We hope this holiday greeting finds you and yours safe, warm, and in a festive mood!  2003 threw us a curve ball or two, but we managed to take it one game at a time, and are now feeling like champs! If you've kept a watchful eye on our web site, The Rectory, you already have a pretty good idea of what you're in store for.  If not, well are you in for a treat!  So grab yourself a hot chocolate, egg nog, or your seasonal beverage of choice and enjoy the annual run-down of the goings-on around this Rectory of ours.

After we returned from our annual holiday road trip to Missouri, Laura enthusiastically began an inspirational NINE weeks of bed rest at WakeMed Hospital.  While Laura was getting cozy up at ClubMed as we called it, the girls and I were having a vacation of our own at home! :)  Luckily though, we had an outpouring of support from family and  friends (that we can never thank enough!) to help us get through our time of need.

The fruits of our labors arrived on the scene on March 6th!  Andrew Charles is the newest little Priest running around The Rectory!  The fun unfortunately had just begun though!  His esophagus did not form properly and did not connect to his stomach.  So the little guy had a surgery at Duke to correct that a day after he was born.  In May we found out he needed another surgery as his esophagus had decided to reattach itself to his airway.  Thankfully the little guy is doing great now, getting bigger, stronger, and chubbier cheeks everyday!

While Mommy was enjoying the culinary delights of ClubMed, the girls were experiencing what I referred to as "Daddy Bootcamp"!  And Daddy was experiencing what Laura referred to as "Mommy Bootcamp"!  I think the girls faired better than I did!

Ashley turned six in August, and Allison turned four in July.  They are both proud big sisters and love their new little brother!  Ashley started kindergarten this year, and Allison goes to preschool 3 half days a week.  They both love school, learning new stuff, and their many friends.  But when they're not fighting with each other, they love to play together the most.  Here's a list of some things they like to do:
- put on dancing and cheerleading shows for us,
- play with their dolls and Barbies,
- read books,
- play board games,
- any kind of art project,
- watch movies,
- wrestle with Daddy, and 
- love on Mommy & Brother.

Andrew is getting to be a big boy now, putting on the pounds like Daddy!  He's getting a mouth full of teeth come in, so he's drooling a lot like Daddy too!  He's sitting up on his own and loves to play with and eat anything he can get his hands on.

Laura must have gotten a lot of rest up at the ClubMed "resort", because since she's been home, she's been re-energized around the house...  Cooking, cleaning, running kids to school, doctor appointments, birthday parties, church functions, etc.  She's even found time to strip the wallpaper and repaint nearly our whole downstairs.  In her spare time, she likes doing the things I previously mentioned. :)  Which means she been keeping pretty busy!

In contrast, once again this year, I've been taking it easy.  I mean just watching her do all that work wears me out!!!  However, with some help from her Dad and our neighbor Larry Tibbitts, I did manage to put a new floor in our kitchen and foyer.

Ok, that's enough of an executive summary!  Below are some additional highlights from our busy and fun-filled year:

 
We spent last Christmas at home, and then afterwards, headed to Missouri to visit Grandma Sue, Grandpa Don & the rest of the Priest clan. 

January and February kind of flew by with all the excitement of ClubMed, Daddy Bootcamp and Mommy Bootcamp.

In February the girls and I went to see the Greatest Show On Earth!  The circus came to town and the girls had a blast!

On March 6th, 2003 AC Priest, heir to the throne, arrived on the scene!!!

Then came AC's first surgery a day after birth.  After his recovery we finally we got to bring the little guy home at last!!!
In April the EasterBunny came hopping our way again this year, leaving behind many eggs that needed finding.
Also in April, all the great people that helped us out so much while Laura was shacked up at ClubMed threw us a big welcome home party !

In May we took our yearly vacation to Panama City.  Once again it was a great two weeks of rest and relaxation.  As much as you can get with a 2 month old! :) It was a nice break before AC's 2nd session under the knife.
Also in May, Ashley had her preschool graduation!!!  When I asked her now that she was a preschool graduate, what did she plan on doing with her life, she said she thought kindergarten would be a good plan.

Then in late May, Andrew had his second surgery to disconnect the attachment that grew back from his esophagus to his trachea.

July brought the annual Independence Day celebrations including fireworks and a festive flag waving bike parade through our subdivision. 

Allison turned 4 in late July.  She had an Under the Sea party with all her mermaid and merfolk friends!  Even King Triton (uh, that would be me..."ARIEL"...) made an appearance!

Also in July we celebrated Andrew's Baptismal Bash!!!  Just about the whole Priest clan rolled into town for the event, and my sister Suzanne and her hubby Larry served as the doting godparents!
In August, my niece Whitney was in town for the Babe Ruth Softball World Series.  The girls loved seeing their cousin as well as their first softball action.

Also in August, Ashley turned 6.  She had a grand Beauty and the Beast party including a tea party with all her friends and story time from Belle herself!  The Beast (uh, that would be me again...) also made a grumpy appearance!!!

In September, I once again teamed up with Capt'n Bundy and all the fine folks at B&B Pecan Processors to play in the Greater Goodness Grows golf tourney.  With another fine showing this year, we managed to get our hands on the second place version of the GGG Booty and hardware!!!

In October, we traveled to Richmond, VA for a fun filled day at Kings Domillion!!!  The girls had a blast and are now full fledged roller coaster fanatics!!!

For Halloween this year, Ashley dressed up as Cinderella, Allison was Tinkerbelle, and Andrew was the bestest pumpkin in the patch!!!

For even more eye-popping footage of our every move this year, feel free to browse around The Rectory's Complete Photo Archives.

We've had the pleasure of catching up with a lot of our friends this past year, and look forward to doing more of that next year as well! 

This year has been chocked full of blessings for us here at The Rectory!  From our new little big man, to all the help, support and prayers it took to get him here and in good health!  It's been a busy year, but a glorious one!  But honestly we are hoping for a bit less drama in 2004! :)

We hope you have a happy and blessed holiday season and prosperous 2004!