Good morning! I'm sitting on the couch in my new yoga pants and robe typing on Gary's work laptop. Ahh... I love this week of the year. The Christmas rush is over and Gary is off (so he works 5 hours a day instead of 10). The kids have all new toys to play with so they don't notice me smuggling old ones away to pack away or box to donate. They also don't need me to entertain them yet so I can actually get some things done! Like blog!? We'll see... The tree is still up. I'm not too into the artificial scene but with a small place, allergies of friends and family and the ability to keep it up for 2 months if i want to, artificial wins. Plus it's paid for! It's like buy one get 80 free. The shopper in me has to think of it that way. :) Ahh... the end of December. I'm so thrilled it's not -6 and icy. I just love being relaxed. I love thinking and reminiscing about the past year and looking forward to the next. It's like a mini-vacation time that often turns out to be one of my best reflection times of the year. This winter it has occurred to me almost daily how quickly time flies. A year ago I was panicked that Tyler might NEVER be fully potty trained. The day a boy turns 3, if he's not potty trained the mother apparently grows an extra head based on the way people look at you. :) I have a friend who had a "two headed" incident recently. Apparently the people who volunteer at her church have more knowledge about what her daughter should eat than her. *sigh* so many well meaning people in the world. It's all how you take it I suppose. Anyways, you'll be happy to know Tyler's fully potty trained and I can't even remember the last accident. Can I get an AMEN!?! Yes, time flies. A year ago I was nursing my baby girl and now she's running around and talking up a storm. She's feeding herself and tries to dress herself. She's obsessed with shoes and books. She's my mini-me. :) Tyler is on the verge of being able to read. He knows all his letters and sounds and can sound things out but often doesn't have the patience for it. He's only 4 so I'm not pushing it. He astounds me every day with how smart he is. The things he says sometimes... We're so blessed! In everything our goals are to share Jesus Christ and the Bible with our children and model for them a Christian walk and the miracle of a personal relationship with Christ. Sometimes I feel like this all goes over their heads and hangs out in the backyard somewhere but I got some affirmation this week from the Lord. Christmas Eve Tyler expressed an interest, not for the first time, about asking Christ into his heart. Every time it comes up we talk it through and we try to pray with him, and this time just seemed like it came more from his heart. I don't know how much he truly understands, but then again, none of us truly know or understand the mind and heart of God. It was just so special to hear him talk about spiritual things and, with the faith of a child, come to the feet of Jesus and simply ask forgiveness for his sins and ask Jesus to come into his heart. A play at church had really resonated with him and more than 2 hours after seeing it, he still understood it's message enough to bring it up, talk about it, answer our questions, and pray with us. What a miracle for Christmas! A couple days after Christmas a woman i truly admire for her walk with the Lord told me that she admires the way we integrate Christ into the daily lives of our kids at such a young age. She said it wasn't something she'd thought about really, but she said something to the affect of seeing the results of it in everything Tyler does and says. Ironically as she said this he was screaming like a banshee running around having fun and I probably showed a look of doubt on my face. I'll tell you honestly, that comment has stayed with me and has brought me to tears several times. As a perfectionist I often look at my family of 4 and see only what I want to change and I don't stop to see the good nearly enough. To have someone compliment our efforts as parents in an area that is THE most important meant the world to me. We try our best. Even though I may over think and over analyze and run my life by the schedule- it works for me. So as we go into the new year we'll do our traditional budgeting meeting, we'll swim through mountains of junk in the basement and try to give it a home but this year I think I'll focus more, not on what we didn't accomplish but on what we DID accomplish. We love each other and our children. We are teaching them to love Christ and others and we're doing our very best to walk with the Lord. So it doesn't' matter how many verses Tyler has memorized or how many words he can think of that rhyme with "hat". It 's not about how many words Grace can say or how many teeth she has or even how many loads of clean clothes are up in my room unfolded. It's so easy when you have small children to judge the value of the day by how many veggies each kid ate and whether daddy trips on toys when he comes home from work. Those things are certainly important and the sin of laziness has surely invaded our house 10fold this year. As my efforts to be a better, more organized, less lazy mom continues on into next year I'm also going to make an effort to focus more on eternity. Not because of a compliment, but because we both want our kids to experience true joy and peace that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and we want to experience it too!

Merry Christmas!!

This year I think I'm more excited for Christmas than I've been since childhood. The kids are at a perfect age that traveling should be less hectic and they will really enjoy everything. Not to mention I know the kids will be getting an obscene amount of gifts which will make playtime very fun for me!! This is the first year since we've been married (as far as I recall...) that we've not done Christmas cards, letters or photos. We ran out of time for photos and cards and as far as a letter- well, this is the first year no one has graduated, we've not changed jobs, moved, bought a house, gotten pregnant or had a baby! This has been a quiet year so to speak! :) We've enjoyed receiving cards, photos and letters and greatly appreciate them! We're doing well here in the Bush Household. Heather plugs away at homeschooling Tyler and finding a good balance between play, school, friends, family, and housework. Gary's still loving his job working with technology for the Marlington School district. It has it's challenges but he's thriving there and we're so proud of him. He also ventured into the position of Adjunct Professor at Stark State this year. He loved teaching but the nights away from home were very tough. We're very thankful that our house we own in Mansfield is still rented out to a wonderful couple who care for it. Economic struggles have affected them greatly and we believe the house has been a great blessing to them. However, those struggles make for late and later rent payments. We continue to (try to) trust in the Lord and thank Him for each month the payments do come. Currently they are caught up and we are thrilled and thankful! We are also thankful this year to be so close to my brother who moved back to Ohio last December. It's been so wonderful having the "whole" family together more often! Gary's brother graduated from Law School and passed the Bar Exam and we are so proud of him! He's got a wonderful job and we're prayerful and excited about what the future has for him. Gary's grandmother has been struggling with health problems and has been moved to a nursing home, but she is strong and is doing increasingly well. We really enjoy getting to go visit her since we live so close. Our parents are all doing well and love every minute they can get with the grandkids. Gary and I look forward to our kids having great relationships with all their grand and great-grand parents through their lives. This year we made trips for a Kandray Family reunion, our annual Outer Banks week, took the kids to Cedar Point with Uncle Joshua and Grandma Sandra, spent some time at "Papa's Beach", aka Lake Erie, traveled a couple times to Mansfield and Pittsburgh areas to see friends. We continue to be active at Grace Community Church and became members this year We celebrated Grace's first birthday in May and Tyler's fourth birthday in November. Our Congratulations to all our friends and family members for all the amazing things 2008 has brought you. Know that we constantly lift you all up in prayer for the challenges of the past, present and future. We ask you to do the same for us. We wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. In His Grace, Gary, Heather, Tyler, and Armandina (Grace) Bush Luke 2:1-20