New Year's Greetings

Happy New Year!  Greetings to our family and friends in the name of Christ!

This has been a very difficult year for us, yet we have tasted the sweetness of the Lord like never before.  We praise Him for His goodness to us-- both in sending Christ and in taking care of our entire family.  We pray this greeting finds all of you well and experiencing the new mercies given daily by the Lord.

Paul with the kids at the airport on Memorial Day.

Paul was deployed to Iraq on Memorial Day, and the year has been one of intense loneliness, stress, and adjustment for our entire family.  Our church family has truly upheld us through this time.  Paul's aunt, Jessica, has also come regularly to help me despite having her own large family, and my own parents spent two weeks here around Thanksgiving, supporting and encouraging me immensely.  We are so thankful for all of them.

I approached this Christmas season very weary, yet I am constantly encouraged by the little things the Lord does to remind us that He is intimately acquainted with every detail of our lives.  I could write pages and pages about the ways He has shown Himself to be more than enough.  God has grown our marriage abundantly as we have had to rely solely on Him for comfort when our mate was so far away.  He has increased our friendship with each other in ways we never would have dreamed, and that is a very great blessing indeed.  

I am able to talk to Paul often and we e-mail regularly-- not all Army wives have such luxuries, and I am very thankful.  The children love to e-mail him as well, although the younger three dictate their message to me as I type, and then they spend much time punching in "x's" and "o's" themselves before clicking "send".  Paul always writes them back right away, and it is just precious.  Paul has also done a tremendous job of continuing to lead our family spiritually.  He videotapes daily devotions using a great resource based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism called Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Meade, and then he sends the tapes to me.  I play "Daddy's devotions" at night before the children go to bed.  Having Paul's continued leadership despite being so far away is a gift beyond description, both to the children and myself.

We are all thrilled to have Paul home for two weeks over Christmas and the New Year!  Please continue to pray for Paul as he serves the Lord in Iraq.  The days are long and lonely, and I know he misses us very much.  Cards and e-mail are a great gift to him.  Lord willing, he will be home the end of May 2009.  We do not know where the Army will send us next, so we are waiting and trusting that the Lord knows every detail yet to come.

Heidi and Isaac in September!

The children have done fairly well, although the stress of deployment has taken its toll at times. I am still homeschooling-- this year with three students!  I also have the joy of directing the adult choir at our church this year.  I always have visions of completed photo albums and completed sewing projects, but for now, we are plodding along by God's grace day by day.  The projects will just have to wait for another season of our lives.

Josiah-8 years old!

Josiah is now 8 and in the 3rd grade.  He has become an excellent swimmer this year and also spends much time curled up with a book.  He worked his way through some unabridged classic literature like Swiss Family Robinson and Treasure Island this past fall!

Our twinnies are 5!

Micah with a model truck he built!

Micah is 5 and is loving kindergarten!  He has also become a great swimmer!  He is very precise and affectionate, and loves K'nex and Legos especially!

Our "Curly Girly"!

Sarah is 5 and loves Kindergarten and swimming too.  She also took some gymnastics classes this year and is a great helper around the kitchen.  She is more of a free-spirit, dancing and singing all over the house!

Isaac at swimming lessons!

Isaac, our little laughter, is now 3 and LOVES to make us laugh!  He likes anything in the "potato chip and cracker" food group, and he is a real snugglebug!  I enjoy that a lot!

The kids and I at family camp!

The children and I spent three weeks on the road this last summer, covering 2600 miles, as we went to family camp at Scioto Hills Baptist Camp and then traveled on to Myrtle Beach to spend two weeks there with Paul's parents.  They were a tremendous encouragement and generously did everything they could to lighten my load and give us a nice vacation, despite Paul's absence.  We then had the opportunity to meet up with Paul in Virginia for a few days in early November when the Army sent him to America for a class.  The children are all great little travelers, and the Lord carried the five of us and Paul more than 15,000 miles total that week without a single problem-- yet another evidence of God's grace!

Just a few weeks ago, as I wandered around a store trying to gear up for Christmas shopping, I was struck by the thought that a thing far, far worse than living without Paul here for so many months would be living without Christ.  You are all very dear to us, and we pray that He will make His name very great in your life as we all plod on toward Heaven.   May Christ be more than enough for you now and throughout 2009!