Dear Friends and Family
We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Chris has been preaching through Romans and to think that this little child who came, was here for one purpose: to pay the penalty for sin. What wondrous love of God the Father. This truly is the greatest gift.
We are settling in for another long winter and already have a lot of snow. Last winter seemed brutal: the worst part was not being able to go anywhere for three of four days at a time. The kids loved going out and playing in the snow, and since we live at the end of the street, the city piles all the snow from our street in front of our house, and the kids can sled down it. The last of the snow finally melted on May 14. So here we sit, with a long winter ahead of us.
This year was another uneventful year, for which we are thankful. With gas prices so high, we did not make any long family trips, and kept mainly to home and Idaho Falls to see Grandma and Grandpa Scott, which the kids love to do.
The kids are growing like weeds. It seems as if every month they come to me and want me to measure them on our wall, and every time, it seems as if they grow. I keep seeing the marks get closer and closer to mine. In a few years, I will be the shortest one in the family. I’ll treasure the time between then and now.
Josie turned 6 on December 16. She is doing first grade work in homeschool and is very imaginative and creative. She loves to play the piano, sing and draw/paint/color. She wants to learn to play the flute, but I want her to have a least a year of piano lessons before we start her on a band instrument. This last summer, she played soccer and had a lot of fun. Josie is full of life and enjoys everything to the fullest. She is joy to all those around her.
Scott is 4 ½. He is in the tough spot of being between two sisters. Josie loves to pick on him, like any big sister does, and Colette loves to take the toy he is playing with and run away. He is all boy. He loves trains, planes, cars, and trucks and anything with wheels or wings. His favorite is to go outside and help daddy with yard work. He will use his little mower and trail Chris while he mows the whole yard. It is the sweetest thing. Now he helps daddy shovel snow.
Colette just turned 2 in September. With that, have come a few phrases that she especially loves to say: “Mine”, “Where’s mine?”, “That’s mine”, “No, mine.” This does not sit well with brother and sister (or Mommy and Daddy). We will survive. Colette loves to make people laugh and makes lots of silly faces. She has no fear of heights and will do anything her brother and sister do, especially when it comes to climbing.
Josie and Colette both love to wear dresses and look like princesses. Scott is very sweet and says they look pretty.
I am still giving piano/voice lessons when weather permits. I keep my days busy with teaching, housework, mediating fights, and teaching S.S. I do manage to find time for Sudoku, reading, and the occasional sewing.
Chris is still working on his photography. This last year, an ad agency used one of his photos for their client Subaru, in an ad they ran in USA Today. They purchased additional use of the photo for worldwide campaign. Chris also won “Best of Show” at the Eastern Idaho Photographic Society’s annual judged show. There have been a few opportunities. He has a website for selling some of his pictures.
Mostly, Chris is busy with ministry. December 1st, marked our fifth year of ministry here in Ashton. We look back and see how God has challenged us and the ministry. We are truly thankful for the opportunity God has given us to serve here. We can say with all our hearts that we have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
We think of each of you often and you are all in our prayers.
May the Lord give you grace this Christmas,
Love,
Michelle
