Christmas Letter 2005

Please don't be offended if you didn't receive a Christmas card from us this year. No one did. We tried for too long to get the perfect picture and as a result found ourselves too late to send anything out, but I did write a Christmas letter and figured I'd put it out somewhere, so here goes.

Merry Christmas Friends & Family,
Just wanted to give you a little update on all things Forster for 2005. It’s amazing how much life has changed for us in the past 12 months. A year ago today, we were putting the finishing touches on the Christmas Kettle effort on 52nd Street in New York. Sydney was hardly mobile. Riley was a creative ball of energy. Well, some things haven’t changed, I guess. We’ll celebrate this Christmas in our traditional digs at 186 Massapoag.

Last Spring Riley finished out a fantastic year at the Geneva School, a true gift from God during our time in the city. She made wonderful friends and got to experience the structure of school in a fun, safe, friendly environment. We enjoyed many trips to the Park in the spring, including Riley’s 4th birthday party on the lawn overlooking the Carousel just days before we left Manhattan. Spring saw Sydney learn to crawl and immediately begin to climb wherever possible, but she waited for the summer to really come out of herself.

Camp brought out the social butterfly in our quiet second child. She learned to enjoy seeing friends and discovered her voice in a major way. And like big sister, she learned to walk by chasing the other staff kids around. That was our big excitement in July and she hasn’t slowed down since. Looking to be the next great athlete in the family, Sydney is adventurous and doesn’t back down from any challenge. Riley adores being at camp in the summer with so many friends and would regularly remind us what her favorite part of the week was, Miracle Mile. She also confided to us that the scene she likes most is Jesus’ crucifixion for two reasons: because she isn’t scared and because that’s when we see Jesus dying for our sins.

Fall brought a new school experience for Ri, the Sharon Coop where she spends two and a half days a week. Her teacher, Mrs. Forman, quickly identified Riley’s love for stories and Riley has made several new friends after an uneasy start realizing that her school friends from Geneva had stayed behind in New York. Sydney has discovered communication this fall and can say 1000 things with her eyes alone. She’s starting to become the playmate Riley had hoped for at her birth and she is very affectionate, particularly to Libby. She never lets a silly thing like dog hair stand between her and a hug and kiss.

Jen and I are settling into our positions and have been warmly welcomed back to Massachusetts. The city stays with us, though, and we’ve enjoyed a few visits back. Jen’s schedule allows her to be with the girls as much as we could ask for and we’re grateful for that.

At the end of a year when so many have lost so much, we count ourselves truly grateful for all that we have. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.