Our family sends to your family
Our warmest hopes, dreams, and prayers for
~
A Blessed Christmas
and
A Happy & Healthy 2006
filled with
Love, Joy & Peace
~
Our love to you,
Dave, Sherrie, Ryan, Drew, Trey & Sean
~
Following is our 2005 Christmas Letter with a brief overview of everyone in our family ... if you are interested in more about "What's Up" at our place, there are several additional messages below this one :~)
~
Dave continues as the most awesome husband and father to his clan -- giving lots of wrestles, loves, taxi rides (and cash)! He's been consistent through 2005 with his strength and cardio workouts and is enjoying yet another new recreation center close to our home (there are now four centers for highlands ranch residents). For vocation, he has been a medical chemist at Kaiser working in the laboratory diagnosing what ails us for about a dozen years now. Dave loves camping and boating and is excited to get our "new-to-us" American Eagle motorhome out of storage, once Spring arrives.
~
As for Sherrie, I started a strategic consulting firm this past summer and now work from a fantastic home office. My main client is an insurance company that is domicililed in Colorado (that I actually licensed in 1990 when I was with a different firm). Another client now is the international forensic accounting firm which I was CEO of from 2000-05. Although the accounting firm was sad to watch me make the move to be more connected with family, friends, and ministry at home; they are pleased I continue to provide training and other support projects as needed. My volunteer work includes serving on the advisory committee to Grace Counseling Center (http://gracecounseling.net/) and on the Board of Directors of China Partner (http://chinapartner.org/). In February, I will also begin serving on the Board of the International Bible Society (http://www.ibs.org/). I am so very, very happy that my day-to-day life is now wonderfully integrated with my love of family & friends, business, and ministry all under one fabulous roof.
~
Ryan is in his senior year of high school, thriving under a heavy academic load. He and his darling Kelli have been dating almost two years now ~ they make an wonderfully cute couple. Ryan's working at Tokyo Joe's and recently was promoted to supervisor. He's a small group leader with youth group and (too :) awesome of a Halo2 player. You can "watch him grow up" in the post called "Ryan" below. He's planning on heading to CU Boulder this fall with a major in aeronautical engineering.
~
Drew is in the midst of his junior year of high school and is dating Lauren who is a fun and great gal. He is enjoying his work at Office Max, with a knack helping people find the right printer while he does a mix of sales, registers, and shelf beautifying (which they call 'zoning'). He is completing his A+ certification for Microsoft Systems through the high school and hasn't yet decided which area of computers he likes best, but knows it will be hardware, software, or networking. He too is a leader for youth group. The words I hear most from Drew are, "Mom, can a few friends come over?" which probably tells you more about Drew than anything else I could share! There's more about him in the posts "A Big Day for Drew" and "Teens" :~)
~
Trey is in 6th grade and having a great year academically. A natural leader with quiet diligence, Trey contributes to a quality experience whether at home or school. The post below called "Trey" shares much, much more about this awesome kid.
~
Sean is now in 3rd grade and though the Christmas picture above belies it, is probably the most naturally happy and upbeat member of the family. I've written much more about him in the post below entitled, "Sean."
~
We've had an awesome year filled with many adventures shared with people we love. Our blessings are far more than we can even count and certainly more than we deserve. It is out of our abundance that we share with you our warmest hopes, dreams, and prayers for a blessed Christmas season for you and all whom you cherish and love.
~
With Our Love and a Big Hug,
Dave, Sherrie, Ryan, Drew, Trey & Sean
3 comments:
A friend shared with me that it was told to her that sometime during the era of the 1500’s to 1800’s a person wrote the Twelve Days of Christmas as a teaching song for young children. It has two levels of meaning. The surface meaning, plus a second meaning that is precious to those who love Jesus …
The understanding of the song as shared with my friend is as follows:
"On the __ day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ..." This opening line is about God, our true love. He has given us all we need for forgiveness of sin, eternal life, hope, love and an life blessed with peace right now. All are God's gift to us in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
The different days and items from the rest of the song were written to represent the following:
A partridge in a pear tree ~ JESUS CHRIST
Two turtle doves ~ THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
Three French hens ~ FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE
Four calling birds ~ THE FOUR GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN
Five Golden Rings ~ THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT CALLED THE TORAH
Six geese a-laying ~ THE SIX DAYS OF CREATION (1. Light; 2. Firmament to separate waters; 3. Dry land, vegetation; 4. Heavenly bodies [son, moon, stars], 5. Aquatic and aerial life [fish, birds]; 6. Land animals, reptiles, man)
Seven swans a-swimming ~ THE SEVENFOLD GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: (prophesy, serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership, and mercy)
Eight maids a-milking ~ THE EIGHT BEATITUDES (poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted)
Nine ladies dancing ~ THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)
Ten lords a-leaping ~ THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1. Believe in the existence of God; 2. Have no other gods or images; 3. Don’t using the name of God in cussing or banter; 4. Observe the Sabbath day with rest, it is holy; 5. Honor your father & mother; 6. Don’t murder; 7. Don’t commit adultery; 8. Don’t steal; 9. Don’t lie about your neighbor; 10. Don’t lust after your neighbor’s house, spouse, or car.)
Eleven pipers piping ~ THE ELEVEN FAITHFUL DISCIPLES (1. Simon [who is called Peter] and his brother 2. Andrew; 3. James son of Zebedee, and his brother 4. John; 5. Philip and 6. Bartholomew; 7. Thomas and 8. Matthew the tax collector; 9. James son of Alphaeus; 10. Thaddaeus [also know as Judas, son of James]; and 11. Simon the Zealot)
Twelve drummers drumming ~ THE TWELVE POINTS OF BELIEF IN THE APOSTLES' CREED (1. Belief in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; 2. Belief in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; 3. Who was conceived of the Spirit and born of Virgin Mary; 4. Who suffered under Pontius Pilate and was crucified, died, and buried; 5. He descended into hell and on the 3rd day rose again; 6. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father; 7. From whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead; 8. Belief in the universal church; 9. The communion of saints; 10. The forgiveness of sins; 11. The resurrection of the body; and 11. Life everlasting)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I thought this was special insight into this Christmas Carol that many of you might enjoy as well. Merry Christmas! May all of your days be filled with His True Love for you!!
Happy New Year! I hope you had a special time with your family.
So, What's Up, Sherrie?
Melli ~ Prayers and love back at you! Your message was too, too funny. After I stopped laughing, I added an updated post :) Love ya, Sherrie
Post a Comment