Christmas greetings from our family to yours. Although we, as Christians, strive to make our relationship with Jesus Christ a priority throughout the year, this is the time that we celebrate His blessed birth. Do we dare to imagine what this world would be like if God had not sent His one and only Son to come to this world to die and be the sacrifice for our sin? I dare not. What a blessing it is to know that Jesus came as a precious baby, grew to be the perfect man and willingly died to take our sin, all out of our Creator Father's love for us. Amazing Grace!
May you and your family enjoy a wonderful Christmas as you reflect on this gift.
This year has been an exciting one as we have watched our daughters grow. In May, Rebecca graduated from Crossroads Preschool. She had a difficult time leaving her teachers Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Peterson as she really grew to love them. Rebecca was a busy girl this summer as she was able to participate in both swimming lessons and T-ball. She made both her mommy and daddy proud as she did so well in both sports. T-ball was extra special as she got to do that with Jason. They both really loved having that time together. In September, Rebecca started kindergarten. Her newest achievement has been learning to read. It is really fun to watch her developing those life skills. She has also been part of the AWANA program at New Hope Church. This year she got to start SPARKS and has been doing really well learning her verses. In November Rebecca turned 6 years old! WOW! Our baby girl is growing up so fast. It seems so hard to keep track of it all. She is a social butterfly and loves spending time with her neighborhood and church friends.
Jescelyn turned 2 in April. God has given her such a tender spirit. She loves to do anything Rebecca is doing and then some. This summer she loved to go to Rebecca's t-ball games and swimming lessons. She has no fear of the water. I call her my little dolphin because once she gets in the water she's off "swimming". Her favorite things to do are to play with her neighborhood friends, take care of her "babies"and yes, cuddle. A while ago Jescelyn was diagnosed with low muscle tone and hyperflexibility. As a result she has been in physical therapy for three month periods to help build her muscle tone. Jescelyn has gotten so much stronger and although she is only 2 1/2 years old, one can see she is much more confident in her abilities. I am continually amazed by what she is learning and how she is growing into a such sweet little girl. Jescelyn loves her big sister so much. Although this can cause some sibling rivalry it is so much fun to see them develop their relationship.
Life has been much more routine for Jason and I. Jason is still working for Audio Logic Systems in Bloomington. He has been there for about 5 years now and absolutely loves it. This job keeps him busy as the demands of the job continue to grow and change but we are both so blessed to be a part of the ALS family. We are equally blessed to be a part of the Eagle Brook Church family. Jason has been working with EBC on the weekends as the systems engineer in Lino Lakes for about 4 1/2 years now. As Jason is working seven days a weeks, it can be tough to get quality family time but we have been able to enjoy those little moments much more.
I, Sharla, have been blessed to be able to stay at home with the girls. My world pretty much revolves around the household responsibilities and the girls activities. I have been able to get involved with the Beth Moore bible studies through New Hope Church. In the spring I completed "Believing God" and this fall I started "Esther". These have been wonderful opportunities for me to be able to surround myself with other women that can support, encourage and mentor me in my walk with God. I also joined the Mom's In Touch group through Rebecca's elementary school. That has been a great source of support for me as my spirit struggles with having peace about Rebecca's schooling. There are so many ways in which Satan seeks to get our children's attention and pull them away from God. It has been nice to find prayerful support from other Christian mom's.
We did get a few opportunities to travel with Jason to some of his jobs for Audio Logic this summer. We had a chance to head to Indiana for an overnight stay at a camp while Jason worked a concert for John Eide. In August, Jason's boss, along with his family and our family went down to Okoboji, IA for the Okoboji Bible Conferences. This was a bit nostalgic for me as I grew up attending the conferences. My mom came down from Mt. Lake and we spent three days enjoying the conference, kids programs, concerts and time together. Although Jason had to work it was still nice to there as a family. The highlight of our weekend there was the Phil Keaggy concert which Jason had the priveledge of running the audio for. This next summer we plan to make a family vacation out of it and spend an entire week there.
Overall 2009 has been a good year. Every year has it's moments of difficulty and it's moments of joy. After all is said and done. We all have so much to be thankful for. We have jobs, our health, our family and our friends. Most importantly we each have been given the gift of forgiveness and the promise of heaven through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank God for giving us the sacrificial gift of His Son Jesus. There is no better gift.
We pray that God bless you and keep you and that His face will shine on you in 2010. May you and your family experience Jesus in a new and exciting way this Christmas. Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year's.
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