Merry Christmas!

Sometimes I look around at my life and shake my head. God does some pretty funny stuff in our lives. As I type this, my beautiful bride of the past thirteen years is watching our two rats, Nibbles & Charlotte, play in our newly decorated Christmas tree. Rats? Yes, our Christmas present to the boys last year was their first pets, a pair of rats. Surprisingly enough both rats survived the year, despite the over-loving attention from Daniel and Sammy. In addition to the rats, much has been new during 2010, but much has stayed the same.

We continue to be fortunate enough to attend First Presbyterian Church, San Diego. Both Suzy and I are very grateful for the brothers and sisters that we have here in our church family. God provides opportunities too numerous to count to serve Him, as well as wonderful ways for each of us to grow spiritually. A new aspect of our family’s growth in faith this year has been daily family devotions. Each morning, Monday through Friday, we spend time together praying, singing and studying the bible. No offense to Suzy, but my favorite days are Wednesday and Friday, the days when Sammy and Daniel pick out the music and lead the bible study. Some days all you get is them going through the motions, but some days God really speaks to us through them.

Another thing that has not changed this year is the boy’s school, they both attend City Tree Christian School, Sammy in first grade, and Daniel in third. Both boys continue to take after their grandparents, as neither has any problems with excelling scholastically. Sammy has been doing a wonderful job with reading, despite his regular complaints that he can’t read, don’t believe him. He still loves to do homework, possibly because he finishes in about two and a half minutes and gets to bounce around and mock his still working brother. Daniel also continues to do a great job reading, in fact he does a bit too good of a job, as we can’t seem to find enough books for him to read. Anyone with suggestions for an almost nine year old who reads at a high school level please let us know.

Other than volunteering at the boy’s school or church, our most common extracurricular activity is without a doubt Cub Scouts. Daniel is in his third year, and is now a Bear Scout, while Sammy is just getting started and is a Tiger Scout. Earlier this Fall I had the boys on a scouting camping trip here in Balboa Park that was quite an experience. Suzy wisely slept at home, but was able to join us for some of the daytime fun. I don’t know how much the boys are learning about being good citizens, but they both sure love to run around with the other boys and get into whatever mischief that they can find.

The highlight of the year was without a doubt another amazing trip out to Hawaii. As soon as we got off the plane we started eating ono food, seeing amazing sights and doing wonderful things. Boogie boarding, snorkeling, swimming in waterfalls, spending time with family. Those memories will last a life time. Suzy was able to go up to Portland again for the Fourth of July with Sammy, but this year Daniel stayed here in southern California, attending his first summer camp. Unfortunately for Daniel, he only made it about twenty four hours before having to come home with a stomach bug. Hopefully Summer 2011 he might last more than a day. All was not lost, though, as Daniel and I got to spend a lot of fun time together while Suzy and Sammy were partying it up in Portland with the McLaughlins. Suzy and I also got to sneak away to the Midwest for a long weekend in June for the wedding of some close friends from church. Decatur, Illinois might not be on the list of must see places, but the chance to spend three days hanging out with Suzy made it a vacation that I cherished.

We are trying plan a trip back East some time in 2011. It has been way too long since we have spent time with the East Coast parts of our family. I also am tired of hearing all of the fun stories from Portland, without enjoying the festivities myself, so hopefully I will be able to go north next year as well.

You, our family and friends, are a continued blessing in our lives. We thank God for you, and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May God continue to bless you and keep you. May His face continue to shine on you and may He continue to look upon you with favor and give you peace.