Family members came home during Christmas vacation. Not only did all three of my boys make it home, but my 2 sisters and brother were also in town. The nieces and nephews bundled up a few times a day to go outside.

Travis recently finished his graduate degree and has decided to settle in Houston, TX...the main purpose being to pursue a future with a certain young lady. This weekend he brought Emily up to Wisconsin so we could meet each other.

Julie (Justin's wife) went on a missions trip to Peru about 16 months ago. Emily was in Peru for the summer as a translator for missions groups. They met and became fast friends. Emily flew to Wisconsin to see Julie and had a chance to meet Travis. I wasn't there but I guess something 'clicked.' Travis went to New Zealand for school and Emily returned to Texas as a middle school teacher. They communicated for 9 months and saw each other twice.

She is a sweet, kind woman. It's been delightful to see them interact and hear about the growth in their relationship. God is doing good things in their spiritual lives too. We will wait and see what happens (with a grin and raised eyebrows).

It seems making cut-out cookies is a part of every December. Let the kitchen explode with flour, cookie sheets, sprinkles, and frosting! We had invited our friend Rain to come and join the fun. She was a good worker. Rain's dad stopped by to help, so afterwards we played some games around the table .

Luke just went through an adventure. It involved securing a loan, buying a used car, the car breaking down, getting things fixed, the muffler dropping off, receiving estimates, and selling the car. It happened over a period of a few weeks. I was amazed with how calm he can be in adversity.