Family Outing to the Turf

 Real epic times on the Raptors Powerhouse Field... Capture the Flag (poor showing for the adults in our brief adults vs. kids faceoff), Soccer (much stronger competition, Grandad really nailing it on goalie), Football, Kickball... And we all walked off the field on our own two feet. 👍👍

Merry Christmas from the Kattersons!

 

Merry Christmas from the Kattersons!

...because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.—Luke 1:78-79

​

​
​​ Another year closes with so many reasons for gratitude! High points from 2025:

· Spring break trip to a little cabin to rest, hike, read, and play games

· May roadtrip to North Carolina to visit Ben's parents, as well as a visit to the ocean and tour of the USS North Carolina (accompanied by Amy's parents)

· Enjoyed a brief family getaway to the Upper Peninsula in August with some great hiking and exploring

· Ben and Victor had a tremendous adventure visiting Global Partners, the Moes, in Papua New Guinea in August. Highlights included hanging out with the Moes' boys, a helicopter ride to the remote village where they serve in translating the Bible, and getting to meet with the missionary community's youth group.

· Victor (13): started a boys' Bible study with some guys in his class, still enjoying piano lessons, small group, youth group, homeschool co-op, and friends, joined the young men's choir, working hard and doing great in 8th grade

· Josiah (11): joined the Middle School crew! In addition to digging into 6th grade schoolwork, also continued piano lessons, played Upward basketball, and moved to his own room in the basement this year, where he is keeping two houseplants alive and enjoying his own space 

· Elliot (9): now in 4th grade, continues to be a quirky, exuberant boy-to-the-core, always ready to wrestle, roar, and engineer Lego feats of ingenuity, but also sweet, tender friend to Jemima

· Calvin (7): fills notebooks with his imaginative drawings, quips and puns like a middle schooler, and (fittingly enough) loves to read Calvin & Hobbes, Garfield, and the Chronicles of Narnia

· Jemima (4): the little lady of the family, Queen of the Irrelevant Comment during family Bible reading, delights us with her sweet kisses on the cheek, her constant motherly care of her baby dolls and stuffies, and her joy to curl up on a lap to read a story. Takes inordinate pleasure in high heels, pretty dresses, and Ben's painting of her fingernails

· Amy: digging into ancient myths and Greek tragedies (for teaching Grade 9 English), as well as teaching a Grade 5/6 writing and Grade 9 Logic & Worldview class at co-op, enjoyed a year studying Romans in women's Bible study, and dabbled in buckwheat flour and sourdough add-ins in the kitchen

· Ben: phenomenal time on the trip to Papua New Guinea, still loving to pastor middle schoolers and their families at The North Church, ran the Tough Mudder in June (and has been struggling with plantar fasciitis ever since)

Quotes:

Jemima: I've got my glide up shoes (light up shoes) on so I know where I am.

Jemima, praying: Dear God, please help the Northern Lights to turn off when it's daytime.

Jemima to Mom, after we listened to "Let It Snow" on the radio: Is this song not your favorite?
Mom: Yeah, it's not my favorite, because it's not actually about Jesus.   Jemima: Is it about a princess?

Calvin (overheard): Jemima, you're in a bath, and in a bath, you're supposed to get wet.

Elliot, in robot voice: Hello, people, I have come to…   Jemima: Dance.   Calvin: Destroy you.

Josiah: I'd like to buy something at least a little useful. Even like a fake passport or something.

Ben, saying he was taking zinc because his sinuses had a lot of pressure after returning from PNG.
Elliot: Stick it up your nose, so it will help your sinuses.

Jemima, driving in rustic UP Michigan: Daddy, I'm looking for animals. Dead animals.

Calvin: Josiah, do you think I should have a weeding-themed birthday party?

Victor: I've been searching my entire life for a white chocolate ice cream, and there it was, in front of me on the shelf.

Ben to Jemima: When did you last go to the bathroom? Jemima: June.

Jemima: Mom, you pick, blue or red. Mom: I'm blue. Jemima: No, choose the other one.

Elliot: I know what we can get for Mom for her birthday. Bigger pans.

Jemima, marching into the kitchen: Where is my baby sister?

Jemima, playing with Calvin, who wanted to keep doing Legos: Mom, my little baby kid, that kid, doesn't want to go to grandma's house.

Josiah: Dad, you don't just need your car tools. You also need your kids.

Jemima, frequently at the beginning of this year, offering the affirmative: Yepskidoodles.

Jemima: Mom, can you fill up my water bottle? Because my tongue is starving.

Mom, to Josiah and Elliot: Both of you wear gray uniforms tomorrow. Jemima: I like gray unicorns. Victor: No, gray uniforms, not unicorns. Jemima: But I like unicorns.

Jemima, discussing ages of siblings: And Mom, you're Victor's age.

Jemima: This ponytail holder was outside. It is not yours. It's God's.

Jemima: Walking down the stairs, I hurt my ankle over my hand. (wrist) 

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.—1 Timothy 1:15

Merry Christmas Letter to the Fam

 

Dear family,

Merry Christmas! Another Advent season has come and gone. Another flurry of Christmas gift giving, baking, celebrating, and remembering has past. But what a good gift that the anchor, the center, the truth we rejoice in still sings as strong and true as ever. Christ has come!

Favorite moments from the Advent chain this season (plus some bonus post-Christmas fun): 

• Dropping off an Advent basket for friends and picking up peppermint Frosties on the way home
• Dad (and Elliot) getting the Christmas lights up on our house
• Eating supper in reverse (starting with ice cream sundaes, then the main dish, and lastly salad)
• Spontaneous visit to Como Zoo
• Farmer Christmas Celebration at the Oliver Kelley Farm (with a horse-drawn wagon, fresh cookies, and homemade ornaments)
  
• Family celebration with the other Kattersons, complete with breakfast burritos, cinnamon rolls, and a new game that turned out to be pretty fun
• Small group white elephant gift exchange (always an adventure ... able to deliver a few real treasures to our favorite friends. Precious Moments figurine from wedding and 5 lb bag of cassava flour )
• Brunch with Mr. Steve and Miss Lulu and Mr. Ryan (including some real tasty sourdough donuts dunked in powdered sugar and gifting a pretty terrific squeaking pig)
• Christmas Eve service at church with beautiful singing, beautiful message on Isaiah 9:6, sweet connections with friends
• Christmas Day! Sharing gifts among our own family (and seeing what thoughtful and generous gift-givers the kids are becoming!)
• Hitting the road for Iowa and having a terrific Anderson clan Christmas with amazing brunch, gifts, and Legos galore
• Family photos and celebration for Grammy & Grandad's 50th wedding anniversary!!!

Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:78-79

Sunrise is such a brilliant image of Christ breaking into the world. From the dark, strangling mire of sin, He has exploded in with life and hope we could never have imagined on our own. May the year ahead be one full of trusting Him, serving Him, and rejoicing in Him!

Love you, all my favorites!

Mom

Christmas Card for the Rest of You

Front: 

Merry Christmas from the Kattersons!

Life in 2019:

• Ben confirmed as Middle School Director at Bethlehem’s North Campus and taught at Jr High Summer Camp 2019 on the life of Joseph. 
• Amy had a few opportunities to teach in Bethlehem’s North Women’s Bible study on the gospel of John. 
• The “Summer of the Falling Tree” (4 big ones down, including one on our house and one on the neighbor’s camper…) 
• Transitioned to a new homeschool co-op, where Amy is a tutor of 4- and 5-year-olds. 
•  Boys ages 7, 5, 3, and 1!

Praying that you have unbreakable hope through God’s gift of Jesus, our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend.

And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… Isaiah 9:6

Back: 

Victor (7) loves homeschool co-op, small group, and anything else that involves friends. He is quick at math, loves to read and listen to audiobooks, and cannot get enough freeze tag in his life.

Josiah (5) is a sensitive, imaginative lover of animals and being with close friends. He loves Wild Kratts, bouncing, and basketball.

Elliot (3) is easy-going, bright, and comical. He sings in his bed, is figuring out his letters, and loves hockey, Oreos, baseball, and reading stories.

Calvin (18 months) is a master emptier-of-cabinets, eater-of-cookies, and charmer-of-hearts. He loves pizza, snuggles, and being right in the middle of the action.

We are rich in grace, noise, and adventures!

Nailing It: Christmas Cards

My friends. It was a couple weeks ago when my dear husband casually mentioned he thought it would be good for us to send something out (i.e. a Christmas card) this year.

"Yes, that would be nice," I said, "I'll see what I can do."

Well, now we know.

I ordered pictures and pounded out a little notecard of family updates. The pictures arrived, of course, a day after I needed to send out the out-of-town gifts (but that was okay, since I was a day late in getting those packages ready anyway).

Task: Print the notecard of family updates.

One side printed fine. Upon attempting to print the other side, our printer jammed and basically died an immediate and painful death.

So, out-of-town family, sorry that your Christmas card has only one side printed. (No names of boys for you. No update about each of their charming, developing personalities. Bummer.) But you have a picture and half a card. Could be worse.

Task: Find new printer.

Task: Request Ben to print the notecard of family updates, double-sided.

I did not specify that the sides should be facing the same direction, so I guess it is really my fault that the back is upside-down.

Task: Find envelopes. It is an amazing thing that this Christmas card will probably just about exhaust our supply of envelopes purchased for our wedding thank-you's 11+years ago! But since they are brown envelopes, we need labels in order to read the addresses.

Task: Make a list of recipients.

Task: Trim list of recipients, since I did not order enough photos.

Task: Find addresses. What, have an address list? Why no, no I don't. Eventually, list of addresses is compiled.

Task: Make mail merge and print labels. Wait, our printer is dead.

Task: Go to the office, use hubby's computer to print labels.

Now, I have worked as an administrative assistant virtually my entire adult life. I have used these copiers, computers, and programs before.

So I should have expected that, of course, the labels print out fine (the 2nd time) with the top line of print 2 cm above each label divide. There is nothing like printing labels to make you feel like an incompetent nincompoop. But I face the labels undaunted, chop them with the office paper cutter, (well, yes, it is a little conspicuous that each label contains parts of 2 labels, cut at a slightly uneven angle...) and affix them to my envelopes.

Task: Stamp, return address, label, and stuff envelopes.

Finished product, proudly sitting in the office outgoing mailbox:
Brown envelope, crooked-double-label address, photo, and family update (upside-down) for some portion of our family and friends.

So, dear people, if you do not receive a Christmas card from us this year, please do not think it a reflection on our affection for you. And feel free to message me your address.

And if you do receive one, by all means feel a swell of gratitude rising in your heart that--whatever you did or did not send out this year--it most likely wasn't that.

With joy in the perfect Savior who uses nincompoops and cracked pots,
Amy

Merry and Bright and Otherwise

It has been quite a December! Amid the dishes a-washing, laundry a-folding, and boxes a-packing there have also been many festive and sweet moments tucked in.

Special dinner with Mr. Kevin and Miss Sue

Our little family Christmas (coinciding with a new round of colds), 

and new sleeping bags to snuggle in during neb treatments

We got together with the Kattersons for a little Christmas celebration the night before we hoped to go to Iowa. It was a fun time, with jambalaya, games, gifts, and skyping Grandma Kay!

We made it to Iowa! 

Here is our houseful of cousins watching Shaun the Sheep

Pizza Ranch with Grammy and some droopy little boys

So good to see Grandma Vaupel and Aunt Sue!

All the boys were sniffling, coughing, sneezing, and generally seeming sluggish and lethargic. Elliot was not eating or sleeping well, and they were just feeling pretty crummy.

That night, instead of the planned big family dinner all together, we had a "big Katterson trip to the urgent care," where 2 of 3 boys were discovered to have ear infections.

After many prayers and several doses of antibiotics, 

we were able to get all the cousins together 

for Grammy's special ornament activity!

A little cutie pie (and a big one) able to smile again

Sometimes Christmas, with all its togetherness (or not), chaos, bad attitudes, sleeplessness, and viruses, provides an uncomfortable reminder that Jesus' first advent was not a journey of unbroken sweetness and cheer. The reason that Perfect Child came (in the chill and smelly welcome of a barn) was to unbreak the painful brokenness of our world, to extract the poison sting of sin and death, and by His own bruised body to crush the serpent's head. What a Savior!

Coming Up for Air

Whew.

December has been mild thus far as far as weather is concerned, but the level of activity around here definitely feels like a whirlwind.

We are packing for a move at the end of the month, so our only Christmas decoration set up right now is a Nativity scene.

BUT, we have been doing our Christmas chain, and thus far we have enjoyed these activities:

1. Go to a Christmas potluck at small group.
2. Go to IKEA with friends.
3. Make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (and eat 3 extra chocolate chips).
4. Set up the Nativity scene.
5. Sing happy birthday to Silas.
6. Wrap a Christmas present.
7. Bake a tasty treat. And eat one!
8. Open a present.
9. Have a movie night.
10. Visit Mr. Kevin and Ms. Sue.

Crazy but special times.

Christmas Moments in MN

Merry Christmas!

Our "Advent envelopes"

Putting up the Nativity

Celebrating with Mr. Kevin and Ms. Sue

Christmas Eve service at the South Site, with Grammy and Grandad

Christmas morning playing at the playground!

Of course, that doesn't even show the fun we had with Grammy and Grandad, the time with Pop-Pop, or the Katterson Christmas gathering. But special times to remember they all were!

What Child Is This?

Dear Victor and Josiah,

After supper tonight, we had a little impromptu "family sing time."

Daddy pulled out the hymnal, and we sang Christmas songs all together, until Dad left us to get Joey changed for bed. Then I just sang to Victor, 4 songs in a row, some Christmas favorites.


Victor, you looked at me with such big eyes, trying to understand the words.You got a big smile during the "Gloooria" during "Angels We Have Heard on High," and then we talked about what those funny words in a different language mean.

We sang my 2nd favorite Christmas hymn, "What Child Is This?" I love the song, with its minor key and haunting words. But I get choked up singing it, which makes it hard for a solo act.

"What does it mean?" you ask after every song. And a good question it is.

My Victor, and my Josiah, this is what it means.

What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.

Jesus came as a little baby, my boys. He was God Himself, but He became a tiny little baby, just like Josiah! And the angels sang big songs out in that chilly night with the shepherds, to praise God for Him. And all the shepherds hurried to visit Jesus, because He was a special, amazing baby. 

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
the cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
the Babe, the Son of Mary.

Oh, my little sons, this is the most astounding thing of all. That God Himself would be so humble to sleep in a box where donkeys eat and be born in a barn, because nobody gave them a room at the hotel. And what's more, the people wouldn't love and worship Jesus like He deserved, but they would hate Him and kill Him--not because He did bad things, but because we do bad things. And Jesus will cover over our sin with His perfect life, if we will trust Him.

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone him.

Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The babe, the Son of Mary.

Victor and Josiah, Jesus deserves every good thing! We want to love Him with all our hearts and show Him that we know He is the best! We want to sing and praise God for Him and love Him better than anything else. We want to tell everybody that Jesus is the best and that God gives forgiveness and new good hearts to anyone who will trust in Him. We have so much joy, my boys, because Jesus came!

What a special season this is, sons, that we remember God's good gift to us.

And how we pray that you will love Him and trust Him all the days of your life.

Hugs and kisses,
Momma

Putting up the Nativity

Christmas with the Kattersons

We rang in the New Year with a Christmas celebration with the Kattersons.  It was fun being with cousins and not being sick!

Snapshots from Christmas

Albeit, our Christmas did not go as planned; still, there were some very sweet moments of celebration as well.

Some snapshots... 

Craft time with our Canada cousins

Ben building a snowman with Ezra and Kate (their one day outside!)

It was fun having Auntie Krista around!

Kate giving Silas snuggles

Our skype gift-opening time, starting with Grammy leading the grandkids 

(in both houses) in some special Christmas songs

Grandad read us the Christmas story, interspersed with Christmas carols

Opening gifts and saying thank yous

We didn't get to celebrate Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary all together with a family dinner as hoped,

but there was still Cold Stone ice cream cake!

Grandad led a little Sunday service, since we were too germy to go to church