Merry Christmas!

Dear Family & Friends,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

What a year, what a year! It has truly been an amazing year for us. Many of you know our tour in Ohio ended. For those of you that did not know, guess where we are? ENGLAND!!! Sometimes it just does not seem real!

Jan. 2008 – is about the same time we received our orders to England. David celebrated his 35th {ohh} birthday!

Feb. 2008 – I went to my last Scrapbook Retreat! Someday –if they are still having them, I will go again.

Mar. 2008 – We took a family vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Shortly after arriving in Ohio, Ashlynn became addicted to Animal Planet. She began watching this series called, “The Little Zoo That Could”. She wanted to go there & meet Patty Hall the director & Cindy the head zookeeper. Knowing we would not be able to do it next year, off we went. Thankfully, we were able to meet both Cindy & Patty, & the kids were able to play with a baby tiger & feed a baby monkey! It made the entire trip!

Apr. 2008 – Yikes, I turned 28, I will be an adult soon haha or at least that is what I think 30 means & it is just around the bend.

May. 2008 – Brier celebrated his 6th birthday – can you believe it? My baby he is getting so grown up! Of course, he still asked to go camping for his birthday. Therefore, we went to Kentucky, stayed at the most wonderful campsite, visited Dinosaur world, went canoeing, fishing, & had an all around great time!

Jun. 2008 – Wow! David & I renewed our wedding vows! It was beautiful & everything we wanted it to be. Some dear friends allowed us to have it in their amazing backyard. This blessed us immensely! It was a great way to leave Ohio, celebrating with our friends & family. The kids went home to Missouri with David’s Mom afterward & we prepared our home for the movers.

Jul. 2008 – I went on my last Urban Plunge mission trip with the youth. David & I took a break from cleaning house & went to Kings Island for a day. The 1st set of movers arrived & emptied out our home. It was a sad day. Friends came to say goodbye &the next morning I headed off to Missouri.

Aug. 2008 – I spent the first 2 weeks in Missouri at my Mom’s & then borrowed her car until David arrived, so that the kids & I could travel to see everybody. David arrived & we celebrated our 9th anniversary. My Mom & family threw a going away barbeque for us. My friend Jenny & her daughter Mali drove to Missouri for it! It was awesome to show her a little bit of my home. We also went to the Labor Day Rodeo in Osceola – Jenny’s 1st rodeo!

Sept. 2008 – We made the final preparations for departure, as well as final visits. Ashlynn was baptized &Family & friends came to celebrate her commitment. It was a very proud moment. We spent our last few days in Chanute & David’s Dad drove us to Kansas City on the 10th. We met up with some more family at Cracker Barrel for an emotional goodbye, & then the next morning we were off! We arrived in England on the 12th, completely & utterly exhausted! We spent the next few weeks in temporary lodging, while looking for a home, & we must say England is very beautiful & very green & very wet!

Oct. 2008 – We have a home! We move in and unpacked – what a LONG process! We feel blessed to have an amazing Landlord and a wonderful home for our family. We have plenty of room – something we did not expect. We have a huge backyard (garden), & the Village we live in is quiet. All the people are friendly & we know that we would not have found this location without God’s guidance. We feel truly blessed & are very thankful. We celebrated Ashlynn’s 9th birthday by seeing the play; Annie.

Nov. 2008 – We are still unpacking, getting settled, & learning our way around England. Thank God for the technology of GPS systems or we would really be lost! We attempted to ride the “tube” (subway) into London – what mess! It took forever, due to some maintenance work on the tube. London was extremely busy & very crowded. Thanksgiving was very different as that is not a British Holiday. The kids had school & David & I were free to do whatever. We have come to realize we have date days, rather than date nights! We go wondering around other Villages & shops. Once a week I go shopping on base & we have lunch. It is very nice to be able to spend that time together.

Dec. 2008 – busy, busy, busy! No, not really – England, or at least our location, seems laid back & relaxing. However, we have been busy with Christmas shopping & getting ready for the holidays. We do not know how long it will take packages to reach our family, so we are in a hurry to get them sent. For all we know, the cards might even arrive late! We will get the hang of this England life soon! We are looking forward to many wonderful adventures & hoping to visit Italy in the spring!

So far, we love England & pray that our family will get to visit! Merry Christmas & May God bless you in this New Year!

In Christ’s Love,

David, Tonya, Ashlynn, & Brier