Christmas Time 2011
I usually don’t look back too often at previous editions of this letter, but I feel like I begin each year’s the same, “Wow, another year has come and gone!” I’m guessing the speed of a given year is somehow directly related to the amount of children one has and how much change one experiences during that time! If that’s right, no wonder it’s already December!
Things are going very well; our days are just very full. As most of you know, we welcomed the fifth player to our children’s basketball team this October. Joseph Andrew Donahue was born Oct 8th. He weighed 7 lbs. 10oz. and was 21 inches long. He is now 11 weeks old and has proved to be our most “talkative, expressive” infant yet… we haven’t decided what that will mean yet for the future! He is settling in well and the kids have really embraced him! It’s like he’s always been here. After five, I guess the kids just get used to adding another member every other year. Speaking of kids, here’s the update on the others…
Joshua, eight years old and now in 3rd grade, continues to excel in school, especially math. His reading has only slowed due to the lack of additional books in the series he’s completed. In March we realized he has his mother’s eyes… not the strongest of genes to acquire though. He is already on his second set of glasses, but it hasn’t slowed him a bit! He has become addicted to Angry Birds. He is always humming the song, drawing his own levels and building make-shift enemy pig structures to cleverly knock down. He’s playing basketball again this winter and enjoys the game. He’s becoming more and more interested in the Cats… picking a good championship-hopeful year to pay close attention!
Lauren, six years old and in 1st grade, has made the transition from Calvary Christian to Kenton Elementary seamlessly. She has begun to read and as her ability has grown, so has her desire to read more and more. She is very much girl, still loving to dress up, dance, play with make-up and sing. She lost her first tooth this fall and is now trying her hand at basketball too. Though she may be small, she isn’t afraid to get in the game and play her role.
With Jacob… well, I’m pretty sure we landed a future hunting, exploring MacGyver in training! His loves include tape, paper, rocks, sticks, boxes and gum. He experienced his first broken bone, breaking his elbow… which I didn’t even realize possible! Having just turned four last month, he was too young to start preschool so he’s home with Mom all day “bonding” with Lily. His joy of life, passion in all he undertakes and unreasonable rationality make us do everything from pull our hair out to simply laugh out loud!
Next, with possibly… no, positively, the most destructive behaviors of all our children is our two-year-old self-asserting, always into something, or up to something else- daughter, Lily. There is no question, when she wants, she rules the roost. She can send the boys fleeing and enjoys stealing things from others, running away and taunting them into an emotion-driven chase! She loves to open anything closed, get out anything put away and find all that has been hid from her. Ah, two-year-olds. She can vary from being the sweetest, funniest little girl to the most obstinate and particular female we house!
Concerning the others in the house… the two parents who seek to manage (at best), survive (at worst), this motley crew, there have been several developments. First, after eight long years, I finally hold my Master of Divinity degree from Southern Seminary. Praise the Lord… literally! Church continues to be constant change. In August, our senior pastor stepped down to birth a new ministry. The past several months have been at times a whirlwind. I’ve been trying to wear three hats at work… youth, administration and lead pastor. Many have stepped up to help in this and for them I am very grateful. Melissa after teaching a clinical once again in the spring, stepped out of this obligation to devote everything to managing the home. She has done a phenomenal job with so much on her plate. Finally, this year will be remembered for our summer trip to Key Stone, Colorado when we chose to drive 26 hours all packed in a minivan for 1300 miles of American soil to reach and then return from our destination! It was a great trip and actually much less painful that we were anticipating… not saying it was pain-free, but at least less painful than expected!
We’ve had a fast and full year, but once again we’ve been absolutely blessed. We hope your year has been filled with God-moments and God-blessings as ours has been. We give Him all the credit for the joy we experience in our family and ministry. What a great God. What a great Savior. What a great time to stop and reflect on it all.
With love,
BJ, Melissa, Joshua, Lauren, Jacob, Lily and Joseph
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