Dear Friends and Family,
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
And a very happy year this past year has been! Ryan and I were engaged on January 4th, and made our marriage vows before God on May 19th in Bowmanville, Ontario. We celebrated the occasion with a great crowd of family and friends. After a wonderful reception, we made our escape on our bicycle-built-for-two with the paparazzi on our heels!
We enjoyed two weeks of honeymoon (or “mangomoon”, as Ryan liked to call it) at the cottages of relatives, and a third week at home in Toronto settling into our honeymoon suite.
About mid-June, Ryan and I donned our wedding suit and gown once again and went to Sunnybrook Park downtown with a photographer friend for some beautiful outdoor “wedding” photos. The festivities also continued as the two of us were warmly welcomed by the Kidd family’s friends and community at a “Meet the Newlyweds” party in Collingwood.
In early July, we discovered to our joy that our twosome had become a threesome: our first child was on the way!
Between working full time at Open Text, basement renovations, and devoting time to his new bride, Ryan was very busy throughout the summer and fall. Building three bedrooms and a bathroom into the basement and re-laying the walkway and patio were just a few of the projects he tackled.
Despite morning sickness and fatigue from mid-July to mid-September, I tended the vegetable garden and began to take on the responsibilities of managing the house. With Ryan’s help, I made a list of the gifts received from the wedding and one-by-one sent out the thank-you cards to friends and family.
Together we enjoyed several snorkeling excursions in Lake Ontario (even though it was “icy cold!”) and Lake Wilcox, a large pond near Stouville, north of Toronto. We also enjoyed many short cycling tours on local trails on our tandem bike.
In September we celebrated as Ryan’s brother Dan was married to Shannon in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Markdale, Ontario. In the reception that followed, Ryan and I made our first attempt at Irish ceili (”kay-lee”) dancing. Despite a little trouble with two left feet, we found it to be exciting and good exercise!
Later that same month, I resumed studies at Tyndale University College, taking on an introductory Latin course and finishing up the honours thesis I had written in the summer of 2007. Ryan and I also began attending the morning service of a new church plant in downtown Toronto, offering “startup support” as we like to call it.
At Thanksgiving, Ryan and I made our grand announcement about the new addition in the family, which sparked a good deal of excitement. The excitement level tripled in November when Dan and Shannon, and Nathan and Lisa, announced that they too were expecting. Now three babies were slated to arrive in 2009 — a 300% increase in Kidd grandchildren in one year!
Though neither of us were able to run in the federal election, Ryan and I did lend support to the efforts of the Christian Heritage Party candidate in our riding.
Early in November, we attended the Christian Heritage Party leadership convention in London, Ontario. The opportunity fell into our laps last minute, and Ryan already had vacation booked. We bid farewell to our faithful leader Ron Gray, contributed to policy discussions, and welcomed our new leader Jim Hnatiuk. We also took advantage of the hotel’s heated pool, and had a few good swims, imagining ourselves in the tropical waters of the Dominican Republic!
On Nov 22nd we also attended the Open Text Christmas Party.
Ryan and I are still caught up in married bliss after seven wonderful months, and love to laugh and tease each other at every opportunity. We look forward to and are preparing for the arrival of our baby in March of 2009.
We wish all of our family and friends God’s richest blessings for the new year!
