Christmas letter 2010.

Since Carter was born, we began writing a Christmas letter to go along with our card highlighting important events over the last year. This has become one of my most favorite things to do. It's hard to believe this is our 5th annual Christmas letter and that we now have four little people to write about. I recently posted here about our plan and back up plan for our Christmas card picture. Well, thankfully we managed to get a good one at David's graduation, so we didn't have to use all of the pictures from church. I did decide to use individual ones of the children though. Without further ado, may I present to you the annual O'Dell Christmas letter and card. We hope you enjoy hearing more of our story this season.

This picture was not included in the final Christmas card, but I love it enough to post since it has all four of them in it.

Carter Stokes O'Dell, age 4 1/2

(don't forget the 1/2 either or he'll tell you about it!)

Summer Journey O'Dell, age 3

Tilly Brooke O'Dell, age 2

Story Leigh O'Dell, age 7 1/2 months

Dear Family & Friends, December 2010

Mommy is at a loss not having to write this year’s Christmas letter, and that could only mean one thing. Mommy and Daddy had another baby! Me! My name is Story Leigh O’Dell, and I was born on May 10 of this year, the day after Mother’s Day. Mommy says there is no better gift than a brand new baby, but I don’t know about that because a new doll sounds pretty good to me. Well, it’s been another great year for our family with lots of stories to share, and who better to share the stories of our family than me?

I’ll start by telling you a story about my daddy because this year has been extra special for him, and we are really thankful for all that he has been able to accomplish. Daddy continues to pastor our church, First Baptist Austell. In fact, he is beginning his fourth year. It’s my understanding that Daddy stands up in front of some people and tells them about God’s Word, the Bible. Well, at least that’s what my big brother told me. Carter’s real big and knows a lot, so I believe him. Also, just last weekend my daddy graduated with his doctorate of ministry degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Do you think I will have to call him Dr. Daddy now? Maybe not because that’s a lot to say! He has been working very hard for the last few years to finish his coursework, and we are so proud of him for his achievement. I’m not sure what he’s going to do with all his extra time now, but I’m sure Mommy can think of a thing or two.

Speaking of Mommy, her story has changed this year, as she’s done some pretty cool stuff, besides being our mommy, which is the coolest thing ever. She grew her hair out really long and then cut it all off to give away to locks of love. Tilly keeps asking her where her ponytail went, and I don’t really know what she means by that, but okay. Mommy also changed jobs this year, so that she could spend more time with us. After teaching full time at The Heiskell School for five years, Mommy is now teaching part-time in the preschool, prekindergarten to be exact. Mommy says her favorite part of her job is taking Carter, Summer, and Tilly to school with her every day and teaching little boys and girls all about Jesus. She also has some pretty special friends at school who pray for her and encourage her as she walks with the Lord. Maybe Mommy will be my teacher at The Heiskell School when I get bigger. I would like that very much.

Well, let me tell you about my big brother and sisters because they have a story to tell too. Carter is the oldest because he turned 4 in May, just a few weeks after I was born. He is growing up to be a tall, handsome boy. At his latest check-up Carter measured 44 inches and 40 pounds. Summer is the next biggest because she turned 3 in July and is almost as tall and big as Carter, measuring 41 inches and 38 pounds. Tilly is the one right next to me. She turned 2 in August and measured 26 pounds and 36 inches. Tilly and I have a lot of fun together because we share a room. She makes me laugh a lot! Carter, Summer, and Tilly all attend The Heiskell School with Mommy, and they are learning a lot of great stuff. I love to listen to them sing songs and recite Bible verses they are memorizing at school. Right now, they are getting ready for their Christmas program, and I hope they do a great job and remember all the songs. This year Carter played soccer for the first time for Team Italy. He had such a fun time, and I loved going to watch his games. Summer is taking ballet for the first time this year, and she looks really pretty in her ballerina outfit. I hope I can take ballet one day and dance really fancy like Summer. I think Tilly wants to take ballet too because she talks about it all the time. Then, there’s me! I’m seven months old, and I measure about 17 pounds and 28 inches. I have two teeth and have learned how to crawl. Mommy and Daddy are in for a treat with all of us, don’t you think? I bet they wouldn’t change a thing even if they could. Mommy says the four of us are the best part of her story, and well Daddy too!

Our party of six has traveled all over the southeast this year. I have already been to seven states, and I’m only seven months old. This past summer, we went to Arkansas to see family and friends and meet our new cousin, Lincoln. We also traveled all around Georgia to see Mama, T, and the Hollands. In the fall we went to Tennessee to see friends, and took what Daddy calls a “detour” on the way home, visiting two extra states, North and South Carolina. Most recently, we went to New Orleans for Daddy’s graduation and visited all the best places the city has to offer. Mommy and Daddy love that city and were excited to share it with us.

The holidays are extra special for our family, as they tell a story of their own. This year for Thanksgiving, Papa & Gigi came from Arkansas to celebrate with us. In addition to giving thanks, we celebrated Daddy and Gigi’s birthday. I wonder if they feel a little older. Daddy does have a few more gray hairs this year, ha! As soon as Thanksgiving was over, we began preparing for Christmas, Jesus’ birthday. Mommy says part of our story is having special things that we do during Christmas each year. I think they are called traditions. We hunted for the perfect Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, we rode the pink pig at Lenox mall, we drove through the live Nativity telling of Jesus’ birth, and we participated in the Christmas program at our school. But you know, these are all special and great, but something we love best about celebrating Christmas is the story of our Savior’s birth. On Christmas Eve, Daddy reads to us from Luke 2, the real story of Christmas. Daddy says it’s the greatest story ever told. One of the reasons Mommy and Daddy picked my name, Story, is because they wanted me to remember that everyone has a story, but the greatest story is the one of Jesus and how he came to redeem our lost world. Mommy and Daddy love to sing this song to me: Tell me story of Jesus. Write on my heart every word. Tell me story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. The best part about the Christmas story is that it’s for everyone. We pray that you will experience the greatest story ever told this Christmas season and that God will use His story of His Son to speak and to reveal Himself to you like never before.

We wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year with much love,

Story, along with Mommy, Daddy, Carter, Summer, & Tilly