Merry Christmas

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope this letter finds you well and experiencing God’s blessings. As many of you know, the year started with us waiting for the birth of our second child. On January 12, our lives forever changed. We said goodbye to our son Micah Allen Perin. Even though we miss him terribly, we know God’s plan is far beyond what we can comprehend. We also know that we will see Micah again.

This year has also brought many joys also. As a family we were able to see Christine’s Grandparents celebrate 60 years of marriage, David’s parents celebrate 25 years of marriage, and David’s sister married Uncle B. Thanks to B's and T’s wedding, we were able to have a wonderful family vacation to San Diego. Where we were able to see most of David’s family and see Christine’s brother Jason and his family. We also went to Sea World, Sand Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park and some of the beaches. Zane loved all of it and David and I had some much needed time away from the real world, not to mention the Arizona heat.

We have been very blessed with David’s job at American Discount Foods. Business has picked up, which means that David is much busier. The store has been featured on two local news stations in the last few months, which has also been good for business. David has also done (or is doing) many home improvement projects. David built a beautiful wall bed for the guestroom/classroom. He is also in the process of putting wood flooring throughout the house. Part of the reason is because in August I pulled up all the carpet.

As for me, I am loving staying home with Zane. He keeps me busy. We take trips to the Zoo, Botanical Gardens, library, riparian areas, Phoenix Children’s Museum, Arizona’s Museum for the Youth and we play outside. I have also restarted the garden, which Zane is also helping with. I am very behind in scrap booking and cross stitching for myself. I have two blogs: zanesmommyanddaddy.blogspot.com and desertgardeningandkids.blogspot.com where I tell of Zane’s antics and express joys, frustrations, triumphs and failures in gardening in the desert and parenting. The blog world has also helped me to connect with other mothers who have experienced the loss of a baby. This has brought me much peace, comfort and some great new friends. It also has shown me that what I am experiencing is okay.

Now all that Zane has been doing. This is where I could write a novel. First, Zane became a big brother. While Micah was alive, Zane would give him kisses via zerberts. The second is that he is a dog owner! Leroy was Zane’s birthday present from us. He is some kind of terrier, cocker spaniel mix who looks like Benji. He is very patient and tolerant of Zane. This year Zane has grown so much, has been talking much more (even though we may not understand him), potty trained himself-completely, and has started a science preschool. The stories that I have about the potty training (and the pictures too!) but he did it when he was ready and there was no fighting or headaches. We (Zane and Mommy) are in a preschool at the Desert Botanical Gardens. We have been learning lots about our desert. Zane has also fed tortoise, dolphins, sting rays and giraffes. He is quite the athlete and is starting to count. Zane loves to read, especially sing-song books like “There Was A Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea” and “Frog in the Kitchen Sink.” He also loves helping Mommy cook (sample) and Daddy work in the garage (play with tools).

As for family news, we enjoy and treasure our time together, are growing in our relationships in our church, and continue to make our house a home. We are praying for God’s guidance in where to go with our family and are waiting to see where He leads us.

Thank you for your prayers during this very tough year. May God bless your family this Christmas Season and through out 2009. If you are ever in the Phoenix area we would love to see you.

Love,
David, Christine and Zane Perin

Seeing as how you are my blog family, I thought that I would share our Christmas Wishes with your family. Here is praying that God blesses you richly in 2009 and that you feel His Peace this Christmas.