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fredericksburg parent letter to readers & family PRODUCTION PUBLISHER Leigh Anne Van Doren Tabitha & Jamie Nelle's mom DIRECTOR of OPERATIONS & MARKETING Heidi DiEugenio, Duke & Dane's mom director of Advertising Leanne Dalton Justin, Steven & Rebeka's mom Advertising Sales representatives Kathy Vaughan; Becca & Sarah's Mom Amanda Radford; Blythe, Corey-Lee, & Kaden's Mom OFFICE MANAGER Nancy Massanat Emily & Kyle's Mom EDITOR Chris Jones Jordan, Quincy, & Hayden's dad GRAPHIC DESIGNer Cheryl Carter Alex, Kate & Jackie's mom Remembering 2012 WEBMASTER Karen Charney Joshua & Spencer's mom calendar editor Leigha Pecher Jake & Luke's mom DIRECTOR of CIRCULATION Krista Starosta Nick, Andrew, Kaylin & Kensington's mom Program Manager, Science Saturdays Victoria McCollum Ian & Malcolm's mom Community Blog Manager Mary Becelia Katherine Laura & Robert Joseph's mom Facebook Community Managers Elizabeth Jones; Jordan, Quincy & Hayden's mom Pamela Quinones: Corinn, Michael, Isabella & Dalton ADVERTISING 540/374-1495 adsales@fredericksburgparent.net phone e-mail e-mail e-mail CALENDAR & RESOURCE REQUESTS calendar@fredericksburgparent.net resources@fredericksburgparent.net EDITORIAL 540/374-1495 • fax 540/374-1672 e-mail editor@fredericksburgparent.net publisher@fredericksburgparent.net snail mail P.O. Box 7884, Fred'bg, VA 22404 www.fredericksburgparent.net phone The publishers reserve the right to reject any advertisement, editorial or listing that does not meet the publication's standards. No part of this magazine may be reproduced with out permission. Listing and advertising rates are available upon request. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained herein, however, the publisher cannot guarantee such accuracy. Listings and advertisements are subject to typographical errors, ommissions and/or change without notice. © Copyright 2012 Nurture, Inc. All rights reserved. Entrepreneur of the Year Proud Founding Member 8 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • December 2012 by chris jones I t's hard to believe that we're a month away from the New Year. The Christmas season is upon us and we're looking at our 2012 in retrospect. For me, 2012 was a year where my life changed dramatically overnight -- twice. Ironically, on the unofficial starts of summer and fall (Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends) In May, we welcomed our new baby Hayden. He came out crying and didn't stop for three months. He was the first colic baby I had ever dealt with and I certainly hope the last. Those sleepless nights my wife and I shared seemed to last forever. We worked in shifts to help soothe him and keep him comfortable knowing that he wasn't feeling any better about his situation than we were. In September, my wife was jolted out of her sleep to the cracking sound of fire coming from our bedroom ceiling. She woke me up, grabbed Hayden and we rushed out of the house. We later discovered that a neighbor's cigarette caused the fire that consumed our possessions. Thanks to the American Red Cross, our families, our friends, Mommy Traders, Wiggle Worms, Fredricksburg Parent, Vine Covenant Ministries and people in the community, we were able to rebuild our lives rapidly. It really showed that the benevolent human spirit in the Fredericksburg area was alive and well. Now we're facing Christmas. For the first time in many years, I'm going to decorate the house. I always saw it as "just another day," but I can't live thinking that way any more. Life has a funny way of making you appreciate things you once took for granted. Every day is a celebration. Whether you observe Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or nothing at all, I wish you and your family the warmest cheer this December. To quote my favorite thinker, Henry David Thoreau, "The greatest art is to shape the quality of the day."