The Boring Christmas Letter - 2008 edition

Posting our semi-annual (meaning sometimes we send a Christmas letter and sometimes we don't) Christmas letter:

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To friends and family,

As I write this, I am sitting on our couch in the living room of our very own house! The trees are lit and loaded with ornaments and garland. Angels, reindeer and snow covered houses line the shelves and the piano. It is good to be back in our own home this Christmas.

A fire in August of last year displaced us from our home, so we spent last Christmas in a small rental property, harried by a million decisions as we tried to pick up all the pieces. The house was finally finished in May, so we moved back in mid-month. There are still a few boxes and some unfinished furniture pieces in the garage, but for the most part, we're settled back into some semblance of normalcy.

On the acting front, things have been a bit slow for Shondra this year. She was featured in a local TV commercial in the Spring and had a wonderful role in Smoke on the Mountain this summer at Texas Repertory Theatre. Currently she's performing in A Child's Christmas in Wales at Unity Theatre in Brenham, an hour west of Houston. So, while the work has been sparse, the roles have been rich.

For my part, I have settled in to my new job at MD Anderson Cancer Center. It's been a big change for me, and a bit difficult at times adjusting to the slower pace of a large organization. Having my nights free has given me time to play online video games with new friends and my two younger brothers.

Our world is uncertain, and this year has stirred up a lot of that uncertainty. Christmas reminds us that there is more to the world than war and presidents and the global economy. Two thousand years ago a young couple just starting out in life were displaced from their home to answer a census. During the course of the events that followed they brought a Child into the world that would change everything. That gives me hope because despite my effervescent personality, I'm just an ordinary guy.

Merry Christmas everybody,


Todd, Shondra and the kitties