Prayer Request Update

We have just found out that John Portlock, the man that we had asked for prayer for, has passed away.

Please continue to pray for his family, for their comfort and strength during this time.

Thanks prayer warriors!

Christmas Memories

Wow, Christmas has come and gone. I don't know whether to be sad or relieved! It seems to come faster each year and a little bit harder to prepare for (maybe that's just me... I don't know).

However, we had a great holiday and here are some pictures to prove it!

We had the traditional "big" dinner at our house on Christmas Eve (ham, roast, potatoes, green bean casserole, etc). Scott and Ashlyn had the normal chicken nuggets and applesauce. No adventure in those two, at least when it comes to food. They don't know what they are missing.

Baby Jessica and mom, Natasha are both beautiful. Don't you love the little Santa suit! What a cutie!

They really do love each other... or maybe it's the Christmas spirit or that Santa's coming soon... hmmm.

Even Kira gets into the Christmas spirit!

We celebrate Jesus' birthday with a birthday cake. I asked the kids what kind of cake they wanted me to make for Jesus and the answer was, CHOCOLATE. What else would it be? It was a really good cake, if I do say so myself. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, it's a good thing that He has unconditional love for us, because we can't sing worth anything!

Natasha's mom and dad, Michael and Tomara have recently immigrated from Russia and they were with us this year. It was good having them join us. Natasha translated for us.

Scott and Ashlyn wanted to leave cookies and milk for Santa...

Scott and Ashlyn wanted to sleep together in Scott's bed and we said it was o.k. They were so excited they thought they wouldn't go to sleep, I think they were in dreamland in just a few minutes. One of them, I don't remember which one now, was awake at 4:00am wanting to start Christmas. I said go back to bed....

We ended up not waking up until 8:00 or so... which was so much better than 4:00 am! Anyway, the kids were both happy with the gifts that Santa brought!

My sister and brother-in-law, Cynthia and Tony, gave us some wonderful things from Bolivia. The blanket works really well for naps! I have already given it a "test drive"!

We had a great Christmas! Our families are so wonderful and generous. I hope that you had a great Christmas as well!

Urgent Prayer Needed

First, I must say so sorry that I haven't kept my blog updated...

Second, (and more importantly). Chuck's boss, Laurie, called this morning with a prayer request for a dear friend's husband, John Portlock. He was in a motorcycle accident over the past weekend and has very little brain activity and the doctors aren't hopeful for a good outcome. John has a wife and three young children.

Please pray for a miraculous recovery for John and comfort for his family. No time is a good time to go through something like this, but at Christmas time it just seems worse.

Thanks to all you faithful prayer warriors! We know that prayer works! Praise God!