SUDDENLY SOUTHERN
Merry Christmas to family and friends! 2005
Christmas of 2005 finds us settled into our home in Farmville , NC . We finally got out of the apartment after spending almost 11 months there. Katie was so happy to have a room to herself again that I think we could have put her in a closet and she wouldn't have complained.
We found a cute ranch style home just outside of city limits. There is a tobacco field at the end of our back yard, and some cotton fields just down the road. We feel very Southern! The view of our sunset behind the woods along the tobacco fields is one of my favorite things about our home. It's very peaceful and quiet.
We've made a lot of adjustments to life in the south, but we're happy here, and things are going very well for us all. We've been very blessed this year. It's been so wonderful to have our little family all together again! Ok, the apartment might have been a little TOO much togetherness, but we all survived. Imagine going from being 1400 miles apart, and living in a 5 bedroom, 2.5 story house with a monster garage- to fitting all 4 of us, plus the 2 dogs into a 2 bedroom apartment. I admit to having some stressful moments when I wondered which way was really better! But we're all good now, and happy to be in a place we can call our own.
Katie 's loving high school (9 th grade), and Max is doing great in 6 th grade. We found a house that would keep them in the same school district they'd already been attending, so that was one less major change for them. Katie 's busy with band and a couple of Honors classes. She was on the junior varsity volleyball team this year and did really well, although she's determined to never EVER start off the season again without being in shape! She was pretty sure she wasn't going to survive the first week of tryouts and practice. Max has just added martial arts classes and Boy Scouts to his schedule, along with his first full year of trombone in the middle school band. His Scout troop camps out every month, even during the winter. We're pretty sure he couldn't find a troop in Minnesota that would do that! (not that you'd want to )
John's job keeps him very busy, but the big bonus this year is that he doesn't have to do much traveling. Wavelength is growing and we're hoping that sometime soon there's a project in- say- Myrtle Beach ! John hasn't caught the Golf Bug yet, and he claims it won't happen, but you never know.
We've been camping at Gatlinburg and at a couple of parks around the state. The boat followed us to NC, and the kids got some skiing and wakeboarding in while we were at Jordan Lake outside of Raleigh . Kim spent a couple of nights in a tent- and that was enough of THAT, so now we've added a pop-up camper to our list of leisure toys! (The pop-up also doubles as our guest suite, if anyone is considering a visit and wondering about our luxurious accommodations.)
Dad had a rough year with his health- but we're very thankful that today we can say he's doing very well! There's been no sign of the cancer since his first surgery, and this spring he had the surgery to repair the aneurysm in his abdominal artery. It was a rough time for him, two major surgeries in 6 months, but now that he's doing so great, we can say it's worth it. God's grace took care of him, and we're very grateful for all of your prayers and good wishes.
We've been attending a small church in a town nearby. We were originally invited by some friends who are members, and we liked it so much we've been going back ever since. It's a wonderful thing to feel like you belong some place, and the members of that church have made us feel welcome from the first moment. They are small, but they are mighty! And I can tell you this, Lutherans: y'all could take some lessons on hugging from these people!
Mom and Dad just left this morning for Arizona . They stopped here on the way to AZ to visit us! It was great to have them here, and I think it was good for them to see that we really ARE doing just fine. They'll worry less! Saturday we're leaving here to drive to Minnesota for a Christmas visit. We're wishing you Minnesota people would do something about the temperature before we get there. It looks a little CHILLY to us!
Have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year full of happiness, health, and prosperity!
