Dear Friends and Family,

Greeting from the Bedwards, now a household of four! God blessed us with Hudson LapShen Bedward on February 5th. He was born at 11:12pm, 9 lb 8 oz and 22 ½ inches long. It was a quick labor, 4-5 hours from the first contraction to delivery (3 hours quicker than Charlotte). Still, Caroline will tell you it was rather painful! Only had three push and Hudson was out! We are very thankful for a health baby boy and uneventful birthing experience.

The first few months after Hudson’s birth were the hardest for all of us, from lack of sleep to nursing challenges to colds and flu to lack of time with Charlotte. As hard as it was, God has carried us through those times, with help from Caroline’s parents and sister who live close by, and our church family who brought us some non-Chinese meals for Craig’s variety. Friends and family also helped by watching Charlotte.

Now ten months later, Hudson is no longer an infant, he’s a little boy crawling everywhere. Time goes by fast when life is busy with two kids. Everyday we are blessed with joy and laughter as we watch our children grow. Hudson is very generous with smiles; he will share them with anyone. It is easy to make him giggle. Charlotte is especially good at entertaining Hudson and making him laugh. We are surprise at how soon a baby can show a sense of humor.

Charlotte has moved into the preschooler years. She had her 3 year old birthday in June. She has been a wonderful big sister since the first day Hudson came home. She always wants to help to take care of her little brother. She is very affectionate, always wanting to give him hugs and kisses. She has not shown any jealousy and doesn’t mind sharing Mom and Dad with Hudson. She loves to spend time with Mommy doing crafts or helping Daddy fixing things around the house. We used to hear how nice is to have the first child as a girl because they like to help with the younger kids. Now we really know what a blessing it is. We are very glad that Charlotte takes a great interests in her little brother and "trying" to be helpful to Mom and Dad.

(Click to see a bigger picture)

Charlotte is very articulate. It has been amazing to see her grow this year. All of a sudden we can communicate with her about almost anything and reason with her. She also expresses her thoughts very well. It is really fun – and funny – to see how a three year old mind works. She goes to preschool, plays board games (Candyland, Tic-tac-toe, Hi Ho Cherry-O), puts puzzles together, and plays memory card games (even on the computer!). She attends a 3-day-a-week preschool in the afternoon. Anyone who know us knows how nice it is to have an afternoon preschool to fit our sleep schedule! She’s a very girlish girl. She loves being pretty, dressing up, putting on jewelry, painting her nails, singing, and dancing. "Princess" has become an adjective around our house. She wants princess clothes, a princess bed, a princess table, princess everything.

Craig continues to work for himself. Things have been busy this year and a couple projects involved some travel, but he is still able to stay at home most of the time.

In the midst of all the holiday activities, let us take time to reflect that just over two thousand years ago God sent His son Jesus. That small child in the manger came to do something that none of us could ever do -- make us right with God. Merry Christmas and Happy 2006.