Archived Christmas Letters 2013 to 2016

Christmas Letter 2013

December 2013
Merry Christmas, friends!
We write to share news of our family. It has been a wonderful yet challenging year. January 29, 2013 brought the birth of our twin daughters, Inessa Noelle Hay Wiren and Bryna Nova Hay Wiren. We have witnessed the wonders of love, enchanting playfulness of our babies and our own strength, bond and spirit. With all focus and no downtime, having twin babies makes you prioritize life essentials and be present in every moment.

The babies are already showing us their personalities. True Inessa, with her secret smiles and thoughtful care for her sister and family, prefers true friendship over superficial joys. Observing and learning, she has even learned to pet the cat gently (if you know a 10 month old, you know this takes a peaceful presence indeed!). Bryna (photo with octopus here), with her bright smile, full of laughter and clever curiosity, shows kindness to everyone she meets, even strangers, engaging and inviting everyone to be part of her “in” crowd. Nothing gets by her. Both girls are goofy, wise and loving, and they both love music. We hope that the people our daughters meet will challenge them intellectually, be kind, laugh with them, teach them wisdom and value of things deeper than appearance. And we hope that our daughters will do the same for others.

Now we get to show our new twins why Christmas is so special to us. For us, Christmas is not about what’s under the tree or on the dinner table. It’s about what’s in the heart… true friendship, kindness, angels, time spent in sincere community, love shown to all and the mystery and joy of a Christmas story from long ago. A star that guides. A peace that prevails.

← Inessa’s middle name celebrates our love for this season. Bryna’s middle name celebrates our love for the wonder and mystery of the cosmos. I know that this world will be better because Inessa and Bryna are in it. So far, the two of them are showing us love beyond the stars and unexpected depth and wisdom. Our status: exhausted but extremely happy. Thank you for your friendship, prayers and encouragement.     -Katie and Zach

 Christmas Letter 2014

December 2014
A report from the cat “Deo”:
Greetings from the office in our house, where I spend most of my time, due to frequent disturbances elsewhere. While I am held up in here, I will write the Christmas letter, as my humans don’t have time.
After voicing my complaint for the adoption of ninny-head kittens “Hubble” (I assume named for his size) and “Raven” (black color makes her a tripping hazard), how do Katie and Zach respond? They bring in two more pets. Mini twin humans! Called Inessa Noelle and Bryna Nova.

Daily, I checked the nursery to see if they had been returned. Now, going on two years, I have accepted their permanence. When they were small, I found myself ensnared by their cuteness. However, as they grow bigger, they have developed a “love” of animals. Instead of using my name, they call “Cat!” or “Dee-ahh.” It has been an intentional process to teach them how to pet a cat gently. Fellow captive, Hubble, has a surprising amount of tolerance for their behavior and follows them everywhere, getting “hugs” and demonstrating his purr. I prefer the quieter one (“Nessa”). Hubble likes the loud one (Bryna). He has thrill issues.

Inessa likes art. She uses crayon or marker on paper. And one time, crayon on door. Bryna also likes markers, but she prefers to put the caps on and off and hide them. I admire her devious streak. They both make fools of themselves when music plays, dancing what Katie calls the “steering wheel dance” and singing along.

Bryna points at me as I use my litter box. No worries, I don’t have any dignity left anyway. On the up side, Nessa feeds me cat treats, which I have to eat before Hubble gets them or Bryna stashes them somewhere. I get quiet time when my family takes the girls to yoga, library readings, swim lessons or festivals. In October, they took a vacation to Oregon and met with Katie’s side of the family, including great-grandparents, Ruth and John!

Last spring, Katie’s father stayed with us to be the “nanny.” He brushed me and cleaned house too. Katie and Zach are thankful that their parents have been greatly involved grandparents! The girls have one cousin now and another on the way!
Katie was awarded tenure and promotion to Associate Professor and is on sabbatical now. Zach has a new job at the Naval Shipyard in the dosimetery technical branch, where he has enjoyed leadership opportunities.
Don’t tell, but I secretly like the girls. I will have them trained in no time.
Merry Christmas! –Deo  

 (No Christmas Letter from 2015)

 Christmas Letter 2016

Merry Christmas, friends!
Peace be with you.
Our twin daughters, Inessa and Bryna, finished their second year of preschool and will turn 4 soon. This year, they enjoyed their first dance class (ballet) and performed in a lovely recital. Mama is so proud! Inessa is a leader and has a creative mind. She loves art and music. She makes the rules and likes to try new things. She is a true friend. Bryna is a builder, making sculptures and structures with anything she has on hand. Helping others gives her joy. She figures things out and thinks two steps ahead. Both are shy around others but they chatter, laugh, sing and play games at home.

We are blessed to have careers and colleagues that we enjoy (Katie is an associate professor of physics at PLU and Zach is a radiation health physicist at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard).  Katie got to do astronomy research in the summer and published her children’s book, “Little Bear’s Big Night Sky” last year! (Yes, it’s on Amazon.)

Bryna

Inessa

Finally, our family (and the world) lost a generous and kind man. My (Katie’s) father, and the twins’ grandfather, Ken Hay died in June 2016 of brain cancer. It was an extremely difficult time after his shocking terminal diagnosis. My mom Bonnie patiently walked every step of that hard road with him. We invoke his legacy here in a Christmas wish for you. Papa was a man who lived to serve others. He was a national park ranger, Coast Guard reservist, veteran, Sea Marshal, fire fighter, an advocate for parks and loved his family dearly. Papa proudly served as nanny for our girls in 2014. He left a legacy of service and there is still work to be done. There are trails to maintain, trees to plant, beaches to clean, strangers to help, organizations that need volunteers, local businesses to support, forgotten wilderness and animals and people who need advocates.
Friends, may you find what gives you joy and find ways to make this world a better place for all people and creatures great and small. You can read more about us and see photos on our ongoing family blog. Feel free to bookmark this website:  
http://katie-hay.blogspot.com
Peace be with you,
-Katie and Zach