Merry Christmas Update (the past 6 months.) Check out previous postings for the full year...

What better occasion to update our blog than Christmas!? This past year has been the most stressful, life-changing and joyous that we can remember. Not only with the two new additions to our family, but because like so many, we have had significant financial losses and have experienced the humbling fallout that comes with it. BUT God is faithful and He continues to teach us that regardless of the circumstances, challenges and changes around and within, the Spirit of Jesus Christ abides in us and sees us through. Praise Him because that is why he was sent, and that is what we are celebrating now at Christmas.

Here we are on the Washington Ferry bound for our Orcas Island. It was awesome to share this special place with Anastasia and Jonathan. Abbie and Hannah were delightful as they eagerly shared all their favorite hangouts with their siblings. Jonathan and Anastasia bring us so much joy in their enthusiasm and energy! We praise God as He keeps deepening the bonds of our family.

Mount Constitution is definitely a must. This is the compulsory photo atop the mountain, which of course doesn't come close to doing justice to this amazing 360 degree marine view of forest covered islands and deep blue waterways. As spectacular as it is, we find ourselves simply enjoying sleepy mornings at our rental cabin or combing the beach.

One favorite and very sentimental tradition is making pottery. The twins had their very first

handprints made. Now we have four handprints to add to those we've collected since Abbie was 4 months old and look forward to future years as the children grow. We also hiked (not enough for mom) found our favorite driftwood for our plaque, made smores on our deck overlooking the most gorgeous nightly sunsets, and basked in weather that was warm enough for swimming in the lake. The kids (including Mike and Uncle Lee) even jumped off the bridge over Cascade Lake! Here are Lee, Brenden, Hannah, Mike, Abbie, Taylor, and Brad. It was a fantastic trip and even more special because it was our first official family vacation with the twins!

We were so happy to be able to spend a meal with Lois and Jon and Kat in Seattle. Here are Jonathan and Abbie sharing a smile and a hug with Lois. We appreciated so much that she was able to meet the twins!

Hannah celebrated her 11th birthday with a splash! Here are her friends jumping off the high rock into our pool! Our awesome house has been on the market since last May, and we have definitely not wasted a single minute enjoying and sharing. As we consider moving yet again(!) it has never been more clear to us that it truly is the family that makes the house!

The twins also celebrated their 8th birthdays in grand style! First, our friend Pancho got us all passes as a Disney employee! The twins got in free because of the birthdays and we all had a wonderful time! Here is Pancho presenting Jonathan and Anastasia with lanyards and special pins to begin their collections! Again, Abbie and Hannah are just the right age and are both so generous in spirit that they delighted in showing Jonathan and Anastasia around the park.

Anastasia's dream came true! We knew she loved princesses when we first met her. It is quite possible she chose us just because of the princess dolls she saw in the photo we brought of her room! Her visit with Belle, Ariel, Mulan and Cinderella was nothing short of amazing. I even wrote a letter about the visit because all four ladies made it so very special for her.

Here are Anastasia and Jonathan with their birthday cakes: Princess and Spiderman. We also had a "First Birthday" Party for them. It was their first time receiving presents. They loved it and they did awesome!!!

You may remember from our first blog entries that Anastasia has strabismus or crossed eyes. Well, praise God with us that this past October she had surgery to correct it and it went better than we or the ophthamologist ever anticipated! The doctor told us that Anastasia has a couple of different issues going on with her eyes and that it would take 3-4 surgeries to correct. Well, it only took one! This was a direct answer to our prayers and a huge milestone for Anastasia. You may also remember that the day Anastasia "shut down" on us back in Ukraine was because we had been talking about her eyes and she was so afraid of the surgery. Well, God strengthened her and gave her courage every step of the way and then blessed her by doing it all in one procedure. Our God is awesome!!!

Here are our trick-or-treaters! Anastasia is (of course) Belle, our friend Emily is the lady bug, Yes that is Mike as the oversized ballerina! Hannah as the bee, Abbie as the eskimo and Jonathan as Captain Jack Sparrow. We still have Halloween candy left, by the way...

Here we all are with the Gold Family on our trip down to Coronado for Thanksgiving at the Golds new home on the island. In the photo are Sunny and Tyson, Jahni, Kellen, Jonanthan(Mikes brother) Jack, Kat, Rose, Abbie, Hannah, Myra, Anastasia, Jonathan (who we call JonJon when we are with them to avoid confusion) and Bailey. They are all such a blessing to us and we are so enjoying having them so much closer. We all had a fantastic time of relishing our blessings of family and of abundance all given to us by God, our loving Father.

Here comes Santa Claus...This is the Real Santa, too. All others are merely Santa's helpers, you know. We meet him every year at Lake Arrowhead Village on our annual Thousand Pines Family Camp with Los Altos. It was great to share the joy of whole weekend with our church family, again deepening bonds as only God can. Each season with the twins brings such richness to our traditions. Abbie and Hannah are especially excited for them! We just love our big sisters :)

Note: I don't mean to make it sound like we don't have our struggles, because our work is definitely cut out for us, but the rewards are so great and God so graciously blesses our meager efforts. Any time I review photos and even as I write this blog I am reminded of how far God has brought us, when often times all I can focus on is how far we have to go.

Oh, Tannenbaum! Cut down from Gunthers Tree Farm on the way back from Thousand Pines.

Hanging the ornaments on was also a joy as each of us is reminded of our blessings over the years.

One of Abbie and Hannah's favorite traditions is our treasure boxes in which we get a treat and a treasure from God's word each day in December. All the scriptures point to the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It never fails to instill awe and wonder over our great God who planned from the beginning to redeem us because of His great love for us. Merry Christmas and God Bless Us Every One!