Well, since I last blogged, it was sunny and warm. It is now snowing out, Christmas has come and gone and tomorrow is New Years Eve. We are entering 2009 and unknown territory. As I look back over 2008, I want to say that God was good to us, but then He's always good to us, even when things may not go our way. So I will just say that God is good and His goodness does not depend on our circumstances.

2008 was an interesting year. I did some traveling. In April, I flew down to see my sister in Houston TX. I very rarely get to see her and that visit was a real treat! In July of 2008, a few months after my visit, their house, that they had built about 3 years ago, burned down. It was a lightening strike and no fire hydrants that did it. They have been putting the pieces back together ever since. Simply put, we are thanking God for their insurance. Most everything was destroyed. If you are interested in their story, check out their blog at farrier5.blogspot.com

In May, I had the opportunity go to Sofia, Bulgaria on a short-term mission trip with 3 other wonderful ladies. This trip held a lot of firsts for me. Although I had been to Sofia in 2006, it was my first mission trip, my time overseas without my family, my first time away from my husband for 2+ weeks, my first time teaching any kind of class and my first time raising money/support. It was a wonderful experience and I am thankful for the opportunity to have gone. Not sure I'll go again, but I have learned never say "never". (see previous posting to find out more about the trip). I marvel at the sacrifices made by the missionaries that stay long-term in remote areas of the world. May God bless each and every one of them!

On May 31st, while I was away, New Hope experienced a severe hail storm. Consequently, the summer was spent making insurance claims, getting the roof repaired, the windows replaced, the house repainted and the camper fix. We took our camper in for repairs in June and we didn't get it back until mid December. Take away our pop-up camper and you take away our vacations. Needless to say, we didn't go camping at all this year. Plus, gas prices were so high, we couldn't have afforded to anyway. Not going anywhere made for a very relaxing summer, though. We did manage to go to Pine Haven's Family Camp which is always a fun time for us. We get to get out of the city, spend time with friends and hopefully, grow spiritually.

Two years ago, Boyd's mom and sister came up for the summer, loved it so much, they moved here from Florida (tired of the hurricanes) and bought a house in the spring of 2008. In August, Boyd's brother and his family moved to the area from Rapid City,SD. Do the math. Boyd now has his whole family living within two miles of us. Never in a million years would I have thought we would have any family living near us. We've always been hours and days away from any relative. It's been great for the kids to have their aunt, uncle and grandmother close by.

I joined the church choir this year and have been invited several times to sing on a worship team ensemble. I have been thoroughly blessed being a part of the music ministry at New Hope Church. It's also been a ton of fun and I hope to continue as long as I have voice enough to make a joyful noise!

In 2008 I discoverd Facebook! THAT has been fun. I have reconnected with many people that I thought were out of my life forever. I even got to have coffee with my college roommate whom I haven't seen for many many years.

This year our family decided to take a Tai Kwon Do class...together! It started out by trying to find a place for Josh to take classes. He's not into team sports, but loves martial arts. This wonderful instructor makes it so affordable and family friendly that we all decided to take take the class...AND we pray before and after each class. All four of us have our gold belts and are working toward our orange belts. It's a lot of fun and I savor the family time, which as the kids get older, will soon become a thing of the past as they will be driving and getting jobs in the blink of an eye.

Josh turned 15 in August, is in 9th grade and is still being homeschooled. He continues to enjoy playing the violin and being in orchestra, but like every mother all over the world, I wish he'd practice a little more. He's a good player, but he could be GREAT. He's also become quite an artist. He's taking a drawing class and is doing great. Since I had 4 years of college drawing, it killed me to shell out the money for that class...but...I am him mother and it just wouldn't have worked.

This was Chloe first year at being home fulltime doing school online. She loves the freedom that homeschool affords her, but doesn't like the online thing. We will have to adjust things next year. Chloe as also become a fantastic bread baker! She enjoys playing volleyball and she's also started scrapbooking. One of her Christmas gifts was a digital camera. Chloe turns 13 on January 3rd.

I love my family to pieces!

As I type this letter, I am watching snow fall and listening to Christmas music (the Christmas season just isn't long enough to enjoy the music) and I think about what 2009 will bring. We have a new, very liberal, president taking office in January— A man that I did not vote for, mostly because of his views concerning the unborn. We have an economy that is going down the toilet and a war that I wish would end. We also don't know what the future holds for the newspaper that Boyd works for. Times are changing. The future is unknown. What we do know is that God's Word promises us that He will take care of us no matter what life brings. He knows when a sparrow falls! Boyd and I are leaning on that promise. We put our hope, our trust and our future in God's hands. Our job is to follow Him wherever he leads us and it's in that, I have peace...even though, I have to remind myself DAILY.

Until next year, God bless you all and Peace.