cosby family christmas card

I only sent out 40 Christmas cards this year. Of those, half went to family members. As such, few of our friends received a Christmas card/letter from us. So here's our letter, and the photos from our card, and our wish to you of a Merry Christmas and Happy and Peaceful New Year.

These beautiful photos were taken in April by my friend and cousin-in-law, Megan of We See Love Photography. As you can see, she is incredibly talented. I have been kicking myself for 5 years that I didn't think to hire her for our wedding. If you are in the Nevada/SoCal/Utah region of the country, you need to hire her. You will not only love your photos, but you will love how much fun you have while taking them. Sam actually said, "That's the first time I haven't hated getting our pictures taken." High praise, my friends, high praise. Now on to the letter.

"Sam started the LGO program at MIT in June. He is getting an MBA and an MS in Chemical Engineering. It was a bit of an adjustment to go back to school after 4 years of working, but Sam handled it gracefully. We were all happy when we moved to Cambridge in August so he didn't have to commute an hour each way to and from school. Since moving, Sam has been even busier with a heavy class load, but he did well in all his classes. Despite all his work at school, Sam has been a wonderfully supportive husband and playful father for which we're all grateful. In his little spare time, Sam read the Elantris series by Brandon Sanderson, played a duet with me at church, and fixed our computer. We also managed to fit in some fun and creative date nights.

"Living in Cambridge confirmed that I love city life! It's been fun taking the kids to museums, parks, book festivals, street fairs, and more free events than we can fit in. Since moving here, I've been involved in teaching Anna's Joy School class, a women’s discussion group, lunches with friends, lectures, and a kickboxing class. Despite the construction noise, water outages, expensive laundry, crazy heating system, and the rat problem, we love living in student family housing where there are lots of moms to talk to and trade babysitting with and friends to meet on the playground. At church, I'm on the community service committee, I sing in and play for the choir, and I have a spiritual feast each week in my classes. Cambridge is full of interesting and talented people and it's exciting to get to know so many of them.

"Anna is now 3 1/2 and loves to read books, make "crafts" (anything involving paper, scissors, glue, and stickers), sing songs, dress up, and make up stories. Anna and I make a good team as she helps with laundry, cleaning up after herself, cooking, and reading to Levi. She loved going to Joy School this year and made some great friends. Sometimes she surprises me with her kindness to them (and us). Anna always makes us laugh with the silly things she thinks up. Often I can’t believe how she’s grown from a baby to this imaginative little girl, but it’s fun all the same.

"Levi is 21 months and is a ball of little boy energy. Levi loves to wrestle, tickle, and chase more than anything in the world. He also loves digging in the dirt, playing with balls and trucks, and singing or dancing to music. Every single time Levi sees a bus, he shouts "BUUSSSSS!-- out his window, from the car, in a quiet McDonalds, in a quieter library, and an even quieter church meeting. That boy loves buses. He also loves making a mess. My favorite moments with Levi are when he will snuggle on my lap and read a book or sing a song with me.

"We're all excited to be moving to Thousand Oaks, CA early next year for Sam's six-month internship with Amgen. We're looking forward to a warm winter, beaches, visits from grandparents and siblings, and a chance to experience life on the opposite coast. For now we're enjoying the excitement of our two little children at Christmas. We love our Savior and feel overwhelmed by the love and guidance we have received from Him this year.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with love,
Heather, Sam, Anna, and Levi Cosby"