Christmas Letter

Many Blessings from our family to yours! Here in Oklahoma it finally feels like the holiday season. The weather has gotten cold, the fire is warm and the house is filled with the sweet sounds of Christmas joy. This past year started off very difficult with many challenges. With all praise to God, we made it through 2009 and look forward to 2010 with great joy and
anticipation for all God has planned for our family. Here is our expanded family update...

Clay, Emma & Camie (each 4.5 years old) started school and love it! If Mama gets busy and hasn't started school yet, they are quick to remind her that they want to do school. They could do school related things all day long. Math is their favorite. They really like skip counting and adding. Makes them feel like "big" kids. It is so fun to watch their joy as they figure things out. They still love to write, sing and “make loudness” all day long. They are busy all the time and are leaving behind “little kid ways” and truly becoming “big kid helpers” around the house. Clay enjoys wrestling on the trampoline with Becker & Parker. He also likes to draw and play with anything that has to do with the alphabet. Emma is truly Mama's helper. This is going to be so nice when my bigger girls are no longer available! She is always asking for a job. Emma likes to fold laundry, cook, clean and anything else she perceives as a "mama" type task. She also likes to play with dolls and color. Camie is the baby lover of the group. If there is a baby around, she wants to hold it and help take care of it. She is also our memorization wiz. Whether it is a Bible verse, math facts or the days of the week, this girl can memorize quickly and thoroughly. Quite amusing. All three constantly make us smile with all the fun things they say and do.

Parker (almost 8) loves to draw! When not riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, or building with Lego's, Parker is drawing! This boy draws with anything and on anything he can lay his hands on. He is so creative and becoming more skilled everyday. Parker is also quite the thinker in our family...always asking the hard and deep questions, keeping us on our toes and putting smiles on our faces. Parker is proving to be quite athletic and loves baseball which bring no end to joy to the local high school baseball coach. He thinks having a coordinated left hander on his team would be great! Parker's darling smile gets him out of more trouble than it should. We think he could charm the spots of a leopard!! Parker is truly compassionate and always concerned with others. A very special young man.

Becker (11.5) is delightfully making the transition from boy to man. This guy is getting tall and will soon out grown his older sisters. He is making wiser and more discerning decisions everyday. He continues to enjoy playing with his younger brothers but is just as eager to work with his dad. His mama calls on him regularly to fix things around the house and do “man-type” jobs. He is proving to be quite the hunter which brings no end to joy to his dad. He has earned the privilege to watch over his younger siblings and enjoys taking them for long walks on the property or riding bikes with Parker to the neighbors. He is also enjoys learning more about God and reading his Bible. Becker has a kind and gentle spirit with a heart to do right.

Susanna (almost 12) has moved from the RAD Unit and is now living with Papa and Nana. Susanna loves where she lives and is making wonderful steps towards her healing. She has decided that getting attention for the right reasons works for her! She likes to cook (especially rice crispy squares!), music, reading and making things. Susanna attends public school where she enjoys singing in the choir. She also really likes her art classes. She is involved in many church activities and is very happy. We are very proud of our sweet Susanna!

Dennah (15) has decided that a music degree from Oklahoma Baptist University is her goal. She is working hard to earn much needed scholarships. She enjoys taking violin lessons at OBU and loves her new teacher, Sarah Brown. She says that Miss Sarah is a cross between two of her previous teachers and is a perfect fit for her. This is a very good thing since she hopes to take from Miss Sarah for many years to come. She is also playing in the OBU Community Orchestra, which is just loves. Years ago when Dennah first started violin lessons, she played an open G string in the mini recital for her grandparents. Grandpa called her "One Note Dennah" for a very long time. Well, Dennah is definitely not "One Note Dennah" any more! God has blessed her efforts and we praise Him for the heart He has given Dennah for music. In her spare time, Dennah enjoys the fun world of email and blogging. She still enjoys playing the piano, sewing, baking and helping around the house. Dennah’s helpful spirit is a huge blessing to her mama!

Lillian (16.75) is finishing up with her current music commitments and will be focusing on piano in 2010. She still keeps up with the violin and viola but is no longer taking lessons. She is also working on finishing up her HS education so she can attend East Central University after graduation. Texting has become her new “best friend.” She also has a blog. It has been fun to see what the girls do creatively with their own blogs. Lillie, along with Hattie & Dennah, is still involved with both the children’s and music ministries' at church. Lillie is also a huge supporter of the Asher basketball and baseball teams. She drags her siblings to most of the home games. Nice thing since her two of her younger brothers hope to play baseball for Asher as home school students some day. Lillie's package has changed a lot this year...no braces and now wears glasses. She is a beautiful girl inside and out with the joy of the Lord on her heart. Our precious girl is still very much “Lillie”...just a new and improved model with more joy!!

Hattie (19.75) made a huge change this year when she decided to forgo continuing on with
cosmetology and is now pursuing nursing. After a series of events that only could have been
of the Lord, Hattie entered the LPN program at Pontotoc Technology in August. She loves
nursing and is hoping to pursue her RN after she graduates in July 2010. When we reflect back on Hattie's younger years, we should have known that the Lord would direct her to nursing. Hattie was the one who always had an emergency kit handy, was the nurse whenever anyone was pretending to be hurt, and loved emergency situations. She would like to serve in emergency (an emergency medical flight nurse is her ultimate dream) or in pediatrics. We are pleased with the direction the Lord is leading Hattie and know He will bless her efforts for His glory.

Brent & Tamy (getting older by the minute!) are looking forward to all the New Year will hold. Brent has returned to the world of equipment rental. He is now working part time for Great Plains Rent-All, which we consider an answer to prayer. Brent continues to manage both our ranch and rental properties, as well as hunt when time allows. With meat in our freezer, we consider this year's hunting season already a success. But with at least another month to let those arrows fly, who knows...he might just get that big buck! Tamy is busy with educating seven children this year. With all praise to God, we now have a system (Accelerated Christian Education and Math-U-See) that seems to work for everyone and it is a joy to watch all the children grow both educationally and spiritually. This is good thing since things are about to really slow down for Tamy in January. She is scheduled for some surgery that will require the family to make some changes and take life a lot simpler for six weeks. Praise God for the big kid helpers!

Our best to you and yours...

May the continuing Celebration of Christ’s Birth
light your lives and fill your hearts with peace and joy.

We want to wish you a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a

JOYOUS NEW YEAR!

With Love,

Brent, Tamy, Hattie, Lillie, Dennah, Susanna, Becker, Parker, Clay, Emma and Camie