Merry Christmas to All!

We pray all of you will have a wonderful Christmas time reflecting on the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who came into the world so we could all be free and live with Him eternally.

There are a lot of changes in the our household. You will find mention in the previous posts on this blog the following changes for 2007:

1. Marla has a new full-time job and is no longer working at the church. She works in a financial services office as the receptionist/administrative assistant. She started there on September 10. It is close to home and she walks to work whenever she can. It saves us a lot of gas money as well as almost doubling her salary. The extra money has been helpful since Bob's construction work has really slowed down. We have considered Bob getting a new job or doing something on his own but so far haven't felt that is what the Lord wants.

2. The boys (Kyle and Jezra) both headed off to college in August. Jezra is a freshman at Purdue and Kyle is a freshman at Ball State. This left a whole basement empty. Did we leave it that way? No! We invited a young couple from our church to live there. They will be having a baby girl in January. They pretty much have an apartment down there. It has been going very well. We fit together pretty well. We both have our own space, which is nice.

3. Breanna is a junior in high school and is involved very heavily in the orchestra program there. This isn't new but it is new to only have one child at home.

4. Bob turned 50 on December 12. We celebrated by having a surprise card shower for him. Friends, family, and church family gave him cards. Marla and Breanna hid the cards until the day of his birthday. We piled them all (32) on his dinner plate that evening. He spent a long time opening and reading all the cards. Thank you to all who sent him one! (He has received 40+ cards thanks to the procrastinators who have made his birthday celebration extend over tw0 weeks!) Marla also went to a bakery the morning of his birthday and picked up cinnamon rolls. I made him hot chocolate and heated up the rolls as a surprise for his birthday. Marla wanted to get pecan rolls his favorite but they didn't have any that day. We had to make this a very low-expense event because of our tight finances. It was a very nice way to celebrate his birthday, making it special without spending much money at all.

Now that the boys are home for the holidays, our main floor is pretty crowded. It will be an adjustment to living in our more cramped space while they are here and Matt and Amber come home for Christmas on the 26th. We celebrate our family Christmas by fixing a "theme" supper on Christmas Eve. This year our Christmas Eve will be Friday, December 28 since Amber and Matt can't come on Christmas Eve. Our theme this year is Italian. We are doing homemade ravioli. Everyone gets into the cooking and we always have a lot of fun.

We are having 17 (including us) over for a Christmas Day soup lunch. I invited everyone from our families who didn't have a celebration to go to. It turned out to be quite a lot of people but the couple who lives in our basement are coming, too, so we can use their space for the crowd. It should be a wonderful, unconventional Christmas Day.

Blessings to all of you as you enjoy looking through the pictures and events that are in this blog, getting updated on our family.

--Marla for the whole family.

Miscellaneous Fun

Melissa cut Brina's hair (and mine). Doesn't she look vicious?

The Z's Flute Orchestra is practicing. Would you like their tour schedule?

Always a game going on somewhere in the house during Thanksgiving weekend.
Below: new game called "Shake Down."

See ya next Thanksgiving in Newport News!

--Musing Marla

Beautiful Little Annie

Annie is 2 1/2 years old and very precious. We enjoyed taking pictures of her. She is so cute!

Learning the dance to Baruch Adonai

Sabrina was learning the dance to this song from a U-Tube video on her laptop. Glenn looks on and Cheryl and Annie try to follow Brina. Brina learned the whole thing but I couldn't get it all. I was going to go home and teach our dance class, but decided it was too complicated to learn by December 16!

Some of those present

My wonderful parents.

Amber and Matt (our wonderful daughter and son-in-law).

Above: Our wonderful son, Kyle
Melissa and Joel (Little Annie's parents)

The Twins!

Jenny and Jezra looked like twins (when Jez covered up his beard) so we had them pose backward and then forward with both of them covering their mouths. Don't they look like twins? Doesn't Jez look like Grizzly Adams or a cave man?

Thanksgiving Newport News Style!

The wonderful hosts of the fantastic thanksgiving weekend: Dwight (the wonderful cook), Jenny (the wonderful host), and Sam (the wonderful giggler).

It's not time with the K's if we don't do some martial arts with Jenny and Dwight.

On Thanksgiving it was 80 degrees. We (especially Little Annie) had fun raking and playing in the leaves and pine needles.

Bontrager Christmas 2007

This is my husband's mother's side of the family. Bob's cousin Janet made a quiz about the Bontragers. She asked us questions about the family that went back about 4 or 5 generations. It was interesting to me to hear about the past. There were about 50-60 people there that would be Mom Brenneman's siblings and their kids and grandkids. She had 11 siblings that lived to adulthood out of 15 all together! I still don't know everyone's name but I mostly can tell which aunt or uncle they belong with now after 26 years of marriage.

Is it really me?

Can you believe I ever looked like that? The first picture is from way back in May of 1973. I was with my sister Jenny in blue and my friends, Michelle and Delores. They stayed overnight at my house. The second one is me baby-sitting the neighbor boy. I was about 14 years old there. It sure seems like more than a lifetime ago that I dressed like that. We were a part of a non-denominational church where we wore head coverings and long dresses or skirts. I dressed that way from the time I was 8 until I was 16.

Ladies Retreat 2007

In the Garden: Living Stones

This was our theme for our 21st annual ladies retreat at TLCC, on October 19-21. I was blessed to have my wonderful 17 year old "baby" go with me. Everyone would tell me how much I was blessed to have her with me. I truly was! Amber went with me one year but had a couple friends with her so it didn't feel the same. Breanna was with me most of the time (and was the only teenager there) while Amber was mostly with her friends. (I love you, Amber. You are my beautiful oldest daughter and I blessed to have you, too.)

There was one "incident" that happened on Sunday morning, which dampened the retreat a little bit. One person got hurt when we were throwing our palm sized stones (representing hurts and pain we have hung on to) into the lake (representing the ocean of God's love and forgiveness). God used it to bring more healing in the end, though! Praise His name.

Terry F. made a wonderful Prayer Garden at one corner of our meeting room. It was so beautiful and peaceful. There was a electric water fall in the one corner. These women are finding a take-home stone with the words, "In the Garden Living Stones, 2007 Ladies Retreat" on them.

Isn't she so beautiful?

On Saturday, we all brought a long-stemmed flower. Terry put them all into a bouquet. Katie brought the stuffed smiley flower. I thought Terry did a wonderful job incorporating it into the bouquet. We all are flowers in God's garden, beautiful by ourselves yet when we are put together for a purpose, we are more beautiful!

Sunday morning, Doreen had us all pick a verse from "God's Garden" for us to read later. It was so amazing that so many of the verses the women chose spoke into something they were struggling with or dealing with. Breanna and I were no exception.

Breanna has struggled with feeling loved and accepted by God. Her verse was Deuteronomy 26:18, "And the Lord has declared to you this day that you are His people, His treasured possession as He promised, and that you are to keep all of His commands."

One woman was trying to release her over 21 year old son, who wasn't making the best choices, to God and not operate out of anxiety for him any longer. She hadn't called for almost 2 weeks but was still struggling with anxiety about it. Her verse was Isaiah 43:5, "Do not be afraid for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west."

Mine was Isaiah 40:28-29, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." I have found that in my life, God has turned my greatest weakness into strength. I have been overcome with panic and anxiety many times in my life. Now God uses me to bring healing to others who are struggling with this disorder. There is nothing so great as being able to help others through what you've been through yourself.

Needless to say, lots of tears flowed that morning at the retreat!

Thank you, God, for all the blessings you have given me and for freeing me from the chains that have bound me for many years.

October Birthday Bananza

It's the three birthday bonanza in our immediate family and then add 4 more from the extended family all in one week! Monday was Lincoln's, Tuesday was Breanna's and Anthony's, Wednesday was Kyle's and Cheryl's, Thursday was mine, and next Tuesday is Lindsey's. Quite a lot all in a bunch! Kyle and Amber came up last weekend and Amber couldn't wait for us to open the gifts. She and Kyle (and Matt) got me the table cloth, table runner, leaf dish, and matching salt and pepper shakers/grinder as well as matching dish towels. It goes perfect with my new colors in my kitchen and dining room! Bob and Breanna got me two dangling earring sets from Kohl's, one clear crystal, and one pink. Breanna got a necklace and a couple DVD's from Amber and Kyle (and Matt) and got a new cell phone from us. Amber got Kyle a book and we ordered him a book and a surprise from Amazon that won't come in until November. Shh! Don't tell him!

Bob surprised me by sending me flowers on my birthday to my office. It was so pretty yellow and pink flowers with one yellow rose in the center (see picture below). The card said, "Marla, you are my hidden treasure that stands out among the others. Your happiness is my greatest joy. Love you, Baby Cakes." He was like a school boy getting the flowers delivered. The same woman who helped him get the order done came and delivered them. She was kind of giddy as she said, "These are for you!" I actually blushed when I read the card. I was glad no one was around me when they came!

Bob took me and Breanna out to South Side Soda Shop for supper on my birthday, too. Jezra sent me a birthday greeting on a video from Utube by Adam Sandler. Also, I spent my lunch hour with Mom. Jenny called when I was there to wish me happy birthday. Brina was at Jenny's. Later that evening, Brina called me and wished me a happy birthday, too. Amber called me when I wasn't home and a classmate of mine sang happy birthday in German over the answering machine. It was truly a special day for me.

It was weird for Kyle not to be home on his birthday. Long distance celebrating isn't as fun!

Baby Shower for Zao and Breanna's concert

Before Breanna's concert, we stopped in to see Zao before the shower even started. Moe and Kristen are very proud parents of their baby boy. He is about 6 weeks old here.

Amber and Zao. Kyle actually held him but my camera battery ran out before I could get a picture of him.

Granny Annie (as she calls herself) was busy getting the punch ready for the party. Great Grandma is looking on.

Matt and Breanna milling around before the concert.

After the concert. Glad it's over, I guess!