Christmas Letter 2016

Dear family and friends, 

We wanted to take the opportunity of this Christmas card season to write about what has been happening with the Haists in St. Louis this year! 

We should start with the star of the family. Eden is 20 months old! She is so much fun. The perfect mix of sweet and sassy, and she’s gaining more and more independence by the minute. She loves to dance, sing, read books, go (pretend) grocery shopping, and do puzzles, but she would much prefer to be outside than inside. She can also tell you the sounds a cow, cat, dog, owl, sheep, and fish make. Her vocabulary has taken off and it’s so much fun to watch (and hear). She loves people and is such a joy to be around. While I’m at work, Eden hangs out with her dad on Mondays (“daddy-daughter-date-day”), her buddy Eli and our dear friend Cara on Tuesdays, and the rest of the week she comes to on-sight childcare at my school. She loves her friends and sweet, sweet teacher in childcare! The Lord truly has given us the sweetest gift in calling me and Sam to be her parents and we’re grateful for the village he’s given us to help raise her. 

Sam continues to serve as the assistant pastor at South City Church (the church we’ve been a part of since moving to St. Louis). He enjoys working alongside our lead pastor Mike Higgins —along with the rest of the staff—and serves the church in a number of capacities. He preaches about once per month and leads the liturgy most other Sundays. He also coordinates several ministries and is currently co-teaching a Sunday School class on prayer. The meetings seem endless to me, but he is energized by them and genuinely enjoys spending time with people. It’s rare for me to hear Sam complain about his job. He is a selfless servant and I’m always in awe at the ways he continues to serve us and the church. He also surprises me with how wise he is :) In his “free time” he enjoys listening to music, collecting records, reading, reading, and reading some more. Oh, and of course drinking coffee. 

As for me, I continue to teach M-F until 1:30pm at South City Community School. I have an energetic, lively class of 12 this year. They’re keeping me on my toes, but I really do enjoy them :) In a season of much transition for our family, I’ve struggled with working and not being home with Eden, but the Lord keeps reminding me over and over again that he has gifted me with the ability to teach and serve his littlest people—and that’s a privilege. I’m also so grateful for my school, which has been a huge gift to our family.

30 weeks with baby girl #2!

Speaking of transition, in just 10 short weeks, we will be welcoming baby girl #2 into our family! This pregnancy has been so different from Eden’s. I’ve been 100% more relaxed, which makes the biggest difference! Every baby movement still gives me flutters, and I’ve generally felt great (minus her nuzzling into my sciatic nerve). That said, pregnancy physically feels much different when you're also keeping up with a toddler—it seems like a general achy feeling never goes away. My emotions have been all over the place! We long to know this little girl (whose name we are keeping surprise—we think you’ll like it), but also live in the tension of grieving that this season as a family of three is coming to an end. We know in our hearts that this little girl will bring immense joy but the head stuff gets the best of me most days and I just want to freeze time with the miraculous baby movements and Eden in this fun age! Baby girl is expected to make her debut on or around February 23rd.

We also started the house hunt this past spring, but after exploring a number of options, we decided that, financially, now is not the wisest time for us to buy. So, we moved to a new

apartment! We’re now two blocks from the church and only a short drive from my school. Same great landlord and we love our new place: we’ve got a little more room and it’s the neighborhood we want to live in. It’s truly a gift to do the vast majority of life, ministry, and work within a two mile radius. Eden and Ethel particularly enjoy the much bigger back yard to play in.

Eden doing Ethel's hair.

Oh Ethel. Our first baby that never gets enough attention. She continues to be the most patient dog we’ve ever seen, and she and Eden have the sweetest bond. Watching them together reminds me that Ethel is indeed an important part of our family and we’re so glad she's our pup.

During this Advent season, I’ve been reflecting a lot on “waiting”—what it means, what it looks like, what it feels like, even what it smells like. Sometimes it’s little things, like waiting for coffee to brew, but other times it’s big things like waiting for the Lord to answer your plea for a child—or even bigger like waiting for Christ’s return. I’ve been thinking about how often we wait, and at least for me, how poorly we wait. In a world of Netflix and Amazon Prime, we’re pretty addicted to instant gratification.

But as I read the Bible, I’m constantly amazed at how long the people of God waited for him to come through. At times content, often anxious, laced with both sadness and hope. But God’s promises are true, and he always does what he says.

So in preparing our hearts for Christmas, we wait. Just as the people of Israel waited for the promised Messiah, we wait for his glorious return. We’re going on 2,000 years, but the promise remains the same: he will come like a thief in the night and we’re called to wait with joyful anticipation. He’s not finished with us here, so we ought to wait with eyes open, hands ready, and hearts content in the truth of his promises.

One of my favorite passages this time of year is when the angels show up to tell the shepherds that the Savior is here. These men are the outcasts of their society, yet they’re the first to know that the Lord has fulfilled his promise. I get weepy just thinking about it. Can you imagine the surprise, the confusion, the joy? Their waiting is over! The King has come.

Luke 2:8-20
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. 

Anyway, these are my jumbled thoughts for the season. Personally, I’m so grateful that the Lord meets us in different seasons of our life and marriage and constantly says, "I see you, I have not forgotten you." This season, he’s reminding me that he sees us as we wait for a new season to begin as a family of four. And, in this, he’s giving me tangible reminders of his promise—and an idea of what it looks like to wait with joyful anticipation (even as we wrestle with our fears and our doubts). He’s a good God, friends. Rest in his promise this Christmas: the King came down as a beautiful baby boy, and will soon come again to restore the overwhelming brokenness in our hearts and in our world. 
 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come. 

With much love,

Katelyn, Sam, Eden, baby girl #2, and Ethel 

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!