Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The following is my Christmas letter and I thought I would share it on here.

Hoping this finds you all in good health, spiritually, physically and mentally. Our family is blessed. We are thankful for all of those things!

From the outside, it may not look like it as Dan has had two surgeries this year. One back in February and another this November. He is healthy as a horse and has faired well in both cases.

Back in February, while recovering from surgery, Dan was hired at PGE. He had applied months previously, but God worked it out at just the right time. Dan now works as maintenance electrician on the dams along the Clackamas River. He loves working for them and they love him!

I continue to homeschool and be a keeper of my home. Juggling four school children's education, running the economy of our home and thinking of future plans is a full-time, yet very rewarding job. The Lord is faithful and has filled me with Joy, Peace and Patience for this role. There is no other place I would rather be!

The children keep growing right before our eyes! They will soon be passing me in height this next year. (Not hard since I am only 5'1 but their dad is 6'1.) We are involved as a family with our church and various activities. Apologetics class, dance/tap class, worship team and sewing circle, to name a few.

Melody is 12 and loves to read! Naomi is 11 and is a reader also but loves to do crafts and serve others. Anna, 9 this month, also is finding a love of reading but her favorite thing is to be 'mommy' to her dolls. Finally, Jimmy turned 7 and is showing his creativity with building his Legos and making paper airplanes. They all are such a joy and a blessing to our family.

We are looking forward to the beginning of the new year as we will be visiting Dan's brother and his family in Hawaii. This is our first BIG family vacation anywhere. We usually do a lot of camping during the year and love it but have been blessed with this trip.

We are also looking forward to see what the Lord does in our lives this coming year. We are completely content with where He has us now, while learning always, to rely on Him daily. We are trusting Him for Wisdom in raising our children to affect generations to come. We want to be purposeful and prayerful, not just in parenting but in all our relationships.

May you all find your Joy and Hope in the One True Giver of blessings as we remember who the true Gift of Christmas is.

With much love.