on them and not overwhelm myself with so much responsibility. I got asked to design a prom magazine and that will be my last big project. I will still occasionally design for friends, if I feel I have the time and won’t get stressed. I am looking forward to being an exclusive full time mom.
You can check out updates on our lives (and read more details about the above updates) through our blog: http://sennfamily.blogspot.com/ and Facebook. Merry CHRISTmas!
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