Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends. We thought we would try to send Christmas greetings a little differently this year.

Here are the highlights of what we have been up to.

Jordan is constantly on the go. He is extremely creative and loves experimenting. His favorite show is "Myth Busters". The show always gives a warning not to try their stunts at home, but that doesn't stop Jordan. It is not unusual to find him trying a modified version of some experiment from the show. Jordan is 6'3" and only 14 years old. He loves playing basketball and has some pretty fancy moves on the court. He plays for the Junior High home school team, and has also been playing up on the JV team as well.

Tanner got a new (to him) car this year-a '91 Honda CRX. It amazes us that he can figure out how to wire electronic door openers and interior light switches. He is definitely our electronic go-to person. Tanner is taking several college classes that count toward both high school and college. He also enjoys playing basketball.

Taylor graduated from high school this past May. He had about fifty college credits by the time he finished high school. He has left the nest,(kind of). He moved to the Kansas City area in September and is finishing up the prerequisites necessary to enter chiropractic school in May 2010. Thankfully, he doesn't have to live on his own. Lauren & Tyler are graciously letting him live with them in exchange for really cheap rent. It helps them all out. Taylor comes home every weekend. We wish we could say it was because he misses the rest of his family, but the real reason is one special girl in his life, Kelsey Metz. We all love her.

Lauren and her husband Tyler will have been married for two years this January. They are still living in the Kansas City area. Lauren received her bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas this past May. After she graduated, she looked and looked for a job and was getting very discouraged. In October, she was offered two jobs in the same week and had to pick between them. She accepted a job offered by an advertising agency. She is learning a lot about interactive marketing and loves it. Tyler is still working in video production. He got to meet John Cleese this year and Jay Leno last year. He travels for work on occasion, but Lauren and Tyler also love to travel together. They were able to go to Europe early this summer. They continue to day dream about future travels and deciding where to go next. Working on their house takes up a lot of their spare time.
Maureen keeps busy still homeschooling, (mostly just Jordan). She also helps Tim with business activities that can be done from home. Tim loves going to Tanner and Jordan's ball games. Through the warmer months, he fishes whenever practical. We are trying to adjust to the reality that our kids are growing up and leaving home. We haven't decided if we like it or not.

We have a new addition to our family; a standard poodle named Charlie. Maureen's mom needed to move to an apartment that wouldn't take large dogs. Our family adopted Charlie. He has been an absolute joy to everyone. Maggie, our thirteen year old cocker spaniel, has even perked up a bit since Charlie has been here.
We truly do wish all of you a very merry Christmas. We pray that each of you would know personally the love of Jesus as we celebrate his coming to earth as a sacrifice for us.