The Christmas Letter

Merry CHRISTmas!

We hope this finds you healthy, happy, and enjoying the 2008 Season. We have been maniacs this CHRISTmas Season, and boy, has it been fun!

We are reflecting, as usual, but this year we are doing a little more of it. There is a reason for that. If we were to choose one word to describe 2008, it would be “transition”.

Of course, the year began with a huge transition for Clay. In March, he moved his office from Advance to Cape Girardeau. He enjoys working so near to home, and since Cape offers a few more dining options than Advance, lunch is a bit more of an adventure. Sometime when you are in the area, drop by and take a “tour”. The highlight of his year was when we rode the Harley to Milwaukee for the HD 105th anniversary. It was a week unlike any other…..ever. ‘Nuf said.

Travis is in big-time transition mode. When you see Trav, you must look up. At 6’ 3”, he looms over the rest of us. He is in the throes of making the life-changing decision of which college he will attend after he graduates in May. At one time, it was narrowed down to two. Now, we’ve lost track of where he is applying. You know it is bad when the siblings complain about not seeing their brother enough when he is still living at home. We are sure he is still living here when we see large piles of laundry in the laundry room floor and all the lights are left on in the downstairs. He is having a lot of fun, though, and between choirs, baseball, work at Wib’s, volunteering at the hospital and tutoring, he doesn’t have much free time. Volunteering at the hospital has been great preparation for being a doctor. It has also provided some great stories for when he does show up around here.

Since Trav is gone so much, we really need another driver. That leads us to the transition for Holly. Guess who will be 16? It is a matter of days. Then, our beautiful sophomore will be able to go to any youth event, to school, to Cape, and best of all, she can get Wib’s BBQ and ice cream whenever she wants! We don’t know if there is enough gut medicine in the world for us to send her off on her own. Have you noticed how many crazy drivers there are these days? Of course, one of them may be her. That smile on her face seems permanent, at least for this month. She is full of anticipation for the big day. Oh, and thanks to Christmas break, she will be out of school for a couple of weeks. We’re not sure which is better!

Nathan and Annie have pretty much transitioned into that not really a little kid, but not really a teenager stage. The media calls them “tweens”. You know this has officially occurred when there are no toys on the Christmas list. (Exception: video games. There is no age limit for those.) They are being homeschooled in 5th and 4th grades, respectively. You know how those homeschoolers are, they never socialize.

Please don’t tell “Thing 1 and Thing 2” that, though. They would hate to give up jump rope class, piano and guitar lessons, soccer, baseball, basketball, and an endless array of church activities. We are especially thankful this year, as they are both going to be baptized the week of Christmas. What better time to show the world they have made Jesus Lord of their lives than the week of His birthday?

Nathan is a typical 5th grader; he makes up a lot of stories and jokes, plays video games, hunts, and annoys his sisters. He provides endless laughs and entertainment to us all, and we are fascinated by what seems an endless imagination. He is a social young man, but if you want to know a little secret, his favorite place to be is home. He is quite a homebody and we love that about him.

Annie is still pink. In fact, she is really pink. Let’s clarify that, though. Annie isn’t soft, gentle, ballerina pink. Annie is bright, dazzling, hot glittery pink. She is still growing tall, and soon will pass up her mom and sister. On a typical day you may walk in to our home and find Annie still in her jammies (at 4 o’clock), singing and dancing around or helping Mom cook. It would be at that point you would urge her to hurry and get dressed before her dad comes home! Then, if you knew Becky when she was little, you would laugh at how much Annie is like her momma.
Speaking of her momma, as with most moms, when the family is in transition, so is the mom. Say a few prayers for her to keep the mascara from running at all the senior and graduation events. To see how it goes, check out the blog at http://www.lifeindenim.blogspot.com/.

We are even in transition where pets are concerned. This spring, our faithful black lab, Buck, passed away. It was a sad time for our family. We are thankful for our other furry friends; Tiger, the cat; Charlie, the yellow lab; and Benny, the westie.

The whole family went to Mexico this summer with our special friends, the Beels. It was a ton of fun on the beach, in the jungle, and in the pool. We were hoping it would be a great culture lesson, and perhaps be especially valuable in helping Travis and Holly in their Spanish classes. It was a remarkable experience, but as for helping in Spanish…..not so much. In the end, we all came home with priceless memories and we are looking forward to someday going back.

So, there is 2008 in a nutshell for this crew. We cannot possibly fathom what 2009 holds in store. It is exciting, a bit frightening, and, we’re sure, wonderful. Stay tuned to see what happens next! Have a blessed and safe Holiday Season.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

With love,
The Hursts: Clay, Becky, Travis, Holly, Nathan and Annie