Christmas Letter 2016

It is December 1, Gentle Reader.  I guess that means it is time for my yearly update for friends and family far and wide.  2016 has been a year of many blessings for us and our family.  Let me share some of the highlights.

Tim's family is in Tucson, where Tim continues to enjoy his job as an engineer with Raytheon and his work as a deacon and in the music ministry at Rincon Mountain PCA.  Nikki does a great job as a full-time mom and part-time teacher as she homeschools Emma three days a week.  Emma heads to a classical Christian school for first grade 2 days a week.  How did she get to be 6?  And Ezra is a rambunctious 2.75.  They are delightful, and we have enjoyed many visits this year-- here, there, and everywhere!

This year Ben changed campuses with the Basis charter school system in North Phoenix, where he continues to teach Latin and ancient history.  Now commutes to the Goodyear campus.  That will likely necessitate a move in the spring both to be closer to campus, and to allow for another bedroom.  Elsa is busy growing Baby #3 due in the spring-- our most exciting news of the year!  She is also a full-time mom extraordinaire to Ada (almost 5) and Carys (2.5).  The girls are simply a joy, and we have met up several times with them as well.

We are looking forward to having both families home this Christmas time, and remain humbled and grateful to watch these families raising up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  Grandparenting really is the best ever!

All 5 of Dave's siblings, with a smattering of spouses, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, gathered here to celebrate Marilyn's 90th birthday in September.  What a joy it is to watch Marilyn and my parents get to know and love their great-grandchildren-- another tremendous blessing!  And God has watched over Marilyn and Jack and Shirley this year, and preserved their health so we can continue to enjoy them.

Dave and I have had a year of relative stability with our health, and many wonderful opportunities. We both continue to have day-to-day struggles-- some simply from growing older, and some from either side-effects of former treatment (Dave) or dealing with disease (Chris' autoimmune disease)-- but we have been able to work, serve others, love each other and our children, and have some terrific trips.  (If you want nitty-gritty health details, see the posts here labeled "Health Updates".) Dave continues as a staff scientist at LANL, keeping the world safe for democracy, and retirement is somewhere in his fore-see-able future.  I finished my wonderful classes at the Harvey Center online in the spring, and am a lady of leisure this year, enjoying the chance to travel and sew.

The most amazing travel was our trip to France and Morocco in the fall. (For day-by-day details and photos, see previous posts here with the label "France&Fez2016").  For me, who has dreamed of Paris since I was little, it was a dream come true. And it was the trip of a lifetime for both of us.

So, Gentle Reader, another year has sped by us, and left us with many reasons to be grateful.  I hope you, too, will count your blessings in this season.  I will leave you with a few more photos of the family, and some of the wonderful friends who visited this year.  They are each a sweet blessing to us.  And so are you, Gentle reader, out there in cyberspace, or across the world, or down the street.  Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!