Happy New Year Letter
Happy New Year’s Eve!
I (Andrea) had intentions of sending out Christmas cards this year, but two years in a row is just not
happening for us, I guess. Life got in the way, and Christmas came too quickly. So, while I didn’t get a
Merry Christmas letter written or cards mailed out, I still wanted to reflect on our year and share with
our friends and family. Fair warning--it’s not short.
happening for us, I guess. Life got in the way, and Christmas came too quickly. So, while I didn’t get a
Merry Christmas letter written or cards mailed out, I still wanted to reflect on our year and share with
our friends and family. Fair warning--it’s not short.
The beginning of 2019 saw the continuation of Kari’s freshman year of high school. She played on the
tennis team in the spring and loved it! She continued working on her tennis skills in lessons through
the summer. Fall of her sophomore year brought a hectic schedule (a little too much for her and us, it
turned out, but we survived it) with cross country, honors/AP classes, NHS, piano lessons, symphonic
band, and drivers ed, which is an entirely different, and much more involved, beast than it was when
we took it 25 years ago. She went to her first formal dance and got her driver’s license in December.
We have another driver in the family! We are simultaneously thrilled and terrified by this development.
I am hopeful and confident that we will move more toward the “thrilled” side of things soon, as we
come to appreciate the freedom and convenience this brings. Kari is loving being able to drive!
tennis team in the spring and loved it! She continued working on her tennis skills in lessons through
the summer. Fall of her sophomore year brought a hectic schedule (a little too much for her and us, it
turned out, but we survived it) with cross country, honors/AP classes, NHS, piano lessons, symphonic
band, and drivers ed, which is an entirely different, and much more involved, beast than it was when
we took it 25 years ago. She went to her first formal dance and got her driver’s license in December.
We have another driver in the family! We are simultaneously thrilled and terrified by this development.
I am hopeful and confident that we will move more toward the “thrilled” side of things soon, as we
come to appreciate the freedom and convenience this brings. Kari is loving being able to drive!
The year 2019 saw Joel through the end of his 7th grade year with basketball, track, and tennis. He,
too, took tennis lessons over the summer and is very much looking forward to more tennis this next
spring and summer. His 8th grade year started out smoothly this fall. He was on the student leadership
team that helped welcome the 6th graders (and his sister) to middle school and is involved the FCA
(Fellowship of Christian Athletes) group that meets before school on Fridays. He’s had the opportunity
to lead/teach the lesson a couple times already this year, which has been so good for him. He’s had
some challenges this last month, though. On Dec 9th, in the first minutes of his second school
basketball game, he went up for a layup and came down on his ankle wrong, breaking both the tibia
and fibula. My heart broke for him, as the realization of what this meant for him sunk in--4 weeks in a
non-weight-bearing cast and on crutches and 4-6 weeks of physical therapy (and no basketball, bike
riding, physical activity...) after that--that he would be missing the entire school basketball season and
likely most of his competitive team’s season, too. Then to add insult to injury, he got influenza B over
Christmas. Rough season for him! But we have been very proud of his positive attitude through it all.
He’s allowing God to grow him and mature him during this difficult time. He’s cheering on his
teammates at their games and making the best of this unfortunate turn of events. We’re looking
forward to recovery and healing for him and to him getting to return to the activities he loves. On to
high school in 2020!
too, took tennis lessons over the summer and is very much looking forward to more tennis this next
spring and summer. His 8th grade year started out smoothly this fall. He was on the student leadership
team that helped welcome the 6th graders (and his sister) to middle school and is involved the FCA
(Fellowship of Christian Athletes) group that meets before school on Fridays. He’s had the opportunity
to lead/teach the lesson a couple times already this year, which has been so good for him. He’s had
some challenges this last month, though. On Dec 9th, in the first minutes of his second school
basketball game, he went up for a layup and came down on his ankle wrong, breaking both the tibia
and fibula. My heart broke for him, as the realization of what this meant for him sunk in--4 weeks in a
non-weight-bearing cast and on crutches and 4-6 weeks of physical therapy (and no basketball, bike
riding, physical activity...) after that--that he would be missing the entire school basketball season and
likely most of his competitive team’s season, too. Then to add insult to injury, he got influenza B over
Christmas. Rough season for him! But we have been very proud of his positive attitude through it all.
He’s allowing God to grow him and mature him during this difficult time. He’s cheering on his
teammates at their games and making the best of this unfortunate turn of events. We’re looking
forward to recovery and healing for him and to him getting to return to the activities he loves. On to
high school in 2020!
Aubrey finished out her elementary years in 2019 with braces on her teeth and moved on to middle
school, which she is loving (who loves middle school?!). She has great friends and is a social butterfly
who is also breezing through school. It’s been a smooth transition for her, for which we have been very
grateful. She started playing the clarinet this fall in the 6th grade band and is continuing with piano, too.
She received a new tennis racket for Christmas, so that’s part of her spring and summer 2020 plan, as
well. She is playing competitive basketball again right now, with Greg as an assistant coach once again.
Their team is having a great time together and improving already. The season ramps up this next week,
with many, many games in the coming weeks.
school, which she is loving (who loves middle school?!). She has great friends and is a social butterfly
who is also breezing through school. It’s been a smooth transition for her, for which we have been very
grateful. She started playing the clarinet this fall in the 6th grade band and is continuing with piano, too.
She received a new tennis racket for Christmas, so that’s part of her spring and summer 2020 plan, as
well. She is playing competitive basketball again right now, with Greg as an assistant coach once again.
Their team is having a great time together and improving already. The season ramps up this next week,
with many, many games in the coming weeks.
The year 2019 didn’t bring a lot of changes for Grant--same school, same teacher even for 3rd grade--
but he’s loving life, just the same. :-) He surprised us by becoming the spelling bee champion for the
younger grades at his school, which was exciting! He joined the jump rope team which was also exciting,
as they got to perform during half-time at a high school basketball game. He’s been practicing and is
looking forward to doing that again next month. Grant chose to forgo soccer this fall and decided to follow
in his cousins’ footsteps to give water polo a try, and he LOVES it. He was sure he would, and he was
right! ;-) Turns out, he’s pretty good at it, too. He’s the smallest kid in the deep end of the pool, but he
works hard and isn’t bothered at all by the size difference. He’s an eager learner and is soaking in all the
tips and tricks his cousins and older friends will give him. We didn’t mind the switch at all; we traded
outdoor, cold, windy, rainy soccer games, for warm, indoor, dry (for us) water polo. And it was the first
time in a decade that Greg did not coach a little kid soccer team in the fall!
but he’s loving life, just the same. :-) He surprised us by becoming the spelling bee champion for the
younger grades at his school, which was exciting! He joined the jump rope team which was also exciting,
as they got to perform during half-time at a high school basketball game. He’s been practicing and is
looking forward to doing that again next month. Grant chose to forgo soccer this fall and decided to follow
in his cousins’ footsteps to give water polo a try, and he LOVES it. He was sure he would, and he was
right! ;-) Turns out, he’s pretty good at it, too. He’s the smallest kid in the deep end of the pool, but he
works hard and isn’t bothered at all by the size difference. He’s an eager learner and is soaking in all the
tips and tricks his cousins and older friends will give him. We didn’t mind the switch at all; we traded
outdoor, cold, windy, rainy soccer games, for warm, indoor, dry (for us) water polo. And it was the first
time in a decade that Greg did not coach a little kid soccer team in the fall!
Greg and I are feeling time speeding by with our family. (He’s in his same role at work, and I’m subbing at the kids’ schools again this year. We both turned 40 this year and took fun trips to celebrate.) It’s a whirlwind these days, and sometimes it feels like we’re barely holding on, trying to keep up and
get everyone where they need to go at the right times, but it’s good. It’s so good. We’re treasuring the
time with our kids, as we know it’s only a couple years until they’ll be going off to college and things will
be different. This is one of the reasons we decided to do our big trip to Disney World this last summer. I
documented that trip well on social media (and for my blog--yes, I still maintain it, not as consistently or
often, but I still post to keep a record of our family happenings), so if you saw that, you’ll remember it
was a memorable trip, with typical highs and lows of a family vacation, but oh-so-much-fun! Time with all
six of us together has become more of a rarity, so it was pretty wonderful to have those 8 days away
together.
Serving at our church and with our kids continues to be a blessing, too. We’re so thankful for the people
we get to do life with, the “village” we have surrounding us as we raise our kids. Life can be hard, and I
am thankful for a God who loves us so much, promises to never leave us or forsake us, and who offers
grace when we fail. Parenting is not for the faint of heart and parenting teenagers is a whole different
challenge (not all bad, though!). We are constantly asking God for wisdom and guidance with each
situation that arises. We anticipate more joy and more challenges in this 2020 year, but I love the hope
Jesus gives after his “promise” that, “In this world, you will have trouble.” He says, “But take heart! I have
overcome the world.” (John 16:33) We will have hard things in 2020, but we have faith in our Overcomer,
and while our circumstances will change, the goodness of our heavenly Father does not change, and
we can rest and trust in Him. I truly desire that we all will know and trust in God more in 2020 than we did
in 2019.
we get to do life with, the “village” we have surrounding us as we raise our kids. Life can be hard, and I
am thankful for a God who loves us so much, promises to never leave us or forsake us, and who offers
grace when we fail. Parenting is not for the faint of heart and parenting teenagers is a whole different
challenge (not all bad, though!). We are constantly asking God for wisdom and guidance with each
situation that arises. We anticipate more joy and more challenges in this 2020 year, but I love the hope
Jesus gives after his “promise” that, “In this world, you will have trouble.” He says, “But take heart! I have
overcome the world.” (John 16:33) We will have hard things in 2020, but we have faith in our Overcomer,
and while our circumstances will change, the goodness of our heavenly Father does not change, and
we can rest and trust in Him. I truly desire that we all will know and trust in God more in 2020 than we did
in 2019.
Happy New Year, with much love!
Greg, Andrea, Kari, Joel, Aubrey, & Grant
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