We hope this letter finds you full of joy during this season of remembering the gift God gave us. We have had a fun and busy year.
Ashlyn has kept us busy watching her in all the sports she enjoys. She plays basketball, softball, swim team ( this summer, it was a challenge) and soccer. She is in 2nd grade and is doing very well in school. She is a little bookworm and also enjoys writing.
Ethan played soccer again this fall and enjoyed running around on the field, not always following the ball. He is in kindergarten and has adjusted to the length of the day and seems to enjoy himself, he is doing great. He spends his time playing Lego's and jumping around out of excitement.
Mark has been busy with work, he is working 4 ten hour days. It is nice to have him around the house for three days every weekend. He still enjoys playing basketball and at certain times during the year he plays 3or 4 times a week. In the spring he and a group of guys went to watch Spring Training baseball games. This fall his boss invited him to a number of Jacksonville Jaguar games, he has kindly taken Ashlyn to one and the whole family to another. We all enjoyed getting to go, it was the kids' first professional football game.
Gina has stayed busy getting the kids to their activities, trying to keep the house somewhat cleaned and walking whenever possible. She also volunteers once a week in Ashlyn's classroom and helps with parties and other activities. Once a month a group of friends gets together to scrapbook, which has been great fun and very productive. She still helps with AWANA at church and learns a lot from that group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.
This year we were able to take a few trips. In May we went to Tampa and spent some time at the beach and we watched a Tampa Rays baseball game. In July we went to Minnesota and met Marks' parents and his brother Bruce and his wife to celebrate his parents 50th wedding anniversary. We all had a great time visiting with relatives in Minnesota, the temperature was a welcome relief from Florida's extreme heat in July. We stayed on the farm with Mark's uncle, which was relaxing. We also spent a few days at the lake, which was beautiful. Then we made a stop in Minneapolis and of course we watched the Minnesota Twins play a game. In September we went to Cocoa Beach and stayed at the beach and visited the Kennedy Space Center. We all enjoyed learning a little about the space program. For Thanksgiving we made a trip over to visit with Mark's parents, his brother and sister and their families. We will spend Christmas with Gina's parents and her sister Julie's family. We all look forward to this time, especially the kids. The kids always plan a Christmas nativity program with their cousins for all of us to enjoy.
We wish you peace in the coming year. We pray that you might come to know personally the One whom this season is about, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Love,
Mark, Gina, Ashlyn and Ethan
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