2006 Update

Merry Christmas to our friends and family! God blessed us in some very cool ways this year and we want you to know what's going on. Truman had his 13th birthday in May and began a new homeschool program for his 8th grade year along with starting electric guitar lessons. He serves on the early set-up team at SoundLife and is excited about participating in SoundLife's newly formed youth group. He and Andrew love their new sister and had a great time during our trip to China...they actually tried foods that I thought would make them gag, becoming so "enculturated" that they now insist on using their personal chopsticks to eat Ramen noodles. Andrew is eight years old and a 3rd grader at Chloe Clark Elementary. He loves his Monday evening Cub Scout den meetings and taking piano lessons from Mrs. Marsh. Our family is crazy about our fall pilgrimage to the Puyallup fair in September for rides, food, and arcade games. Having so much fun and Catherine's cooperation just forced us to stay nearly until closing time. We thank God that Catherine has adjusted so well to being in our home. She likes to play a game of chase where she walks off a few steps then turns her head sheepishly over her shoulder to see who's going to be next on the chase. She runs laughingly around the living room until we grab her up for kisses. It's also cute to see her pick up a book, go over to Cheryl, and then back up a couple of steps to sit down on Cheryl's lap for some "reading" time.

Cheryl homeschools Truman and stays busy with Andrew and Catherine. She also does a great job of taking care of our home and continues to serve as a preschool coordinator and teacher at SoundLife. BTW: Cheryl's wicked case of the measles immediately following our return from China kept her in the hospital for five days. It's one of those events for which we had to look hard to find a positive side. But, the blessing is actually quite obvious. Our great friends Kelly, Melissa, Robyn, and Cyndi along with their gracious families made some serious sacrifices to meet our needs while I stayed with Cheryl in the hospital during the day. There is no way we can thank them and our church family enough.

Rich is in his third year of mobilization to active duty at Fort Lewis, commanding the garrison's medical holding company, consisting of injured, ill, and wounded National Guard and Reserve Soldiers. Lord willing, he will continue this work through 2008. He also serves as a pastor at SoundLife Church. We are extremely grateful that Rich has the opportunity to fulfill his military commitment within 15 minutes from home.

Our year was blessed to have some visits from family. Cheryl's parents, Brown and Linda, visited in July and flew back to Kentucky right before our departure to China. Rich's mom, Janet, along with his brother Robert and his wife Cristin visited at the end of August. Donnie, Rich's dad, visits over the Christmas holiday.

Our prayer is that everyone might know the daily peace, eternal hope, and transforming power of our great God. Our relationship with Him has made and continues to make a huge difference in our lives as we face the new opportunities, challenges, and uncertainty that comes with life this side of heaven. To explore more about how anyone can have a relationship with God, just click here.