Merry Christmas from the Madsen's

JJ at 7 months

Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends and Family,

This year was full of blessings for our growing family. On May 12, Barbie delivered the perfect son and our lives have forever changed. There were some slight complications with his lungs, so our little boy spent a week in the NICU to make sure everything was fine. We found naming him so difficult! The nurses nicknamed him Trouble, and after a week we settled on Joshua Joseph Madsen. We love our little JJ so much!

Barbie spent nearly half the year pregnant, and kept herself busy with sewing projects and mother groups when she wasn’t battling kidney stones. This fall she enrolled in a few classes at a local college right in the heart of downtown Chicago, steadily pursuing the goal of a bachelor’s degree. She loves it! She has also delved herself into reading, through a local book club group, which has opened her interests into whole new genres. But more than anything she has enjoyed caring for and teaching our new son. She’s a wonderful wife, mother, student, and friend, and I’m so proud of her.

Josh passed his much anticipated core examination, putting him one step closer to a Ph.D. He loves his studies and can’t understand why everyone wouldn’t want a Ph.D. in accounting. He’s finished with most of his course work now, and was quite busy this fall working with a professor on a research paper (something about credit ratings…). The university sent him to Singapore and London as a teacher’s assistant, and we appreciate the help of family and friends who came to help Barbie. Josh was called to serve as the Young Men’s President in our church unit, and has thoroughly enjoyed working with the local youth in ways he never would have expected.

JJ is changing every day and learning so much. He’s growing quickly (already 20 lbs.!) and everyone comments on his cute smile and blue eyes. In November his doctor prescribed a correctional helmet to address some acute flatness on his head, and he’s handled the transition perfectly. He is rolling all over the place and has started getting into everything. We still think he’s the cutest baby in the world.

We’ve had a lot of fun as a family this year. We turned spring break into a “baby honeymoon” and spent a week on the road visiting friends and church history sites. A summer road trip to Utah, Thanksgiving trip to Branson, Missouri, and various activities in Chicago were all wonderful. Mostly though, we’re just grateful to be a family.

We’re grateful to you, our family and many friends, for the influence you have on our lives. We wish each of you a meaningful Christmas as we reflect on the birth of our Savior. We hope you’re year has brought you joy.

Sincerely,

Josh, Barbie, and JJ Madsen