Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! In keeping with our yearly
family tradition, we present you with our annual “letter” sharing the
happenings of our lives over the past year.
Here are our reflections… each in our own words.
James: It’s been
a good year for us. Grateful, hopeful,
humbled, and blessed come to mind. Grateful because Trish keeps our home running
and is my primary lost item locator. We
have a great but imperfect marriage and darling children that are adorable but
challenging little boogers. I’m grateful
for the boys many talents including excelling in piano and soccer. Also, grateful for their kindness that can
bubble up just when you begin to wonder if you’ve completely failed at Parenting
101. Teenage attitude and “ignorant”
parents make for lively conversation. We
generally enjoy each other’s company even while working together on hard tasks.
Hopeful that one day they will practice good hygiene on their own. I even have an operatic song that I sing. “Brush
your teeth...Brush your Teeth!” Along
with, “How many days (yikes?!) has it been since you’ve showered?!” or simply “Obey,
Obey” with a trill. Or the time tested, “I
can’t hear you!” from No Time for Sergeants.
Hopeful that I don’t damage them too badly.
Hopeful that work will improve or I find a better way to make ends meet.
I’ve tried to work on my sarcasm with the Mrs. since she doesn’t find the humor
in it. Hopeful that we’ll be able to
have a positive impact as mentors with the DARE marriage mentoring program.
Humbled because we have it so good. As for ourselves, we have been
spared any true hardships this year. But friends and family have had it really
tough. Hurricanes, flooding, major surgeries,
undiagnosed illness, fighting cancer, traumatic brain injury, quadriplegia of a
daughter, and burying of children through illness and tragic accidents,
certainly give more than a pause for reflection and prayer. May God’s grace carry them through these
struggles and that we would be His hands and feet and know when and how to
minister.
Blessed because I have a family that loves me and a job that meets
our needs. Blessed to be living in America,
despite its bent towards self-destruction.
Blessed to have a Bible and sound teaching available to help keep things
in perspective. Blessed to have boys
that have given 65 Heroes of Faith books to prisoners through YWAM* with their
earnings from this year’s yard jobs. I
only mention this because I think it’s a great way to reach those in prison
with good things to occupy their time and maybe you’d consider donating a set
yourself.
In other news, I don’t have the same endurance I previously had for
12 plus hour road trips of twenty –five years ago. But we have found some
useful tools to make it better. Waze
traffic app is very helpful for avoiding traffic and speed taxation. We also download programs of Unshackled* and have purchased a good
portion of Lamplighter theatre *audio dramas. Listening to these uplifting stories make the
drudgery of traffic an easier pill to swallow. Plus it does one’s own soul good too. I really enjoy the family time we have
including “forced” walks with the kiddos through the neighborhood… good for your
health and conversing with your family.
Also enjoy Engineering Explorers Club and robotics classes with the
boys. We have a Popsicle stick/wood glue bridge entry that has yet to be tested,
and David had the winning entry from an egg drop competition in which his egg
was dropped from a crane.
Tricia: We are
enjoying the blessings of family and of God’s grace. As I reflect over the past months, I am
reminded it is God’s grace and His grace alone which has enabled and equipped me
to be the wife, mom, homeschool teacher, daughter, sister, friend, and servant
He has called and created me to be. I
can do nothing good on my own, I desperately need Jesus! How thankful I am that He continues to meet
my needs daily!
The boys successfully finished 7th grade and are
halfway through 8th. They are
learning, maturing, and growing; and are becoming more independent in their
studies, though some days we do have our battles. Paul typically begins his school day around 6
or 6:30 a.m., all on his own accord! We
continue to use Sonlight, as well as Apologia Science, Lost Tools for Writing,
and a few others I have thrown in the mix.
They say we force them to take art and piano lessons, but they are developing
their talents and seem to enjoy using them to bless others.
I continue to chauffeur them around to soccer practice and games,
yet I am thankful to do so (except for having to endure the odor of sweaty
soccer boys and gear!). I absolutely
LOVE watching them play… I am that crazy soccer mom on the sidelines cheering
for her boys and their team! Last spring
was a bit of a challenge, as they were on separate teams, which meant different
practice times at different fields, as well as different game schedules. We are thankful they are now again on the
same team! They had an excellent season
this fall, placing 2nd in their division at State Cup. Fun times!
We continue to study God’s Word through Community Bible
Study. We each look forward to our
Thursdays! I am humbled to be in
leadership for the 3rd year as a core group leader. What a tremendous opportunity the Lord has
gifted me with as I get to know the ladies He has placed in my group, as I pray
with and for them, and as we learn from God’s Word together. I also continue to co-lead a Moms in Prayer
group with a dear friend. Our prayer
times together cannot adequately be described in words. We have experienced countless answers to
prayers, and have each grown in our faith as we take one another’s cares and
concerns to the throne of grace. God has
blessed me with rich, deep, and transparent friendships… and for that I am
eternally grateful.
I started a new business venture in November! I am now a Jamberry Nails Independent
Consultant. I have been wearing their
nail wraps for a little over a year now, and was frequently asked if I sold
them, so I decided to give it a try!
After all, these boys are getting more expensive and a little extra
money would be very helpful. My website
is triciaschmid.jamberry.com
if you want to see what it’s all about! Life
is good, and my heart is full…
David: This
year was fun in many ways. First of all, in January we had our famed Nerf party
at our house. It was different this year because everyone invited thoroughly
wore themselves and their friends out with Nerf darts, swords, and every now
and then, a few head shots with a suddenly rather painful Nerf dart. Later in
May, as soon as we finished 7th grade, we went to the beach; where I
wore myself out catching fish and digging holes for a bunch of 4-6 year olds.
Unfortunately, I got a heat rash and could no longer ride the waves with my
boogie board.
In June we went to Kentucky with our dad for the LETU Auto Society
Reunion. Before we met with his friends, we went to Mammoth Cave. It was a very
stunning sight to see. I wanted to do the cave tour in which you could climb
and crawl, but our parents, along with my brother, said it would be too long,
dirty, and physically demanding. After that, we went to a hole in the wall restaurant
with our dad’s friends, and I was happy I didn’t get food poisoning. In July, I unexpectedly won the Pelham
Library Lego Competition with my replica of the Pelham Library! I was aiming to
win Librarian’s Favorite, as I thought Paul would win the competition with his
super car that he put power functions in.
In September, the good thing was our soccer team won the Battle of
The Jack soccer tournament in which I scored two goals (or as the Spanish
sports commentators would say, GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!). The bad thing was I
got these pieces of metal along with some rubber bands and wires put in my
mouth, otherwise known as braces (I like my description better). In November we
went to Foley to play in the State Cup. In the first game, we played against Mobile,
and I scored in the first minute of the game, which I think was the only goal
of the first half. Then we got a penalty kick and made the score 2-0 (we went
on to win the game 3-0). In the Championship game we played the Gulf Coast
Rangers who went on to beat us 3-0.It was a very intense game and we had
several good runs down the field, but we just couldn’t score. On one of my runs
down the field, I got kicked in the shin which made my shin guard fly off my
leg and land behind me (it should have been called as a foul). As always, we
will try to do better next season.
In December we got seven inches of snow at our house. I wanted to
drive my RC car in it, but I blew one of my tires which ended the desire to
drive in the snow. However, I did have a rather intense snowball fight with
some of our friends and my brother (Paul played dirty and put rocks in his
snowballs and then compacted them so hard they felt like baseballs). This
pretty much sums up my year; I hope you had a good year also!
Paul: This
year, 2017, has been an interesting, fun, annoying, and painful year. In January we had our 13th birthday party,
which was “Nerf” themed. We divided the yard somewhat unequally between the two
teams and then total chaos broke out. There was also a no man’s land, a mud hole,
which probably grew by five feet before the party was over. In May, we went to the beach and I built a
sand castle Capitol Building, even though I felt it would start to fall apart when
I was done. Surprisingly it didn’t! What
was rather disappointing was watching from our balcony as careless people turned
it into a slide (they failed). In June
we went to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. If
you don’t believe it is much colder in the cave than it is above ground you
would be wrong. It was very fun, and I
liked the cave crickets which looked more like spiders and were found in swarms
and were high in protein. I don’t really
remember (aka memory loss)JL but I think I got my expander in the
roof of my mouth in July, but I don’t rightly know. A few months later I got
braces. In September our soccer team played in the Battle at the Jack
tournament (Jack Allen Soccer Complex in Decatur, AL) and placed first in our
division! In November, our team made it to State Cup and came in second place in
our division. We also played piano in
the Solo Festival and I got a Superior rating which is the highest rating one
can earn. Overall I have had a pretty good year, thanks to the love, support,
guidance, instruction, and discipline of my wonderful parents. (my mom wrote
the last sentence!)
We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy
New Year. We pray that you will personally
know the love of Jesus Christ, that you will find your contentment and
satisfaction in knowing Him, and that whatever 2018 may bring to your life,
your help and your hope will come from the Lord.
Love,
James, Tricia, Paul and David
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