What
a fun filled year 2017 was! The best thing about this year is our house. We’ve
been here a whole year now, and we just love it. We love seeing the deer and
antelope in our yard; we even had a momma deer and her baby call our backyard
home early this year. We hosted several birthday parties here this year, and
the kids enjoyed gaming in the living room, playing hide and seek outside and
swimming in the pool. We’ve done some small projects, like painting, adding a
feature wall in the master bedroom and other small projects to customize it. In
March, we hosted my niece’s wedding, having the ceremony in the front yard and
the reception in the backyard. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day. But a
16 year old house does come with it’s challenges—we’ve had pool repairs, a pipe
leak and replaced the hot water heater. Our goal in 2018 is to make the house
more energy efficient (and do more décor!) |
| Merry Sithmas from Magic Kingdom! |
Dad, Mark
This
year Mark celebrated his 10 year anniversary with ARC. His job has been such a
blessing to us, as it have provided stability for us. At church, he leads the
boys group, Royal Ambassadors and is a handbook leader for our AWANA club. He’s
had to take on a lot of projects this year, such as mowing the huge yard,
removing brush and maintaining the pool. He also really loves decorating for
the holidays both outside and inside the house. I’m thankful that he helps me
with most of my project ideas.
We
had a quick getaway this summer, which included going to Schlitterbahn by
ourselves. We hope to take a memorable trip somewhere in 2018 to celebrate our
20 year anniversary.
Mom, Shelley
This
year I got promoted (temporarily) to Children’s Minister at Hays Hills! I took
the part time job in May and will continue until the search for the full time
position is over. I am applying and really hope to be chosen to stay
permanently. I also started a part time job working online from home moderating
product reviews in the spring. I enjoy the work, and it is a good companion
salary for the church job. I did cut back on subbing and haven’t done any this
fall. I still really enjoy crafting in my free time and have designed wood
signs and items this year. I’m also busy shuttling kids to all places and am
looking forward to the older boys learning to drive soon!
Xavier
Xavier
is 16 and is a sophomore in high school. He survived his AP class freshman year
and has added more advanced classes to his load this year. He seems to be doing
better at keeping up this year. He’s enjoying working in the shop in technical
theater and improving his acting skills. We hope he’ll make his acting debut
this spring. He has been an actor for our Children’s Worship at church, so we
have no doubt he’ll do great! He’s fun to be with and makes friends wherever he
goes (he may or may not know their names, though). He plans to return to Alade
Genet at Spring Break.
Riley
Riley
is 15 and also a sophomore at Hays High School. He participated in Varsity
marching band this year and made the show this time. He really is so great at
playing the trombone. He loves youth group and this year is helping run the
sound and video on Wednesday nights. He is becoming a mature leader in his peer
group. He even was an assistant teacher at Heroes Camp this past summer. He,
Xavier, Pierce and Tyler also participate in Breakaway at our church, which is fine
arts group that performs to music with a black light show. He does prefer to
spend his time at home in his room, but we love when he joins us to eat and to
watch TV at night. He is now over 6 feet tall and is the tallest in the family!
We have no idea where he got those genes.
Pierce
Pierce
is 14 and in 8th grade. He loves to read; last year, he was awarded
“Top Patron” at the Dahlstrom Library. Schoolwork seems to keep him busier this
year, but we often catch him grabbing Kendall’s books and reading them. He’s
really into playing online Battlefront with his friends who moved away this
summer. The boys also play Clash Royale, which this mom is totally clueless
about. Pierce is a great helper and is our go-to guy for any technical or
assembling issues. He loves going to church every Wednesday and Sunday.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
is 12 and in 6th grade. Starting middle school was a big change for
her, and we are still adjusting to the demands. She joined the band just like
her brothers and is enjoying playing the flute. She also is taking dance and
theater. She is doing the 6th grade Rite of Passage class at church
and working hard to learn about the Bible and about growing up. She stays busy
with her crafting and creativity. Seeing and playing in the snow was very
exciting for her. She spent much of the morning rolling snow into the shade to
keep it from melting. |
| Tyler with our kitten, Evie |
Tyler
Tyler
is 12 and in the 7th grade. School comes easily to him, and he is
excelling at playing the saxophone. He worked hard to be one of the first to
earn their gold certificate for completing an extensive list of scales. He has
been a wonderful sidekick for me in Children’s Ministry, regularly attending
Children’s Worship and running the media and slides for me. He also will
joyfully come help me put AWANA supplies away after Wednesday night activities
end. He loves to play Battlefront also and is eager to see The Last Jedi movie
with his friends.
Kendall
Kendall
is 7 and in 2nd grade this year and is continuing to love school. She is the
only kid who was disappointed when the first day of school was canceled. She
loves to read and can read just about anything. She prefers stories about
horses and dreams about having a horse of her own. She also loved the snow we
had, playing in it, building a snowman and having a snowball fight with Pierce.
She is a great friend at school and at church, coming alongside those who are
new or needing help.
2017 has been
another year of changes and surprises for our family, but we are so thankful
for where we are. We made some great memories this year, and we have a lot to
look forward to in 2018. Our extended families are doing well, and we are excited
to spend time with them during the holidays.
We pray for all
who read this to have a blessed and happy 2018!
