Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Happy New Year!















Hello everyone! I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. I wish all of you the best during this year. I know we have so many plans for this year. ( I just hope we can get at least half of them accomplished.)

We went home for a short visit with the family during the week of Christmas. The first night we were there Jonathan woke up with a stomach virus. What a way to start the week! Caitlin felt a little sick Tuesday morning but everyone else remained well. I quarantined both of them upstairs in hopes that no one else would get sick and it worked. Thankfully, no one was sick on Christmas. It isn't fun to be sick during the holidays. We really enjoyed spending time with our family. Some of them we only see during the holidays.

Grandmother Witt will be 90 years old next week. I hope we will be able to go and visit her. She is a wonderful lady who loves God and her family very much. This world has been a nicer place with Grandmother Witt in it. She has always been an encouragement to us. I hope she will be with us for many more years.

Caitlin will be 15 in a few weeks. I can't believe it! She wants to go take the test for her learner's permit the day of her birthday. She is excited. We only have the van right now so I am kind of worried about her learning to drive. I wish we had a smaller car for her to practice in. I'm sure she will do fine but whoever rides with her might need to wrap themselves in bubble wrap and pillows in case of impact. Just kidding. I'm glad it will be a while before Kristen and Sarah reach driving age. They are all growing up so fast. She is doing well in school this year. I think if she keeps it up she will finish out the year with all A's and B's. She still loves to read and loves art. She is always making something or drawing something. She has really gotten into doing collages. She is really good at it. I might try to get her into some stained glass projects and see how she likes that. We are so proud of her. She loves the Lord and has been studying her Bible. She has given some really good counsel to some of her friends over the last few months. We were really impressed when she told us the advice that she had given. She actually does listen in church!

Kristen's arm has healed nicely though she still needs to gain some strength in it. She is now 10 years old. She has a boyfriend at church. He asked her to be his girlfriend just before Christmas. They have liked each other for a long time. He gave her a necklace and a pair of earrings for Christmas. They are so funny. They sit together in Sunday School, most of the time, then they talk on the way to the sanctuary for church then they go their separate ways. He is a really sweet boy. We really like him. Kristen is wanting to learn how to draw. She received some drawing supplies for Christmas. I can't wait to see what she draws. We are so proud of her.

Sarah is doing well. She's as funny as ever. She's our little comedian. She loves to sing and dance and have a good time. She'll do anything for a laugh. Last night we watched Kung Fu Panda and after it was over she thought she'd try a little Kung Fu on Jonathan. By bedtime Kristen, Sarah and Jonathan were chasing each other around the house pretending to fight. Sarah did some "special moves" that got everyone tickled. Sarah really wanted an easy bake oven for Christmas. I think all of our girls have wanted one at one time or another but they never got one. Well, Sarah did. She hasn't made anything yet. Maybe we'll do that together sometime today. We are so proud of her. I hope she doesn't grow up too fast. She seems to be growing up faster than the other two. Maybe it's because she has two older sisters.

Kristen and Sarah have decided to become members of the CIA. (Christians in Action) It is a group of kids that practice a couple of times during the week during the summer and then in August they go to different churches in the area and sing. They also have several outings together during the summer. I think the girls will really enjoy it. They both love to sing. They are in the children's choir at church and have both had solos. They both have really good voices. I wish we had a youth choir but I really doubt any of our youth would sing in it. Caitlin doesn't like to be in front of crowds and refuses to sing in the choir. Maybe one day she will get over that.

Jonathan is doing well. He has been playing the Wii a lot. We all have. It's addictive! We got it for the girls for Christmas but Jonathan ended up letting them open it around Thanksgiving. They have really enjoyed it. He got a Star Wars game for his birthday and we got Mario Cart for Christmas. Everyone has been having a lot of fun playing it. We can actually work up a sweat playing some of the games. My mama got him a zapper gun with some games and some commentaries by John Phillips. He loves those commentaries and they come in handy when he is preparing his sermons. Please remember to pray for us during this new year. pray that many will come to know the Lord this year and that we won't stand in His way. We are here to be servants to the Lord Jesus not the other way around. Please pray for Jonathan. As a pastor, he is sometimes under a lot of stress. Being a pastor isn't always easy or fun. It's a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of patience and love for those around you.

I am doing well. I had a great Christmas. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family. Though my life isn't always pie in the sky, I plan on living my life to the fullest. I have wonderful girls and a wonderful husband and more than anything I have a wonderful Lord and Savior. He has helped me through many situations and I'm sure He will help me through many more. I want to thank each of you for praying for us as we have been on this journey. I have a feeling, though we have been gone for several years, that our journey has only begun.

I hope you have a wonderful year. I pray that God will use you more and that you will be blessed this year than last year. I pray that you will allow God to use you and that you will rely on Him more this year than any other. That is my prayer for you.

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