CHRISTmas Letter 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

Another year has come and gone within a blink of an eye. Let's see, what has happened this year. Well, to start January brought with it snow and fun. Andrew is another year older and very 2! He turned two this past July. We have begun our hand at potty training. It is slow going, but he has done fairly well. He jabbers away slowly gaining words that are understandable to us. He is completely up to speed with everything else, if not advanced in some areas, it is just the talking that we need to continue to work on with perseverance. He is fully boy but has a soft spot. He loves to wrestle, play with anything with wheels, ride on toys, shoot his nerf gun, snuggle with his mommy, give hugs and lovin', play on the computer, watch movies, run, dance, and sing along with others.

Jeremy worked for Richmond American Homes for the past few years and 4 years to the exact day, that he was laid off by Beazer Homes, he was let go by Richmond. It has been intersting looking back to where we were at that time to the present. The Lord has continued to be faithful and has granted us peace during it. Don't get me wrong it has had its ups and downs, but we know that He is in charge and is and will always take care of us. Jer has been interviewing with a few companies and has a job lined up to start when we get back from Christmas vacation. He also made the decision to be baptized this year. It was a small setting, in our home, which turned out well, since both my mom and I were ridiculously ill with a stomach virus.

We had a major change this year, for multiple reasons, we left the church we had been attending for the past 3 years and have found our home church at Christ Community Church, led by Pastor Tony Wilson. The messages that are being preached and the love that the congregation has already shown to us has been a breath of fresh air. We have been attending their Feed the Flock Ministry on Wednesday nights. Basically, it is a ministry set up to reach out to the community. They make dinner for whoever wants to come; each week is different (meal wise). They take donations but it is free to all who enter. It has been a blessing to us and has allowed us to get to know some of the people in more depth.

I am still a full-time stay-at-home mom. I am still watching little ones. Occasionally, I watch the little girl that I was watching, but I watch her brother at least twice a week, if not more. It has been great for Andrew and has allowed him to learn to share and play nice with those older and younger than him. I am still baking and cooking like mad. For Andrew's birthday this year I made him a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake. It turned out well, if I say so myself. It was a lot of fun to do it and I hope that I will be able to eventually turn that creativity into a side business at some point. I don't know how soon, but definetely in the future.

Our parents are doing well. My parents just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year. We surprised them with a party in their honor, and I feel that they were blown away, so we couldn't ask for more! Jeremy's mom and dad are still running the daycare. They have had another successful year with it, too! Each of them come to visit us as much as possible which has been a blessing, allowing Andrew to build a relationship with each one individually. I am so thankful that we are within driving distance to them. They have been able to share in the most important parts of his life, and ours too.

Well before we go, I want to remind everyone, especially during the CHRISTmas season, that although hearing about our year might be nice, it is not the most important thing in life. The only thing worth knowing is Christ, as Lord and Savior. Each one of you can know Him personally, all He requires is that you admit that you are a sinner (Romans 3:23-25), believe in your heart that Christ died as an atonement for your sins, that He was raised, and is with God in heaven (John 3:16-17), confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and Savior of your life (Romans 10:9). This is my gift to you all, that you would hear these words and take heart. God gives this gift freely, there is nothing that anyone can do to earn it, He gives it freely without reservation. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God- Ephesians 2:8

God bless you all this CHRISTmas season, joy be with you all!