Bustle of the New Year

Happy New Year!

As the past few weeks of the new year have whizzed by, we have already found ourselves busy with odds and ends. We did enjoy a relaxed Christmas/New Year holiday, but of course the time soon came for us to slide back into school once again. In addition, Julia had her pacemaker surgery on the 6th. Although we had our concerns about the actual complexity of her case, she had a successful surgery without any difficulty. What a blessing to see her energized once again with an even renewed amount of energy she has never had before! We are only beginning to get a taste of what she can do at a new heartrate. Our whole family is so thankful for Julia's safe surgery, quick recovery, and the opportunity God has given her to benefit from state-of-the-art medical technology here.

Also, Dad, Steve, and I are getting excited about the medical missions trip to Peru coming up at the end of February. Our anticipation increases as the date quickly approaches. For the last few weeks we have had team meetings in preparation. I have been slotted to help out with translation work, Steve will be working in the pharmacy, and Dad will be serving as a physician. Please keep us in prayer as we prepare ourselves spiritually and physically for the trip. We will need extra grace and strength as we step outside of our comfort zone.

Yesterday we celebrated Steven's birthday with some friends. We spent the afternoon playing an assortment of games -- from Outburst (Bible Edition) to Scattegories -- while snacking on jellybeans and fudge. (So much for those New Year's resolutions, eh?) We also enjoyed hearing stories of distant Romanian lands from a friend who has come home on a mini "furlough" before finishing up her year of service there. At the end of the evening the boys pulled out their guitars and we had a time of sweet worship together.

There is so much to look forward to in 2009! I am excited to see how the Lord will use this year to shape me and my family toward deeper faith in Him.

Winter Fun

What a perfect day for tubing! All of the snow we have gotten this year made tubing conditions absolutely perfect. The runs were pristine!
Julia and I whizzed down the hill at breakneck speed!

We enjoy "together-time"

A Christmas Recital

Kristen and her piano instructor

Music filled the Concert Hall today as several students performed in a Christmas recital. I played Sonata in C-minor Op. 10 No. 1 by L.v. Beethoven, rousing sleepy adults from Saturday afternoon slumber. (If you have heard the piece, you will know what I mean.) How wonderful it was to have my family there to cheer me on!

Kitchen Time!

Grandpa and Grandma are here for the weekend, and what a great time we have had! This afternoon Grandma taught the girls how to make Swedish peppakaker cookies. Delicious aromas of sugar & spice filled the kitchen to greet the boys when they returned from a CAP event. Mmmm . . . nothing like baking with Grandma!

Skating Season Begins!

It's the season we have eagerly anticipated! Tomorrow we will enjoy our first skating party of the year on Langhaven Pond.

Good News!

Dad, Steve, and I just found out tonight that we have been accepted to go on a medical missions trip to Lima, Peru with a local church group. We are so excited! Lord willing, we will be traveling in February. With the missions trip experience we had in Mexico last year, I am looking forward to what God has in store for this trip.

Now that this has come up, I am really glad that we did our Unit study about Simón Bolívar and the independence of South America. Funny as it is, we seem to skip over these type of events to go on to more pivotal occurrences in history only to end up regretting it later. Last year, we skipped studying the gore of the Mayans and later found ourselves in the Yucatán Peninsula ministering to people who were Mayan and spoke the Mayan language. Even before that we zoomed past the material covering ancient China and then traveled there to adopt a little Chinese girl not too long after. All that to say I am glad we did our homework on this one! For once I may get to lecture my history-buff-of-a-brother on the history of Peru while in Peru!