Merry Christmas to you!

I just wanted to share with you all our Christmas letter this year. It was so full of reminders of how God has blessed us and given us grace this year. Merry Christmas to you all and a very happy new year! ~Amy

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas to you! We hope that this letter meets you in a time of joy and sharing for you and your loved ones.

As is our custom, we have had one busy year! With birthdays and jobs and trips and babies and church and moving…whew, it’s been hectic, but good too. We have had struggles, just as you have most surely had, but we also feel joy as we celebrate the birth of our Savior this Christmas.
The peanut turned one in February and has been taking off with all the learning she’s done since! She’s walking, talking with an amazing new vocabulary it seems every day and all together just making us crack up with the crazy fun things she does! Although there have been times where it has been so different and difficult to deal with the toddler years, most of all we just enjoy our precious little girl that brings her momma and daddy great joy and thankfulness in our hearts.

Michael continues to work for .... This summer he got a promotion and became a manager over a team of brokers. We are very thankful to God that he has provided Michael this opportunity so early on in his career with ... and although it has been difficult as we’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices financially (no more overtime!) and with our time, we know that God is using Michael in this new position and has great things in store for the future.

I (Amy) have been so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom to the peanut. We keep busy with story time at the library, playdates and our Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group and we love it! I’ve really enjoyed being a part of the steering committee this year as we get to plan and make new friends.

We continue involvement with the church taking part in bible studies, sound booth ministry and our new Kids for Truth ministry. This church has been so wonderful for us and we just can’t say enough good things about it! We feel like it has been a great place for us to grow and learn and we are excited for all the terrific things happening there!

In August we (yes, even the peanut!!) got to go back to Hungary for our second mission trip there, thanks to the prayer and financial support of our friends and family. We so love being there and working with the children and staff. They are such a wonderful group that has affected our hearts and minds in ways they can never know. We can’t wait to return again!

The same week we went to Hungary we also moved into our new house! Whew, that was one crazy week! We were ready for more space and really wanted to move out of the city so we moved East to .... Here we have a huge yard that we love, lots of mature trees and the funniest part, chickens! The old residents couldn’t take them so they left them for us. It has been so fun finding out more about chickens then we ever wanted to know and feasting on yummy fresh eggs any time we want!

All that being said, maybe the most joyous of news this year was the birth of my new niece, Sydney, in September. She joins her sister in being some of the peanut's most favorite people ever! It’s so cute to see the peanut hug her and say Sydney. Adorable!

We really hope that your homes are full of love and joy this Christmas season as you remember the true meaning of Christmas. I couldn’t say it any better than what Mary had to say about it in Luke 1! And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.”

May Your Days be merry and bright this Christmas season,

Michael, Amy and The Peanut