RED = Maria Estella
BLUE = Craig
From Maria Estella
I hope this letter finds you doing well. Forgive our tardiness in sending a Larson update. We’re 2 years overdue in sending any pictures. As you can see I’ve included a wedding picture from two years ago.
Wedding (October 27, 2001)
Tahoe and trailer (how we travel)
We have been blessed in the last two years to travel back and forth from Corpus Christi, TX to Minneapolis, MN and actually live in both places. It’s been awesome!! We spent the spectacular summers in Minneapolis (away from the long extended massive heat in TX) and the wonderful winters in Corpus Christi (away from the freezing cold in MN). It was the best of both worlds. It was hard work packing our trailer and Tahoe, moving office files (among other things) back and forth, but it was manageable. Last summer, due to my pregnancy, Craig did all the packing, loading, unloading and unpacking TO and FROM Minnesota – poor thing (You can see the picture of our trailer and Tahoe - “How we travel”). Craig used the trailer to take the unfinished Cobra up north last spring, and brought it back to Corpus Christi in August ’03 finished along with a baby crib, changing station, rocking recliner and other stuff.
We were really fortunate to be able to go back and forth. Now with our growing family and with more things to haul (with baby comes a lot of stuff), it would be wise for us to pick a permanent home base. Due to the fact that most of Craig’s business is up north, Minnesota is the place to be. Personally, this will be a very sad transition for me, leaving the house I’ve become attached to, the church family I have grown to love (close friends), and my mom who lives close by, but I trust Craig made the best decision for the family! Honestly, I’m REALLY not looking forward to the cold weather - UUHHHGGgggg! I can hope to quickly adjust. We bought a condo down south on the beach for our winter getaways (about two months), so hopefully it won’t be so bad. We moved into it at the end of January. This year we’ll stay there till the end of March. While we’re in MN, it’ll be rented out . It’ll be nice to come back periodically to visit. On the positive side, I am grateful for the many friends I’ve ALREADY made in Minnesota. Because of that, the move may not be so difficult.
Sandpiper Condominium - Corpus Christi, TX (okay - Port Aransas, really)
From Craig
We are all doing well and Jamie is growing like crazy!We (mostly me) decided that moving both a business AND a family back and forth from MN to TX was going to kill me or drive me crazy, so we will be making MN our 'home base', and keeping just a condo down here as a winter getaway.The Lord brought the whole thing together pretty quickly, as we had a buyer for the house and didn'teven need to put it on the market. (Our pastor bought it as a rental property, so I’m glad the house sort of stays in the ‘family’) We ended up getting a nice three-bedroom condo (on the beach on Mustang Island) well below the asking price. The condo has a rental program on site, so we can pay for part of it from income generated when we are not there.This all happened awfully quickly for Maria Estella. She is in agreement and supportive, but still sadabout the change. Please pray for her– especially that she will adjust quickly to MN as home; developing close friendships quickly and acclimating to the colder climate well.
Other happenings:
On our one year anniversary, we went on a three day retreat and had hand-on experience with cougars, lions, snow leopard, and tigers (mostly). We BOTH are cat lovers and that was one of the best experience either one of us have ever had!! We had the best time ever! We have a lot of pictures and a video to show for it. We would love to go back someday in the future if we can. Ever have a 700 lb tiger lick your face? We did!
Craig’s Cobra - The Cobra was, quite simply, the most difficult project I’ve ever undertaken. To build a car with virtually no car building experience took a lot of blood, sweat, and money. But after countless hours we (I say ‘we’ because my lovely wife was very patient and supportive throughout the whole project) now possess a frighteningly loud, rip snorting, blindingly fast 1965 Shelby Cobra replica (a replica is a way to have a car like the original Cobra, but save about $400,000 in the process.)
Cobra - completed summer of 2003 (just before Jamie was born)
Jamie Elizabeth Larson – born October 6, 2003; 12:35 a.m.; 7lb. 2oz; 21 inches, is the newest addition to our family. We truly love her. As I FINALLY get around to sending this off, she’s 5 months old and has developed a lot of character. She smiles a lot! She absolutely LOVES her Daddy, - he gets the BIG smiles. She’s a beauty! As you can see in the picture, she has beautiful blue eyes! I think, and many say, she looks like her daddy. “She’s Craig with Maria Estella’s hair” She is also VERY talkative and loud 
Jamie Elizabeth Larson - 2 weeks old
October 27, 2003 – we celebrated our 2 year anniversary with a newborn
We went to a condo we bought (another one– we rent it out) and stayed there two nights (with Jamie) – it was nice to get away, and hang out at the beach. Jamie loved the outside wind and the sound of the waves. That put her right to sleep when we took her for a stroll on the beach in her stroller.
Craig and I continue to enjoy the married life! I can honestly say, I don’t remember arguing except maybe just a couple of times since we’ve been together (not even major arguments). I’m amazed at how well we get along, especially during stressful times and all that’s been going on. It’s awesome! Also, we REALLY enjoyed working together in the business over the last two years – we work GREAT together. It was a blessing to work at home. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to continue helping him in the business as much (just when I was getting the hang of it, too). But the bright side of that is, I’ll be able to stay home as a stay-at-home-mom with Jamie . WHAT A BLESSING! Craig will be getting an office outside the home (which of course means more moving), so he won’t be to distracted by wanting to spend more time with his little mini-muffin, Jamie or his honey muffin, me.
So, that’s our life in a nutshell – busy, busy, busy, moving, moving, moving, and learning to be parents.
May God bless you always,
The Larson’s
We’d love to hear back from you if you get a chance!! Even if it just a short note to let us know you got our letter.
meluvmycat@excite.com
craigclarson@yahoo.com (don’t forget the ‘c’ as a middle initial)
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