Dear Friends and Family,
Happy New Year! We look forward to 2016 even as we reflect on what
God has done for us as this year closes.
This year has been one of blessings , challenges, changes,
and perseverance. As a family we have
witnessed God's love and mercy, His faithfulness and patience with us, and His
reminder to us that He is real and that He cares about every detail of the
plans He has for us.
Bryan and I celebrated our 25th year of marriage all year
long. We enjoyed sunny Orlando and even
sunnier (except when we were there!) Jamaica as quiet get-a-ways from our busy
daily life. It has been wonderful to
reminisce and remind one another of the beginning of our love life
together. How far we've come and how
much our lives have been shaped by our love for each other and by the love of
God in our lives.
Justin graduated from Grove City College in May and secured a
teaching position for the 2015-2016 school year at a Classical Christian school
in Beaufort, SC. We see him (and make
room for him) every weekend as he travels 3.5 hours to and from the coast. It may sound like he's had a hard time
separating from us, but in reality he comes home every weekend to see Sarah, to
whom he is now engaged! (Yay!)
Joanna started her college career in January at University of
South Carolina Lancaster. She is a
teacher's assistant and is balancing classes, work, piano lessons, and teaching
Sunday school. She has been blessed in
all her endeavors and truly enjoys life as a college student right now. She wants to study history and possibly minor
in music and will have to decide if she will continue her schooling at USC or
transfer to a smaller private college in the next year or two.
Aaron works at Chick Fil A, has been accepted to Liberty
University next year, and is in choir, has a garage band, and plays soccer and
rugby. He is in his senior year of high
school , always a challenging year trying to figure out what comes next and
what to study in college. He has grown
in his faith this year and is a blessing to us as we help him work through all
the possible ways he feels called to serve the Lord.
Abigail is in Year 8 in our home school. She plays soccer, enjoys choir and has good
friendships near and far. She is
learning to play the ukulele along with her piano lessons. She is such a good help to me regularly in
the house and a joy to teach. It will be
strange to have only one student in our home school next fall but I look
forward to it.
We've seen both sets of our parents this year deal with health
stresses that they have faced. It has
been such an encouragement and testimony to us and to our kids to see older
saints who are facing life-changing news by trusting in God and calling on His
mercy and His healing. My parents and
Bryan's parents are living out their faith and trust in their Savior and do not
hesitate to show how much God has cared for them in the big and small things.
It has been a year of reconnecting with family even though we
may not see them face to face. We have
had our ups and downs as a family, but feel the love and encouragement even if
we can't be with each other in the same room, house, city, state, or even
country! We know that prayers and
Christian love surrounds us as we share our lives with one another, even at a
distance.
Our hope and comfort has always and continues to be in our
faithful Saviour to meet all our needs.
Through disappointments, trials of faith, suffering for Christ's sake, blessings,
and trusting in what is unseen but sure, we will face the new year as we did
the last: with confidence and joy.
