Liang Christmas Letter 2015

December 2015

Well we had a lot on our plate last year with a 2 month old, so we never got around to writing a synopsis letter for 2014 before Christmas like we usually do each year to include with our Christmas card. Here is a link to the blog post of 2014 Year in Review written later: http://jackieandjoeliang.blogspot.nl/2015/01/christmas-letter-2014-year-in-review.html

For those of you that haven’t noticed, we moved from the Puget Sound, Washington area in the U.S. to Eindhoven, Netherlands in May 2014 for Joe’s work on a 3 year long expat contract through his company, Cummins. Joe has taken on a larger role in Cummins engine aftertreatment program with their European customer, DAF, to meet the latest emission testing. Jackie began a work sabbatical from architecture as she prepared to become a stay-at-home mom with the arrival of their baby girl in early October 2014. 

We are truly enjoying our life here in the Netherlands. We’ve been able to see a lot of Europe in the past year. Brooklyn, now 14 months old has now been to 10 countries: the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Taiwan and Austria. It’s a good thing this foreign Dutch-born girl was given extra pages in her U.S. passport! As the weeks go by it’s amazing all the new things Brooklyn is learning to do. She definitely keeps us on our toes these days.

This year I’m going to summarize the year in a David Letterman-style Top Ten List.

2015 Top Ten Highlights:

1) For Easter in April we visited Paris, France

2) While Dad worked in the US for a week in April, Mom & Brooklyn enjoyed family time in North Carolina

3) A week in May in Interlaken, Luzern & rode the Bernina Express through the Alps in Switzerland

4) A week in Italy in Cinque Terre & heavenly Tuscany

5) A trip the end of July to Copenhagen, Denmark

6) In early September we enjoyed the Stoehr grandparents visit & explored the Netherlands & Rhine Valley, Germany together

7) Jackie’s sister & brother-in-law traveled southern Netherlands, Antwerp & Aachen also in September

8) Celebrating 1 year since Brooklyn’s birth (Oct 6, 2014)

9) 2 weeks in October in Taiwan visiting with family and friends

10) Anticipated arrival of Baby #2 June 20, 2016!

We hope that you all are finding peace this Holiday season. Our hearts are bursting with joy and life and could not be more thankful for such a blessed year in 2015. Jesus is the reason for the season and we will not forget that. May the peace of Christ find you this holiday season and in the upcoming year to come. As we excitedly begin our own Christmas traditions as a family as we spend it in the Netherlands, we wish you a merry, merry time with family and friends near and far. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder and that home is where the heart is. We often get asked where is home and we have a hard time answering…Taiwan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Charleston, Seattle, Eindhoven? Although all these places have been home for us at some point, this year we are embracing home as a family in Eindhoven, Netherlands. May you feel at home this Christmas wherever this letter finds you.

All Our Love,

Joe, Jackie, Brooklyn, Baby #2 & Chance Liang