Sessions Family 2008 Christmas Letter

Friends and Family,

Happy Holidays for this 2008 season of festivity. Another year has come and gone for the Sessions family and we can’t believe how fast it has passed. It is almost 2009. This year has been quite eventful and filled with numerous blessings for our family. Here are just a few…

January 08: We rang in the New Year at the Phoenix airport as we were returning from our Christmas trip to Atlanta, GA visiting Emily’s family. We had a great time with all of the Rupps and Taylors. Jason also celebrated his big 30th birthday and finally got his Dodge Viper (a toy one).
February: Emily went to Utah to visit her Grandpa Rupp who was suffering from Pancreatic Cancer. Jason didn’t come along as “he was busy with work” but two days later, on Valentines Day, he surprised Emily by showing up at her Grandparents doorstep. Two weeks after returning home from Utah, Emily had some complications with her pregnancy and got to make a two day trip to the hospital, including a ride in an ambulance, and then got put on bed rest.
March: March was the most eventful month of our year and the most blessed. On March, Emily’s grandpa Rupp passed away from pancreatic cancer. We were unable to attend the funeral due to Emily’s bed rest but we were present in spirit. On March 25th, Emily’s water broke and 6 days later our sweet little boy, Brayden Keith Sessions, was born on March 30th, 9 weeks early. He was born at 4:59am, weighed 4lbs. 2oz. and was 17 inches long. We gave Brayden the middle name of Keith after Great Grandpa Rupp.
April: The last week of April, the newly promoted Grandpa and Grandma Rupp and Aunt Lizzie came to Hawaii to visit us and to meet little Brayden. Unfortunately, Brayden was still in the hospital but they were able to come with us on our twice daily visits to the hospital to visit Brayden and hold him. Emily had to moderate the holding time between Grandma and Lizzie. We had a great time seeing some of the sights in Hawaii with them as well, including parasailing and snorkeling.
May: After 5 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Brayden was able to come home on May 4th. We were so happy to have him home finally. Taking him home from the hospital was exciting but it was even more exciting to have all of our family together in one place, at home.
June: On June 5th, our family moved from Oahu, Hawaii to Northern California. Jason decided to close down his construction company in Hawaii and took a job in California. We stayed with Jason’s brother Cameron and their family for a month while our belongings were being shipped from Hawaii. Emily and Brayden also made a trip to Utah to visit friends and family.
July: On July 14th we moved into our new apartment in Richmond outside of San Francisco. We spent the month unpacking and getting situated.
August: Emily celebrated her 23rd birthday on August 8th. We also made a trip to Atlanta, GA to go boating for a week. Despite the bad weather from all the Hurricanes we still had great time tubing, wakeboarding, and waterskiing. While there, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary. Grandma Rupp watched Brayden so we could go on a date and celebrate.
September: At the end of September, we finally gave Brayden a name and a blessing. We were able to have both sets of Grandparents in town for the occasion. Jason gave Brayden a beautiful blessing and afterwards, we had a good time visiting with both extended families. Emily also got called as the Den Mother for our ward cub scouts and Jason got called to teach the 12 and 13 year old Sunday school class.
October: More exciting news…we found out that we are expecting baby #2 in June! Emily gets a second calling in the ward as a Relief Society teacher.
November: We were able to go to Utah for Thanksgiving where Emily’s mother’s side of the family was having a family reunion at Aspen Grove. We were so glad that we went as we had a blast!
December: We got our Christmas tree and decorations set up and managed to finally write this letter. We are awaiting the festivities at the end of the month when Emily’s parents and Lizzie come to visit and help celebrate.

Our family has been incredibly blessed this year and we are so grateful to Heavenly Father for all that we have. We are grateful for the addition of Brayden to our family as he brings us such joy and happiness and we are looking forward to the second addition to our family next year.

We hope that this letter find everyone healthy and happy this Holiday Season. May the Lord bless you and your family this upcoming year and fill your homes with love and happiness.
The Sessions Family,
Jason, Emily, and Brayden + 1/2