Happy New Year's Greeting

Hello Family and Friends,

(This was meant to be a Christmas Greeting...and before it turns into a Happy Valentine, here it is!)

Why is it that at the end of each day Ingrid and I collapse into bed exhausted? Or why at the end of the week do we turn to each other and with exasperation and astonishment recount a litany of “things” packed into the six days allotted for work? But what strikes me is the mysterious turn this process of listing takes at the end of the year when you sit down (because your wife demands an accounting to send to friends and family) and can’t think of a single thing to say. It’s not that I can’t remember the important events of the year, but what mystifies me is how the weekly “can you believe how much we did this week” turns into a yearly “what happened again?” Anyway . . . from memory then, a few highlights from another eventful year in the life of the Hall’s—at least what I can remember as important—for the rest consult Ingrid, or at some point in the future, the Book of Life kept by the angels.

Luke: The newest edition to the family came in the form of a Luke Langley. He was born on March 11, 2010 in Santa Barbara CA. We call him the “Luca Lu” and the fact is, he’s one fat pink slobber-ball of joy.

Grace: Our only daughter can sing and dance until someone tells her that we need to do something else now. Seriously, she can be operatic about having to go potty or expressing how much she loves you. She’s an extraordinarily helpful big sister and frankly scares the nonsense out of poor Luke.

Seth: Sonny Boy started kindergarten this year and is already reading the How to Train Your Dragon series. He is a kamikaze on a snow sled—and just about everything else he does, from bikes to physical shows of affection that nearly knock you down. But maybe best of all is how he has developed a sense of humor this year that has the whole family laughing about toots or some other thing that only he and his charismatic smile can get away with.

Billy: The big news with Billy is that in September he decided to get baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has shown a great deal of care and responsibility in this new adventure and will no doubt continue to build on his already solid spiritual foundation. He also taken off with piano and can’t stop playing “Deck the Halls,” even though the lights of Christmas are fading.

Ingrid is grateful for: a larger living space in which she can hide from the children; a washer and dryer that you don’t have to lug bags of laundry to and put coins in; and her rekindled love of singing, as she joined the Orem Chorale Community Choir.

As for Billy, he finally finished his doctoral work after seven long years in the sunshine and surf of Santa Barbara and took a position as a visiting assistant professor of English at BYU. We are happy and we are moving forward, which is perhaps the most a family can ask for or aspire to.

We hope this note finds you all well! We are grateful for the ways you each touch our lives. And we wish you a wonderful, safe, and bountiful New Year!