My wife loves to write up a little Christmas newsletter every year and I always enjoy reading her perspective on the past twelve months. This year I thought I'd let her have a spot here and reprint her musings:
Tammy Small - Special Guest Blogger
Dear friends and family, I told myself that I wouldn’t do a newsletter this year, but the past year was such a blessed one for us that we wanted to share a bit of it with you!
Abigail is nearly 4 years old and continues to bring us so much joy. She has been attending Montessori school since January 2007 and her development and socialization has been amazing. We are so grateful that this school is just around the corner from our home and that she loves the Director (her teacher) and family so much!
During the summer of 2008 we took our first family vacation to Disney World and Sea World in Orlando and we had such a wonderful time watching her enjoy herself and relaxing at the Blue Water Resort where we stayed. In February I was sent to Orlando for a meeting so I took advantage of that and brought Abby and my mom down with me to squeeze in a visit to Disney again! She loved it! While we didn’t take a family vacation this year with Abby, Jeff and I did vacation to Chicago for a week to attend Lollapalooza in Grant Park and we had an awesome time! Chicago was a beautiful city to visit, the food was spectacular and the lineup at Lollapalooza this year couldn’t have been better! Maybe when Abby gets bigger we will take her with us because she loves music as much as we do.
With the end of the year approaching, I have to brag about Jeff and the tremendous commitment he has made to live a healthy lifestyle. Since Christmas 2008 Jeff has lost 70 pounds and kept it off with a regimen of cycling (4800 miles this year) and healthy eating! At this year's Heart Walk, he was awarded the American Heart Association 2009 Lifestyle Change Achievement Award! He was also sponsored by his work, LHWH Advertising, and was accepted into the 2009 Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce Leadership Grand Strand program, which trains future leaders of the community. I am so very proud of him! As for myself, I am still employed with the University of South Carolina managing the environmental data and activities of the NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve’s Centralized Data Management Office. I am thankful to work with such wonderful people and work in a field that is so important amid the global climate crisis we are all facing (Ed. Note: I couldn't possibly be any more proud of the work my wife does).
Lastly, I want to update you on the loss of a beloved family member, our Shar Pei, Chelsea. She died suddenly in October at the age of 10 and is now in dog heaven. Not a day goes by that we don’t think of her and miss her presence, especially Abby.
In closing, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and hope that each of you and your families stay safe, healthy and happy in the coming year!
Love, Jeff, Tammy, and Abigail
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