Christmas Letter 08

December 2008

Dear Friends & Family,

You may remember that last year Cory went to work for a friend in the construction industry. This spring he became a General Contractor
and started GANT Construction. Cory has wanted for many years to have his own business and, so far, it is going very well. He and his former employer work together to do home repairs, remodels & real estate clean-ups. Once the economy improves they plan to get back into new construction.

On June 12th Cory and I celebrated our fifteenth wedding anniversary! We went to Belknap Springs on the McKenzie River for one night while my family watched the boys. We are thankful to God for blessing our marriage & pray He will continue to teach us how to love each other better.

Now that the boys are a little older we have been able to enjoy camping again. This summer we went on four great trips: two with my parents (Olallie Lake and Clear Lake) and two with Cory’s mom and step-dad (Diamond Lake and Detroit Lake). We all had a great time! The boys love playing outside and fishing. They each caught their first fish. Cade was by far the most excited. I think anyone on Clear Lake at the time could have heard him yelling, “ Me caught a fish! Me caught a fish!” At the end of the summer we bought a vintage camp trailer. It is a 13 foot 1955 Siesta. We were able to take it with us to Detroit Lake and really enjoyed it. We’re looking forward to more camping adventures.

Zane (6) is in first grade this year and is doing well. He doesn’t always like school, but he does his best and I’m proud of him. I have continued
to teach him at home and hope to do so through third grade. First grade requires much more time than Kindergarten did, but we are adjusting. The biggest challenge is keeping the younger two boys out of trouble while I am working with Zane.

Luke (5) is a fun little boy. His laugh is infectious. He spends a lot of his time upside down doing head stands. At times, he does this without his hands and even tries to spin. It looks like some sort of break-dance move, but I just worry he is going to break his neck. Being that Zane is occupied doing schoolwork for part of the day, Luke has had to learn to be the activities director. He is use to having Zane tell him what they
are going to play, but now he is learning to tell Cade what to do.

Cade (3) is a smiley little boy and also very tough. When he falls down, he will jump up and say, “Me okay!” or he may just growl like the pain frustrates him. He has the cutest way of talking that I wish I could describe. He is so much fun to listen to and be around.

The boys recently memorized John 14:27 and it seems like a good verse to share, especially considering our current economic state. Jesus said to His disciples, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

We hope and pray that Christmas and the coming year will be a blessing for you and yours.

With Love, Lori