Better Late Than Never...

This Holiday Season was whirlwind of Christmas parties, birthday parties, church activities, and Chritmas productions. While it was fun, I am glad that things have slowed down quite a bit.
I wanted to include a copy of our Christmas letter that we sent out. Hopefully most of you got it. If you didn't get it, we didn't have your address. Ooops! Feel free to give it to us and we will make sure you are on our list next year.


The Encalade Gazette vol. 7

Dear Friends,
Merry Christmas all. It’s time once again for our unannounced, self promoting, and unnecessarily long family Christmas letter. Yes, it’s our chance to update many of you on things you’re already well aware of and others of you on things you could probably care less about (otherwise you would have picked up the phone and askedJ). We pray you’ve had a wonderful 2006. Ours has been joyous, trying, and tremendously blessed.

We write this letter from our warm and cozy living room. The tree is up, the stockings are hung, and a fire burns across the way. This is our first Christmas is our new house, and we are delighted to host our families for the first time this year.

We moved here (2803 Pyramid Circle) in April after selling our last home and renting for a short time. The first projects were painting, putting in new carpet and getting the girls’ swing set up in the backyard. There’s always more to be done, but we love our new home and are so grateful for Granny’s help in getting here.

Many of you have been in prayer for our family since the loss of Naomi’s mother, Cyndi. We want you all to know how appreciative we are of all the love and support we’ve received in the past few months. We miss her dearly, but her love lives on. Our girls often hear and tell stories of Grandma and the great woman she was. Richard, Naomi’s Dad, has moved to Denison, and is doing very well. It’s a blessing to have Grandpa so close and we are enjoying spending such quality time with him.

Our girls are doing so well. They keep us on our toes and always laughing. Abby, who will be two in February, is talking a lot. She blows kisses to everyone she sees, and absolutely adores her big sister. Avery (turning four in March) is becoming such a big girl. She’s a big helper for her Mommy and is her Daddy’s best buddy. She started Preschool this fall and is loving it. She comes home singing new songs, showing us what she made and telling us stories about her new friends. The girls’ favorite activities include story time at the library, playing with their friends at Mom’s Bible Study, reading books (especially Avery’s ‘Twenty Greatest Quarterbacks’ book), and dance parties with Daddy’s iPod. Our girls bring us so much joy. I can’t think of a sweeter sight than watching Abby hug and kiss her big sister ‘night night’.

Things are really good in Naomi’s world. She loves being a stay at home Mom, and we’re so thankful she’s able to continue doing that. She still scrapbooks when she has time, but she’s found a new hobby: blogging. Check it out at www.encalade.blogspot.com. Her young ladies’ Bible Study is a highlight each week. She is most thankful for her time with the girls but also quite appreciative of occasional breaks giving her a moment to herself or a chance to visit friends.

Wes is continually challenged and rewarded through his ministry at Park Avenue. The teens continually amaze and inspire him and he is especially grateful for the team of ministers he works with daily. In his free time he’s playing in an adult soccer league, reworking his golf swing, and doing his best to dominate his fantasy sports leagues. He’s still got a ways to go, but has become more ‘handy’ over the past few years. No longer does he call-in help for changing the AC filter or hanging pictures J. He actually has big plans for a deck in the backyard this spring… Naomi is skeptical.

That about wraps up our 2006. We hope you have enjoyed catching up with us. God has been so good to our family. We love Denison, Texas. We love the Park Avenue Church of Christ. We’re thankful for the home we’ve made here, the good health we have experienced, and the love we are shown daily. We look forward to 2007 and the ways God will work in and through our family.

Lots of love and warmest Christmas greetings,
Wes, Naomi, Avery and Abby