Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We trust that you and your family have had a joyous Christmas Season! This year has been one of the most amazing times of my life! We give the Lord Jesus all the honor and glory He so richly deserves.

We continue to enjoy this week of Holiday fun. Last week, "Uncle"Greg was off and we had a blast with him. Not having any other family out here makes his presence in our lives so wonderful. We are thankful for his heart for us and the church. The kids and Greg spent some time off from school at the Zoo, shopping, movies, trains, the OB Christmas parade, etc... On Christmas evening we had around 14 people here to share a meal with us. Many folks who didn't have family, others were military,singles and neighbors. It was a great time. I used all my Christmas dishes and Jim gladly cleaned up!

Thanks to generous grandparents and my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Marlin, my kids had a great Christmas from Santa. We now own a Wii...which is the coolest game ever!! Finally, someone came up with a way to "play" video games that actually require you to move around!!! We adults are a little sore from the bowling, tennis, and golf. It has been really fun for all of us. Santa brought me a new pale pink beach cruiser bike which I am anxious to hit the beaches with! We had a lot of rain and it has kept us inside but the sunny skies are back and we are ready to get out again. Katie our golden pup is also ready to be back at the park!

We had our first Christmas Eve service at the school. We knew many of our church family would be out of town but to our surprise, we had a packed house! I was able to sing and did a children's corner in the service. Jim's stepmom, Pen, gave us a book @ Thanksgiving called, "Father and Son", so good! It is about Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus and his "thoughts" on how could he ever raise the King of all time? We also had the amazing privilegde to hear the testimony of a member of our church who has been homeless for a long time but is now sober and now has a place to live but continues to minister to the homeless. We all wept with joy as we heard of God's amazing faithfulness and goodness. These stories are becoming more and more frequent in our congregation. Go GOD!!

Jim and the kids enjoyed an afternoon and evening at Sea World thanks to Courtney and her employee passes! She spent a week back in AZ. We missed her and we are glad she is home. Please continue to lift her up in prayer. The Lord remains good by faithfully providing more and more healing in her life. She plans to leave the Huster nest in February. It will be an adjustment to all of us! Isaac does not do well with change, especially when it involves Courtney!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Fifteen Year Anniversary

Jim and I have been married for 15 years! Wow! Time goes by so fast. We could have never imagined what life would hold for us when we were just 21 year old kids. Life has not been easy but God has always been good!

Here are a few reason why I love Jimmy...

* his never failing love
* his never failing grace for me
* the best friend I have ever had
* when Jim befriends you, he is your friend forever
* he loves his children
* he sacrifices so much for our family
* his heart for Jesus is amazing
* he loves the unlovable
* he sees conflicts as an opportunity to grow
* he doesn't have a lot of money to give but he gives something more valuable...his time!
* he is a visionary
* he inspires people to do great things
* he has a true heart for the fatherless
* he is a PTA dad!
* he has led this family to live life as normally as possible throughout my illness
* he cooks
* he has given my children their baths since they were toddlers so he could spend time with them
* he puts family above ministry, school, surfing, etc...
* Jesus is Lord of His life
* he admits when he makes mistakes
* he asks his children for forgiveness if he disciplines them out of frustration and not out of love
* he knows how to apologize
* he is willing to go the extra mile for you
* our children think is "superman", their real hero!
* his possessions are not his own, if you want to borrow it or use it, he joyfully offers it to you
* he is so goofy
* he gets so crazy at sporting events
* he has fun with his kids
* he teaches them everything he knows...Jesus, surfing, swimming, riding a bike, soccer, serving others, how to be a good friend, how to share Christ...
* he is a good son and son-in-law
* he loves his parents
* he loves all of his siblings
* he doesn't gossip
* he is an eternal optimist
* he is not afraid to cry
* he knows how to make you feel important and special
* he sees no situation as impossible, just an opportunity to see how God will "show" up!
* he admits when he fails or falls short
* he has shared in all my pain and joy
* we make beautiful children together
* he never gives up on people even when they have given up on themselves
* he loves Kahli as his very own and lovingly takes the responsibility to be the father she never had
* he loves Caroline as his very own and shares in her pain even though he has never personally met her and she lives in hiding in Africa
* he opens the doors of our home to anyone who wants or needs to come in
Last but not least....
HE CHOSE ME TO BE HIS WIFE!!! I AM SO BLESSED.... I LOVE YOU JIM!


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East Coast Trip

We had a wonderful time going back East over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Our 13 day "tour" consisted of visiting family and friends in Deland, Fl, Jacksonville, FL, Hickory, NC, Lincolnton, NC, Statesville, NC, Six Mile SC, Easley,SC, and Walterboro, SC. Wow! We shared at Lincolnton First Wesleyan Church and at our home church, Covenant Presbyterian in Easley, SC. The amazing thing about all of this is that I was feeling good and able to be back in the game. Our immediate family has not been able to participate in many activities that include mommy so this was a great time for the 4 of us. It was so great to see family and friends.