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PICTURES FOR MY CHRISTMAS POST

The Stokes family wishes you a very blessed Christmas.

We are looking forward to seeing some of you soon. Today was in the 50's here, so make sure you keep some snow for us. It has been a busy time of year for us as I'm sure for most of you. We had our "Victory Family Christmas" this morning with lots of music and kids involvement and it was a delightful time though we are, of course, exhausted. It is such a joy to praise Him during this season through music. We feel very blessed as musicians. Like the little drummer boy story, sometimes it feels like a song is all we have to offer him. But if it flows from our hearts, even if our hands are empty, not only does Jesus accept our gift but He gives us so much more than we could ever deserve - grace upon grace.

We are thankful for a really good time with the Chernyavsky's over Thanksgiving weekend. We had wondered how to celebrate Ruth's 8th birthday and having them here was such a cool present for Ruth that it didn't matter much what we did. Although we did do some fun things that weekend. . . southern lights at the Kentucky Horse Park, swimming at the hotel, girls sleepover, birthday pancake breakfast with both our families and Tim's godfather, etc.. It was great having them here.

The next week I had my student piano recital, which though we videotaped it I don't have pictures of it right now. It was my first time with (almost) all my students here together and was very rewarding. That same day Ruth auditioned for the performing arts school here in Lexington and did, we've heard, a great job. We will hear for sure in January whether she will be accepted or not.

As I reflect back on this year, I remember when we were planning this move, our first major move as a family, to Kentucky, and Joseph kept asking things like, "Is there McDonald's in Kentucky?" "Is there Target in Kentucky?" Is Thomas the Train in Kentucky?" "Will my toys be in Kentucky?" And for all of us, there have been times of uncertainty and questioning, "Is Jesus in Kentucky? Is He really here with us through all we are dealing with?" We know now that there are Christmas trees and parties and lights and crazy shopping frenzies and music in December in Kentucky. Joseph now knows there is even McDonald's and Thomas the Train. And yes, there is Jesus. May you know Him this season wherever you are.

The drama continues. . .

We are very thankful for all of God's blessings to us this Thanksgiving season. The Lord has been faithful to provide for us during a difficult season of our lives. There has been uncertainty, waiting on the Lord for answers, and many pressures lately. Our house not selling in Minnesota continues to be a question mark for us, the fact that our church here has had to cut staff salaries a certain percentage across the board come January, questions regarding our education choices for the kids. . . but through it all, the body of believers here and there has supported us and we've always received just what we've needed and then some. So many unexpected and anonymous givers! We hope we will learn how to be as generous as others have been to us. And we see God's heart for us displayed through His body which is precious. This keeps us hoping, keeps us seeking, and keeps us thankful.

Meanwhile, our family of four young children is enough drama in and of itself! Today for their homeschool group, the kids dressed up as different historic characters - Rachel was Dolley Madison, Ruth was Laura Ingalls, and Joseph was Buffalo Bill. There have been some exciting things happening with our kids. On the musical side of things, Rachel has played on the worship team with her violin, Rachel and Ruth have started playing Christmas duets with violin and cello, Ruth has an audition on Dec. 6th for a performing arts school and we also have the piano recital for my students that day. Joseph, though he likes to play three blind mice on the piano, is not yet into studying an instrument. However, he is totally excited about starting basketball in January! We have him signed up for a neat program here. And Rebekah's latest news is that she is doing a good job of potty training - though we're not quite there yet.

Thanksgiving will not bring us home to Minnesota this year, though we so look forward to our Christmas visit. We do have some excitement Thanksgiving weekend, though. We have an invitation for dinner on Thursday from friends and then we have our good friends from Minnesota, the Chernyavsky's, coming to visit on their way down to Florida on Friday and Saturday! We are all so blessed by that, especially Ruth who is turning 8 years old on Saturday and will get to have her good friend Sienna here. Perfect timing!

I will include some pictures of our kids, our little bitty snow we had :) and Tim with the other staff here. It's hard to believe the holiday season is upon us. My next blog will probably be our Christmas letter! Giving thanks for all of you. . .

DEBRA'S PARENTS HERE!

We are thankful to have Mom and Dad Goertzen visiting with us this week and I thought I would share a few pictures, plus I'm due for an update anyway. Since Mom and Dad have been here, we've already done quite a bit. We enjoyed an apple orchard/farm that had a really fun play area for the kids. We went to the horse races at Keenland for the last day of the fall meet there on Saturday and got to again experience the thrill of the crowds and the speed and beauty of the horses. Tim took Rachel and Ruth and Mom to a Lexington Philharmonic concert Friday night because Ruth's teacher told us there was a cello soloist and they all enjoyed that night out. And we all went to the Lexington Phil's family concert today with Peter and the Wolf and the Lexington Ballet embellishing with some great dancing. Even Joe and Bekah came and enjoyed that, along with the orchestra "petting zoo" beforehand. Now we have a busy school week ahead, but Mom and Dad should also get in on a little recital Rachel and Ruth are playing in this Thursday afternoon before heading back to Minnesota on Friday.

As far as a general update on how life is going for us, I don't have much new to add from previous posts. We've had a little girl sleepover and and a men and boys' campout, a women's retreat and Shaker village where I led the musical worship, a recital Ruth played in, more piano students for me, more computer work for Tim, more stress with home-schooling and discussions on what to do next year, plans to possibly rent out our house in Minnesota and put selling on hold for a while. . . and obviously this is only to name a few things in our lives! (and I don't always have pictures for everything though now that I'm a blogger I think I'm supposed to somehow! We are now enjoying time with family and looking forward to seeing more of you at Christmas time. God bless!

Fort Boonesborough and more

We went to Fort Boonesborough as a family along with a few families from our kids' homeschool group this past Saturday. They had many reenactors at the fort and in an added Indian village this weekend, they shot off a real cannon, acted out a siege for us where the Indians attacked the fort, and really allowed us to experience life with blacksmiths, old-fashioned stores and clothes, and for Joe the highlight, of course, guns.

On Sunday following our field trip, Rachel played violin in her first recital. I accompanied her and she did a wonderful job. Unfortunately, my pictures to choose from for this event are very limited because Tim was trying to keep Joe and Beka quiet as we played. But it was a good experience, we went out for ice-cream with her violin teacher afterwards, and enjoyed the time. Ruth is really progressing on cello and will be playing in a recital soon, too. We are considering having her audition for a school for the creative and performing arts, in which they have most of their openings for kids going into 4th grade next year. We just went to a meeting there this week and are still praying and considering on it. It is a public school, but audition only and they truly receive an arts education which we could get excited about.

I am enjoying the cooler weather - even though it has still been quite warm. It's finally feeling a little more "fallish" and the leaves are just beginning to turn. The kids are having a lot more fun playing outside now that it isn't as hot and Tim and I enjoy our chances to get out and run a lot more.

Piano teaching is going very well. I'm really enjoying teaching this time around and still looking to add a few more students into my schedule. Tim is enjoying his worship position at Victory, creatively planning and rehearsing choir and praise teams, working with the youth and kids on Wednesday nights, not to mention other pastoral responsibilities and being the primary teacher for Rachel and Ruth on their schoolwork. (Tim has always been kind of amazing to me. Still glad I married him. :) It has its challenges and the church is not exempt from the economic issues facing everyone right now. Certainly, with our house not selling and other things going on, we just have to rely on God step by step for guidance.

We are looking forward to a visit from my parents in October, plus I am planning worship for an upcoming women's retreat. Then before we know it we'll be coming back for Christmas. Thanks to all our friends and family for your love and prayers!

Fall Facts and Fun

Hi, I wanted to update everyone on how our fall is shaping up. If you could call this fall when it is still 90 degrees! In the past month, many things have begun and a few have ended. Bye bye backyard swimming pool and unstructured days. At the end of August we celebrated 36 years for me (and yes, all the candles still fit on the cake) and we enjoyed meeting up with Tim's godfather, Duane Roller, who lives in a neighboring town to us. I also have encountered allergies of various kinds and know the testing of my immune system produces mucus and mucus when fully. . . . oh, never mind. :)

The kids have started school with Daddy and have had a few weeks of their homeschool group, Classical Conversations. Things are going well, though there are adjustments to be made for everyone. For CC, they have to do a presentation each week and it ends up being a lot of work for Mommy! But it is good for them to learn to prepare these little speeches on things they are interested in and learn to present them. As far as the bulk of their school, Tim is an excellent teacher for them and I have been impressed with his dedication and organization. It has been a relief for me, though I am still working with the kids on many things during the day.

I have started teaching 7 piano students so far (not counting Rachel and Ruth.) Hopefully there will be more. If I had any concerns about leaving at supper time, this week put those concerns to rest. I had given Rachel instructions about doing a lot of the supper prep herself but I knew Tim would be there to help her. Well, he confessed to snoozing on the couch and I came home to homemade banana bread and tacos which Rachel had made from start to finish! She keeps wondering why we are so proud.

Rebekah is growing into the 2-year old that she is now. She is very excited about the "bike" she's been given to use (it's really a tricycle with a push-handle for us to maneuver her) and equally thrilled with her new "holmet" as she calls it. She is very happy to use her little potty frequently, though she is not fully trained, and she is getting more talkative all the time. I won't give you a run-down on all the kids, but she's probably changed the most since we moved.

God has really provided what we've needed this past month. We hit a point of crisis financially (or a realization that we were already there) and we chose to find counsel and act on it. We've seen amazing provisions rain down especiallly since we decided to give the whole tithe in faith. We are still trying to sell a car and a house, of course, and ask your continued prayers for those things.

We miss everyone back "home" in Minnesota and other friends and family that may be reading this, too. In particular, we have grieved with those who have lost loved ones in the Faith Baptist family during this past month or so. We have also rejoiced with good friends who have adopted and given birth recently. It has been very difficult to do those things with the amount of distance that separates us but our hearts are definitely there. We are looking forward to a visit from my parents in October and in a couple more months hopefully coming back to a white Christmas! God bless!

The Best of Summer and Plans for Fall

Hi, I just wanted to put some good pictures from this summer up for you, including a couple from Rebekah's 2nd birthday which we celebrated at a park this past Saturday. It has been a beautiful summer here and even August has not been uncomfortably hot like we are told it normally is. We have enjoyed a lot of good times together as a family, though as we have been making our fall plans there have been many things to discuss.

Just to remind you, we would appreciate prayers for our house in Minneapolis to sell. This has not been an easy situation financially and we are trying to make some decisions to move in the right direction in this area of our lives, but that would really help us! We are planning on having Tim do the majority of the home-schooling this year, so that will be a change - one I don't think I mind so much! :) And I will be taking on as many piano students as I can manage in the afternoons/evenings, many of them through a local music school run out of a large church here which I will be teaching at. All three of the older kids will be in a home-school group called Classical Conversations where they will have a classroom setting with teachers, where homework and presentations will be done on a variety of subjects. It meets once every week. This group meets at our church, which we are now enjoying being only 2 blocks away from so that will be convenient! I have also joined Bible Study Fellowship and will be studying the life of Moses, while Joe and Bekah will be in the kids' preschool program for this group (which is very good and I'm excited) and Rachel and Ruth will have "study hall" at church with Daddy. The girls will continue their music lessons in violin and cello, thanks to scholarship programs and other help we've been thankful to receive during this time. And Tim is especially excited about a new Wednesday night program for the kids at our church that he is involved in where they will be learning a variety of songs, signing, and dramatic sketches as well as being taught their bible lessons.

It has been a time of praying and planning, seeking to not be anxious about anything - though I can't say we've succeeded on that - but with thanksgiving to present our requests to God! Love you all.

Vacation/Conference in Maryland!

Our family just returned from a very blessed week in Maryland. Tim had a conference out there and I tagged along to meet my Uncle Joe (my mom's "baby" brother) and my Aunt Ginger, and to see a friend from college - Grace - and to meet her family. We all stayed with my aunt and uncle in Frederick, Maryland. They were wonderful hosts and it was such a joy to get to know them and even meet some first cousins on my mom's side of the family. (I have never met any on her side until now.) So not only was Tim's worship conference a real highlight and encouragement for him, my time out there was very enjoyable and worthwhile as well. The kids are already asking when they will see Uncle Joe and Aunt Ginger again.

Some of the things we did - took all the kids to Washington D.C. via the metro which was quite an experience. Walking around in 90 degree weather on the mall, Joe commented that it was just like a big park but with no playground. He probably got the most enjoyment out of the rockets and dinosaurs we saw in museums that day, however, and he is still enjoying his space toys we got him at the Air and Space Museum.

Another day we got to drive across the Annapolis Bay Bridge to spend time at a house right on Chesapeake Bay! My friend, Grace (along with her family), happened to be house-sitting there that week. We enjoyed the time with them, the pool and hot-tub, the crab-catching even though we aren't crab eaters, and the beautiful mood-changing scenery out over the bay. We are still discussing how much a property like that must be worth! But it is always great to catch up with good friends and we were thankful for that opportunity.

A couple of things I did when Tim was at the conference was to enjoy the historic town of Frederick with my aunt and uncle - including some fun for the kids at the old governor's mansion where they got to dress up and enjoy "old-time" toys, Rachel, Uncle Joe, and I enjoyed a delightful chamber music concert at Hood College, and we had a day at a state park called "Cunningham Falls" in the Cococtin Moutains, where there was a beautiful swimming beach at a lake. The kids so enjoyed that and so did I - Minnesota, I miss your lakes!

And I probably miss you if you are reading this! It's back to reality for us now. God bless!