Christmas Newsletter 2024

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Merry Christmas, friends and family! We are grateful for another wonderful year. I broke my ankle at the beginning of the year, but it healed well. Just slowed me down a bit. In April, a friend and I made a mission trip to a hospital/school/orphanage in Balfate, Honduras. We carried in a large amount of baby clothes and equipment for the hospital to use. It is always rewarding to bless people in the name of God. I continue to weave both cloth items and baskets. It keeps me busy. We have been getting our house in Nashville ready to sell and will put it on the market in March. Tom and I made a couple trips to Florida to visit Katie and Roberto and the kids. In October, we returned to the Upper Peninsula for a few days. We thoroughly enjoyed touring the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It was my first time to visit Copper Harbor. Apparently, I still have rock-collecting in my blood! Tom enjoys working on unfinished projects at the lake house. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it is still far off. He also is blessed to be teaching the adult Sunday School class at our church in Alpena, Fresh Water Bible Church. The summer was full of fun with the children visiting us in Alpena. Swimming, tubing, boating, fishing, good food and fellowship. The cousins are such good friends and love experiencing the lake together. We thank God for each one of you and for all of His many blessings. May we all grow closer to Him in the New Year. Lynn and Tom

Guess which one of us is upside down!

Patients at Honduras mission hospital attending worship service

A high school class at the mission school

The hospital entrance announcing: "God works here"

Several Northern Lights events this year

Tom's wood pile

Some of my baskets

Katherine and Celeste in Peter Pan

So. Much. Fun.

Good size pike

One of many sunsets

From Jade

Greetings! While I would not describe this past year as extremely eventful (for me at least), it has been very productive. I am currently in my second year of college. Every semester has been exciting, providing new opportunities and allowing me to make new friends. One of the highlights of my most recent semester was leading a cyber competition team which contained a few of my friends. We learned a lot while also having fun together. Another activity which I especially enjoy doing is going with my friends to get Vietnamese Pho. It is a delicious soup with beef broth, rice noodles, and generally, some form of beef or chicken. Throughout every year I am still reminded of God’s sovereignty. Although I sometimes stress over my grades or what the future holds, I know that His plan for my life remains constant, so I do not have to worry. I hope you all have a merry Christmas!

From Micah and Christy

This year has been a rewarding year for us both. The many long hours and few weekends have begun to pay off, as this past year I graduated from junior-associate at my law firm to mid-level associate. The new responsibilities have been challenging and rewarding: being able to work directly with clients more often, and being responsible for the work of multiple junior attorneys working under me. I am thoroughly enjoying the new responsibilities and the intellectual challenges that God has brought me. Christy also received a promotion at work, and has had an increasingly busy schedule throughout the year. Thankfully, we both have continued to be able to work remotely for significant parts of the year and thus are able to spend time together despite our busy schedules. We still live in Northern Virginia, and enjoy our lives in DC. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

From Bekah and Kevin

The Busheys had another year full of blessings and adventures! In February, we welcomed sweet Desirae Ann into the world. Desirae is actually the easiest baby of the three! She reached all of her milestones easily, sleeps great, and is full of smiles! Francesca pleasantly surprised me with being an incredibly helpful older sister. I will be honest; I was a little worried! She turned three this year, loves to visit Grandmother and Grandpa at the lake house, is thrilled to iceskate with her brothers and dad, and loves to help out around the farm. Both she and Michael moved into bunk beds this year when Desirae moved into the crib. Having three littles in one room makes for an interesting night! Michael turned five and has taken on the role of big brother even more seriously than before. He is amazingly attentive to his baby sister and is best buds with Francesca. He has been learning lots on the ice with his dad as coach. It might be his favorite day of the week! Michael was not old enough to participate in 4-H this year, but helped Stephanie in the auction ring and will be showing his first animals next year as a Cloverbud. Patrick turned 15 and continues to soar in hockey. He played on a high school team for a few months and then decided to take a break from organized hockey and train privately with Kevin. He plans to join a competitive team next year but wants to fine-tune a few skills until then. Patrick has taken an interest in 4-H but not in time to pick his own animals for this year. He did help Stephanie prep her animals and learned a ton from watching her. He has plans to show practically an entire barnyard full of animals next year! Stephanie graduated and turned 18! She completed her Building Trades class with flying colors. Her class built a whole house and it was by far her favorite subject! Stephanie got a job working at a shop that builds large displays for trade shows. She is learning how to use all sorts of tools and is excelling in all these new skills. She has applied and was accepted to study in a 3-month certification course for Blacksmithing at Michigan State University. Giving birth to my third child was definitely the highlight of my year! I am still working part time cleaning houses. I love that this job offers me flexibility around my main job as a full-time mom, especially since I have started my homeschool journey with Michael this year! We joined Classical Conversations. It is incredible! Michael is loving it and I am thrilled to have found a perfectly structured curriculum for our needs. I also have become more involved in 4-H and more serious about my goat business. I am the goat leader in our local 4-H club as well as the goat superintendent for Washtenaw County. I don’t think I am super qualified for these positions except that I love goats and am so excited to help kids learn more about such a fun and versatile animal. Kevin spends most of his time engulfed in the hockey world. He loves and does great making ice at Yost Ice Arena. He spends some of his spare time skating with his buds and coaching three of our kids with their hockey skills. During the summer, hockey slows down for us and he is able to devote time to his orchard goals. Most of his blueberries survived last winter. He has added pawpaw and apple trees and is planning on chestnuts next. It will be fun and busy when they all start producing! We hope your year was filled with blessings and adventure! Merry Christmas and God bless!

Stephanie's graduation

Visiting Papa

Pumpkin harvest

4-H calf

Strephanie's graduation party

Hockey practice

From Christian and Rebecca

This year we lived through a disaster. On September 27th, Hurricane Helene devastated the High Country of North Carolina. Tens of thousands lost power. Roads and bridges were washed away, leaving whole communities and townships completely cut off. Many lost homes and all of their possessions in mudslides and flash floods. Over 100 people in North Carolina lost their lives. The recovery and rebuilding in this region will take months for some and years for others. We are extremely grateful to have suffered no damage or significant material losses. Our home was without power and running water for 9 days. In the week following the storm, Rebecca took the girls to stay with her parents in GA and, in her role as admin for our church, helped to communicate resources and needs to our church community. I stayed behind and volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse disaster relief teams clearing trees and tearing out flooring and drywall from flooded homes. Thankfully, I was able to get a hot shower and fill buckets for flushing toilets at a nearby friend’s home until power and water was restored at our house. After a week in GA, Rebecca and the girls were able to return home and we have been able to return to many familiar routines. App State’s campus sustained relatively little damage and became a vital resource for the community, offering free meals to the community and housing a Red Cross Emergency shelter in the convocation center. Some students lost vehicles, housing, and other possessions in the floods. Thankfully the vast majority of our students were able to return when classes resumed, roughly three weeks after the storm. I am very proud of these students for finishing such a tumultuous semester.

In church one Sunday soon after the storm, I was especially moved by the song Shepherd by City Alight:

For the Lord my Shepherd

Leads me, leads me

And He is all I need

In the darkest valley

I know, I know

My Shepherd is all I need

Pre-Helene, one of the main highlights of our year was a summer trip back to the Midwest. We drove almost 2700 miles through 10 states in just 14 days. We spent time with family in Indiana and Michigan and visited dear friends back in Wisconsin. We also took time to see new sights in Marquette and Pictured Rocks along Lake Superior in the upper peninsula of Michigan. It was a wonderful trip and thinking back on it brings to mind bright and joyful memories. We have been blessed this year. I hope that this Christmas you are able to look back and reflect on the mountains and valleys of your year and remember that our Shepherd is all we need and He leads us on.

The Madison Zoo

In Madison, WI

Boating with Grandpa

First day of Kindergarten

Fall corn maze

Fun at Grandfather Mountain

Helene devastation

From David and Amanda

Merry Christmas! We hope this letter finds you well this holiday season! Life continues to be a great adventure for our family. Ellie is now six years old, loves playing Legos, and is reading incredibly well. Seraphina is five and loves to eat, especially macaroni and cheese, and has started Pre-K. Attalie is four and has also started Pre-K and is becoming quite the competitive little soccer player. Judah is two, a sweet and loving boy, but still finds ways to pick on his big sisters and keep all of us on our toes! He loves playing with his cars and Legos. Amanda’s business, Grand Terra Solutions, is doing very well as she helps her clients with all sorts of training and coaching. She has also continued with the big responsibility of homeschooling the children. She enjoys working with them daily and watching them learn. I am impressed with her dedication to maximizing each child’s potential by finding special unique ways to teach them. And I absolutely love when I can jump in and help teach them as well! I am working for the state of North Carolina as a Marine Patrol Officer. I spend most of my time on boats patrolling the coastal waterways enforcing fishing regulations for commercial and recreational fishing. I am also on the Swift Water Rescue team, which has been a great opportunity to train and serve the community here in NC. Our team was deployed to the NC mountains right before hurricane Helene hit. We ended up running rescue and evacuation missions for eight days near Boone, NC. It was very heartwarming to see everyone’s resilience and be a part of the recovery efforts in that area. It served as a great reminder to be thankful for all of our blessings and to never take them for granted. We pray you and your families are blessed this Christmas season!

David and Amanda in Eastern NC

Family hike to the highest point in Shenandoah National Park

Ellie, Seraphina, and Attalie were awarded medals after winning their final soccer game of the season!

Award ceremony for David. He received a Lifesaving Award and an Award of Valor for his service in Western NC.

Judah, age 2

Attalie, age 4

Seraphina, age 5

Ellie, age 6

First snow

From Rose and Michael

Merry Christmas! It’s the time when we reflect on the year and are thankful for all God has given us. As I look through my photos of the past year, I remember so many events, large and small. Rosalind, 13, has begun to learn to play guitar in addition to continuing her study in piano. She has started a macrame business to earn some money and has surprised us all with her technical skills as she produces beautiful plant hangers. Asher, 12, enjoys piano, sciences, and helping Michael work on our next house build. Calem, 10, also plays piano, helps with job-site cleanup, and has shown a real affinity to making breakfast for the family. His favorite is waffles. Angus, 8, tumbles through life with enthusiasm and volume. He has begun piano lessons this year with the older three. He loves playing with the dogs, shooting the BB gun, roller blading and playing pickle ball. Verity Jean is now 5 years old. She spends her time keeping up with all the other children, playing with the dogs, and always looking for an opportunity to socialize with someone. She managed to sneak in a birthday party for herself by inviting all her friends, and then telling me about it! The kids and I (Rose) went on our first ever camping trip. We enjoyed the experience, hikes, views, and even saw a couple of bears! Michael spends his “free” time working on our next home, which we hope to move into in the spring. We are so very blessed by his skill and hard work. Among our fun times this year was a great week at the Lake house with Grandmother, Grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins. Always a favorite destination! We are so blessed! We pray a blessed Holiday season for you and your family!

Hiking trip

First day of school

Church camp

Solar Eclipse of 2024

From Tony and Rachel

Greetings from the Utahns! After enjoying about 14 months living out of our pickup truck, we headed back to Michigan in February of this year. We spent a few months catching up with friends and family, and sprucing up our house before selling it in July. We are incredibly fortunate to have a family network of people who graciously and cheerfully hosted us in the interim between selling our MI house and moving to UT in September! Our new property is in a region of UT near natural springs and a couple man-made reservoirs, so we are thankful to enjoy a green area within a farming community. We are also very grateful Tony has been able to maintain his remote position working for Link Engineering. Since the move, we have primarily focused on becoming familiar with our new property and the local community, plus of course taking a few camping and hiking trips to enjoy the mountains and deserts of our new home state. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tony under their large walnut tree in UT

Arrival at their new UT home

Hiking in Arches NP

Tony in Slot Canyon

On Hayford Peak

From Katie and Roberto

The Diaz branch of the Wallen family has had an eventful year. After three years of design, permitting, and construction, we are finally moved into our dream home! The kids have been enjoying the pool often, and I am enjoying not making any more design decisions. Roberto has transitioned to new responsibilities at Moffitt. After spending seven years managing a satellite facility, he is now overseeing all of the local satellite facilities as well as heading up international recruitment. Katie is enjoying having a new driver in the family. Celeste obtained her license in July and has been a huge help transporting the kids to their activities. She also took her first dual enrollment class and aced it. Robbie is excelling at piano playing, figuring out new songs all of the time. I (Katie) am teaching his Classical Conversations class in our homeschool group, and it has been fun working through the same academic subjects. He did very well in his first debate recently. Abigail is in 8th grade and loves her class! She is my first child to love Latin, which makes me happy. Her diligence in working through her school work is admirable. In her free time, she reads, bakes, dances, and enjoys good friends. Katherine continues to dance, act, and play violin. She is maturing quickly and will be entering 7th grade next year. Eight-year old Leah has as much personality as the rest of us combined. She makes us laugh every day with her jokes, witty comments, and quirkiness. We celebrated Roberto’s 50th birthday in Yellowstone this year! It was a unique and memorable trip! May God bless you this advent season and in 2025!