Holiday

Hi friends.

Here's a little update on what is going on in our lives.

David had and eye exam about 1 month ago. Everything checked out fine. We don't have to go back to see the eye doctor for 6 months! This is the longest time we've ever been without seeing him since David was born!

We take David in on Friday, Dec. 10, for his next MRI. Thankfully, we have the earliest appointment - 8am. This will help to make the day a little easier as he will not have to fast as long, and we will have more time for him to wake up in order to go upstairs to see the oncologist.

Hannah has been back in public school now for about a month. She is really enjoying it and is doing well. She is learning that in order to keep up with the work, she needs to be much neater and more organized - a good life lesson, but a hard one for her. She's still taking piano lessons, and she's doing so well! I love to hear her practice each afternoon. She is entering the emotional roller coaster pre-teen years, so please pray for her mental, emotional, and spiritual protection as she enters this chaotic time.

Isaac continues to homeschool. I have seen a huge improvement in several areas this year. He is still having some struggles with focus and concentration, so please pray that we will be able to come up with some good tools to help him deal with that.

Both of the kids are feeling the need for some great friendships. There are a few kids around in the neighborhood that they play with, but they don't get to play with them that much. Please pray for some great friendships for them that will help them to grow as people and as young Christians.

Rob and I are doing fairly well. Rob's latest cholesterol test showed that all his levels are back in the normal range. We have worked hard on our diet to bring his levels down, so we were very excited by this news. Both of us have struggled with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Rob worse than me. Lately, these episodes have been less frequent and not as bad as they have been in the past. This is a huge praise, since these episodes can be quite debilitating. We have been hit especially poignantly this holiday season of all the many blessings God has poured on our lives. We are so grateful to Him and to all of you for extending yourselves to us.

My parents are doing quite well. My dad is coming right along with the demolition of the burned house, and they are working on house plans for the new house. Their main focus right now is to build the house back basically the same as it was, but with a few changes that will make it more handicap accessible for my mom in her older years. There were several areas of the house that need a good bit of tweaking to make them really handicap accessible, so I know they would appreciate prayers that they will be able to make smart changes.

My grandmother continues to decline both mentally and physically. This is proving to be a huge challenge for both of my parents as Grandma is very disoriented. They could all use your prayers for God's grace.

My brother is trying to get back into his dissertation, but this has been a challenge for him. He is feeling quite disorganized still and this is quite discouraging to him. We would appreciate your prayers for encouragement, mental clarity and stamina, productivity, and for things to come together with his committee for his defense. He is so close to finishing!

Sorry to be so long winded. I have been trying to sit and write an update for some time, but haven't seemed to be able to get it done. We pray that all of you will have a particularly sweet Christmas and New Year. We love you all.

-Kim