Because of Jim taking the time to write it, we got a Christmas letter out this year.
Here is a copy of what we sent -
Friends and Family:
From our home to yours we wish you a (belated) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Thank you for your cards, newsletters, pictures and greetings.
Like many of you, our year has been one of ups and downs – but God is still good and we trust him for the blessings in the midst of the storms of life. We enjoy a very active household.
Under roof we are currently 7. Jamie (our youngest) is 9, Natalie (11), Gloria (13), Lauren (15) and Katie (17).
Juliana permanently launched in the fall of 2014 and we are blessed that she became engaged this past March to a fabulous guy, Alex who passed muster with all the sisters (and mom and dad). They already have a date so we will welcome our first son-in-law in September of 2016.
Juliana continues to provide Personal Care Assistance to a wonderful man (with long term ALS) and became a licensed Aesthetician this year.
With a waiver from the state of MN, Katie was granted early graduation from high school and immediately got a full-time job which she really loves. More often than not you will find her at the Chipotle Grill at Ridgedale Center, where is training to be a kitchen manager.
Lauren got her drivers’ permit so we will have another driver this coming year. She continues to play violin with GTCYS (the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony) and works part-time at a local B&B. She and the younger 3 are permanent students in Christine’s homeschool which was rebooted in April of last year.
Gloria loves her Minecraft buddies, drawing (digitally and on paper) and has acquired dad’s bad habit of spending way too much time online.
Natalie and Jamie have two neighbor friends their ages and the 4 of them are constantly inventing new games and activities for each other – and taking turns being the “leader” of their group. They are both taking gymnastics this year.
All 4 of our younger girls work together during homeschool time for study, projects and field trips that Christine manages to fit into a very busy week.
Christine manages our household with amazing grace. We even added a small flock of chickens in May and they have begun to lay eggs every day.
Along with her role as teacher and mentor for our kids Christine continues to faithfully serve on the worship team at church and helps plan the women’s retreat.
Somehow she manages to keep everybody’s calendar, scheduling everything a CEO would to keep a company running in the black. She already has scheduled our next summer’s camping trip when we will go to the Black Hills in July.
My work at ShareMedia Services continues to be rewarding since I get to collaborate with people who are engaged in the business of funding ministry work domestically and internationally. It also continues to bless us financially and I have the luxury of working from home, so my commute is only a few feet and most days we have both lunch and dinner together as a family.
We are a blessed family and I never take for granted all we enjoy. God is good and merciful. We are learning to live simply so others may simply live.
To that end, let me introduce you to our third annual faith-based non-profit ministry: The Last Well. (Learn more at thelastwell.org)
I met Todd Phillips a couple of weeks ago face-to-face in Dallas. God called him OUT of pastoring churches to lead this amazing effort. The only mission of The Last Well is to provide access to clean water to every person in Liberia and offer the Gospel of Jesus to them by the end of 2020.
If you know history, you will recognize Liberia as the country where former slaves in America went to begin their lives over back in the 1800s. After two civil wars the country is just now making recovery efforts. Feel free to message me or call me if you would like to know more.
Wishing you every blessing for this coming year,
Jim and Christine Smith
Juliana, Katie, Lauren, Gloria, Natalie, Jamie (and Roxy the dog for all the other pets we have)
