Blessed Christmas to you this December, 2008!
It has been quite the exciting year for Henry and I. To start the year off, we had another grandson born in January. He has just taken his first 6 steps tonight. Fun! He is ready to run, not walk. His brother Jake and him are so very different in looks and character. That should be a challenge to parent but so much fun! We love having them close by and spend time with them throughout each week. It’s wonderful having both Julie and Scott working in Henry’s companies.
Cherie received a roommate in March so moved back into her house. They have their challenges between the two of them but they are working it out. Cherie just adopted a 10 month old Maltese cross dog and loves him. It will be a good companion for her. She is taking piano lessons and also joined a Toastmaster’s club. So Cherie has presented her first speech and doing her second one this next week.
She loves speaking in front of people and her group really enjoy her. Her new caregiver just started about a month ago and it’s working out well.
James and Rebecca are busy with their lives. Rebecca is still working as assistant manager in a clothing store while James is working as an apprentice electrician for his father-in-law. We don’t see them as often but do have family get-togethers at least every other week. They are enjoying living in the house that James built.
Tim is doing really well learning carpentry with Dirham and also bought a townhouse several months ago. He is taking pride in his home and just painted his 2 living room walls and 1 bedroom wall a dark red. His girlfriend, Jackie, is a really nice young woman who is going to college full time for her education degree.
She has become part of our family. We are proud of how he is doing.
Meagan was going to college part time and working part time this fall. She just changed jobs from Petland to working in a small animal veterinarian clinic. I think that she will be working there full time after the New Year. That is definitely her line of interest and I do think that she will find her way into that field by working where she is. She is still living at home though not home very much. Her new adventure is her new puppy of 8 weeks. He is part border collie and part black lab. She loves him.
Henry is always looking for more adventure, traveling where ever and doing business ventures. The building has definitely slowed down and so he is figuring out how to adjust the operation of his companies. He is getting into the oil and gas production business again and really excited about it. Never a dull moment for him. He loves going to Victoria to our home there and enjoying his boat and the beauty of the ocean. It gives him breathing time away from everything happening around here in the business world.
We both went on a trip with another couple whose son was in Nepal. So we went to see him via Hong Kong then stopped in Kenya to visit the orphanages that we are involved in. It was quite the trip around the world in 2 weeks! I again went to Kenya in September taking 7 other people with me. At that time Lucy, the lady in charge of the orphanage, took in 6 newborn babies who had been abandoned. The hospitals end up with these babies who are considered to have no value. I am planning on going to Kenya in less than a week, Dec.10-20, 2008 in order to understand and develop the possibility of adopting Kenyan babies into Canada. Lucy also wants Canadian nannies to come and help her look after the babies. Her last email stated that she had 14 babies and getting 2 more while I’m there!!
Where is she putting them all and who is caring for them? That is a huge job! I can hardly wait to see them all! We also want to get the high school going asap. So I will not be bored! I was hoping that Julie would be able to go but not this time so instead my niece, Kara is coming with me. We will have a great time, I’m sure.
As I look over the last year, we have experienced many exciting events and been so blessed by God.
Having been in Kenya several times makes me aware of how much we take our privileges and rights for granted. I have learned so much from the children there, always being grateful to God for his blessings to them.
Hope your Christmas Season is rich in the presence of Jesus and that the new year will hold many special memories.
