Dear family and friends,
Merry Christmas! It’s always wonderful for me to take this time of year to reflect on the past twelve months and figure out what updates to share.
Our girls. Wow, Jesus has been so kind. We couldn’t be more thankful for our healthy, beautiful girls, Eden and Chloe. They are truly delightful. This time last year I was 30 weeks pregnant and feeling very uncomfortable!
Eden Grace is 2.5 years old and so much fun. She has an amazing, ever-expanding vocabulary and imagination. She started going to “school” this year at Timothy Lutheran and she loves it. She tells us all about her friends, the books and songs they sing, chapel days, and the crafts she enjoys so much. She is slowly learning how to share and we’re thankful for the shepherding of her dear teachers :) Eden loves to read (well, look at) books for hours. She loves being outside, having tea parties, and caring for all her “babies” (stuffed animals). She’s so nurturing and has stepped into her big sister role with ease. It amazes us every day to see her precious personality continue to come out--she’s a delightful little girl and we’re so proud of her! 
Chloe Evangeline is 10 months old and has recently decided she doesn’t hate sleep! Praise Jesus! The first 3 months of Chloe’s life, we entered the world of colic and weren’t sure we’d survive it. About the time we realized she had grown out of it, she decided she hated to sleep at night (but thankfully never lost her love for napping)! For months, “we” were averaging about 4hrs of sleep... I know they say “‘tis just a season”, but it felt like a very long season! She is a mama’s girl and separation anxiety is in full swing. She is also pretty much the cutest baby ever. She broke 4 new teeth this past month, which we think probably added to the sleepless nights. She gives the biggest smiles, the biggest giggles, and has the funniest sheepish grin whenever she crawls at lightning speed towards our electrical outlets. She keeps us on our toes for sure! She loves her sister, loves chewing on all things, and loves living on the edge (watch out dog bowls, any and all wires, and everything she can possibly pull on top of herself). She’s following in her sister’s footsteps with a deep love for carbs and cheese :) Jesus knew we needed this girl--we all love her to pieces and love getting to know her more.
Sam continues to serve as the assistant pastor at South City Church and loves it. Even in tiring seasons, the Lord is faithful to provide encouragement and joy. Our hearts are truly committed to this church and this city, and it’s a privilege to help serve as the hands and feet of Jesus in our neighborhood.
I continue to teach first grade at South City Community School with a class of 13 this year! My class has been a bit more challenging this time around, but we’re learning and growing alongside each other and I’ve seen glimmers of relational progress. We’ve implemented a “gratitude circle” at the end of each day--a time and place to compliment one another and share something or someone we are grateful for as we reflect on our school day. This has been good practice for me too. Every time I see the preschoolers out and about at school I can barely handle the thought of Eden being here with me next year!
The past few months Eden has been asking questions about the homeless people we see in our neighborhood and around the city. We’ve talked a bit about some of their stories and she’s starting to understand that lots of them are homeless for lots of different reasons. We take a moment to pray whenever we get a chance, and a few weeks ago we decided to pick up some granola bars to give out at intersections. It’s just a simple way to say “we see you and we care about you.” Anyway, a few days ago, we were heading out to the car and Eden was trying to tell her sister why we needed to bring the granola bars: “our people are hurting and need this, Chloe.” I still get weepy thinking about it. Even as a two year old, she gets it. She understands that we’re not too different. These are our people--people like us who ache and yearn and sin and struggle and need all the grace and mercy we can get. Thankfully, that’s exactly what Christmas is all about: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” and “from his fullness we all have received grace upon grace” (John 1:14-16).
I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t make me uncomfortable when a homeless person walks up to my car. But this Christmas--through the words, curiosity, and nurturing soul of my 2 year old daughter--Jesus is reminding me of the whole point of the gospel: the prince of heaven gave up his riches, entered this world, made himself homeless, to bring us to the palace of God. Hallelujah! What a love. What a Savior!
So this Advent season, I’ve been weepy (surprise!) at the beauty of Jesus, through the eyes of Eden. And I’ve been reminded time and time again that our call on this earth is to model that same kind of love--incarnational, self-giving, indiscriminate love for our people, all of them--till the day that he returns.
This Christmas, may the incredible love of Jesus fill your homes and plant in your hearts a deep desire to love as he first loved us.
Love,
The Haists
