2009 Wrap-Up

What a year! For us, it's more like: What, a year went by already? Here are some brief updates on each of us:

We didn’t have Joel Daniel last Christmas. He was born April 1st. We praise God for a quick, delivery and recovery for Laurie. He’s crawling all around the house, and loves discovering new things left on the floor by his siblings. He’s 9 1/2 months old and has just fit in to being a part of our family.

Jordan is speaking in sentences now, and oh man, does this mean trouble! At just over 2 she has major spunk. She loves gum, and asks everyone, “You have gum?” hoping she will get a piece. She calls her purse her ‘person’ and carries it around with her everywhere, with a toy cell phone inside, of course! No one intimidates her. She holds her own when she’s outside with a bunch of bigger boys - and with her brother Isaiah, for that matter. She's also really assertive - in a friendly way - with strangers. She'll smile and say hi to anyone - kids or adults.

Isaiah is still an avid climber: scaling trees, bookcases, fences, and anything else close by. He is a fan of Tom & Jerry and Man vs. Wild. (We think he should be their promotion manager, since he tells everyone about the show and tries to demo the stunts.) He is 4 1/2, eats constantly and never sits. He goes way too fast on his bike, and tells stories that are hilarious. He definitely keeps us on our knees praying, but he also gives the best snuggles. His love for and knowledge of animals is amazing. Naomi recently asked him, “Are you going to paint that alligator?” He quickly responded, “It’s a monitor lizard.” Whoa.

Naomi is 6 ½ and has lost 5 teeth…including her 2 front ones. She is in first grade and she is becoming quite a good reader. She is so tall it scares us, and she almost fits in her mom’s shoes. Art is still one of her favorite things to do in free time. She is a helper at home in so many ways, and a real leader and helper in her classroom, too. The teacher told us she doesn’t know what to do on the days Naomi is absent. We’re amazed at how much she makes her other siblings laugh and loves to play with them.

Danny is still working on completing his PhD at UC San Diego. All that's left at this point is writing the dissertation, which he's working on pretty much every day. He’s still teaching Modern Hebrew at UCSD, too. He took a trip to Germany and Israel with his dad this summer, and presented a paper at a conference in Jerusalem. God gave him the opportunity to work adjunct at Bethel Seminary here in SD, teaching a couple of Old Testament classes. Last month (Nov) he presented 2 papers at the big Society of Biblical Literature conference in New Orleans. He is also trying to be a dad and husband, etc. To let off all the scholarly steam, he loves to wrestle with the kids and challenge them to Uno games.

Laurie’s schedule is pretty maxed out caring for and loving our 4 little ones. She stays semi-sane by getting outside and walking to local parks. She tries to keep the house in an ordered version of chaos, and most days gets dinner done. But admittedly, the local pizza parlors make some money from us as well. Laurie still goes to Community Bible Study each Thursday

morning. She’s encouraged by spending time studying the Bible, and enjoying time with women who desire to love God more. She gets a break from the kids, too. They come with her, but have their own story time. As a mom each day brings much joy coupled with hard work and training youngsters. She also has the difficult job of making sure Danny doesn’t let his scholarly role go to his head; probably the toughest of all of her tasks.

Joel with his award-winning smile.

At the park the other day, the kids tried walking on this rope tied between 2 trees. Jordan's getting help from a friend.

Danny helping Isaiah

Naomi doing it on her own.

Danny had to try, too.

We were able to play in the snow this Christmas.