Merry Christmas 2022 – from our family to yours

We spent this past week in Arkansas, celebrating Christmas with family and friends from there. We left in shirt sleeves, and we drove back to Virginia across Tennessee in parkas. A bitter cold front walloped the country, and we navigated icy roads and dirty windshield (our washer fluid wouldn’t work!) to make it back to Virginia for my wife’s birthday (12/24) and be here for Christmas Day. (Of course, two stops at the new Buc-ees in Sevierville, TN were absolutely necessary, going and returning.

Oh, the cards…

One of the joys each year is seeing all the Christmas cards from family, friends and church members. This evening, we opened and smiled our way through a stack that had arrived while we were gone.

Thank you to all of you who sent us one!

Because we can’t feasibly send cards to all of you, we post our Christmas card each year.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

We hope this card finds you with your year full of fun and blessings. Sending it is a time where we thank Jesus afresh for all the blessings, provision and joy He has brought throughout the year.

Jeff was able to travel to Istanbul to encourage friends. This is his third trip there and always a time to experience God at work around the world. He also made several trips to Arkansas to visit family and friends. Northstar’s new office building should be completed before the new year, and we are already planning for our third parking lot! His highlight of his week is meeting with several men’s groups. He still writes regularly for his blog and upcoming book.

Carolyn had a fun season with Spoons Shaved Ice – setting up at Virginia Tech events, football games, town festivals, and hot summer days. Her mom even came to help her and her sister for a week of Spoons events. Carolyn traveled to NM to celebrate her grandma’s 90th birthday. We enjoyed time with friends who came to see us. Carolyn put them to work with Spoons but rewarded them with a trip to the creek. She still works for BHS counseling and has several photography jobs on the side.

All the family were able to spend time at the beach for a fun, restful summer break. Adelyn and Braeden still live in Newport News. Adelyn is teaching high school math. Braeden works at their church and does a Fellows program there which includes seminary classes. Sam is now the area director for YoungLife in Winchester. Sidney works for ECFAand gets to travel often. They worked at Rockbridge Camp for a month this summer. Jeff and Carolyn got to attend camp for a week and experience “the best week of your life.” It is a joy as parents to get to watch your kids do what they have dreamed about doing when they were young. To see answered prayers is always a gift that we do not take for granted.

May this Christmas be a time of reflection for you and your family. May Christ be real to you, His blessings be evident and His love be present.