The New Year

So I haven't blogged anything since October, which strikes me as being terrible for the millions waiting for an update. . . maybe not ( :

Well, we've been snowed in together over the past few weeks; the kids have been off for almost 3 weeks and are going back to school on Tuesday. They are not nearly as excited as we are, although Acacia has been packing and unpacking her lunch on a fairly regular basis. Hannah seems to be glad that she'll be seeing her friends on a more regular basis now, but Rebekah would be happy if school was cancelled until the end of time.

So for a quick update on the kiddos. . . .

Hannah is a published author!!! Well, only on the internet for Harry Potter fanfiction, but she really wanted to do it and got published by a website that actually screens the entries. We are pretty proud of her and she is continuing to keep working on honing her writing skills. She has also been working really hard on increasing her artistic talents through her art class at school and seems to be enjoying that quite a bit as well.

Rebekah got an art kit for Christmas, which was a bigger deal than the IPod she also received. She loves to draw and has been expanding her talents from just horses to other animals, like her turtle, Zippy. She has been experimenting with watercolors and pastels as well as pencils and has moved on from crayons.

Acacia is just a joy. She is such a funny little girl. I was thinking this week about how I felt when I found out I was pregnant with her and it definitely wasn't overwhelming excitement. I can't imagine our lives without her and I'm so grateful God chose us for her family. She is so excited about learning new things at school and is more adept on the laptop than any of us.

Mike and I are doing well. Mike finished his master's degree which represented the end of a long process for him and for us as well as a raise in salary which was definitely a blessing. He's enjoying his job more than ever, spends a lot of his free time on Facebook and has been working to get Hannah to teach him how to make a video for UTube.

I switched jobs this year. I'm no longer working in juvenile corrections, but at the welfare office assisting disabled and mentally ill adults in applying for SSI disability benefits. It's fairly rewarding when they are approved for benefits and I'm learning more and more about myself and the needs of the community. It's amazing to me how so many of the people in our communities are in so much need and pain. Sometimes, it hurts to do my job, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with my client.

We feel so blessed as a family, even during this uncertain economic time . . . we don't know where we'll be in the next few months. Mike's job will be stable as far as we know. . . my job officially ends in June, so we'll see what God has for me after that. I'm continuing to work on my masters degree in counseling and am hoping that I will be able to continue with that for now.

God bless all who read this and we pray that God will keep you safe and sound.