Hello family and friends and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
We realize this is a strange way to send a traditional Christmas letter, but circumstances right now called for a little creativity! (The connecting cord between the computer and printer was lost in the move)!
For those of you who do not know yet, we are no longer in Mississippi. In July of this year Sam entered into Active Duty as an Air Force Chaplain. It was SO HARD leaving our sweet southern town, but we felt God moving us into this new ministry. We have been at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho for a little over 3 months now and are really starting to like it.
Sam preaches two Sundays a month, has many counseling sessions a week, has been assigned a fighter squadron; the WILD BOARS who fly F-15C's, is in charge of the Airman's Center which ministers to and provides a place of coffee and fellowship to young airman, and countless other jobs. His pilots are in the process off getting him his "initiation flight". (I WANT ONE TOO!!!!!!!!). He is finding the challenges very rewarding! He LOVES to grab the kids on his days off and head off for a day adventure in the mountains in his Land Rover, especially now that the mountains are covered in snow!
I am doing surprisingly well! Leaving Louisville was very hard for me. We had some incredible friends there and an unbelievable church and home that were very hard to leave. Adjusting to the small base housing required LOTS of flexibility and creativity, but we have succeeded. I am still home-schooling, which is lots of work, but we are all enjoying the major benefits. We have joined a great homeschool group in town and several times a month we participate in field trips, service projects, play dates and Mom's Night Out! I found some scrapbook buddies and we meet once a month for 7 hour scrapping dates. It is great having so many stay-at-home moms in the neighborhood. I have met some incredible women and have already made a lot of great friends.
Collin is now in the 3rd grade. He loves Latin and math and would love it if we didn't ever have to do spelling again! He is getting ready to play basketball for the first time next month and he has a major part in the chapel Christmas play as well. He has a lot of friends here to play with. All his free time is spent roller blading, biking, and running outside with the rest of the boys.
Kaitlynn is in the first grade and soaking up everything like a sponge! She will be an angel in the Christmas play and has her first line! She played soccer for the first time this fall, and even though there were only two girls on her team, she was taller and faster then all of the boys! She has many girlfriends in the neighborhood and as well as skating and biking, they can be found at various houses dancing, playing horses and dress-up.
Christopher recently turned 3 and keeps us smiling. His outgoing personality and his love for performing amuse us (and any friends and neighbors that happen to be within earshot). His passion right now is the guitar. If he doesn't have the real thing handy, his "air" guitar is always available. He makes up songs about whatever he sees and spends hours a day, just singing! He has started Sunday School and is enjoying playing outside and riding his new bike with his siblings and new friends.
Kaebrie is now 15 months old and running everywhere! Her big blue eyes still amaze us (as she is the only one in the whole family with blue eyes) and we keep hoping she will grow some hair! She loves her sister and brothers so much and her favorite thing to do is wrestle with them and play hide and seek. She says "mama" and "Dada" and signs "please", "more", "all done", "eat", "drink," "hold me", and "phone". She came up with her own sign for phone!
We have had many adventures here in Idaho. Lots of places to see that are only an hour or so away. We hope to extend that circle and take some longer trips in 2006. Yellowstone is only 7 hours away and we want to take them skiing as well this winter. The nearest ski resort is only 70 miles away!
We would LOVE COMPANY!! Please come and visit and see this beautiful state if you can.
Please leave us a comment and let us know how you are. We hope that Christ's love shines brightly on you this Christmas season.
Much love! Jodi (for all)
