Bula! I think it has been three years since we’ve written a Christmas letter. It was the Christmas after our cross country trip to move to Washington State. It only seems appropriate to compose another letter this Christmas since we’ve moved back.
I think our Christmas letter then started with a description of the word, adventure, because that is what our year was to us. It would be fitting to say that this year has been an adventure as well, but it is more accurate to say that this year has been a blessing. So in keeping with the theme of our last Christmas letter…
The word, bless, is described as, “to bestow favor or praise”’, “favored”, “happy”, “God’s Favor”. We have been greatly blessed this year. Let’s start at the beginning. The New Year started back in Washington. We spent the evening with some wonderful friends. We played games and brought in the New Year together. It was a great time of laughter and fellowship and a great way to start the year. Also in January Jenn’s parents came to visit for a couple of days. That was a fun time too since it was the last time that they would be with us in Washington. Blessings! Great time spent with family and friends.
February held wonderful surprises. The young married class (New Roots) that we were a part of decided to spend some time at a shelter for women and their children. We baked lasagna and made heart shaped sugar cookies that we decorated with the kids. There was pink frosting and sprinkles everywhere. It was a great time and lots of fun. The children and mom’s loved it. Blessings! Serving others and being blessed all the same. Also this month we were able to get a way for a weekend. We stayed at a beautiful hot springs resort on the Columbia River gorge. Blessings! Time together.
Along with being involved in New Roots, we helped out with the college group called Elevate. It was so much fun hanging out and getting to know the college students that were a part of our church. Blessings! Just knowing them. In March we went to a small lodge/camp on Mt. Hood where there were a number of different activities that took place. There was skiing, wonderful people, amazing worship, good teaching, a ton of snow, tubes, dance dance revolution, smores, and snowmobiles. Yes that’s right snowmobiles. It was the first time for both of us to ride a snowmobile. Blessings! Having a fun time with friends. Not only did we have the Elevate retreat this month but we also had one for New Roots. This retreat took place at the coast. Again there was dance dance revolution, family feud, the ultimate couples Easter egg hunt, a 70’s disco party, great worship, and a wonderful time to connect with each other as a couple. Blessings! Again a fun time with friends and with each other.
April was a big month for us. Let us explain. The past couple of summers we have gone tubing down the Louisville River with some friends. This normally happens in early July. And even then it’s freezing. Well this year Michael and some friends decided that they wanted to go down the river in April because the water would be higher and the river faster and much colder, requiring wet suits. One of the best things about the trip down the river was that Michael and his dad got to brave it together. Blessings! Memories made. Michael’s parents came to visit because he graduated from seminary. Blessings! Time with family and a great accomplishment. He graduated with two masters degrees. First a Masters in Counseling and second a Masters of Divinity. This was an exciting time for us after all of Michael’s hard work. This month was also a big month because the doctor that Jenn worked for invited her and the rest of his dental team to go on a mission’s trip to the island of Fiji. This began our rush to get passports, shots, and the load of paperwork involved. Blessings! The opportunity to go to Fiji and minister to the people there.
It was the beginning of May when we found out that there was enough room for Michael to go to Fiji too, but he would have to pay his own way. Fiji had been Michael’s dream vacation so of course he was going to go. Blessings! I’d get
to share this experience with my husband. It was also in May that we decided to stay another couple of days on one of the islands after the mission’s trip. We were celebrating almost three years of school and a job well done. Blessings! We’d have time to explore more of Fiji and relax.
June couldn’t get here fast enough because this was the month of the big trip. The excitement built every day as the trip got closer. The day finally arrived! After leaving the Portland international airport and flying to LA we boarded a double decker airplane in route to the Fijian islands. After 10 long hours on the plane we arrived in Fiji. From there we had to take another plane (significantly smaller) to the island of Vanua Levu. Once everyone got to the island, we all boarded a bus and took a two hour bus ride to Buca Bay. This is where we stayed for the next week and a half, doing dentistry, playing with the children, and seeing some of real Fiji. It was a humbling experience to
meet the Fijians and discover how loving, caring, giving and thankful they are. It was fun to get to know the adults and the children were lively and energetic. It’s an experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. We were truly blessed to be there. Blessed that God allowed us the opportunity to go, to be with the people that we met in Fiji, to minister out of our comfort zone, to have the time we had together and be forever changed because of it.
July was the month that we would say goodbye to all the wonderful friends that we made during our three years in Washington. The friendships were so special and the attachments ran so deep that the separation would be hard. Blessed! With wonderful friends. After the gut wrenching goodbyes we left for our trip back across the country. We took a different route than before. This trip included a visit to our friends, Fran and Jenise in Spokane WA, Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Tetons, Mt. Rushmore and The Badlands. Blessed! For the safe journey and to be near family again. It was at the end of July that Jenn found a job that she is really excited about.
August was spent getting to know our nephew. The last time we saw him he was 10 months old. Now he’s almost 2, fun, and a joy to be around. Blessed! To be an Aunt and Uncle. This month was also spent praying for Michael to find a job.
In early September Michael started his first job out of school. Yippie! He’d been looking so hard and we were so excited. Blessings! God answered our prayers.
In October we found our very first house. This was so great. We were so blessed with finding it and the deal that we got. It seemed like a forever wait with the papers but in…
…November we took the plunge and are now home owners. The house needs a lot of work but we are excited about being able to do it ourselves. (Well, with the help of our family of course)
We’re sure that December will be wonderful because it will be filled with family, friends and lots of love.
Our prayer is that you too had such a blessed year and for a blessed year to come.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I think our Christmas letter then started with a description of the word, adventure, because that is what our year was to us. It would be fitting to say that this year has been an adventure as well, but it is more accurate to say that this year has been a blessing. So in keeping with the theme of our last Christmas letter…
The word, bless, is described as, “to bestow favor or praise”’, “favored”, “happy”, “God’s Favor”. We have been greatly blessed this year. Let’s start at the beginning. The New Year started back in Washington. We spent the evening with some wonderful friends. We played games and brought in the New Year together. It was a great time of laughter and fellowship and a great way to start the year. Also in January Jenn’s parents came to visit for a couple of days. That was a fun time too since it was the last time that they would be with us in Washington. Blessings! Great time spent with family and friends.
February held wonderful surprises. The young married class (New Roots) that we were a part of decided to spend some time at a shelter for women and their children. We baked lasagna and made heart shaped sugar cookies that we decorated with the kids. There was pink frosting and sprinkles everywhere. It was a great time and lots of fun. The children and mom’s loved it. Blessings! Serving others and being blessed all the same. Also this month we were able to get a way for a weekend. We stayed at a beautiful hot springs resort on the Columbia River gorge. Blessings! Time together.
Along with being involved in New Roots, we helped out with the college group called Elevate. It was so much fun hanging out and getting to know the college students that were a part of our church. Blessings! Just knowing them. In March we went to a small lodge/camp on Mt. Hood where there were a number of different activities that took place. There was skiing, wonderful people, amazing worship, good teaching, a ton of snow, tubes, dance dance revolution, smores, and snowmobiles. Yes that’s right snowmobiles. It was the first time for both of us to ride a snowmobile. Blessings! Having a fun time with friends. Not only did we have the Elevate retreat this month but we also had one for New Roots. This retreat took place at the coast. Again there was dance dance revolution, family feud, the ultimate couples Easter egg hunt, a 70’s disco party, great worship, and a wonderful time to connect with each other as a couple. Blessings! Again a fun time with friends and with each other.
April was a big month for us. Let us explain. The past couple of summers we have gone tubing down the Louisville River with some friends. This normally happens in early July. And even then it’s freezing. Well this year Michael and some friends decided that they wanted to go down the river in April because the water would be higher and the river faster and much colder, requiring wet suits. One of the best things about the trip down the river was that Michael and his dad got to brave it together. Blessings! Memories made. Michael’s parents came to visit because he graduated from seminary. Blessings! Time with family and a great accomplishment. He graduated with two masters degrees. First a Masters in Counseling and second a Masters of Divinity. This was an exciting time for us after all of Michael’s hard work. This month was also a big month because the doctor that Jenn worked for invited her and the rest of his dental team to go on a mission’s trip to the island of Fiji. This began our rush to get passports, shots, and the load of paperwork involved. Blessings! The opportunity to go to Fiji and minister to the people there.
It was the beginning of May when we found out that there was enough room for Michael to go to Fiji too, but he would have to pay his own way. Fiji had been Michael’s dream vacation so of course he was going to go. Blessings! I’d get
to share this experience with my husband. It was also in May that we decided to stay another couple of days on one of the islands after the mission’s trip. We were celebrating almost three years of school and a job well done. Blessings! We’d have time to explore more of Fiji and relax.
June couldn’t get here fast enough because this was the month of the big trip. The excitement built every day as the trip got closer. The day finally arrived! After leaving the Portland international airport and flying to LA we boarded a double decker airplane in route to the Fijian islands. After 10 long hours on the plane we arrived in Fiji. From there we had to take another plane (significantly smaller) to the island of Vanua Levu. Once everyone got to the island, we all boarded a bus and took a two hour bus ride to Buca Bay. This is where we stayed for the next week and a half, doing dentistry, playing with the children, and seeing some of real Fiji. It was a humbling experience to
meet the Fijians and discover how loving, caring, giving and thankful they are. It was fun to get to know the adults and the children were lively and energetic. It’s an experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. We were truly blessed to be there. Blessed that God allowed us the opportunity to go, to be with the people that we met in Fiji, to minister out of our comfort zone, to have the time we had together and be forever changed because of it.
July was the month that we would say goodbye to all the wonderful friends that we made during our three years in Washington. The friendships were so special and the attachments ran so deep that the separation would be hard. Blessed! With wonderful friends. After the gut wrenching goodbyes we left for our trip back across the country. We took a different route than before. This trip included a visit to our friends, Fran and Jenise in Spokane WA, Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Tetons, Mt. Rushmore and The Badlands. Blessed! For the safe journey and to be near family again. It was at the end of July that Jenn found a job that she is really excited about.
August was spent getting to know our nephew. The last time we saw him he was 10 months old. Now he’s almost 2, fun, and a joy to be around. Blessed! To be an Aunt and Uncle. This month was also spent praying for Michael to find a job.
In early September Michael started his first job out of school. Yippie! He’d been looking so hard and we were so excited. Blessings! God answered our prayers.
In October we found our very first house. This was so great. We were so blessed with finding it and the deal that we got. It seemed like a forever wait with the papers but in…
…November we took the plunge and are now home owners. The house needs a lot of work but we are excited about being able to do it ourselves. (Well, with the help of our family of course)
We’re sure that December will be wonderful because it will be filled with family, friends and lots of love.
Our prayer is that you too had such a blessed year and for a blessed year to come.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Wow!!! What a wonderful letter! It really captures everything you did throughout the year, and really reconnects every one with you. And I LOVE the photo too!!!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea, so . . . I will have to post my Christmas photo and letter on my Friday post this week. Great idea!!
Have a wonderful evening!!
thanks cheryl. it was fun to write and it was a fun year.
ReplyDelete