Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas Letter 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2009

It is hard to believe just how quickly this year has flown by! We hope this finds all of you & yours doing well!

Tim turned 32 in April and celebrated 9 years with * in October. He continues on as their Lead Audio Producer and enjoys his work there. Rochelle turned 31 in June and celebrated 8 years with * in July. She continues on as their Production Administrator, Books and Managing Editor, Catalogs, and loves her work there. We are at the same church (*) and still really loving it there. We definitely feel God’s presence and know without a doubt this is where we are supposed to be. Here’s just a portion of what this year looked like for us….

January: We watched our beloved pastor endure cancer treatment, and press on through it. We are so thankful to God for allowing Pastor James to continue to preach even during his treatment time in California! God has abundantly blessed our church and we are so incredibly thankful to be a part of God’s amazing work.

February: We helped move Rochelle’s brother and his family from * to * {8 hours apart} where he is now the senior pastor at * Baptist Church. We get to see them more often since we visit * so much. We are especially thrilled to watch Olivia (6) and Cayley (3) grow up into such beautiful young girls. It’s pretty nifty that he’s the pastor at Rochelle’s best friend Tracie’s church, so that has also meant more time seeing her and her family!

June: We grieved the loss of a dear servant, Pat, with us at church. We served with Pat for years together at * (our pastor’s radio ministry) and were so sad and surprised to see her go from a pancreatic cancer diagnosis to eternity in heaven in 3 weeks. And despite the heartache, we are thankful for the time we had with her! On the up side, we celebrated 9 wonderful years together with a visit to White Pines Forest State Park in Mt. Morris, IL. It was a nice, relaxing time away from reality, although it was pretty boring. It was too hot for hiking and in the middle of the week in the summer apparently everything in the nearby town is closed! But we made the best of it that we could and are glad we had a chance to get away.

July: We celebrated a very special milestone birthday with Tim’s mom and his family. We got to have his amazing sister Cinda and her family with us for several days, and it was sooo much fun! They helped us trim hedges, fix our garden, clean out our attic, cook, clean, etc. They’re pretty handy guests to have around. Thanks Cinda & fam! We helped our very dear friends Brian & Monica move into their first house.  

August: We helped Brian & Monica welcome baby Parker into this world. We couldn’t be more thrilled for them! Monica is like a sister to Rochelle, and we’ve enjoyed these extra special months of getting to know them better and hanging out with their little guy in their newly remodeled home. Also this month Rochelle joined a local gym, *. She has found it to be a HUGE help with her pain and energy levels. She’s part of a team weight loss class with a trainer, nutritionist, and a group of others to work out with. It’s been really great for her and she’s already seeing results.

September: We got a new car for Rochelle. The Forester was on its last legs and it was going to cost more to fix it than it was even worth. So we said goodbye and welcomed in our new, safer vehicle for her. It’s a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe with AWD and electronic stability control, and it’s higher up, making it safer & more comfortable for her to drive on her long winter commutes. And the Fibro says thanks too now that it’s a less stressful commute.

November: Rochelle went with her mom and stepsister Susan to a Beth Moore Life event in Springfield. Beth Moore is an incredible Christian speaker, targeting mostly women, and Rochelle really enjoyed her time there. And learned a lot! We were thrilled to welcome another nephew into the family… Ashdyn Paul was born to Tim’s younger brother Paul and his wife Becca on November 2nd. We are so happy for them and he is so adorable! Rochelle became the wedding planner for Tim’s younger sister Kandy’s upcoming Jan 2010 wedding. We can hardly believe she’s at this stage in her life, but we are really happy & excited for her!! And a big welcome to the family to Bonga *. We had Thanksgiving for the first time at Rochelle’s dad’s in * with her brother and his family. It was Rochelle and Jeremi’s first time doing a full Thanksgiving feast and they had a blast and survived without burning the turkey… and it was actually really good! :) Whew!

December: We’ve really enjoyed our Christmas parties thus far and look forward to all those to come. A big thanks to our friend Brian for the incredible Christmas photos he took for us! {I'll see about getting them online sometime after the new year.}

We send you all our love and wishes for the merriest Christmas and happiest New Year! :)

Love, Tim & Rochelle *

*personal information removed to protect privacy

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