Christmas Newsletter 2007

Merry Christmas!

As is often the case, the holiday is rapidly approaching. I joke around that I am mentally and spiritually prepared for the holiday, but at the same time I have not done any shopping, we don't have a tree and we haven't sent out any cards. Hopefully this blog will be a good update for you. My blog is one way that we try to keep in touch with family and friends regarding the current events of our lives.
2007 has been an interesting year for us...here are some of the the highlights:

Earlier this year we sadly lost our Jack Russell Terrier, Tucker. This was a real blow to all of us. He was a major part of our family. After spending many month "recovering" from that loss, we eventually felt it was time to find a new dog. We are thrilled to have found Kona -- the sweetest Airedale Terrier. We couldn't be happier with our new dog.

We were fortunate to be able to travel quite a bit during 2007. The highlights were a mission trip to Mexico (with the kids) and our trip to Israel. Early in the summer Heidi and I led a team of about 40 teens across the border to Tijuana. Most of the young people were from Houston, Texas. Alicia and Levi made lots of friends and had a great time doing construction, drama and music in communities throughout Tijuana. Later in the summer Heidi and I made our first trip to Israel for the Foursquare Convention. We were able to tour the country before, during and after the convention. Every day was an amazing experience for us. Matt made three trips to the Philippines.

Alicia is enjoying school, her first car, and her first job. She works as a barista at an espresso stand and saved up enough money for a used Honda Civic. She is taking her first college class at Cascadia Community College and has discovered that she has tremendous talent in art. She has brought home some stunning drawings and paintings. We believe it is something that she will continue to develop and do well with.

Levi is now in 9th grade and is extemely busy playing hockey (he is on a team that travels weekly to Canada, as well as having games at home and practices). He plays defense and his team is winning most of their games. His real passion is electric guitar, but he also plays bass, acoustic guitar, writes music, and even plays some piano. Over the new year he is travelling to Los Angeles to represent our youth group at a big youth convention.

Matt is continuing to work at Eastside Foursquare Church as the Executive Pastor and the Missions Pastor. Starting in January he will be teaching a class at Fuller Theological Seminary and he enjoys runnning and hiking in his free time.

Heidi has spent most of this year devoted to the kids, but also travelling to Thailand, Philippines, Mexico and Israel. She also does quite a bit of teaching and is on staff at Northwest University with the Graduate School of Psychology. Recently she began leading a support group for teens who are struggling with life's greatest challenges.

Our plans for the holiday include an onslaught of services on Christmas Eve, followed by Christmas Day as a family. On the 26th we make the big trip to the Oregon Coast before dashing back to Seattle.

Thanks again for the cards! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas!!

Matt, Heidi, Alicia and Levi