Christmas letter 2008

“For unto us a child is born,

To us a son is given,

And the government will be upon his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV

Greetings to you, friends and Family,

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. One filled with love and laughter with family and friends, one with memories made each other. But mostly we pray that the Lord has filled your home with His love and promises to you that He will one day come again to bring us home.

Isn’t it incredible how the year flies by so fast? The new years always sneaks up on us and surprise it’s here. We know its coming yet we are never quite ready to welcome it in fully. IF only we could of … or finished… or had gone….IF only. There is one thing I must remind myself, is that this time on earth is not here to see how much we can cram in one calendar year. But yet one that is given to us By God to thank, praise and serve Him for all the incredible moments he has given us.

In April it felt incredibly good to see Paul get his first call as a Pastor to St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Rockton, IL. Then in May there was an Incredible sigh of relief that Paul’s four years of Sem. Work is now over.(well almost) Then to attend an Incredible ordination service in August to See Paul ordained had really made our year a busy year indeed. We are incredibly thankful to all who have helped and were a port of the whole process from the beginning to the very end. And now as Paul has started his new journey here at St. Andrew’s he does an incredible job of being Pastor Paul, Daddy, and a loving husband all at the same time. We thank all that are supporting us through prayer and friendship. On Eagle’s wings we are constantly in flight. Trusting in the Lord always for His guidance.

It’s also incredible to see how much your children have grown in just a year.

Timothy has learned how to tie his shoes, snow board, and has become an Incredible reader. He is now seven and has become a very helpful big brother in many more ways. He has a very big heart, and he is very serious when it comes to making sure things are done right.

Lily is 5 ¾ . Lily is incredibley sweet and thoughtful. She is so good with her brothers and sisters. She is in kindergarten and is also starting to read. (so spelling out secrets between Paul and I is getting pretty hard to do. We’ll have to learn pig latin next) Lily loves dresses. She will wear dresses every day morning and night if I let her.

Lucy is almost 3. She remains to be incredibly strong willed. This can be a very good thing for her. After all she is the third child. She has learned to go the bathroom. She still loves to run around with hardly any clothes on. If she could she would run around in tights all day and show you her undies in exchange to see yours. She is very sociable at church and sits with anybody but her mother. Lucy tugs at your heart that makes you just pick her up to enjoy her hugs.

Nathaniel is now 16 months. Talk about incredible moments lets see here, His first step, first words, first trip down a waterslide, first tumble down the stairs, first drink of pop, first climb up on to the piano! He is keeping up with everyone else. He loves his moose and is a very cuddle kid. He smiles brighten up the whole room.

As for myself, I have kept incredibly busy. I am still homeschooling. I enjoy it very much. There are many days where it is challenging, but the joys of seeing my children grow in faith and love for their Lord and for each other far out ways the challenges. I get to enjoy the innocence of growing up a little more. I cherish those moments as little blessings from above. It was great to study the planets and hear Tim say “mom, I traveled around the sun 7 times! How many times have you traveled around the sun?” Lily is always asking if she can do school work. I have been able to do other things also. We have a wonderful church family. They do take care of us. On Wednesday s, I get to go to choir, Paul and I get to date once in while all because friends take time to watch our four children. I teach two year old Sunday school on Sunday mornings in my house. That has been a joy also.

As for incredible moments, there has been a vast amount of them. We take the time now to take in the most incredible moment that happened over 2000 years ago. Thinking about the quite night in Bethlehem, an incredible moment like no other, the birth of our King, Jesus came upon the earth. That incredible moment was followed by many more all the way to the cross and on Easter Morning when His tomb was found empty! His most incredible moment, raising us from death to give us eternal life, Alleluia! Merry Christmas!

Our family wishes you an Incredible New Year!