Dear friends and family,
Christmas and New Years have come and gone, and here we are, still wanting to make the most of this annual reminder to connect with those we hold dear. It’s been ages since we’ve done a traditional Christmas letter, but for those of you Facebook or Twitter, Brent does a good job of keeping you up to date on our happenings. So, whether you already know all about what we’ve been up to, or you haven’t heard from us in way too long, we want you to know that you are important to us and we count our blessings for each of you.
Our New Home
As many of you know, we felt God leading us to put our house on the South Hill of Spokane up for sale about two years ago. We had an offer in about six weeks and were then faced with figuring out our next step. God had a plan different from our own, and He provided a wonderful house for us to live in while we looked for our next home. We were looking for a home with some land for the kids to explore, yet still be close enough to town and church. After over a year of looking, God led us to our current home, just the right size for our needs and a great mix of fields, trees, and wildlife. Looking back over this whole situation, we can clearly see God’s hand guiding, even though things did not happen as quickly as we thought they would. God had many surprises and blessings along the way for us including new friends we never would have known, and our faith in Him continues to grow.
Our Ever-Growing Kids
Kyle will be turning seven in a week and has a curious mind, always wanting to understand how things work. He’s fascinated with space exploration and is quite content to spend hours pouring over new books from the library about the subject. He is in the first grade this year loves school. He’s reading well and especially enjoys science experiments. Legos are about his favorite pastime. Lisa is homeschooling the kids and this seems to be a good fit for us right now. We are thankful for the many great options that are available to homeschoolers and are happy for the extra time it affords us with the kids.
Elena is four and a half (or is it 4 and two-thirds now..every month is important at this age). She also loves to learn and is a great little student. She loves babies and has said for quite some time that she plans to be a baby doctor when she grows up (or a mommy, depending on the day). Right now, she is happy to just be the mommy of her little dollie, Gracie. Lena also enjoys playing Legos, cooking, helping mom shop, exploring with Kyle, making mud pies, helping outside, swinging, and riding her bike. She brings joy and laughter to our home on a regular basis.
The Ever-Aging Parents
As mentioned above, Lisa took on a new role as teacher last year. It’s a role she is enjoying, but she’s glad to only have two students, Kyle and Elena. She has a new respect for teachers who handle a whole lot of kids every day, and is even more confident that nursing was the right career for her to chose. Her nursing hat is currently on the shelf except for when she needs to take it out to care for her own family. They keep her busy enough with trips to the Emergency Department and doctors offices for a variety of ailments. She is enjoying her new life as a country girl, but is happy that the conveniences of town life like stores and parks are not far away.
Brent continues his work as an interactive web designer for PositiveChoices.com. He goes into the office two days a week and works from home the other two. Lisa and the kids enjoy the extra time they get to see him on days he works from home. He thoroughly enjoys living in the country, from driving the neighbors tractor to mow the fields to chopping wood for the wood stove, he is quite content. He had fun building a tree house for the kids this summer. The kids can’t wait for him to make them a pulley system for it so they can haul their treasures up to their lookout.
A few years ago, Brent started sharing a daily Bible promise on Twitter. That grew into a site, DailyBiblePromise.com along with an email list, Twitter and Facebook page. He appreciates the responsibility of keeping up with it each day, and knowing 114,000+ people are seeing it each day helps too.
Peace in the Chaos
As we look back over the joys and challenges of the year, one thing is abundantly clear to us: God is in control. There is so much instability in the world right now, more than ever before. Satan tries to use the chaos around us bring fear to our hearts, but in Christ, there is no need to fear. He is with us through everything, and He is coming soon to take us home with Him and right every wrong. We can’t wait for that day when there will be no more pain, no more good-byes, no more sorrow. May God bless each of you with the knowledge of His love for you and the Peace that passes all understanding.
We love you!
Love,
Lisa, Brent, Kyle, and Elena