Our 2011 Christmas Letter

Following is the letter that we sent out, with our Christmas cards, to friends and family. I thought it would be a good idea to post it here for the sake of journaling; so that we can remember and so that our little girl someday will be able to look back at our journey to her.

As an update....our dossier (last we knew) was in Washington, DC. Hopefully, if it hasn't already, it will be Ethiopia-bound in the next day or so.

Greetings Friends and Family,

It’s been a while since I’ve been one of those people…you know, the ones who send a cheesy Christmas letter.

Graduations & travel were high on the list in 2011. Collectively, we earned two diplomas and covered a lot of territory in 2011.

Braeden is currently an 8^th grader at Sunset Middle; he continues to play his guitar & play it well. He’s adjusting to being the only child at home (it does have its perks, you know). He spent a week at Student Life Camp at Orange Beach & a week this fall on a Disney cruise with family friends.

Jordan graduated from High School in May &, before long, we found ourselves packing him up & moving him to Jackson, TN where he attends Union University. He is majoring in Biblical Studies/Theology (with a minor in Philosophy) & has transitioned well to college life. He also attended Student Life Camp at Orange Beach. In May, he was part of a 20-member team from our church who partnered with Casas Por Cristo in Juarez, Mexico to build a house for a needy family. Before school started in August, he and Jeff took a little father/son graduation trip to Washington, DC as well.

Kelley (that’s me) continues to enjoy her dream job of staying at home where I’m available to drive the taxi, participate in weekly Bible studies, spend time with friends and family, take advantage of volunteer opportunities, shop a little and, lately, work on an enormous amount of paperwork (details later). In July, I traveled with Ordinary Hero to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was 10 days that forever changed my heart.

Jeff continues to work for O’Charleys, Inc. where he has been for 10 years. He graduated from Vanderbilt University’s MBA program in July and we are so glad to have him back in our fold after 2 years of hard, hard, hard work and dedication. Jeff traveled with his MBA team in April to Hungary and Turkey and then, with Jordan, to DC. We’ve all also enjoyed a couple of weekend trips to Jackson for UU events.

2012 will bring changes to our family as well as we have begun the process to adopt internationally (thus the paperwork discussed above). In case you’re thinking we’re crazy, we are. And if you’re thinking we’re too old for this, we are. But, with God all things are possible. And it was He who laid this on our hearts. We have seen the need; we have been made aware of the crisis that is the orphan and we have chosen to step out in faith and obedience to be His hands and feet. He has blessed us too much not to.

Next year, our picture will be different; our letter (if we have the energy to write it) will include tales of how we’ve been changed by the love of a little girl who will make her way from Ethiopia right into our hearts in Tennessee. We thank you, in advance, for your prayers for this journey to her. We invite you to follow along on our blog (www.movedtomove.blogspot.com).

Much love from the Williams Family……….Jeff, Kelley, Jordan and Braeden