The Christmas Letter (that never got sent out)

December 28, 2011

Merry Christmas Friends and Family!

We hope this letter finds you all well. With social media interfacing with us daily, there probably isn’t much that you don’t know about our family that hasn’t been announced on Facbook. But we still wanted to include a warm letter with our Christmas card to let you know that we are thinking about you.

It’s hard to imagine that another year has come and gone. This one has been full of fun events for our family. Eva, our youngest celebrated her 1st birthday. Jenette also celebrated a milestone birthday in October, turning 40. We took our very first family trip to Disney World this year and survived (thanks to the help of grandparents). And our two oldest began their first year of public school.

Guido is in his last year at Luther Rice and will graduate with a Masters of Divinity in June of 2012. He began a hospital chaplaincy internship at a local hospital this past summer that blossomed into a yearlong residency program. He is thoroughly enjoying himself.

While we joked with friends and family about having 4 kids before 40, our added surprise this year was surpassing that goal with the coming birth of our fifth child in March of 2012. Yes, folks one more Gonzalez! Jenette has been blessed with a healthy pregnancy. We found out that we are having another boy, and his name will be Elian Guido Gonzalez.

We are still living in Chelsea, AL and are enjoying life in our small town. Why, just recently we passed by a "Nativity Scene" set up in front of a gas station while driving home one night that showed great skill and artistic talent. But one small feature bothered us. The three wise men were wearing firemen's helmets. Totally unable to come up with a reason or explanation we decided to stop at the gas station. We asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets. “It comes from the Bible”, she says. And from behind the counter she pulled out her Bible and ruffled through some pages. "See”, she says “It says right here, ‘The three wise man came from afar.'”

Okay that really didn’t happen, but it was pretty funny! Here’s hoping that your Christmas is a blaze with the message of God’s eternal salvation for us, the gift of His son, Jesus!

Blessings to y’all!
The Gonzalez Family