Dear Family and Friends,
I pray this letter finds you and your loved ones healthy and well during this Christmas season. For some of you reading, this is our only interaction during the year. I do think of you each personally as I envelope each letter and pray that 2009 will bring many of God’s blessings to you and your family.
Each year I eagerly anticipate writing this Christmas letter and yet when I sit down to do so, I’m not exactly sure where to start. To sum up the year in one word, I am picking “Fun”. Philip turned 3 years old on January 22 so we started the year with a “Go, Diego, Go!” party. There was Philip and seven little girls at his party!! We had invited boys but they were all sick. Everyone had fun anyhow. I am amazed at how Philip’s vocabulary and imagination have grown this year. We can be going somewhere in the car, and he will tell me a story spanning the entire drive time! I love listening to him, but the problem comes when he wants ME to play with him and that means reenacting an episode of Spiderman, Batman or Bibleman he has watched. Oops, Mommy wasn’t really watching all of that show while folding clothes! I can’t wait until he learns to write and can get these stories of his down on paper.
Our daughter Braewyn started life with a strong voice and it hasn’t let up yet. She had her first birthday on May 2. She’s a beautiful child inside and out, but there’s just a very strong will backing that beauty up. Braewyn holds her own very well against her big brother. They do play very well together for the most part, but when she has something he wants and he takes it, boy do you hear about it! There were days when I would say, “Braewyn is gonna give us a run for our money as parents.” Now, I try to focus on the strong, godly leader she can become by using her personality within the right parameters. She does also have a sweet, nurturing nature as she recently has begun taking care of her baby dolls with little bottles, spoons and bowls.
Matthew celebrated his 10th anniversary working at QS/1 Data Systems this year. I am completely thankful to the Lord for providing this wonderful job for him which in turn allows me to stay home with our children. His company produces the computer software for small, independent pharmacies. In this trying financial time, people are still always going to need their medicine so I believe QS/1 will be a solid foundation for us.
I continue to enjoy attending Bible Study Fellowship and MOPS as have gained so many dear friends through each ministry. This year at MOPS, I am the Discussion Group Team Leader which means leading a monthly meeting for the Table Shepherds (discussion leaders at each table) and creating the discussion questions pertaining to guest speaker’s topic for each MOPS meeting. My days are filled with doing laundry, washing dishes and teaching the kids to love God and each other. It gets tiring and sometimes mundane, but I remind myself everyday what wonderful blessings I have.
Just because the future of our country appears to be very uncertain, yesterday morning you really didn’t know what today would hold either. Someone once said, “I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I do know who holds tomorrow.” My God has told me, “For I know the plans I have for you, …plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). My prayer is that if you do not know Jesus Christ personally, you would seek to do so this year. He knows what tomorrow holds for each of us, and no matter what that is, I am grateful to know He will be with me. If I leave this world tomorrow, I’d be meeting Him and so excited to be doing so. Would you be? I’d be happy to talk with you more about Jesus or you can always call 1-800-NEED-HIM.
Merry Christmas! We love you!
Matthew, Kim, Philip and Braewyn
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