WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Christmas 2009 Dear Friends,       Another year has passed and once again we marvel at God’s blessings and provision for our family.  Our Christmas activities have been plentiful and have truly put us in the spirit of the season.  What a joy to receive cards and letters from you and get caught up on your activities.  We wish we could get on an airplane and come visit you and sit down to a cup of coffee and just talk, talk, talk. (sigh)  Well, for now, here is some news from our family.       A week into 2009, Laura (22) traveled to England to spend a semester studying at Oxford.  She loved her time there!  It was a ton of work, researching and writing papers each week for her tutorials, but she learned so much and grew mentally and spiritually.  England in the spring is a beautiful place, too, and of course Laura would have loved to stay there forever.  She also had the opportunity to visit Scotland, France, Italy, and Croatia.  The apex of her experience, however, was the friendships she made while living with other study-abroad students from around the U.S.  Some of them will be visiting Laura here in Colorado the first week of January 2010.   Laura is currently enjoying her last year at CCU.  She is living off-campus with a couple friends and likes the peace and quiet it offers.  She will graduate in May with a degree in biology and is looking at graduate schools for the fall. WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWwWWWWW Laura, enjoying the sights in London       Matthew (18) graduated from high school in May and is now attending Colorado State University here in Fort Collins.  He has chosen health and exercise science as his major and it seems to be a good fit.  Hockey is still part of Matthew’s activities; he is playing for CSU on one of their inline teams.  A special someone in Matthew’s life is his girlfriend Anika.  They met at church and are both involved in youth ministry there.  We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Anika and her parents this last year.  In January, Matthew will begin his new part-time job as a nanny (or manny?) for two young boys.  The family has a disciplined schedule and puts an emphasis on academics and health and fitness.  It seems like a good job for Matthew. WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWwWWWWWWWWW Matthew & Anika       Kevin (15) is now a sophomore at Heritage Christian Academy.  He is doing well in his studies and loves his class and all the fun things they do together.  For instance, a classmate recently had a dance for a birthday party, and the whole sophomore class attended and had a great time!  The swing dance lessons Kevin has had came in handy.  With a driver’s permit in pocket, Kevin will soon be driving himself to school and hockey.   Kevin has been on several hockey teams this year, all of which have done really well.  His tournament team, the Daredevils, went to Junior Olympics in Philadelphia in July.  They played in the AAA division and took third.  We took the whole family and enjoyed a vacation that included visiting Philadelphia’s historical sites, seeing Amish country, and inner-tubing on the Delaware River. WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWwWWWWWWWWW Kevin       Amy (11), now in 6th grade, is excited to be in the junior high group at church, and she loves being a part of the 6th grade girls’ community group.  She would love to have play-dates and sleepovers with her friends every day of the week.  A highlight of the year for Amy was having her best friend Sayjen visit from Arizona at the end of May and then going to visit her in Arizona the following week!  She got to fly home by herself too.  Other interests for Amy include fashion design, music, and dance class. WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Amy, on an outing with Janet       Dan continues to plug along in his work as an electronic engineer.  At times he gets restless and starts in on brainstorm sessions for other creative ways to bring home the bacon.  Nothing brilliant has materialized but he keeps hoping.  He has enjoyed working in the audio-visual booth in the children’s program at church.  We just had a children’s Christmas program where Dan, Kevin, and Amy worked together in the lighting, video, and sound. It was an enjoyable time of family bonding.  For exercise, Dan continues to play hockey and more recently has re-kindled his love for soccer by joining an indoor co-ed soccer team.  He exclaims how fast paced and thrilling this sport is. WWW WWWWWWWWWWWWW Dan & Janet, enjoying the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park       With everyone else so busy, I just stay home, watch soap operas, and eat bon-bons.  Ha!  Homeschooling and driving kids places fills most of my time, but I also enjoy watching the boys play hockey, organizing a few things for the homeschool group, and doing some sewing projects.  The women’s Bible study I attend has been really good too.  This fall we’ve been studying Revelation, and it has given me a new perspective on Jesus’ life on earth.  Yes, I’ve known that Jesus is God and that He gave up much to come to earth for us, but to read Revelation and get a picture of His glory…!  Wow!  And that’s whom we’re celebrating at this time of year! WWWWkWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWishing you a Merry Christmas! WWWWkWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW