We hope that you are doing well and enjoying the
season. 2016 was our year of about to
have and then having 3 in college. This
impacted our time, money, and use of cars.
Even with all our differing schedules, we did find time for a family
trip to Virginia to see Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and James Monroe’s
Highland. Most of the family attended
First Robotics Competition (FRC) events this year in Raleigh, Buies Creek, and
Asheville as well as the state championship in Charlotte. Four of us enjoyed our Venturing Crew’s Super
Activity this summer during which we visited Clingman’s Dome, went zip lining
and whitewater rafting, hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail, and went
horseback riding. We were a house
divided when most of us attended the NC State football game at East Carolina.
Miriam is now in the 10th grade. She continues to enjoy dance and was the lead
in her recital this year. Miriam became
the Venturing Crew President this year and attended National Youth Leadership
Training (NYLT). She was in charge of
scouting on the Hitchhikers FRC team this year.
Miriam is also learning to drive.
Bethany just completed her first semester at NC State
after graduating from high school in the spring. She is intending to major in industrial
engineering with a minor in business and has done very well so far. Bethany was a co-captain this year for the
Hitchhikers in charge of the business team.
She served on the staff for NYLT and is the Vice-President of
Administration for our council’s Venturing Officers Association.
Carl is in his second year at NC State majoring in both
computer science and communications and doing very well. He was honored this year by becoming a
Caldwell Fellow which provides him opportunities to develop his leadership skills
along with funding. Carl enjoyed a trip
to Washington, DC and helped run a science and technology camp this year along
with his fellow Caldwell Fellows. He
also had a teaching assistant position in the spring.
Christian is a senior at East Carolina and on track to
graduate in the spring with a degree in computer science. He took a very heavy load this past semester
and did very well. Christian is a mentor
for the Pitt Pirates, an FRC team near ECU which qualified for the World
Championships.
Leslie-Jean was our main chauffeur to the bus stops (our
NC State students lived at home and bussed to school) and other
activities. She enjoyed our family
outings to see a Johnny Clegg concert and a Vivian Howard lecture. Dan continues to work at Lenovo and is trying
to get back into good running shape. He
also became the Venturing Crew Advisor this year. Leslie-Jean and Dan actually
took a few trips this year by themselves.
They travelled to Florida to help a relative move. They also visited historic sites in Virginia
at Petersburg and Appomattox Court House after taking the girls to NYLT.
2016 has been a busy year for us with lots of different
schedules and activities. This seems to
be quite common these days. Let us not
be too busy this Christmas to miss the reason for the season: the birth of
Jesus. Let us be like the shepherds who
went to see the baby Jesus after being told about His birth by an angel (Luke
2:8-20). Let us be like Simeon who was
told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Lord’s Christ
which he did when Jesus was presented at the temple (Luke 2:25-35). Let us be like the magi who traveled afar
from the east to see Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12).
Let us all spend some time this Christmas seeking out Jesus, the savior
of the world who died for our sins and rose again to give us eternal life in
heaven with Him. Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year! May 2017 be a blessed
year for you!
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