Thank you for visiting our blog. We thought we'd send you all a virtual Christmas letter instead of using paper to help save the planet. Yeah, you know us better than that! We are not "PC" (although we should be good stewards), we actually just needed to save money on colored ink and paper! :) Our New Year's resolution is to actually post on this once in a while. Wish us good luck. Hopefully we'll be more successful with this blog than our last.
What an amazing year 2007 has been! Can you believe it's almost over? WOW! We would love to share with you what a blessing this year has been for us. Please accept this as a heartfelt hello if we were unable to see you this year with hope that next year our paths may cross.
Nathaniel had his first birthday back in February. It was so much fun watching him eat his first bite (okay, fistful) of cake!
We now have a very active nearly 22 month old on our hands. Nate is growing so tall and is speaking two and three word sentences. He loves to identify letters and numbers. Nathaniel has definitely become our little boy~ playing with trucks and getting as dirty as Mommy will let him.
He loves to dance as his Auntie Rachel and Great Aunties know. He also loves his Mommy and Daddy to sing and read to him about Jesus. It is so precious that he can identify Jesus in his books and asks us to pray "more" at bedtime. He pointed to "baby Jesus" at Cousin Steve and Jen's outdoor display on Thanksgiving. We are praying that this early identification and curiosity will one day lead to a real relationship with his Savior.
Jacob Kenneth was born not a month after Nate's first birthday, on March 21st. Although the labor was fast, only three and a half hours from first contraction, the delivery got a bit hairy with the cord wrapped around his neck and his heart rate dropping. Jake had a rough first couple days in the Neonatal ICU, but thankfully tests showed that he only had an underdeveloped digestive system which happens to be pretty common. We are so thankful to those of you that supported us in prayer during this time. Jacob now loves to babble all sorts of things, but mostly he loves to scream at the top of his lungs when he's happy and sad! Jake is getting so tall and is now officially crawling and pulling himself up to a standing position. What fun he is becoming!
Thankfully, from Jacob's birth Nate has absolutely loved him! He always gives "baby Jake" kisses and lets Mommy know if something is wrong with Jacob by saying, "baby, baby, baby!"
Amy has just been blessed to start a flexible part time job with the Highline School District working a couple hours a day a few days a week while John plays with the boys. She hopes to coach track in the Spring too! Mostly, Amy has been blessed to be able to stay home with our children watching them grow in stature and knowledge. How fulfilling it has been for Amy to be able to teach our children and give John home cooked meals. Her favorite thing to do is to call John at work and tell him what new things the boys can do!
Our hope for you is that as you think back over this past year and remember all the wonderful things, and all the struggles that have allowed you to grow, that you too will glorify God the Father through his son Jesus. May you be thankful for all He has done for you! Happy Birthday, Jesus, and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!
What an amazing year 2007 has been! Can you believe it's almost over? WOW! We would love to share with you what a blessing this year has been for us. Please accept this as a heartfelt hello if we were unable to see you this year with hope that next year our paths may cross.
Nathaniel had his first birthday back in February. It was so much fun watching him eat his first bite (okay, fistful) of cake!
We now have a very active nearly 22 month old on our hands. Nate is growing so tall and is speaking two and three word sentences. He loves to identify letters and numbers. Nathaniel has definitely become our little boy~ playing with trucks and getting as dirty as Mommy will let him.
He loves to dance as his Auntie Rachel and Great Aunties know. He also loves his Mommy and Daddy to sing and read to him about Jesus. It is so precious that he can identify Jesus in his books and asks us to pray "more" at bedtime. He pointed to "baby Jesus" at Cousin Steve and Jen's outdoor display on Thanksgiving. We are praying that this early identification and curiosity will one day lead to a real relationship with his Savior.
Jacob Kenneth was born not a month after Nate's first birthday, on March 21st. Although the labor was fast, only three and a half hours from first contraction, the delivery got a bit hairy with the cord wrapped around his neck and his heart rate dropping. Jake had a rough first couple days in the Neonatal ICU, but thankfully tests showed that he only had an underdeveloped digestive system which happens to be pretty common. We are so thankful to those of you that supported us in prayer during this time. Jacob now loves to babble all sorts of things, but mostly he loves to scream at the top of his lungs when he's happy and sad! Jake is getting so tall and is now officially crawling and pulling himself up to a standing position. What fun he is becoming!
Thankfully, from Jacob's birth Nate has absolutely loved him! He always gives "baby Jake" kisses and lets Mommy know if something is wrong with Jacob by saying, "baby, baby, baby!"
Amy has just been blessed to start a flexible part time job with the Highline School District working a couple hours a day a few days a week while John plays with the boys. She hopes to coach track in the Spring too! Mostly, Amy has been blessed to be able to stay home with our children watching them grow in stature and knowledge. How fulfilling it has been for Amy to be able to teach our children and give John home cooked meals. Her favorite thing to do is to call John at work and tell him what new things the boys can do!John has been blessed working at Alaska Airlines. He received his five year pin back in July. Currently he works as a Customer Operations Manager and absolutely loves keeping his hands on the heartbeat of daily operations. He loves figuring out the puzzle that is keeping the airline running as smoothly as possible while keeping the most passengers happy.
Living on one income until now has been a challenge as anyone who does it knows. We’ve made many sacrifices including selling John’s beloved car. Although John was sad to see it drive away we were so excited to pay off our debt. This was also made possible by the generosity of John’s mom and Mike who let us live with them for ten months and Amy’s parents for three months saving us thousands in renting costs. During this time of renting from family we searched for a home of our own and waited patiently on the Lord to provide. It must go on record that John was much more patient than Amy. He read the market like a book and she trusted his judgment. Although we’ve been anxious to buy since early summer of 2006, the Lord’s timing was perfect.
After looking from Lacey, Graham and Orting to North Tacoma and Federal Way the Lord brought us home to Des Moines. John’s Dad and Tanya told us that the house next door was getting repossessed so we walked around the property. We thought when the agent put the home on the market it would be way out of our price range, but we prayed about it and left it in God’s hands. The agent kept her word and let us walk through the house the day before she officially put it on the market. It had everything we had wanted in a home, but never thought we’d get in our first house. We made an offer, it was accepted, and we closed in time for Amy’s birthday in September. The home is perfect for us! John only has a ten minute “commute” to work and we get to live in the beautifully quant community of Des Moines backing Salt Water State Park. We love having a yard with no neighbors behind us except for the birds and squirrels. It is amazing how the Lord exceeds your expectations when you are patient and wait for His perfect timing!
Since moving North into King County one thing we have most enjoyed is finding a church home. We visited Mars Hill for a while with Rachel and Phil but have settled at Highline Christian with mom and dad Cowden. We absolutely love it! Pastor Tim is an incredible expositor with such a quick wit and sense of humor. We come home blessed weekly knowing the Lord has spoken through him and enlightened Scripture for us. We look forward to dedicating Jacob to the Lord and getting involved in a Bible study as soon as John's schedule gets nailed down for next year. We are just finishing a Volleyball season with church members on Tuesday nights and look forward to also joining a soccer team. Amy loves getting out of the house and getting some fun exercise!
The Lord has blessed us so richly and we thank Him for His provision of our needs and exceeding our wildest expectations! Yes, money is now officially “tight” but we have a roof over our head and warm clothes to wear and food to eat. We also have the joy of close family and friends and our wonderful new Church home. What more do we need? Nothing~ Nothing but Jesus! Thank you Lord for coming to Earth as a baby to be our Savior, may we live to glorify Your name!
Our hope for you is that as you think back over this past year and remember all the wonderful things, and all the struggles that have allowed you to grow, that you too will glorify God the Father through his son Jesus. May you be thankful for all He has done for you! Happy Birthday, Jesus, and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!Love, the Goodrich Family
