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2000
Christmas Letter
December
17, 2000
Oyez, Oyez: The 2000 Soupiset Family Christmas Letter.
Let all who gather near prepare their eyes and ears for a recount —
errr… recollection of our most recent dozen months of familial
fortitude. Put on your safety belts. You must be this tall to ride.
Let’s go back one year. ¿Why Tu Que? Exactly. Being a
self-described Millennial Purist, our Narrator will not be able to tell
you “where they spent the Millennium” until next year’s
holiday letter. He can, however, tell you where they were when the calendar’s
odometer rolled over to a fresh set of zeroes on 01.01.00: Paul, Amy,
Jordan and Abigail spent the Y2K holiday having fun at Lake LBJ with
old pals and new acquaintances courtesy of our friends, the Galbreaths.
No thermonuclear fallout. No bugs. Having survived the End Of The World
As We Know It, this is how the happy foursome spent the rest of 2000…
January came after all and reminded everyone how big little Abigail
had grown—we celebrated her second birthday with a flower-themed
party. It’s wonderful to see how much Jordan loves his little sister.
Paul had about 20 graphic design pieces included in a three-man show
of alumni work at Baylor University.
February was a wonderful-yet-tiring month. First, Paul and Amy traveled
to Seattle, caught up with good friends Scott and Susan James, and discovered
the beauty of Bainbridge Island. Amy’s stay in the Pacific Northwest
was cut short when word came that her new niece, Eleanor King Thomas
(Ellie), was born to Uncle Syler and Aunt Heidi. Amy re-routed her trip
to Chicago in order to see the babe (wrapped in swaddling clothes?)
as Paul got an extended Seattle tour…Later in the month Amy was
able to spend four relaxing
kid-free days (woo~hoo!) in Anaheim, California at a leadership conference
for Pampered Chef. February also proved a growing month when Paul’s
family witnessed the homegoing of Paul’s aunt and Amy suffered
a miscarriage — relatives and friends offered much-
needed love and support, provided meals and hours of conversation. (Thanks
again.)
March brought a quieter month, and with it a great deal of support and
room for reflection from Paul & Amy’s loving home group, which
still meets weekly. Paul was honored to have a digital collage published
on the cover of the literary journal Mars Hill Review. The family then
loaded up for a springtime retreat at Alto Frio along with their whole
Homebuilders sunday school class.
April was just heading out of the starting chutes when mama Amy up-and-turned
30 years old; family and friends gathered and celebrated this special
milestone.
May found Paul and Amy relaxing with their home group again at the Hackberry
Ranch, a wonderful Texas Hill Country hideaway courtesy of close friends
the Vaughts; On the 15th, Paul and Amy found out they were expecting
again! (God willing they will have their second little girl mid-January,
2001.)
June arrived and signaled the opening of the pool, also known as Amy
Soupiset’s Summer Address. The kids became quasiamphibious this
summer as Jordan began swim lessons with a good deal of trepidation
and bargaining. Abigail, on the other hand, amazed passers-by at her
fearless forays of death-defying derring-do, jumping headlong into the
water without the aid of floatation devices (and without the knowledge
of how to swim once underwater!). Jordan turned four and got his first
guitar (actually a tenor ukulele, but who’s keeping track?)…
July was hot in Texas. There’s no gettin’ around that statement.
Amy cleverly solved this problem by being out of state the whole month
(note the Narrator’s effective use of hyperbole). She started off
redeeming a birthday-trip offer from her mom which took the shape of
a ladies-only trip to Seattle, and then she followed it with a trip
to Chicago to attend her National Pampered Chef conference. Amy’s
business prospered this year and God has provided a great group of motivated
women for Amy to train in her cluster, while Paul’s design firm
has nearly doubled in size!
August (The Sewage Wars). 127 Chevy Chase was transformed into a scene
from All Quiet on the Western Front, as Paul and his close friend Scott
Rowland trenched up the back yard to replace a problematic clay sewer
lateral during the hottest days of 2000. Paul and Jordan both had their
first taste of operating heavy machinery. Excavating is now on Paul’s
résumé, sandwiched between Light Electrical Work and Diaper
Changing. The plumbing issues are largely resolved now, thanks to the
kind help of Scott and other enlistees (thanks Todd and Britt)! The
work in the back yard took a long, sweaty weekend—with trooper
Scott working well past dark the night before Paul and Amy were to leave
on their summer vacation to Montreal. Staying up until past midnight
packing and then catching a 4 am shuttle bus to the airport should not
be on anyone’s list of recommended activities. Canada, on the other
hand was lovely. The trip was free thanks to the Pampered Chef, and
if that weren’t enough, Nana, Tom-Tom, Grammy, Dan-Dan, Uncle Mark
and Aunt Robin all took turns spending quality time with Jordan and
Abigail, so Mom & Dad could enjoy the trip as a couple.
You’ve probably heard that Paul & Amy are blessed to live on
a street full of fun young couples, all in a similar “season of
life”— since August the families have enjoyed birthday parties,
showers, shared successes and tough times, dinners, desserts and several
births…
September provided an hysterical weekend full of blunders, wrong turns,
confusing streets and a zany cast of celebrants when Paul flew to Washington,
D.C. to stand as a groomsman in a close friend’s wedding. On the
plane Paul finally finished Anna Karenina which he highly recommends.
In October, Paul picked up a ‘new’ family car in Nevada
(courtesy of Grandma Shelley and Grandpa Mike who just moved to Las
Vegas), and took in an All-American solo roadtrip which included the
Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, and Tucson.
November — Paul and Amy were both blessed to have their good friends
Adrian & Melissa Vuyk visit from Houston, with their new son in
tow, and were able to play host for two evenings. Amy also served as
the Volunteer Coordinator for this year’s Harvest of Hope Brunch,
an annual city-wide charity brunch and silent auction hosted by the
San Antonio Food Bank. She enlisted the help of some thirty-plus volunteers,
and even put her husband to work down in the loading docks of the Marriott
Hotel, all for a good cause: helping scores of food kitchens and food
distribution programs all over South Texas. About this time little Abigail
decided to potty-train herself in a few days! And after nearly five
years, Paul returned to the recording studio in late November to lay
down a song for an upcoming tribute compilation cd. An MP3 is available
for you to hear at www.soupiset.com.
November also brought “Thanksgiving in Vegas,” which at first
glance sounds like the tile for a National Lampoon movie. In reality
it was a fun, extended vacation with Grandpa Mike, Grandma Shelley,
Uncle Syler, Aunt Heidi, cousins Kaila and Ellie (and a fun little election
recount on television).
December brought great times with family and friends. The foursome were
recently on hand as Granny Ruth celebrated her 82nd birthday in Austin,
Texas. Christmas will keep us in Texas this year, visiting family and
friends in San Antonio and Austin.
There! We can stop referring to ourselves in the third person…
We wish God’s grace and blessings upon you and your family for
the new year. Take a few quite minutes this holiday season to spend
reflecting the wonders of His love.
All our best; Paul, Amy, Abigail, Jordan and Baby—
127 Chevy Chase San Antonio, TX 78209
(210) 829-1539 www.soupiset.com
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