Impersonal and cheap… Christmas 2011
Jamaica, Brad, Mark, Jamie (baby), Craig, Kara, Sarah, Luke, Joy, Nancy, Paul, & Ava
Dear family, friends, and others who are considering reading this impersonal, digital Christmas letter in a format that is a cheap departure from the more predictable printed and mailed version,
This letter isn’t meant to be some remarkable, warm and fuzzy, sleigh ride through the past year. It’s my woefully challenged attempt to brag about some of most beautiful people on the planet.
For those of you experiencing “issues” with this temporary change to this digital format (like my daughter Joy) you may want to stop here and seek counseling… it’s just a letter.
Where to start? How about here… it’s 4 AM on Friday December 9th. That kinda says it all. I’ll attempt to be aphoristic…
Ann
This year has been the best of our 36 years together sans Cancun.
Ann ditched most of us in New York on Christmas day last year and flew to Seattle to celebrate the birth of, no not Jesus, but arguably, her new favorite human. Two days later, on Dec. 27th, our first grandbaby, Ava Grace Abare, was born at home. If you know Ann, you know she was super excited to be right in the middle of it all as the doula.
Between the last and the next paragraph we’ve spent 100+ nights in our new south-of-town home. Keep reading.
She flew back to Seattle in November for ten days to be with Ava and Mark and Jamie and Luke and Sarah and Julie and John and Terry and Ellen and Nicole and Lauren and Kelli (all family)… but mostly Ava!
It would be an inadequate understatement to say Ann prayed, served, nursed, loved, helped, and chauffeured me in breathtaking ways for a long period of time this summer. Read on.
Short of saying something like, “If I believed in reincarnation I would absolutely want to come back as Ann’s husband”, how many ways can I say she is beyond my greatest dreams for a wife, mother, and friend to many. I cherish her more than ever. For the record, I do not believe in reincarnation.
Ava
Ava began her mission to drain our bank accounts early on in life. At the young age of nine days, Joy, Paul, and I flew to Seattle to meet our new little love.
Ava didn’t want to be an only child for very long, so voilà, her little brother is in the making, and will be here sometime in February!
For enhanced character development on the Abare tribe read this.
Brad & Jamaica
Jamaica is in her final year of law school. How awesome is that?
She completed her summer internship for Bet Tzedek and now she is currently doing a one-year program for a Juvenile Justice Clinic.
Brad continues to lead a stable existence (no reference to animals intended) as the national communications director for Foursquare, advisor for Barna Group and Adventures, and founder of the Center for Church Communication.
He is quite witty, masterfully organized, and has the spiritual gift of working all the time. He’s also a big brother to more than his five younger siblings. Jamaica is a big sister also.
Craig & Kara
Craig and Kara celebrated their one-year anniversary.
Kara manages one of the top Starbucks in the country. Yes, she’s a superstar.
She was invited to Seattle… designated as a change-leader… in a company that employs a mere 160,000 peeps.
Oh, she’s also on Starbucks CEO, Howard Shultz’ short-list. He’s just “Howie” on her speed dial (do people still have that option).
Craig finished school at FIT in NYC (with a degree).
He was promoted at Crate & Barrel. He’s training to be a manager and on the way to a coveted (isn’t that sinful) and highly anticipated position on their design team. Surprised? I’m not!.
Joy
Joy moved to her dream city in March. Picture this in your mind… Ann, Joy, and me bouncing up and down in the cab of a two-seater, extremely loud, Budget rental truck for 650+ miles…all in one day. Guess who had the most fun?
Joy is now killing it in NYC as a nanny for the ever-adorable Theo; getting to spend a handful of weekends in the Hamptons over the summer and loving her place in another family.
She began leading worship again and is growing a huge heart for her neighborhood of Washington Heights.
Joy is a writer and a quick-on-her-feet, wildly hilarious, comedian. If ever I’m not available to entertain you, call Joy.
Once again, she recently wrote a cool post about the fam here.
Joy’s best friend, Lydia (aka Lyds’) married Caleb. I had the privilege to… a) officiate the wedding, or b) preside over the ceremony. Both sound stuffy, but it’s always an honor to marry people who are willing to do life together… forever!
At the risk of being confronted for using more words on Joy than anyone else, Joy is radiant, compassionate, and is not on e-Harmony. But she would like to meet Mr. Right (think James Franco or John Legend).
Luke & Sarah
Sarah completed her Youth With A Mission Discipleship Training School in Montana and India just in time for Luke to propose to her on a perfect day in Washington.
We now have a certified commercial pilot in the family! Luke graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics.
We had our third wedding in eighteen months; Luke, married Sarah in an out-of-doors wedding on a picturesque spring-like fall day.
Luke is currently working at Boeing in Seattle and aspires missionary aviation.
Sarah works too, but I can’t remember the name of the place and remember, it’s 4 am and I cannot ask anyone.
Mark & Jamie
Mark and Jamie celebrated their one-year anniversary.
Jamie is remarkably better with this pregnancy. Oh, boy (pun intended), our second grandbaby! This might be the best part about getting older.
Mark is a uniformed police officer (aka cop) for City of Bellevue or as he refers to it, Billy’s hometown (as in Microsoft’s Bill Gates).
They will be hosting the fam for 12-days of Christmas this year in their suburban, fantasy-land housing development. I’m pretty sure we’ll see a Clark Griswold display somewhere close by.
Paul
Our youngest, Paul, graduated from high school.
When he’s not working at Starbucks or reffing ice-hockey, he’s spending time with his girlfriend, Nancy. You could invert that sentence and it would not change the meaning.
He begins classes in January at CPCC (I don’t want to embarrass him and say community college).
Paul is pursuing… well Nancy, but also a career in law enforcement.
Me
In January I began working with a spirited missions organization, led by one of the most uncontrollably innovative leaders on the planet. It’s a kingdom-size opportunity, co-laboring with hundreds of radicals who courageously seek discipleship and relentlessly mobilize people inter-generationally to change the world.
Looking for more ways to enjoy air travel, I had a total knee replacement this summer as a result of a tennis injury 16 years ago. It ensures a little extra quality time with TSA.
In July, I officiated (there’s that word again) Emily & Joe’s wedding. We’ve known and deeply loved Emily and her family for 28 years. Good times!!
Ann and I became vegans. That just sounds sacrilegious. We don’t eat anything with a mother or a face. That just sounds weird.
Read about it here and here. One word… Epoch. A highlight of my year.
In a strange and highly anticipated act of sacrifice, we attended the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Despite our newly adopted vegan eatstyle, I still cooked a traditional Thanksgiving feast for everyone else.
That’s a wrap.
If you’ve read this far, I hope you can wrap your mind around the magnificent arrival of the bigger-than-life, little Life we celebrate this Christmas, and that the time you spend with your family and friends will be filled with meaning and memories that will last for generations to come!
Merry Christmas,
Tim and Ann and family
PS – Would you please send this link to people who you think know us, but wouldn’t be so inclined to look here for our annual letter?
PSS – It’s no longer 4 am. I am now at the airport waiting to board a plane for Atlanta.
there is nothing embarrassing about community college!
it was wonderful to connect w/ brad this week. looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.
“uncontrollably innovative” fits the bill quite well.
quite the tribe you have! you are blessed.
Thanks for investing so much into Adventures Sara. See you at the party!
Since it’s no longer 4am and I’ve just read this letter, I can fill in the missing detail that I worked as an admin at Hines (an international commercial real estate and property management company).
P.S. I’m with Joy about the dig. format, but I’ll stop this sentence before I have to seek counseling.
P.P.S. I’m really happy to be a part of this awesome family and for my first Christmas with you all.
Thanks for the update Sarah! We’re thrilled you’re part of the tribe. See you soon.
Tim, I just hung my iPad on the fridge with this blog post open, just like I would have done had you mailed the letter.
You made my day!!!!
Hey Tim!
Great to hear from you! I love to hear about your incredible family! Love to you all and may this Christmas bring the most life you have ever experienced!
Marty
Marty, it’s so great to hear from you. We’d love to come visit you sometime. Our love to you and your family. It’s a joy to have friends like you.
It’s as if everything you do is a lesson. Thanks and Merry Christmas!
Weston, I appreciate doing life together with you. Merry Christmas to you and Jess.
makes me want to have a family like yours! also, if the picture is accurate, your kids all have the same face. Merry Christmas!
I pray you and Joe have a dozen kids. Ann can tell you how she’s caused our family to be so cool. Thanks for graciously welcoming us into Adventures family. Merry Christmas!
Hey bro, at least you are sending something for Christmas! LOL I haven’t even had the time to write or even think about Christmas yet. Enjoyed seeing you for the wedding. Wishing you and your “tribe” a very blessed, safe Christmas. Love you all
Thanks Lianne. Hope you have an incredibly Merry Christmas.
I always enjoy these letters and it’s no different in the electronic version. I would love to post it on the refrigerator. Alas, we will just have to open it every day and be inspired by your words and fall in love with family all over again. This fabulous electronic version allowed us to link to other fabulous electronic things, thus multiplying your letters’ words. We enjoyed Joy’s blog about her family and even took a look at some other posts of hers. Never would have happened with a simple old paper version of a Christmas letter. Keep the letters coming. We love you all and are so happy to be in the same gene pool. Love, the Rouyers (Eve, Frido, and Amelia are reading over my shoulder as I write)
Thanks Jen. You’ve got a great family. Tell everyone hello for us. We’ll miss you this Christmas… unless you’re headed to Seattle.
I wish. I’ll give everyone hugs and we’ll just have a slide show of family photos going so we can feel like you all are here.
Thanks, Tim, for all the love you have expressed to family and friends through this letter and your life!
I agree with Jen about the digital POWER of this letter. How often would we get to read other people’s comments about someone’s creative writing skills and ability to summarize a whole year in the life of a very large family…
Love to all,
Ellen and fam
Timmy
It’s time you write a book – one that gets published!!
Great hearing the updates.. love the family… i always get teary eyed – sentimental when i read your letters.
love
me your favorite sis
Always a joy reading of the Abare’s adventures… I was waiting anxiously for it to arrive in the mailbox; good thing I talked to Joy, who led me to your blog. Praying your Seattle Christmas is wonderful! Miss you ALL so much. I have to say one of the highlights of my year was getting to spend time with you guys for Emily’s wedding.
You are so kind Hannah. Merry Christmas to you and your tribe. Love you guys tons!!!
Wow, I just finally opened this and it’s MUCH fancier than the one page attachment I just sent on an e-mail!
You’ve come a long way baby and you are correct to give my awesome sister some of the credit. She IS amazing. I also agree with my other awesome sisters that this is kind of neat receiving and giving digital hugs.
I’m dizzy trying to figure out who was where, when so let me just say what a wonderful, wonderful family you have Tim, no matter where they are (including you of course)
Thanks for sharing!
Peace
Sue, thanks for the encouragement.
Great writing style and a great family! You should be proud (and without sinning)!
Happy New Year,
Ron Pileggi
Ron, great to hear from you. I’d love to catch up with you over dinner and a cigar sometime.