Thomas Tidings 2012 (Our Annual Family Christmas / Epiphany Letter)
Well, it’s now or never. The final days of the Christmas season are upon us. We’re gearing up for the Epiphany celebration at Immanuel on Sunday. Here’s a short note to update you on our family for the year:
Our houses:
Kansas – repaired siding and the homeowners’ association painted the exterior for us. They do it every seven years. We’ve gone from a lemon chiffon color to a butter crème.
Wisconsin –Our last renter recently moved out, and we anticipate having new renters in before the end of January. In the meantime, we’ve replaced carpeting, some paint, the bathroom floor, and the kitchen faucet. Seems like everything but the kitchen sink. We never expected to be long term absentee landlords, but fortunately, we have a good friend up there who does what we need to manage.
The kids:
Solveig – is a precocious first grader who is social and enjoys art, music, gym, recess, fashion, American girl dolls, soccer, softball, ballet, and now jazz combo classes. She's also a cookie selling Daisy. She recently went sledding with a friend and took a header into the snow. She’s very articulate and says amusing things like, “Mom, don’t have too much coffee.” “How much is too much?” “A gallon.” I can say, that I don’t drink that much!
Peder – is a fourth grader who enjoys friends, soccer, dodge ball, baseball, science experiments, computer games, and Skylander giants. He also takes piano because he’d like to start band in 5th grade. He finished his years in scouting this Spring. He also participates in Mathletics and Lego Robotics. He reports that his arm muscles are sore after that long day of sledding.
Us: We both turned 40 this year and we spent a few days together in Scotsdale, AZ while Vance attended a conference.
Vance – continues to work out regularly, got glasses for everyday wear (far-sighted), is looking more and more distinguished as his beard and crown take on a salt and pepper appearance. He enjoys the opportunities his job provides. He added to his responsibilities this year as he became the Director for the Master of Arts Program at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in addition to his responsibilities as the Director of the Library. He got furnishings for the library this year, and he gets to travel to Myanmar in March for 12 days to visit their sister seminary there.
Me – I still enjoy yoga, picked up reading glasses, and enjoy highlighting my hair so I don’t know if I’m graying or not. I too enjoy the opportunities my job provides. I continued to travel in Missouri and across the nation for congregation based organizing around economic issues. At Immanuel, I have an intern for the second year in a row from LSTC. Her name is Emily (like my sister) which makes conversations at home confusing at times. I don’t know what 2013 has in store for me, but I’m beginning to plan for a 2014 sabbatical.
Wishing you a blessed new year!
Love, Jen, Vance, Peder and Solveig
No comments:
Post a Comment