The McCarthy Christmas Letter 2008

As 2009 edges nearer, and the sound of carols are being drowned out by the sound of the cash register, we need to escape the madness around us and spend time together as a family. It's this family time that is most precious to us, and we are blessed to have Liesel's mom, Gabi, here with us to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

This is also a great time to look back on 2008 and see how God has been present and prayers have been answered!

As a family (of 3), we had many moments that we cherished together. Some of the memories included:

• Starting 2008 in sunny South Africa, as we wrapped up our Christmas vacation. We would soon be swapping the glorious sunshine, golden beaches and hours of swimming for the snow-covered landscapes of Cleveland!


• In June, Craig drove for 5 hours from Toronto, Canada and spent a weekend with us! Nathan loved having his uncle around and you could see how quickly a bond developed between the two of them! You can imagine how Nathan reacted when Craig gave him an early birthday gift, a 2 man dome tent!


• We celebrated Easter with the Lipperts in Detroit.


• Our summer vacation to northern Michigan was amazing. We stayed with the Lipperts at their timeshare in Boyne Mountain. Nathan still speaks about our visit to Mackinac Island on the jet boat!


• Nathan and I finally met the Staley's, again at the Lippert's in Detroit. The three families had a wonderful time together, catching up, and building new friendships! Gavin and I even got an opprortunity to fell two trees in Andreas' yard which was great fun for us!


• In September, Nathan and I had a fantastic, yet deafening time at the Annual Cleveland Air Show.

Individually, we also ventured into new territories, as God opened new doors for us.

• In May, I graduated from my 4 months of intensive training in the Java language at my company. I saw this as a great opportunity to learn new skills and make myself more marketable, which is vital, especially now as we are gripped by the weakening economy. The timing, as it always is with God, was perfect!


• Nathan donned his Spiderman backpack for the first time as he started preschool in September. He has been loving attending it twice a week, and we have loved seeing him come home with new knowledge, and new hand-made creations! He has been particularly fond of his extra-mural music classes. He has already learned to play a couple of simple tunes on the keyboard and is slowly learning to read music!


• In November, Liesel entered her eighth month of her pregnancy. After contracting a slight cold, she visited our family practitioner. The doctor found that Liesel’s blood pressure was unusually high, and recommended that she visit her gynecologist. So Liesel followed the doctor’s orders and went to her gynecologist, who promptly told her to make her way to the hospital. So that Monday, Nathan and I took her to hospital, where she was to be monitored overnight. It seemed like the rest and relative comfort of a hospital bed, and the medication did the trick and brought Liesel’s blood pressure back down to acceptable levels. Nathan and I were jubilant to find out that she was being discharged on Tuesday with instructions to keep monitoring her blood pressure. Our jubilation came to an abrupt end when on Wednesday night, the blood pressure spiked again, and after a call to the gynecologist’s office, it was back to the hospital. Liesel was put into a room for observation, and after getting some medication intravenously, her blood pressure stabilized and we were free to go home at 2am. On Friday, Liesel visited her gynecologist again, and again she wanted Liesel in hospital. Liesel’s gynecologist had a gut feeling that our baby would be arriving very soon, and therefore didn’t want to take any chances. That evening, Liesel’s blood pressure rose again, but this time her gynecologist told her that they would be taking the baby out, even though he was four weeks early. Once I had made my way back to the hospital, I joined Liesel in the theater. It was not long after that when little Joshua announced his arrival with a loud cry! This was a great relief for us as we were concerned about whether his lungs would be properly developed. He weighed in at a decent weight of 6lbs 6oz (2.9kg) considering how early he was. We praise God that Joshua was perfectly healthy, and didn’t even need to spend any time in the ICU, and that He had his hand on Liesel the entire time!

As can been seen throughout the year, God has been with us through every heartbeat. So the McCarthy family (of 4) wants to give thanks to our Father for his protection over us and all He has blessed us with in 2008. We pray that you and your family may have true joy and peace this Christmas and may God bless you in 2009!

Grant, Liesel, Nathan and Joshua