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| New Year's Day |
We hope this letter finds you well and joyfully preparing for the Holiday Season. As
2011 drew to a close our family participated in the New Year's Eve
Resolution Run in State College. It was a fun family event that many
from our church attended together. Training for a 5K was a rewarding
experience for me, and I have since begun to build my endurance for
greater distances. I hope to be able to participate in at least a
half marathon sometime in 2013. One of the greatest things about
trying something that you never expected to do is that it can
inspire others to step out of their comfort zone and strive for new
goals. I thank God for using me in this way, and using others to
help keep me motivated.
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| Disc Golf |
Eric
had to do some traveling for work again this year and spent some time
in Australia as well as Denver. He continues to play softball and
volleyball as the seasons change. Eric is serving as a deacon at our
church now, and he also volunteers as the treasurer for the Employee
Benefit Organization at work as well as the Music Booster Club at the
Middle School/High School. When he has free time he enjoys going out
to play a round or two of disc golf, and periodically will still lead
the family to a geocache or two. The children have become so busy
with activities that it is difficult to plan as many family outings
as we used to take.
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| Can You Find Cody and Austin? |
Austin and Heather both participated in the drama club this year, and Cody
and Austin each participated in their first year of Track and Field.
Cody threw discus and shot put, and Austin was in the high jump,
triple jump, 4x400 meter relay and the 4x100 meter relay. The
two boys also marched in the Independence Day Parade in Washington,
D.C. The rest of us took a charter bus down for the day to watch
them. For all but Eric it was our first visit to Our Nation's
Capitol.
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| First Day of School |
Heather joined the marching band this summer and all three of the older children marched in the field show at our high school football games this fall. Cody played trumpet, Austin played the sousaphone, and Heather played saxophone. We have a neat story about Cody's instrument that you can read about in my blog post called The Silver Trumpet. Darren started playing trumpet now that he is in fourth grade. Austin will put away his sousaphone for the season and concentrate on trombone, and all four students will participate in concert bands for the remainder of the school year. Cody is now in tenth grade, Austin is in eighth, and Heather is in seventh.
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| Kinzua Bridge State Park |
The
kids were all involved in soccer again this year. Cody played
defense on the High School JV team, Austin played keeper for the Boys
Jr. High team, Heather played defense on the girls Jr. High team, and
Darren played a variety of positions on Bald Eagle Youth Soccer's
team TNT. I volunteered as registrar for the youth soccer program.
With all of the kid's fall activities Eric and I spent a lot of our
time in concession stands and on bleachers. We also had the
opportunity once again to work at a Penn State concession stand with
a group from our church. Now that the fall activities have wound
down we are thankful for a bit of a break as we look forward to the
holiday.
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| Mother's Day |
For
me it's been a year of growth and blessing, but it hasn't been an
easy one. I struggled with emotional issues for the first half of the
year, but I am sure that God was working all things together for my good
every step of the way. I am thankful that He brought me through that
time and is helping me move forward in His plan for my life.
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| Our 16th Anniver |
Addressing our cards this year was a prayerful time for me as I remembered each recipient. Signing each card together as a family was also a very special event. May you find that 2013 is filled with more blessings than you can count, and may each one cause you to turn your heart to God in praise and thanksgiving. Jesus gave His life for us, let us live our lives for Him.
♥JMH♥
