Our Family's 2003 Christmas Letter

Happy Holidays Family and Friends!

We here at the Edmiston-Dunlevy home have had a pretty busy year. At the end of last year (December 27th to be exact), Anthony moved out from home. On January 7th 2003, I received a phone call from him informing me that he had gotten married the day before, which was January 6th. I was still in shock and dealing with the fact that my first born was out on his own and married, and a couple of weeks later, he and his wife Staci came over and informed us that they were going to be having a baby in late September. WOW! Anthony turned 20 on the 12th of January.



That was how our year began! Ryan turned 11 on the 24th of February and is still very involved in baseball. This year was his first year in majors. His team is called the Cardinals. Desiree had her gymnastics and tumbling recital in March. She is now also in TNT (Talented N Terrific) and just loves it. She also started horsebakc riding lessons in September and is HOOKED! She is just like her Auntie Angie when it comes to being a natural with horses!



Anthony & Staci had a reception and a renewing of their vows on the 12th of April at Singing Hills Resort. We took a family vacation to Disneyland at the end of April and were able to have one day at Disneyland and the next day at California Adventure. It was different not having Anthony with us, but we still had a wonderful time.



Jim and I went to Laughlin with his parents in May to celebrate his birthday. Shortly thereafter, int he end of May, I found out that I was pregnant. Since I had an IUD, we were all VERY SHOCKED. The IUD was removed and everything was good up until really close to the 12th week, when I had a miscarriage. The Lord does work in mysterious ways, but we still trust Him with all of our hearts.



Because of the miscarriage in the end of June, we had a pretty restful summer. Desiree turned ten on the 20th of August, and school resumed shortly after in the beginning of September. We refinanced our home; and, hopefully, next year will bring our family room addition along with some other fixing up we need to do around our home.



Our precious granddaughter, Makayla Rose Phillips, was born into this world to Anthony and Staci on the 26th of September at 9:01 p.m., weighing 8 pounds and 7 ounces, 20 inches long. Here is a picture of her:



October brought with it the devastating fires. Jim and I were again in Laughlin with his parents and had to cut our vacation short to get home. That's another story! We are very thankful to have our home still standing.



We had a special visit from Mom Edmiston (thanks Aunt Bertie for bringing her) in November. This will be our 4th Christmas without Doug, and we still love and miss him very much. Jim has been a huge blessing in our lives. He is an excellent husband and father, and we are very thankful for him and his family.



Our family would like to send you our love and best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to come. Please e-mail us if you have the time!

God Bless You All!

Jim, Roseann, Ryan, and Desiree