This year we are trying to conserve our resources, save trees, become more "green"........ahem, who am I kidding.......we're simply trying to save money by not spending it on pictures and stamps so I'm posting our Christmas letter here.
I, for one, am happy to see 2009 go. I know that's not a typical thing to see in a Christmas letter. Usually it's all about being thankful, being blessed, etc etc. While I know we
are blessed, I'd rather not go through 2009 again. It was a tough year. Plain and simple. Jeff and I went through some
serious relationship struggles (if you want to read more about that click
here), an extended job loss (Jeff's still looking), serious depression, and possible foreclosure. It has been easy to feel sorry for myself and ask God "why us?". But that isn't the kind of person I want to be and it isn't what I want to teach the kids either.
This Christmas I have taken time to stop and really think about that very first Christmas.
I have been through labor and delivery 4 times....3 of those times were fast, painful, and drug-free. But I was in the hospital with constant supervision from nurses, very competent doctors, a nursing student, whoever else might have walked in, and most importantly my husband. I was also 26 years old when I gave birth to my first child.
But what about Mary??? Here is a young teenage unmarried girl, pregnant, traveling on an animal for miles, uncomfortable, possibly with swollen ankles and contractions, going into labor and only being able to find shelter in a barn -- with the animals making all their noises, pooping, regurgitating....ok, so I don't know for sure if that was going on but it was a barn with animals in it -- going through the pain and agony of an unmedicated birth with only her teenage fiance to help her! And there she gave birth to the most influential baby of all time....Jesus! The thought of that brings tears to my eyes. When Mary kissed her little baby, she was kissing the face of God! Wow!
Then my thoughts turn to Joseph. What must he have been thinking?!?! His young fiance just gave birth to a baby that wasn't his! I'm sure the birth was a scary thing for him to experience as well. And what about the unbelieveable pressure to be the earthly father to the Son of God!
Those are just a couple of the things I've been pondering over the past month. I can honestly say that regardless of the difficulties we've had we are an extremely blessed family. We have been blessed financially when we felt like there was no hope. We have been blessed by friendships when we desperately needed friends. We have been blessed by prayer support from people we know and people we've never met before. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to those blessings.
Onto the updates!
Noah is 9 years old and in 3rd grade. For the most part he enjoys school. He is doing work that is beyond me....
already! I knew the day would come when I would not be able to help him with his homework but I didn't think it would come in 3rd grade! Thank goodness one of Jeff's favorite subjects is math so he can help Noah with his algebra! Yes, you read that right. Algebra in 3rd grade. I'm just thankful our school has the resources to continue challenging students like Noah.
Abby is 8 years old and in 2nd grade. She is definitely our "social butterfly" and loves to be at school to see all her friends. Hmm...doesn't sound like anyone I know! (hehehehe) She has the same teacher Noah had last year which is really fun. She does enjoy science, math, and art. She wasn't able to participate in dance this year since we couldn't afford it. But she's looking forward to getting back into it someday. She has been helping lead singing at church on the Kids Worship Team before Sunday School and loving every minute of it.
Joey is 6 years old and in 1st grade. He adjusted very well to his first year of "all day" school and really likes his teacher. Joey has the same teacher Abby had last year. It's been so much fun to see him progress with his reading and his math skills. He just started helping lead singing on the Kids Worship Team before Sunday School at church. He is the first boy to help out and he's loving it!
Eli is 2 years old -- turning 3 in January! He is a bundle of energy and misses his brothers and sister
so much while they're at school. His favorite thing to do is greet them at the front door when they get off the bus every afternoon. He squeals with delight when he sees them. It warms a mommy's heart. He still doesn't talk much but definitely finds ways to get his point across. He's also had his share of accidents over the last couple months. The beginning of Nov he burned the palm of his hand on a hot burner on our stove which sent us to the ER. It was a very bad 2nd degree burn which we kept wrapped for over a month. Praise God it has healed completely with no lasting scars.
Jeff and I are looking forward to 2010 with hopeful anticipation. Like I said earlier, Jeff has been without a job since May and suffered through a deep depression this summer. The end of August he went back to school for some art classes which he dearly loved! He is now looking for full-time work but still planning to take a couple classes this next semester (1 online and 1 on Saturday mornings).
I am still at home with Eli and trying to maintain the house...and everything that goes with that. It's definitely busy but I love every minute of it.
I pray that all of you have a very Merry Christmas and take time to think about the reason we celebrate....no matter what the situation you find yourself in.
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So you see it in there?!?! Eating the berries?!?! 
Take sandwiches from the egg mixture to the hot pan. Cook until golden brown.
Sift -- very important to sift -- 1 1/2 cups confectioner sugar into a bowl with 1 cup of butter.
Mix in 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 tsp almond extract. 
In a separate bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp creme of tartar. *On a side note, the creme of tartar is very important. I learned that the hard way!* Add 1/3 of the dry ingredient mixture at a time to the wet ingredients, mixing well.
Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in saran wrap, and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Take it out and let it stand 15 minutes before rolling out the dough.
Find a few children who are excited about rolling out dough and cutting out cookies to help you! Worked well for me today! Bake the cookies at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. 
You should have cookies that look something like this. Place them on a cooling rack to cool before trying to frost them. *Again, spoken from experience! (ahem)*
When cookies are cooled, get "said children" plus 1 to come back and have a frosting party. Be prepared to clean up lots and lots of frosting and sprinkles off the table and floor. But seeing their "art work" and huge smiles is well worth it!
TA DA!!!!! Finished product. Yummmmmmmm. Please let me know what you think if you try the recipe.
But, we were successful! *Doesn't Joey (standing in the front in the red jacket) look freezing?!?!?! He ran right to the van as soon as this picture was taken.*
Jeff did the cold work of getting the tree tied down to the roof of the van while the kids warmed up inside. We are extremely thankful for a roof rack to tie it to! hahahaha Then it was home to eat the yummiest (is that a word?) lasagna I have ever made.....and it was in the crockpot! I will post that recipe another time. Trust me....it will be well worth the wait!