2014 Swinger Family Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas! Here is our annual e-Christmas letter.

Ben still works at Ag Partners as a sales agronomist. It seems like he just keeps getting busier and busier. When he first started this job almost three years ago, he told me there would only be a couple of busy months in the spring, now I'm told January is the only semi-calm month:) He is very good at what he does (and I'm a very proud wife).

I (Jenna) continue to work at NorthRidge Church. Most of my work is done in the evenings. I'm thankful for a job that allows me the flexibility to stay at home and raise up our girls.

Clara turned two in October. She is a hoot. She loves to point out the obvious, especially when she is nervous. She loves to sing and dance. She has a hard time leaving her "sissy" alone, she just loves her SO much! Watching this girl learn new things this year has been a joy for her mommy and daddy. I do believe she knows how to do laundry and clean out the dishwasher better than some adults. I'm afraid she might have the organization/cleaning gene from her mama:)

The baby of the family, Ellsy Lucille Swinger, arrived in June of this year. Her first three months of life, she was bounced and held till our arms and legs were numb, but you wouldn't be able to tell that today. She is a happy, wiggly, rosy-cheeked girl. Most people think she looks like her big sister. Seeing how Clara & Ellsy interact has been a treat. If how they love each other now is any indication, they are going to be best buds.

With the arrival of Ellsy, our house seemed to shrink even more, so in November we moved to a bigger house in Morrill. If you are familiar with Morrill, then you might understand why I never ever thought I would be living there. However, it has been about a month, and I'm not sure what I would do without the extra storage, the park across the street, Ellsy having her own room, and more room for Clara to run around on those days when its too cold to go outside. I think its going to be a good house for raising kids and I'm hoping by the time I write this letter next year, we will be settled. I'm learning these things take a while.

What about Buddy, you ask…well he didn't make the move with us. We decided it would be hard for us to have a dog in town and hard for him to be a dog in town. So, he went to Myreon & Lori Menold's farm. I don't think it could have worked out better. We can visit the little guy whenever we want. Clara knows he is with "Red," their pet calf, which has made adjusting to life without her Buddy a little easier.

As is my tradition, the year 2014 will be called the "Year of Cute Chaos." We had two kids under two for a while (need I say more?). When thinking about our 4 1/2 years of marriage, there hasn't been a year without a major life event: Moving to a different house, job changes, or a baby being born... and often more than one of those in a single year. So our goal for 2015: Calm:)

Thinking of you as we celebrate the birth of a Savior,

The Morrill Swingers
Ben, Jenna, Clara, and Ellsy