Christmas Letter

Some of you, if you are so fortunate :) as to be on my Christmas card list (and have your last name in the FIRST half of the alphabet), may have seen this picture and letter before, since this is what we sent out as our official Fisher family photo and Christmas letter. :) For those of you who haven't received it, here it is. You might actually get a real copy of this in the mail one of these days...or you might not...depending on whether I ever get my Christmas card list finished or not.

A big MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone on this special day!!!

November 23, 2007

Dear family and friends,

With Thanksgiving just a day past and the feeling still present in my heart and mind, it seems appropriate to take some time to reflect over the events of the past year. What a difference a year can make! When I wrote our yearly update last December, we had just been victims of an armed robbery, I was recovering from a miscarriage, and my father had been having heart trouble that was serious enough to land him in the hospital. And now—the men who participated in the robbery are in prison for 25 years with no parole, we are eagerly anticipating the birth of our baby sometime in the next eight weeks, and not only is my dad’s heart working well but also his back has been doing so much better that he’s been able to shed the cane he was using at the end of last year! We have much for which to be thankful!!!

Strangely, as I sit down to compose this letter, I find myself at a loss for words—which is ironic for the simple fact that this year has undoubtedly been the most documented year of my life! In the middle of January, I started writing a blog (an online journal, or web log, for those unfamiliar with modern terminology!) called Life on Sylvan Drive. I began it for the primary purpose of recording bits and pieces of daily life for my own memory’s sake and for the benefit of my family in future years, since I find it very difficult to effectively and consistently journal with real paper and a pen! But I quickly discovered a wonderful secondary benefit—that of keeping in touch with family and friends, both old and new, around the globe. As I grow older, I realize more and more how much I can’t do and how time constraints will always be a factor in how much time I can invest in relationships. To my sorrow, I am never able to keep up with distant loved ones as faithfully as I would like. And so, with this blog, those of you with Internet access can at least pop in occasionally and catch up with what is going on in the Fisher household! When I began my blog, I actually wasn’t convinced that I would keep it up; but as it turns out, I have found untold joy in using it to capture moments of the “continual feast” that is my life (Proverbs 15:15). Although, to tell the truth, I write it very freely—revealing honestly what is in my head and heart and not thinking of who my readers are—and sometimes when I hear that this or that person has read my blog, I think, “Oh, no, I wonder if they read the part where I wrote this…and I wonder what they think of me now!” It’s a good tool for keeping me humble! In any case, if any of you have not seen my blog and are interested in checking it out, here is the website for it: lifeonsylvandrive.blogspot.com. That is the place where you can get the full scoop on our family, see lots of pictures, and really know us—probably in much greater detail than you desire!

And now, my task to summarize the past year in this letter, feels next to impossible; but I’ll have a go…

In some ways, not a whole lot has changed since last year, as far as location and basic life situation. Jeff is enjoying his work as a barber (westsidebarbers.com). His favorite part of barbering is the people contact that he has, with many opportunities to minister to people on a daily basis. Like Paul with his tent making, Jeff finds that combining an occupation with ministry works very well. One new thing that Jeff had an opportunity to do this year was take some pottery classes—something that he had done in the past when he lived in California and also in Israel but had not had the opportunity yet in Virginia. I was especially grateful for the side benefit of the beautiful dishes that he made and brought home for me to use! He has been so unselfish with his pottery, always willing to involve our boys with it when he’s working on it here at home. It’s fun to see them being inspired by his artistic side—and developing those talents themselves as well.

As for me, I continue to function in my role as stay-at-home mom with all the job descriptions that get attached to that! What a joy to have the privilege of devoting myself to my family! I find myself constantly learning and growing in all ways, as I find my character, intellect, and spirit tested on a daily basis. One of the new challenges facing me is how to be a mother to three boys! Currently I am 32 weeks along in this pregnancy—and enjoying again the process of falling in love with a new little person inside me. Although he’s not due to be born until the middle of January, we’re hoping he follows in his brother David’s footsteps and arrives a little early. Jeff is personally hoping for December 30 or 31 (that tax break is awfully appealing!), so if you see us out walking miles on end or going for bumpy Jeep rides during the last few days of this year, you’ll know why!

The newest role that I added this year to the collection of hats I wear is that of homeschooling mother/teacher. For a number of reasons (which in and of itself would require a separate epistle to describe), we made the decision to homeschool Josiah during this, his kindergarten year…and we are continually grateful that God led us to that decision! Here are just a few of the blessings that we have seen from this so far: incredible memory-making moments within the family, integration of spiritual discussion about our beliefs into ALL areas of life and subjects of study, educational advantages as Josiah benefits from one-on-one tutoring (and David benefits from hand-me-down learning and overheard teaching!), education and training (mentally, physically, and spiritually) as a lifestyle rather than one aspect of life (who we are, not what we do). Well, I really could go on and on about this; but I’ll stop now by adding just one more thing: we plan to make the decision to homeschool or not on a year-by-year basis for each individual child. One lesson I’ve been learning this year is how very big God is and how many times we see Him only through our situation and think that it is the only way He can work. How far from the truth! So even in this area of educational decisions, I do want to be careful to affirm our respect for those who decide differently on this homeschool issue. The last thing I want to become is a militant homeschool mom who can’t possibly conceive that God could work through any other type of educational system! I’m eternally grateful for this homeschooling path that we are on—and thankful for the people whom God used to lead us to this. But I do not want to offend anyone reading this who may have chosen other options for their children.

Besides excelling in his kindergarten work, Josiah (5 ½ years old) has been able to participate in a number of other activities throughout this year, including soccer and music lessons in the spring, tennis lessons and a week-long special course for kids at a local community college in the summer, and swimming lessons and children’s choir in the fall. He’s definitely at the age where everything interests him, and it’s fascinating for us to watch him absorb information and skills like a sponge. His current obsession is dinosaurs, and I have to admit that I’m learning far more about them now as we study them together than I ever did before! As far as Josiah’s character goes, he loves to watch out for people (especially younger siblings!) and be involved in whatever is going on. One of the questions we hear most often from his lips is, “What happened???” He can’t stand to not know what’s going on, who said what, what we’re doing, or whatever else is being discussed. It’s an incredible joy to have him in our family and see him grow and change and develop a deep spiritual sensitivity. What a boy—we adore him!

And speaking of adoring, David (2 ½ years old) is truly living up to the meaning of his name: Beloved. He is the ball of sunshine that brightens all of our lives. He’s our little entertainer—always looking for a way to make us laugh—and he is often successful. Tonight over dinner, for example, simply by the things he was saying and the manner in which he said them, he had us all in stitches. I can’t imagine life without him! Besides being a joy-giver, he is also a smart little guy—with Josiah for a big brother (and teacher!), how could he not be?! But it is amazing to look back over this year and think about the fact that even at the end of March, shortly before David turned 2, we were literally concerned enough about his language ability (or lack thereof) that we were seriously considering speech therapy for him. Right before his 2nd birthday, however, the floodgates were opened, and he began to speak; and now we wonder why we ever worried about him in that way! Ah, child development—it’s such a unique thing for each child, we’re discovering!

One refreshing aspect of this year was finally being united as a three-generation family (my parents, us, and our children) in a church together. We had looked forward to this since before we moved back from Israel; and although God led us to the fulfillment of this dream in ways very different from what we first imagined, we are so very grateful for the path towards which He has directed us. It’s indescribably good to be in such a warm, nurturing, humble congregation where each member of our family is fed spiritually and where we can journey alongside the people there in our common goal of progressing heavenward. Since we had some “desert” time spiritually, we appreciate even more the “green pasture” into which God has brought us now; and we look forward to deepening our friendships there and learning how to more effectively use the gifts God has given us to serve and reach out to others.

Oddly enough for a Christmas letter, the verse that comes to my mind as I consider this past year is Joel 2:25: “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…” Without a doubt, the Christmas message is one of restoration, culminating in the perfection we will experience in heaven. This year to me feels like a taste of that; and it tastes so sweet that I hope and pray that each of you will experience the restoring heart of God, both here and now as we live our lives as strangers on this earth and ultimately in heaven as we are restored to our rightful state as souls who walk and talk face-to-face with God. What a day that will be!

With much love,
The Fishers: Jeff, Davene, Josiah, David, and baby boy!