2010 Christmas Newsletter
This has been a year of big events. I guess that should be expected when the family grows in number each year! We moved from a middle Tennessee farm to the bustling city of Atlanta, Georgia. We experienced the birth of our second grandchild and the announcement of our third. We started new universities, jobs, hobbies, instructors, missions, and more. Most significantly, we witnessed the passing of my mother and mother-in-law. Lynn and I were blessed to have been with our mothers as they passed and, all things considered, it could not have been more peaceful. We honor them with our grieving and carry their imprint on our lives in more ways than can be known. We are eternally grateful for the influence they have had on our lives. Life is fast, furious, and unpredictable at times, but I am blessed with a Lord that is steadfast, faithful, and loving. I am equally blessed with a wife that is steadfast, faithful, and loving as she continues day after day unconditionally serving me and our family. My work with HDR continues to be fruitful and I am enjoying my collaboration with new associates and clients. I pray that you find the peace of Christ in this Christmas season and ALL through the New Year.
Hello! Is it just I or has this year flown by?! I hope your year has been filled with great experiences and memories. Michael and I began the year with a 7-day cruise in the Caribbean! The cruise was a gift from the company I represent as a reward for the work I did in 2009. It was also in celebration of their 25th year in existence. I’m so grateful to be a part of Premier Designs. One of the great experiences of that trip was visiting one of the “most beautiful beaches” in the world! As we swam in water 15 feet deep, we could see our shadow on the bottom of the ocean! God is such a great creator! We saw dolphins, whales, sea turtles, tropical fish and many beautiful islands. We definitely learned about “food coma” on this trip! They say the average person gains 1 to 2 lbs per day while on a cruise! We didn’t gain…that much. ;) When we returned from the cruise my family had moved to their new home in Atlanta. Since then we have been holding down the family farm in TN. We have added two cats to our family: Cosmo and Lena. In May, Middle TN was hit with a major flood that damaged many homes and buildings in the Nashville area. It was a 500 year flood, so I’m so glad that we won’t have to deal with that for a few hundred more years! Even though our house is on a hill, the sheer force of water pressure soaked through the block into our crawl space and flooded our basement. With quick attention, we were fortunate to avoid any major damage. Many families lost their homes. In June, Michael went on a mission trip with a group from our church to the Dominican Republic. For 11 days they served with the local YWAM team through youth ministries and evangelism. They also did a lot of repairs and construction jobs on the missionary base. We had a wonderful summer with Anyia and Nakiya. We spent the days swimming, painting, walking, playing with cats, and trying to train our new dog Eliza to not tear up the farm! We were ecstatic to find out in August that we are expecting again! We are praying for a smooth and healthy pregnancy. So far so good! Our baby girl should be born around the weekend of Easter! In the words of my husband, “these are exciting times. Psalm 115:1 - ”Not to Us, O Lord, not to us, but to You goes all the glory for your steadfast love and faithfulness.” We hope and pray your year has brought you many reminders of God’s love and faithfulness in your life! Merry Christmas from Michael, Rose, Aniya, Nakiya and our baby girl!
Hi, this is Jade. I am five years old now. Mom is teaching me to read and count. I am also taking piano lessons and have played in two recitals. It makes me so nervous, but I pray for God to help me and He always does. I also took ballet classes this year. I was so shy in a room with all those girls and the teacher, but Mom stayed with me and I learned a lot. I was sad to leave our house in Tennessee when we moved to Atlanta, but Atlanta has beautiful tall buildings. I love skyscrapers. Mom took me downtown on the subway train once. It was so fun. We went to the Symphony to hear Micah play. In the summer, Mom and I went to Florida with Daddy. He had to work and we went to the beach. The rest of the kids were too busy to come with us. It seems like everyone is busy now. Bekah went away to school and I am the only girl left. David and Micah are the only boys left at home and they tease me a lot. They chase me all around our new house and I scream. Mom thinks I scream too loudly, but I can't help it. It just comes out! I received a new bicycle with training wheels for my birthday. Mom thinks I should learn how to ride without the training wheels, but I am going to leave them on forever. I do not want to fall down. I hope you all have a good Christmas. G’bye see-ya!
Greetings! They say life is what happens while you’re making plans, and this year of our lives has certainly testified to that statement. Although our hearts and future goals are still set on moving to Tanzania as missionaries, currently our house has failed to sell despite being on the market for nearly two years. We had a roller coaster of a month during the summer when we received an offer, but it fell through, leaving us exploring other options. So, in the meantime, we remain in the US, keeping ourselves busy with much traveling and adventure. First we headed up to Canada’s Bruce Peninsula, followed by camping at Pictured Rocks in northern MI where we witnessed an amazing storm roll in off Lake Superior. Later we twice trekked down to Kentucky’s Red River Gorge for hiking, camping, and our new hobby – rock climbing. It’s quite invigorating physically and mentally; currently our abilities are at the higher end of intermediate. One wonderful climbing spot is called The Chocolate Factory, where we climbed routes called Glass Elevator, Oompa, and, you guessed it, Loompa. Also during the summer, by some very generous support, I, Rachel, was able to spend a week in Haiti on a mission trip with CMDA (Christian Medical and Dental Association) six months after the horrific earthquake in Port-au-Prince. I helped interpret while the doctors and medical students were able to treat about 1200 patients, but even more importantly we prayed with just about everyone we saw. Many told us stories of their daily lives since the earthquake, and although, having lived there as a child, the poverty and devastation weren’t exactly a surprise to me, I had to come to grips again with how much the people we saw endure every single day. It reminds me of some Sara Groves’ lyrics: “Oh tell me what you know of; about God and the world and the human soul. How so much can go wrong, and still there are songs.” May the Father bless us all with an increasingly sincere heart to do His will.
Greetings from the South! You can probably tell from the other letters that we’re a little further south than last year. The move to Atlanta is definitely the biggest piece of news for the last year. Since graduating from Samford University last December, I have found a job in Atlanta working for a small computer programming company. I must admit, I do not miss the late nights of studying and the stress of tests and college life I was facing last year. So far, I have done pretty well surviving my first year in the “real world.” City life has been a tricky thing to adjust to though. I have yet to figure out how to maneuver the constant traffic and chaos on the streets of Atlanta. Fortunately for me, I have a home office from which I work, so I can’t complain about my morning commute of ten steps to my desk. You can imagine how my wardrobe of camouflage, overalls, and cowboy boots doesn’t exactly fit into the city culture. Fortunately, I have had many chances to visit Tennessee for hunting expeditions, horse riding, and a dose of country life that I do miss very much. This Thanksgiving, I was fortunate enough to bag a good-sized buck on our farm in Tennessee. This year has sped by because of all the changes and adventures. I hope your year was equally exciting, and that you have a Blessed Christmas holiday and New Year!
Merry Christmas! As usual, 2010 was a fly-by year filled with adventure, travel, and family. We started out by welcoming our son Robbie into the world on February 8th. He is a great baby, always smiling and cuddling. Now that he is 9 months, I am getting nervous about having a boy. He somehow manages to get into/under/behind everything! I’m expecting him to take off walking any day. Celeste turned two in July and continues to bring us so much joy. She is full of energy, constantly moving and making lots of noise. She is quite a talker, routinely having conversations with anyone who will participate. Jade is one of her favorite playmates, especially when they play dress-up. It is clear that she has inherited her father’s love of practical jokes. I can only imagine the trouble I’ll be in as she grows older and learns to plot with him! Our year was saddened by the loss of both of my grandmothers. I was blessed to spend so many years knowing two amazing women. We miss them constantly. Roberto has continued to enjoy working at Emory. One of the highlights of his year was traveling to Haiti in June on a medical mission trip. It really puts the blessings of our life into perspective when you witness such devastation. We also had a great time visiting the Dominican Republic in October to celebrate his parents’ 50th anniversary. In addition to the above, we have enjoyed trips to Canada, New York, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and many trips to Michigan and Nashville. It has been a full year, with the most memorable moments being those spent with family and friends. We pray that you and your family are as blessed as ours!
After every year passes, I wonder at how each one seems to go by so much faster than the previous one. Somehow, at the close of this year I find myself halfway through my junior year of college at Union University at the age of 20. As an upperclassman, my school load has increased significantly. During this past fall semester I took several advanced courses: Physical Chemistry, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, and Modern Physics. Though these classes were incredibly challenging, I am continually amazed at how much there is to learn about God’s extraordinary Creation. Earlier this year I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to San Francisco for the Spring National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. I was able to present my research from last year at an undergraduate symposium with hundreds of other chemistry students. I also had the opportunity to see some of the city, including the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz! Also this spring, my family moved to a new house in Atlanta, but I’m sure that everybody else will tell you about that. During the summer, I worked at Emory University in Atlanta in Roberto’s lab. Though I worked with cancer cells in a biology lab instead of in a chemistry lab (which is my preferred area of study), it was yet another great opportunity to learn about God’s Creation. Overall, this year has been full of wonderful lessons and blessings. May our Wonderful Creator bless you richly as He has blessed me this year!
Hello everyone! Wow, what a crazy year this has been! In March, we moved from Tennessee to Atlanta which has proved to be one of the biggest changes in my life. Used to the quiet and country life we experienced in Tennessee, I must admit I was not wholly prepared for a move to a city as big as Atlanta. Getting used to such things as living in a subdivision and constant heavy traffic took some time. However, I am beginning to see the positives to city life. For instance, we now enjoy the fastest internet we have ever had! And I don’t need to go walking and jumping around the house to find a cell phone signal! I have also been blessed with a wonderful violin teacher here in Atlanta and enjoy the constant daily challenge of learning to play the violin. During the summer, I again attended Masterworks, a four week violin/music camp, and had many amazing spiritual and musical experiences. This year also included the sad passing of my two grandmothers. They were the best grandmothers ever and will be sorely missed in the years to come. Though I am a junior in highschool, I can already see my college applications looming in the future. But that story will have to wait till next time! Until then, Feliz Navidad!
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