Christmas 2001
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Dear Family & Friends, We begin this letter with a certain measure of soberness in our hearts. So we would like to begin with our testimony of Jesus Christ. With so much turmoil in the world, how grateful we are for this Christmas season, which allows us to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. We know that this has been a year filled with blessings for our little family, but as we look back on this year, so much has been frankly lost in the haze of Eric�s PhD dissertation. The haze began to clear in August, when he successfully defended it (at 7 am!). We are looking forward to family members joining us for his graduation in just a few weeks, on December 21st. (Congratulations, Dr. Eric James Hunter!) As most of you know, we celebrated our 1st Anniversary in September; we went to a wonderful bed-and-breakfast in Keokuk, Iowa (which is across the river from Nauvoo, Illinois). After the craziness of Eric�s dissertation defense, it was wonderful to have that time to relax together. We have truly enjoyed our first year together. Eric now works as an Associate Research Scientist for the University of Iowa. He spends his days either programming in front of his computer or dissecting laryngeal tissues for biomechanical studies in the laboratory. He has been given a lot of freedom in this position, developing his talents as a researcher as well as a supervisor. It looks like we�ll be here in Iowa for a couple more years. Our mornings are a little less hectic as Eric is no longer an early-morning seminary teacher; he now teaches the 16-17 year-olds in Sunday School. Soon after the defense, Laura�s part-time job (getting Eric graduated) came to an end. With more time on her hands, she was able to accept a promotion (at her paying job) and began working full time. She continues to do most of the marketing and technical writing for the Iowa Geriatric Education Center. Recently, she has been offered the chance to again use her TESL degree by helping to design nursing assistant curriculum for non-native English speakers. Laura has gone through a rapid succession of Church responsibilities � Sunbeam (3 year olds) teacher, then Young Women�s President (where she worked with girls 12-17), and now 1st Counselor in the Stake Relief Society Presidency (which is our Church�s women�s organization). We love you all. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Eric and Laura
