Dear Family and Friends,
Welcome to the 2009 Steinman family letter. No you did not receive a Christmas card. Yes, this is the letter that would have accompanied that card. Things are tight so we eliminated cards and Christmas mailings this year altogether. However, the tradition of an annual family letter must continue! And so here I am on
JANUARY
We welcomed in 2009 in the way we usually do…birthday parties galore (four in the first four weekends to be exact). Of course one of those was Skyler’s third birthday party. She is at the point where she can really appreciate the party and the presents and the cake! It’s always fun to see having a good time surrounded by so many people that love her so much. Her third birthday also represented a new expense…Skyler’s first annual pass for
However, we also saw Traci’s brother and his family move from
FEBRUARY
February was as busy as usual with Traci’s birthday and Courtney’s fifth birthday. However, as if that isn’t enough in itself, along with a number of other family birthdays in the last week alone, our Sunday School class, which I was the facilitator for, decided to do an open house to let other young married couples in our church know about our class and come check it out. It went well as we probably had 30-40 people show up, compared to about 10 in class on a normal Sunday. It went pretty well and we had fun.
Two days before Courtney’s birthday, we welcomed a new (extended) family member! Our niece Bella was born on the 18th. It was exciting to find out since this was my sister’s first baby.
Another highlight of this month was that Courtney had two auditions in a three-day period at the end of the month. (Remember, last year she signed with LA Models to be her agency for print, model, TV and film.) With those being in the heart of LA, it’s a decent time commitment for Traci and Courtney to make it to those, especially while I’m at work. She didn’t get either gig, but they are always good practice for the next one!
MARCH
Our church’s annual Serve Weekend was held in March this year. Since this was the first year that I didn’t lead a project, Traci and I worked together on the same project. We were photographers. We got to travel to about a dozen of the 119 service projects throughout the community, taking pictures and documenting the activities of the various project teams. It was a blessing to be able to see so much of what was going on and how so many in our community could be blessed by God’s servants. It was truly an amazing experience. We are looking forward to serving again this Spring!
March also represented a change for me at work as I earned my first promotion at Chevron. I went from being a Global Analyst to a Local Analyst, but that also involves formulating and managing a number of contracts (somewhere around 60 I think), the largest of which averages about $15,000,000 per year. It’s a nice change and has involved a lot of learning but has been enjoyable. I love the people I work with and I have a great boss. In these times, I cannot complain at all about my job. Good pay and benefits and the fact that I have a job at all in these times is great, let alone one of the best I’ve ever had. God has blessed me, and my family, with this job.
APRIL
April had one of the biggest highlights of the year. No it wasn’t my 33rd birthday. No, it wasn’t the Dodger game we attended the following day. No it wasn’t attending an award ceremony for my mom’s union, at which she received a prestigious award (although that was pretty cool). It was Courtney’s first job! We were so excited when we got the call that she was on the short list/on call for a job. Then we were even more excited when we got the call that she was in! The excitement went to whole other level when we found out it was for O Magazine!! (That’s right, Oprah’s magazine!) The shoot took place on the beach in
Traci has continued to be involved in leadership for MOPS at our church and in April we hosted a MOPS fundraiser yard sale since we have a great front yard for it. Since Traci was in charge of fundraising, she organized the event and did a great job of it. However, since we were hosting it, that also meant our home was the drop-off, or Salvation Army/Goodwill/name your charity here, for the event. Therefore, we had stuff piled up for the yard sale everywhere. We had a path to the washing machine and dryer in the garage and a path to the kitchen from the living room. However, thanks to the great planning, the support of the MOPS group from our church, and the tons of donations from everyone, the yard sale made about $1,200! Way to go, Hon! I’m proud of you!
May was the first really rough month we had. However, there were some good events as well. We celebrated Mother’s Day at the park, as has become tradition in recent years. Both sides of our family get together and go potluck-style. The kids love to play, the adults love to talk; it’s great for everyone, especially with four generations involved!
However, the month quickly turned downhill after Mother’s Day. Our dear friend Monica, who was only three months younger than me, lost her 18-month battle with Cancer the day after Mother’s Day, leaving behind her husband, who we’re also good friends with, and their son who turned three the following month. She and her husband had been in our Sunday School class for quite a while so we had gotten to know them pretty well, especially Traci. I had the honor of speaking briefly at her service the next weekend, where it was estimated about 500 people attended, to give you an idea of what a great, Godly woman she was. While we mourned the loss, we can celebrate the fact that she is no longer suffering and is in Heaven. Her departure is only temporary for those of us who also have reservations in Heaven.
The day after the service, we had another highlight: watching Courtney’s church choir do their Spring musical. It is always fun to see Courtney perform and having fun while honoring The Lord. It really makes us proud.
JUNE
Ah, June…a month we have grown very fond of, but I’ll get to the reason in a minute in case you don’t remember why. June represented Courtney’s last day of preschool and her preschool “graduation” ceremony. It was very cute and although it was just for preschool, it really made me realize how quickly Courtney is growing up. How is it that she is ready for kindergarten already?!
The weekend after that was a great weekend at church as we held our ground breaking ceremony. Our church was breaking ground for construction on phase one (of two) of our campus expansion. Phase one represents nearly tripling our parking spaces in preparation for phase two, which will be construction of a new sanctuary. Some of the parking was completed in time for Christmas Eve services last week. It was a more emotional experience than I expected. I think it’s exciting that we have outgrown what we have now and need to expand so that we can bring more people to God on our campus. It was also emotional because at one point they had those that had become Christians at the church come fill a test tube with dirt from the ground breaking, and Courtney was one of those people. It literally brought tears to my eyes and the test tube is still on our kitchen counter just above the sink.
It was also around this time that Skyler began her swim lessons. She was in the Mommy and Me swim class with Traci. There was an obvious difference from last year in terms of her ability and enjoyment. It’s amazing to see how she grows over time and how she develops and her amazing athletic abilities. We’ll need to keep an eye on her!
The following weekend was Father’s Day, when we held our annual BBQ in our front yard. It was fun as always. However it was the following Friday that represented a pretty big milestone, at least in our eyes.
JULY
We started off the month on a great note, traveling to
However, I had no idea that my life would flip upside down beginning the following week. It was that following week that I began my battle with depression. I have never been through anything like it before and hope I never do again. Unfortunately, my battle had negative effects on the family, and so it was a very tough four months or so for everyone.
The end of July represented the first time the girls got to attend VBS at our church! They always seem to hold it the same time that we go to
July also represented the last time I would lead our Sunday School class as I let them know I could no longer lead the class. It was just too much for me on top of everything else going on in life in general as well as the latest issues that were going on (although they didn’t know that yet).
AUGUST
August was busier than normal, but in a good way. We left for the aforementioned
Just a couple of days after returning from
A couple of weeks later we headed to
The day after
Coming off of the high of that day, I was stunned when I was still struggling with depression the rest of the week. As a result, I started on three and a half weeks of disability that week. A disappointing option I was hoping to avoid.
However, the last day of August was a milestone. Skyler started preschool! She is attending the same preschool Courtney did: Whittier Christian, Maybrook Campus. She has enjoyed it so far and her teachers love her. We couldn’t be more pleased. She is always excited to show us what she has done, especially arts and crafts. We were worried she might be more hesitant to start school than Courtney because she is more reserved and shy, but she did great…no crying, no clinging, just a goodbye hug and kiss and she was good to go. She’s such a big girl!
SEPTEMBER
This month had a big milestone for Courtney. On the 2nd, she had her first day of Kindergarten! Man, is it weird to be going back to my elementary school, but this time as a parent! I’m proud of Courtney as she has done extremely well so far in kindergarten. On her first report card (December), she was at or above level in all areas. I almost teared up when she said her favorite subject is math. That’s my girl!
I was cleared to go back to work on the 21st of the month and so I did. It was a welcome change. However, it would not go quite as well as I had hoped. I made it through three days and could not work the fourth. (I work a 4/10 schedule and therefore have all Fridays off.) Turns out I wouldn’t work a full week for a while.
The last weekend of September, Traci was able to get away for the weekend to our church’s women’s retreat. It was a much needed break for her, especially after having to deal with me. It also allowed me to have some good time with the kids, which was also needed.
OCTOBER
With October comes the kickoff of the holiday season with Halloween and Harvest Festivals and the like. We made a trip to a big pumpkin patch with lots of slides, a petting zoo and a train, courtesy of Grandma and Papa (Traci’s parents). As always, the girls had a blast. We also had the joy of attending Harvest Festivals at each of the girls’ schools…on the same day! Fortunately, Courtney’s was in the morning and Skyler’s was at night. We were able to get a much needed break in between and therefore, were able to thoroughly enjoy both.
At the beginning of the month, the girls had their first sleepover at their friends’ house. They had a blast and we were grateful to our friends for being willing to put up with four girls between the ages of 2 and 5 for the night.
On the 25th, our church did something different as part of their building project. It was a commitment service where we held just one service (versus the four we had each weekend at the time and five now) in the
The last week of October brought on yet another personal challenge for me and my battle. On October 26, I began a 6-week stint on disability due to my depression. I could not make it to work more than a day or two at a time, which is not what I or my friends at work needed. So at home I was again. Not where I wanted to be, but where I needed to be. This did allow time to find the right “cocktail” (as the doctor put it) to help me.
Halloween was one of the busiest days of the month. Of course there was trick-or-treating, but before that, there were two birthday parties to attend! What a crazy day that was. Somehow we made it through and the girls managed to have a really good time that day. This year the costumes were…Courtney – Sleeping Beauty; Skyler – Butterfly. They were very cute, but would you expect anything less? (I know I wouldn’t!)
NOVEMBER
Personally, November started off rough and ended frustratingly. Now that I was home from work for the whole month, and generally feeling like crap, I just had to try to make the best of it. However, on the November 4, my Disneyland pass expired for the first time since I bought it after I first bought it in November of 1999 (a couple of months after I stopped working there). It was sad, but there was no way we could afford to renew it. Oh well, life goes on.
Fortunately, thanks to some family, we were given four free tickets to Legoland. None of us had been there before, so it was exciting for all four of us! We went with Traci’s cousin and his family, who have three kids and enjoy hanging out with ours (they are cousins, you know). By the end of the day we were all ready to head home and had a great time. I think it took Skyler about 30 seconds to fall asleep once we started driving.
I am so proud of Traci for what she accomplished in terms of weight loss this year. She participated in a challenge with some friends from church. This brought her total weight loss to 38 pounds. I am excited to see her succeed like this and get closer to reaching her goals. It makes me a proud husband!
Thanksgiving was extra special this year as Susie, Adam and Bella were flown down here for the weekend courtesy of my parents. It was great to see them and to be able to spend a lot of the weekend with them. Holidays are always better when you can spend them with family (especially if it’s family you love)!
The last day of November was very frustrating. It was the day I was supposed to return to work. So I did. A couple of hours after my arrival, I was told I needed to check in at the on-site medical clinic. At the clinic, I was told I had not been cleared to come back to work, and therefore needed to stay home until I was cleared. So home I went…again. This time feeling fine for once, though, while all the paperwork and miscommunication issues got worked out.
DECEMBER
Thank God for December!!!!!!!!!! Despite the carryover frustration from November, the month quickly turned around in a big way. On December 4th, Skyler accepted Christ into her heart! It was so exciting as Traci lead her in the prayer at prayer time before bed. Skyler started the conversation by asking Traci how we get to Heaven. Traci jumped at the opportunity while I was putting Courtney to bed. We could not be happier now that we know all four of us have reservations with our Heavenly Father! If I fail at everything else, I can know that at least in some minute way, I did something right to help our girls want to become Christians.
Despite that being the highlight of the month (easily), Courtney’s school’s Christmas program was earlier that night at the middle school Traci and I attended, in the same gym where Traci and I first danced exactly 20 years ago! (We also have been dating this time around for 15 years as of this month! What a year of milestones for our relationship, huh?) She did great and we enjoyed watching her.
The following day, she did the first of four weekend Christmas performances at church: one Saturday and three on Sunday. Then as if that wasn’t enough for the weekend, Skyler’s preschool Christmas program was later Sunday afternoon. That was an awesome program. And although Skyler was fighting a cold, she still sang her little heart out and knew all the choreography! We didn’t expect her to do so well. We sure could not have been any prouder than we were. What a trooper and what a talent!
Continuing the positive news, I finally returned to work on December 8th! Even better news…I have not missed a day since! I feel like the depression is gone, or at least well under control courtesy of three medications (and a fourth as needed). Praise God that I’m feeling fine, work is going well, the family is back to normal and life is good!!! Despite the many cutbacks that we’ve made this holiday season (no cards, mailings or gifts for anyone except our girls), we’ve been able to celebrate and have a great Christmas season. The Christmas Eve service at our church was amazing.
We were also privileged enough to participate in an amazing church-wide service project earlier this week (Dec. 30). It was our church’s project for this Christmas: meal preparation for the poor and starving in
So with that, I finally come to the end of the novel that is the 2009 year in review. I am very glad to have made it through 2009 and that my family made it through the tough times and enjoyed the good times. I have never been so happy to see a year end. I hope and pray that 2010 will bring our family many blessing and a much happier year than 2009. I also hope and pray that 2010 will bring you and yours many blessings and memories. Happy New Year!
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