Merry Christmas, 2014!

When we remember 2014, our family will have some easy-to-recall milestones. This year saw "Pearl" and Daniel travel to the Holy Lands for our oldest daughter's first trip abroad. Shortly after they returned, we settled on our new home, just five minutes up the road from our old place.

We spent much of the summer moving, painting, and repointing our dream house. Daniel hung a long rope swing for the girls, which entertained them for hours.  This fall, we brought home a dog from the SPCA.



I'm pleased to tell you that the book that I was first asked to write way back in the summer of 2011 came out in October.  My new book tells the story of the first Christmas and how it developed into the modern global phenomenon.  I learned so much while writing it, and it has allowed me to share the beauty of Christmas with a wide audience. 

"Pearl" and Daniel at the Wailing Wall, Jerusalem

 Also, after even more years of planning and praying, our church family broke ground on our new building. It has been amazing to watch it grow behind our current building each week. Like the other church children, the girls took part in a musical and a books-of-the-Bible memory challenge to help raise funds for this big project. 

I thought I could summarize our year in one opening paragraph, but, five paragraphs later, I suddenly realize how impossible that is for 2014.

Our 1875 homestead (which came with four independent ducks)

The girls have all had milestones.  "Pearl" learned so much about world history and travel as we prepared her for the trip to Israel in Jordan in March. Now in third grade and wild about Harry Potter, she's improving with her piano playing and has learned to knit. Her devotion to her dog, for whom she prayed for years, is adorable.

"Sapphire" is just on the cusp of learning to read. While this kindergartener has had some bumps along the way (if you scroll down, you'll read about self-hair-cuts and a series of rabies inoculations), her jumpy joy for life livens up our whole family. If you need someone to recite The Grinch, she's your girl.

"Ruby's" hard work with her speech lessons has led to greater clarity and confidence. She had a hard time with the move initially, but now she wants to invite everyone over and show them her room. We celebrated our second year altogether as a family this August. It is a great answer to prayer to see how far our family has come in that time.

Really, I could go on with the 2014 highlights. The American Tang Soo Do Association promoted Daniel to his 5th degree black belt in March.  I became an aunt for the twenty-second time and the twenty-third time when both my siblings had their first babies this year. Overall, writing this Christmas newsletter has been a useful experience of self-realization. Things have changed!  Phew!

One thing hasn't changed. Our family is delighted to share the joy of Christ's birth with yours during this Feast of the Nativity. Merry Christmas!