Greetings to all our friends and family! As we celebrated our second year in our new home, we were filled with multiple blessings this year.
Our family grew again this year with the arrival of Peter Daniel in February. His easy-going & cheery nature is a true pleasure.
In June we hiked up to some local waterfalls - we found them absolutely gorgeous and us very out of shape!
In July, the four older kids celebrated their birthdays at a bouncy house. Mom & Dad got to jump too!
In August, we enjoyed an afternoon of relaxing and tubing on Lake Sammamish with some dear friends.
Thanksgiving brought Jill’s folks here for a fun visit. The big girls joined Grammy & Mommy for a fancy evening out at the Nutcracker ballet.
Maranda, 11, has really liked being a mother’s helper (for which I am extremely thankful). In August, she proclaimed her faith in Christ by having Daddy baptize her. She enjoyed learning to play some worship songs on the guitar. She continued to excel in school, enjoying history and Latin the most.
Lydia, 9, donated 14 inches of her hair to Locks of Love this summer. She has a big heart for those less fortunate. She enjoyed writing sci-fi stories this year. She’s doing well in school too, enjoying writing and spelling the most.
Xander, 6-1/2, began Tae Kwon Do this fall. He has learned several moves, and how to count to ten in Korean. He’s such a funny guy; it’s hard for him to pass up an opportunity to entertain! He loves to ride his bike and create things with legos and K’nex. He’s done well in school – especially with his reading and math. He loves being the hero and protecting his sisters.
Sophia, 3-1/2, is still working on getting Potty Power. She sings songs and talks a lot about the ongoing events happening around her during the day. She loves dancing and finding the letter “S” in her books.
Peter is such a trooper. He gets hauled around (and dropped on occasion!) by his brother & sisters. He started crawling the week after Thanksgiving and is skilled at finding gunk on the floor none of us notice. He has a ready smile and is content to be cuddled by most anyone desiring a “baby fix”.
Philip continued to add to the beauty of our home and yard by building unique herb gardens and lovely flower planters. He is such a great husband & daddy! He really enjoys playing with and teaching the kids. He's also continued moonlighting doing web graphics and has recently begun teaching himself AutoCAD.
Jill continues to enjoy home schooling. She & the kids had fun harvesting beans and tomatoes from the garden this summer. In the fall, she canned apple butter & jelly. She’s now thrilled to be singing on the Worship team at church and will be performing O Holy Night in a duet for the Christmas program. And what a blessing to have her first full year without glasses!
We send our love to you all. We pray you will see our Lord working in and around you this coming year and give Him the praise as He uses you in His awesome way.
– Phil, Jill, Maranda, Lydia, Alexander, Sophia and Peter