Dear Family and Friends,
 
Christmas greetings to each of you!  We are just beginning our celebration of the Christmas season--12 days from Christmas through Epiphany (January 6th), so it still seems appropriate to wish you all the best of the season.

While we've not garnered a reputation for sending out fabulous Christmas letters each year (or any year ever, for that matter), we thought this year in particular excused us from sending out real "snail mail letters"--we do aspire to this in the future and we couldn't be prouder of ourselves for at least mustering the energy to send something electronically. Ahem.

This year has been filled with blessings and one particularly extravagant opportunity, but has also tended a wee bit too much toward the "exciting" (read: exhausting).  Last Christmastime, our first spent here in Madison, was not a white Christmas. You cannot begin to imagine the disappointment, having moved here from Kansas where there is rarely snow on Christmas, and having assumed that there would be no other option than to have a white Wisconsin Christmas!  But brown it was, and warm, too. (I know some of you are thinking that that sounds like a dream.)  We eventually moved on from the sadness that produced and mustered the will to go on with daily life, with a foiled ski trip (to a local mountain (hill) and unfulfilled outdoor ice skating plans under our belts.  This warm winter turned into an early Spring and we found ourselves playing outside all day, every day from March on.  Because of this, Henry turned into somewhat of a "scriver" (for all you Mary Poppins fans out there--"a scriver's an artist of highest degree"), spending endless hours drawing with sidewalk chalk out front.  Moira, in turn, gained a steady leg with trike- and bike- riding (with training wheels, mind you).

July brought an unusually hot summer in Madison, so we decided to skip town and head to...Paris!  Ben had a conference paper accepted, and Emily was adamant that staying home with the children while he galavanted around Europe was not an option.  We were blessed with a once-in-a-parenthood opportunity to take this memorable trip together.  It did not disappoint!  Paris was teeming with life: art, music, breathtaking gardens, tantalizing food and pleasant night caps.  The food was most definitely a highlight.  Ben thought he'd better capitalize on the experience, so he got Emily Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" for her birthday upon their return.  Thus far, she has cooked a total of one recipe from the book.  As for the conference, Ben's paper was very well-received and was accepted for publication shortly thereafter.  This wonderful trip was then followed by the opportunity to return to Kansas, be reunited with the children, and see many family and friends over the course of a few days before heading back to Wisconsin.

It turns out that the trip was very needed, for the fall semester would bring a monstrous workload for Ben and, by extension, for Emily, too.  In fall, Superman Ben worked 85 hours per week, but still managed to spend time with his family and to take Sundays off.  To date, he has submitted more than 50 job applications to universities and colleges all across the country (and some in Canada!), and plans for a handful more before it's all said and done.  If Ben had any free time, he is sure he would spend it watching football, home brewing beer, and going snowshoeing.  We are so proud to report that on December 10th, Ben successfully defended his dissertation, then after taking time off (a whopping 2 1/2 hours to go see a movie by himself. Wow.), he jumped right back in to work, having secured three job interviews that need much preparation!  Emily: We are all so very proud of his hard work, how much he's accomplished in such a short amount of time, and how well he has kept his family and faith at the top of the priority list. His dedication inspires me on a multiple-times-a-day basis!

Emily is sure glad this semester has come to a close and greatly anticipates getting to see more of her husband in the coming months (though--hopefully--campus visits for second-round interviews loom in the future).  In her *spare time*, she has taken up knitting, a lifelong desire that has only now come to fruition.  Through a knitting circle in the neighborhood, she has been able to pick up the craft pretty well and has just completed a major project: knitting a Christmas stocking for Moira (others to follow in the coming year).  You O'Learys and Morgans will recognize the stocking as the handiwork of Mary Grace!  Emily also enjoys cooking in the "real food" movement, making homemade yogurt, mayonnaise and sour cream, and has recently mastered the non-box-mix chocolate cake. (Ben: She absolutely nailed the one she made to celebrate my dissertation defense. I could almost do it all again just to get more cake. Yum.  Are we sure this is Ben typing?)

Moira, 3 1/2 (as she will specify), couldn't be a more imaginative young lady!  She spends hours upon hours, day in and day out, month after month, just playing make believe.  We don't bother making her get dressed in the morning anymore, because the outfit gets changed no fewer than 9 times a day to fit whatever characters she is imitating that particular day.  Recent favorites have been "Jane Banks" from Mary Poppins, "Marjorie" from By the Light of the Silvery Moon and On Moonlight Bay (Doris Day/Gordon McCray movies you've likely never heard of), "Clara" from the Nutcracker and the Virgin Mary.  She also enjoys having tea parties, reading books, going to the local children's museum and telling her brother what he may and may not do.

Henry turned 2 in November and has suddenly become interested in all sorts of things.  He loves cars, balls, bright shiny objects (this is not a joke--for example he Just.Can't.Get.Enough. of the star of Bethlehem--in books, hanging in the back of church, in Christmas carols).  He is truly our little artist, spending much of his time coloring (drawing a quite real-looking balloon is his specialty), and jumping at the chance to use scissors, paints and stickers.  And when Moira bosses him around, he is generally quick to acquiesce, since it allows him to do do imaginative play with her!  While Moira is our even-keeled child, Henry remains ever our highs-and-lows guy, which makes for some interesting days for Mama!

The coming year is bound to bring much, much change in our lives, and we look forward to sharing with you what develops after Ben's May graduation and our eventual move (God-willing we have a job!).  Please keep us in your prayers as we seek to embrace these many changes, and know of our prayers for you and for your families.  May the remainder of this Christmas season bring you hope, peace and joy.

Wishing you all the best,

Ben, Emily, Moira and Henry Beier

P.S. Below is a photo year-in-review.


Last summer, a friend graciously took some lovely family photos for us. This is near the forest that surrounds our little campus housing neighborhood. Obviously, the kids have grown considerably since this time.

Americans in Paris:

Here, we have two Olympic swimmers donning their swim caps and goggles and shouting "U.S.A!"

Halloween greetings from Ms. Flamingo and Mr. Lion--no, we do not always post them left-to-right from oldest to youngest.

Working "like Papa". If you have seen our bedroom (which doubles as Ben's office), you know the eeriness of the similarity.

Wrestling.

Ladies headed to the Nutcracker.

Moira's Christmas Stocking (next up: Henry)

And finally, this year's white Christmas...