2008 Bragg Family Christmas photo and letter

Merry Christmas, 2008!

It is always a joy, as I start cranking out our letter, to think about all of you family and friends that will be receiving it! I hope you are well and smiling right now. :)


My working title for this year was going to be “The Year of the Animal” due to an influx of furry animal friends into our home. Our repertoire, at its height of insanity this year, included 6 guinea pigs, 3 kitties, 1 dog, 1 fish (thrown in to make us seem “normal”), oh, and don’t forget the four children. We have since whittled it down to a much more manageable 3 guinea pigs, 2 kitties, and 1 dog. And we kept the kids. I have a friend who suggested a billy goat for the backyard…hey, it would cut down on mowing! We are taking it into consideration…


Another working title I considered was “The Year of the Emerging Hormones”. We have a “tween-ager”…that confusing time between 8-12 years when parents begin to realize how easy they had it when all they had to do was wipe, kiss, and contain them as baby/toddler/pre-schoolers. I am currently trying to develop a way to bottle up my three-year old before I have no more precious morsels around here and am completely overtaken by this strange new phenomenon called tweenagers.


Of course, an obvious working title choice could have been “The Year of Blessing”. Let’s face it. We are all blessed beyond measure here in this country no matter if you are finding yourself a bit down on your luck right now or not. Our blessings this year have included a beautiful home, many loving friends and family, good health for all six of us, a wonderful church, a great school and teachers, a steady job, healing of areas that needed to be healed, the ability and resources to give of ourselves to serve others, many laughs, many joys, many privileges, many opportunities, many blessings. Thank you, God.


And, back by popular demand, I knew I had to work in another installment of “Let’s Get Ugly…” and so considered a working title of “The Year of the Uglies”. Topics under this title would have included a home interior that CJ has referred to as a landfill or frat house; cereal, eggs, or nothing made for dinner this year much more often than I’d care to admit;, a blossoming realization that we have not done a very good job instilling the concept of personal responsibility in our children thus far in our parenting tenure; a startling revelation that we, in fact, do not, have a thriving money tree growing in our backyard; a pondering of whether it is appropriate to refer to our dog as Lucifer, Stupid Dog, and Idiot in front of our children when we begin to hear the three year old call her the same; beginning to feel the need to hide from others the fact that our three year old still sleeps with us a lot; rethinking the SUV monster I drive when it took $110 to fill it up for several weeks this fall;, feeling concerned that I was not more embarrassed when Sarah, who wore the same uniform for a week straight because she has “clothing issues,” was told by her teacher that it was filthy dirty and needed to be washed before she could wear it again; wondering whether the neighbors can hear our yelling - I mean “loud voices” - from inside the house (incidentally, I asked them once, and it turns out they had wondered the same thing-whether we heard their “loud voices”…doesn’t that just make you feel so normal? Me too. :)) So with many tears, many hurts, many fights, many losses, many fears, many wrongs, many wounds, many uglies…we still thank you for it all, God, because You are in control, You love us, and You are trustworthy..


Ultimately, I decided what summed the year up best was the title, “A Year of Grace”. Grace means receiving something you didn’t earn and don’t deserve. And that is pretty much everything we have, if we look deep into ourselves. Grace always comes from the Lord, but He often gives it to us through things like loving friends, supportive families, inner strength, inner peace, good health, financial provision, knowledgeable doctors, humbleness, giving someone your forgiveness, being forgiven, the sound of a child singing, the warm embrace of a spouse, a beautiful fall colored tree, a good piece of dark chocolate on a bad day, hope…ultimately, it comes in one perfect package named Jesus. Remember this grace on Jesus birthday this year.
2 Corinthians 12:9…But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.


Are you still with me? We have turned the page by now, after all, and I realize many of you have one page rules for Christmas letters. But surely you are going to allow me a few more lines to Bragg about my girls, aren’t you? :)


Evie Jill…our 4th grader is heading towards double digits this February! She is a swimming machine, excelling in year round swimming, and also continues to be a voracious reader and writer. She loves being with her friends, is developing her personal fashion style, loves all her animals, and enjoys having a male teacher for the first time and learning about her favorite subjects – history and science.


Madeline Mary…our 2nd grader is a perfectionist and we remind her often to allow herself some grace. Mady has beautiful, precise handwriting, and is beginning to enjoy reading on her own more as she becomes a stronger reader. She is an excellent student, a fun friend, enjoys tennis lessons, is enormously creative, imaginative and artistic, and is a gentle, loving soul to have around this very noisy, chaotic house.


Sarah Rose…our kindergartener is an exuberant, expressive girl who delights in life and will not be tamed through any means (that are legal :)). She plays creatively, believes she is capable of anything, tries to wrestle control from us over…well, everything. The Rose makes us howl with laughter everyday with her very mature and insightful sense of humor, and lets us know that it may eventually turn out alright when we witness her tender and compassionate heart for God at such a young age.


Grace Josephine…our 3 year old, The Goo. I love her. She is just a delightful, sweet, sassy, imaginative, singy, huggy, kissy little goo. She loves clothes, makeup, animals, make believe, rocking out to Hannah Montana and High School Musical, and insisting that she is a big girl. Her and I are “getting acquainted” this year, as this is the first time I have been alone with just one child while the others are at school in, like, 9 years. She asks frequently if we can go on an “adbenture togeder”. She rocks.


CJ and I are managing this busy household by staying firmly planted in our “provider” and “nurturer” roles. We are thankful for gainful employment, a nice house, terrific kids, full cupboards, cars full of gas, a great school, and a village of friends down here that help keep our life running as smoothly as possible.


**BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…To learn more about this strange, but oddly relatable family (right?! :)) you can view my new blog where I chronicle all sorts of fun in our lives at www.myfourgems.blogspot.com BEEEEP, this has been a public service announcement**


Be blessed today, dear friends and family. I will be smiling as I receive your cards, letters and photos this year…thanks in advance for including us on your list! Enjoy Christ in Christmas and remember what the angel told the shepherds that greatest of Birth Days: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good new of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10, 11.


Much Love From
The Braggs
xoxoxoxoxo