Christmas Letter 2008...

Merry Christmas to all our Friends and Family!

We are happy to be sending you Season's Blessings from blogland this year. For those of you who are new to our little spot on the 'net, welcome! We hope you'll keep coming back to visit from time to time.

We missed sending out Christmas greetings altogether in 2007, so let's catch you up on what you missed. 2007 was eventful, with the biggest event being a move for our family. We left the home we'd been in since 2001 and moved about 4 miles away to a house with a little more space for teenagers to hang out. And a pool. It has a basement with an apartment, which came in very handy shortly after the move.




A few days after Thanksgiving, we got a call from my dad, who had been hospitalized twice with both cardiac and pulmonary problems in the summer. He was having those same problems again, so Jimmy went to the farm where Dad lives and brought him back to Raleigh. Over the course of December, he had two more hospital stays. He came home to our house on Christmas Eve and stayed through January. With all that excitement, Christmas cards didn't make it out last year.[We are happy to report that my dad is doing very well. He is back living on his farm, working on projects and designing everything from engines to houses.]

So let's take a shot at 2008 and see where we are now...

Zack is now 7. Zane will be 13 in a few short days. And Kelsey is 14. They still go to the same school. Zack is busy being the storyteller as he has been since he began to talk. Zane played center on the JV football team this fall and led the team Bible study as a 7th grader. Kelsey played volleyball and is making the transition from middle school academics to a more rigorous high school curriculum. Most of the time no one gets body-slammed at home, but Zack is becoming more and more proficient at annoying his big brother. All struggling and strife cease and there is harmony in the land as Carolina basketball season arrives. And when Carolina basketball season DOES arrive, there is no one in the family as on top of the stats and game schedule as Kelsey.








We have a new addition to the family this year ... Pepper. She's a rescue puppy... a shih tzu whose first family didn't have a whole lot of time to spend with her. We offered to give her a home and now she's DEFINITELY part of the family!




Jimmy continues selling medical devices and loves what he does. He had a TON of fun this fall operating the clock for varsity football games and helping keep an eye on the other team from atop the press box during JV games. He has become a pool expert in one short season and has a pretty substantial list of home improvement projects in the pipeline. Jimmy's involved in a Friday morning men's Bible study and serving as a deacon in our church. In January, he will come alongside the Creation class teacher in Student Ministries to help grow that program.



I went back to teaching this year... just one class... journalism... at the kids' school. I love seeing students grow as writers. On the other hand, having even a little job after being home 14 years (and working only in fields with highly flexible schedules like real estate) comes with its share of ups and downs. I miss my Bible study very much and am prayerfully considering where the Lord would have me next year. I'm still on the Women's Council at church and still on the editorial team for the Women's Ministry newsletter. My favorite project for the year has been serving as Administrator for the Celebrating Christmas blog. Click the link and see what my Friends and I have been up to!

Yes, we still have our little place at the beach, but we have very little time to spend there. We would LOVE to sell it, so if you hear of anyone looking... let us know!

Gramma is doing well, still working for the Department of Corrections and living in the same house that she has lived in for nearly 50 years. She's quite the hip grandmother, with her own Facebook profile and blog! How cool is that?!

We are blessed. Truly. Jesus is the heart of our home, for which we are eternally (literally) grateful. So in this holy season when we celebrate His arrival in the flesh here on Earth, we send to you love and blessings and pray your 2009 is filled with grace and peace...

Today in the town of David
a Savior has been born to you;
he is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11