For those of you who are new to us and my blog, I am going to take this opportunity to post our Christmas letters from the past few years to catch you up with who we are and what we are doing. For those of you who already received our letters, this will be a reoccurring post for the next three or four days. Enjoy!
December 4, 2004
Here is a year’s worth of info.
Riky is working construction again. He is pouring concrete now. The business that he was with last year closed down in July, so he had to find something else. He really enjoys his new job. He is also involved in many things with our church. He is such a dedicated Daddy. With this job he is able to spend time with the boys in the evenings. They love having their Daddy home to tuck them in for bed. He seems to be very popular this year, too. He was in two weddings. (I think word may have gotten out about how good he makes a tux look.)
I am still watching kids, only not near as much now. I have extras about 20-30 hours a week now. That is not near as much as the years before. The Lord really knows how much I can handle. This is perfect for me for now. I am still home schooling and plan to continue doing so. I am also active in our church. I stay quite busy since I am also the Mom of three active boys.
We went to Minnesota this summer. We had a wonderful time. We were able to go to the Science Museum, the Como Zoo, and of course, the Mall of America. The boys had a blast at Camp Snoopy ( in the center of the mall). We stayed in the Brainerd lakes area for a week with a bunch of friends who were all out there for Jimmy Tayloe’s wedding. It was the greatest time! The boys fished, we went boating, played miniature golf, and sat around a campfire at night roasting marshmallows. It was hard to come home! Michael is doing second grade work without a problem (not bad for a 6-year-old). He is an active participant in our church’s Patch the Pirate program. They do a monthly performance on Sunday mornings. We love to see him sing and recite verses in front of the church. He did really well in wrestling this year and is getting excited about the new season that is just around the corner. We are planning to put him in baseball this season, also. He is growing up so fast. He finally lost his first (and second) tooth. He has been waiting for this moment for "years."
Jeffrey is starting preschool work. He does not care for it as of yet, but it is good for him to practice spending time doing workbooks, since we will be starting kindergarten next year. He is so excited about being old enough to start wrestling and joining the Patch the Pirate club after his birthday in February. He sings all of the time, we know that he will love performing. His favorite songs right now are "He Lives" and "Saved, Saved, Saved." What a unique child he is. His speech is getting much clearer now and he always has something interesting to say. What a joy he is to us.
Baby Jordan. What can I say? He completes our trilogy. He is quite the child. He has met all of the one year old milestones with great joy. He walks and is starting to talk. It is so easy to get him to smile or laugh. He just bubbles with excitement. Love for his Daddy and big brothers just pours out from him. He thinks that the big boys are the greatest thing on earth (so are their toys). He is really smart, too. He recognizes his Daddy’s vehicle and if the door is open so that he can see when Riky gets home he starts to squeal with delight and dance in place. Eating the ornaments off of our Christmas tree is one of his favorite pastimes at the moment. Of course, he loves his Momma too, but he sees me all of the time and I just am not as entertaining as the big guys.
Well, that about wraps it up for this year. I had to go to two pages this time. More kids and a more talkative Mommy explains it, I guess. There is so much more that I could share from our family to yours. There is just one more important thing that I want to share and then I will be through, until next year. Our family has been dramatically changed over the last four years. We would like to share the reason for this with you. Jesus has changed our lives. We accepted him as our savior. Michael has now also asked Jesus into his heart. We had both heard the stories of his birth, life and resurrection. It was not clear to us that he had died for us, lowly sinners. Romans 5:8 says "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." That was and is us, sinners. We were simply shown by the pastor of the church we are now members of that all we have to do is believe and call upon the Lord and ask his forgiveness and he will save us from our sins. Romans 10:13 says "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." It is that simple. It is a gift that God has given us. Romans 6:23 says ". . . The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." This was a turning point in our lives, our marriage and our parenting. What better time of the year to receive this gift than Christmas, the time of the year that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. If you haven’t yet done this will you think about these verses from the Bible and consider placing your faith in Jesus?
Please keep in touch with us. We love you all.
Lots of Love,
Riky, Amanda Jo
Michael, Jeffrey, & Jordan
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