ellieandbrian: January 2009

Happy New Year!

With the first Sunday of 2008, Drew, Ellie, and Brian all entered Primary together at church. Drew began as a Sunbeam while Ellie and Brian began teaching the CTR 6 class with four very dramatic five-year-old girls. The drama lessened some with each passing week. Audrey soldiered on solo in Nursery without any problem.

Later that January, Brian's Nissan Sentra passed 200,000 miles and then decided to call it quits a few thousand miles later. Although the car traveled nearly every mile of I-80 possible, Brian never did get in the stretch from State College to Williamsport, we realized it was not worth putting more money into a 12-year-old car with so many miles. After looking around for a few weeks, Brian finally settled on an Acura to carry him around to all of his hearings throughout Pennsylvania.

In April, Brian's younger brother came out for a visit with his family and we ushered them around Baltimore and D.C. We bought an annual Baltimore Science Center family pass, which Ellie and the kids have enjoyed on several occasions with other friends. Brian was more excited about reliving some of his Ecuadorian mission food at an Ecuadorian restaurant just off the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

When we were all done in D.C., we went out to another brother's house in Ohio for a few days. It was the first time the three brothers had been together since before Brian began law school and the first time the three boy cousins that were born within seven months of each other had ever been together. It was a fun visit, which included a trip out to Kirtland to tour Church historical sites.

When summer arrived, Drew finished off his first year of preschool and began his first foray into swim lessons. He took to swimming like a fish to water and can't wait to get back in the pool when the weather warms up again. Audrey can't wait to join him, either. When they were not sitting pool-side, which was on most afternoons, Ellie and the kids filled their time with free movies at the local theater and playing with friends. This summer also saw us say goodbye to family and friends who moved across the country. The most difficult was Ellie's sister moving from Maryland out to Washington State so her husband can do a second medical residency.

The Fourth of July found us in Ohio again at Brian's brother's house. A family they are friends with threw a big party on some land they own, which included a pig roast and a private aerial firework show that lasted over two hours. The next morning, Brian took Drew fishing with some of his cousins at one of the several ponds on the property. Drew and one of his cousins both caught small basses. When you ask Drew how big his cousin's fish was he will show you it was about six inches long and when you ask him how big his fish was he will show you it was about three feet long. Typical fisherman.

August was filled with a few visits from family and surprises. Ellie found out she was pregnant and several weeks later went to the E.R. with abdominal pain only to learn that she had an eptopic pregnancy. One emergency surgery later in the wee hours of the morning and Ellie was doing fine, with the help of some drugs and rest at home. Later that month, Brian's brother came out from Ohio to go to a game at Yankee Stadium before it is torn down. While they were off to the Big Apple, Ellie and the kids went down to the Baltimore Science Center with Brian's sister-in-law and his nieces and nephew. Brian also got to see his sister and her two kids for the first time in three years when she moved out to northern Virginia from L.A.

In the fall, Audrey was again doing everything she could to keep up with her big brother while he was at soccer practice and games. Drew was not always as interested in the soccer ball as he probably should have been, but had a blast playing just the same and talks about playing again next year. Brian and Ellie were also able to get away for a day without the kids to go to Hershey Park. It was a fun day, even if roller coaster rides seem to have been more fun when we were a bit younger.

Just before Thanksgiving, Brian learned that the law firm he worked for was merging into a larger firm based in Philadelphia, Goldfein and Joseph. Brian is doing his best to keep from turning into one of the nasty Philadelphia lawyers he keeps hearing about while also having new experiences and challenges.

Overall, it was a busy year filled with local travel, a few twists and turns, and a lot of excitement watching Drew and Audrey both grow. We hope everything is well with your family.

Love,

Brian, Ellie, Drew, & Audrey