Merry Christmas!

Here I find myself again typing the annual Plattner Christmas letter as the days are getting shorter and colder in the Windy City, yet no matter the changes in the weather we are thankful for our never-changing awesome Lord who continues to do beyond our expectations as exemplified in the birth of our first child, Titus John Plattner on February 24th…and since then we have learned so very much.

For instance did you know that when you take a diaper off the air hitting the once covered area sets off a neurological phenomenon that signals children to go to the bathroom…always aimed your direction? Another lesson I learned was that when traveling, the stuff you need to take is 5 times the weight of your child. Finally, even if your house is completely clean except for one little piece of something on the ground, your child will hunt that down and immediately put it in their mouth. All joking aside, Bekah and I are blessed with Titus more than words can express and while he has his moments we are absolutely thrilled to be parents and we look forwards to see what God has prepared for His life.

Even though we do not know what we did with our free time before Titus arrived, Bekah and I were still able to travel by going to Milwaukee for our 4th wedding anniversary in January and had a small get-away to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in October leaving Titus with family. We also traveled to Kansas twice for 2 weddings (in which I learned another lesson…when you have a new baby everyone honestly just wants to see your new child) and spent vacations with our families to Amish Acres and relaxing on a cabin on a small lake (another lesson learnedà traveling with a sleeping child from 10pm-5am is worth it).

As for me, I am in my final year of residency. Yes, next year I will finally have a job. I continue to feel so fortunate to be able to help those with mental illness and look forwards to continuing this at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in Grand Rapids Michigan. While we are very sad to leave Chicago, we are excited to see what God has in store for us in this next stage of our lives. Outside of work I have had the joy to teach high school Sunday school, continue to jog, and try to catch up with my ever-growing pile of “books to read.”

Bekah has transitioned to a full-time mother, which I am finding out is much more work than I ever imagined. She continues to help out on an as needed basis at the hospital and has been able to become involved in Christian mom groups. While I am only writing a few lines on her activities this year, it must be written that she has transitioned into the mom role amazingly as she continues to amaze me with her cleaning, cooking, washing, organizing, and keeping-me-out-of-trouble skills.

We hope and pray that your family has a wonderful Christmas and a blessed 2011. If you ever want to swing by Chicago, please do soon as we will be moving July of next year.