Christmas Blessings

Merry Christmas!  It's hard to believe it has already come and gone.  We enjoyed Christmas Eve with family at my mom's house and the kids had a great time opening presents and eating sugary treats.  This year was particularly fun watching the kids get excited over the little things.  Drew loved spotting the Christmas lights from his car seat and would LOUDLY announce the sighting to everyone in the car, over and over until we acknowledged him.  That boy has some lungs!  Cameron and Mia loved the advent bags my mom put together for them.  Our tradition was to open one bag each night after dinner and talk about the Christmas story.  They did a great job keeping most of the facts straight. 

Christmas morning, we work up early (of course) and built a fire (Cameron's highlight of the day) and opened presents before heading to Mimi and Grandpa's.  But before we left, all the grandparents came over for the big reveal of the "new" swing set.  Our back yard has basically just been rocks since we moved in so we are so thankful for something for the kids to do outside!

This year we were especially grateful to be spending Christmas with our sweet Nana.  As many of you know, she had a heart attack right around Thanksgiving.  It was a scary time for our family but we knew God was in control and He was watching over her.  After a double stint, she is doing much better but will need to keep a close eye on her kidneys.  We were also so thankful that our Mimi had a recent clean bill of health with her cancer!  Our family just wouldn't be the same without these strong women!

I have really enjoyed having some time off to spend with Michael and the kids.  It has been wonderful just being home together without much of an agenda for a time.  Of course, Cameron and Mia have their own agendas which has kept us busy....going to the park, family walks, games, movies, playing outside, painting, baking, etc.  Priceless!

I am relieved to be starting this next semester at AZVA wearing only one hat for a change.  I will no longer be teaching since I am moving to full time StARS Coordinator.  Basically, I work with a group of very at risk teens. They can be a challenge but I love this part of my job!  It is very rewarding when you see one of them succeed after overcoming huge obstacles in their personal life.  I also started my master's this month--I'm attending GCU Online to get my M.S. in Professional Counseling.  It will take a good 3 1/2 years if I stay full time, but the timing with graduation will work out great just as Drew is headed to Kindergarten.  Wow...just the thought makes me a little teary!

Speak of the little devil...he gave us our first big scare a few days ago.  He managed to fall over backwards while kneeling on one of our big heavy bar stools in our kitchen.  His foot was pinned and we thought it might be broken.  We took him to the ER but he suddenly wanted to get down and walk.  The next day he still didn't want to put weight on it so we took him to the doctor who said he just damaged the soft tissue.  Phew!  I have a feeling this won't be our last visit to the ER with this one....he has NO FEAR!

We are so thankful for all of you and your prayers and support over this past year.  It has been the most challenging year of our lives, but we are coming out the other side stronger, refined, and more centered on Christ!  He is our provider, comforter, protector, and strength!! 

We love you all and wish you a safe and happy new year!
On to 2011!!!

Family Service

Today we had the opportunity to take our entire family with a group called Feed the Hungry from our church, Pure Heart Christian Fellowship, to downtown Phoenix to pass out food and water. Over 200 hundred people came through the line.
Beck fit right in cutting up cucumbers for a salad that was made and I was stationed at the end of the line with my little helpers (see pics) keeping the ice chest stocked up and passing out water. Mia also chipped in to butter bread.
It was a great first experience for our entire family to serve together without Beck and I being the coordinators of the event. We had a great time!

I didn't do the best job of documenting with pics but here are a few.