Powell Christmas Update 2014

Merry Christmas from the Powell family!

"Are you tired? Worn out?...Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." ~Jesus, Matthew 11: 28-30

Living freely and lightly...yes, please! We have been learning to relax into the freedom of grace. Finding joy by recognizing all that we are constantly being given. Our prayer for you this Christmas is that the freedom, lightness of heart, and grace available to all of us through Jesus will define your days.

2014 Christmas Update

This year has been a first for us in that we had no children between the ages of birth and 2.5. It has allowed us to discover and enjoy some of the more “non stroller friendly” areas of Maryland, including Kristen's new favorite escape from reality Ladew Topiary Gardens, which is where we had our impromptu Christmas card photo taken (as well as the photos below with red brick backgrounds)

Another first is that in September we passed up our 4th anniversary as Maryland residents and we have now lived in Maryland longer than any other state since we both left for college. Lexington, VA still claims 6 non-consecutive years (1996-2000 and 2004-2006) but we have finally managed to live in one place for longer than 4 years in a row. Milestone.

Jack(8) is in 2nd grade and Tom(6) is in Kindergarten at Manchester Elementary. The twins are 3 and a half "ish" and fun as ever. They stay at home with Kristen during the days, spending most of their time playing together with toys or dressing up as Batman/UPS man/Cinderella/Queen Elsa and many others.

Most days end with both Kristen and myself feeling like we've been run over by a freight train, but we also have a deep sense of thankfulness for the young lives that God has entrusted us with. We feel mostly in-over-our-heads, but certainly privileged to be parents to these kiddos!

In many ways the previous two paragraphs sum up our lives in 2014, but a few other things stand out as well: 1) Jim is still Worship Pastor at Crossroads Community Church in Westminster, MD. He loves it, and leads a team of staff to create a refreshing environment in which all people are welcome and can experience the truth of who Jesus is in an engaging, modern, relevant, and creative way. 2) Kristen is volunteering with leading a Mom's of Pre-schoolers group at the church, which has been an encouragement to both she and the group as a whole, as they navigate this monumental task of raising children. 3) We made it to Ocean City, MD again this summer and had a great time swimming and eating too much Fisher's caramel corn. 4) Jack played spring soccer and had a great time, and had a few great kicks. 5) We visited Lexington, VA, home of both VMI (Jim's Alma Mater) and Washington and Lee (Kristen's Alma Mater). While visiting we had a chance to see a re-enactment of the Battle of New Market (150th Anniversary) which was mind-blowing for the kids (o.k...and Jim). 6) Kristen's parents (Kaki and Grandad) visited several times, which is always great, but especially when we had a chance to sit in the backyard at the picnic table and have a traditional Maryland Crab feast. It doesn't get much better than that! 7) Jack and Tom were baptized this August. Pure joy!

We'll leave this update with a few of our "Favorite Things" from 2014:

Favorite Things 2014

Andrew:
Delivery Trucks (Dewivewy Twucks). He spent today in his UPS uniform. He fetches the mail from the mailbox and delivers it to our front door.
Batman Toys
Saying the Lego Movie line: "Honey, where are my pants??"
Back-hoes
Snack Bars (clif z-bars for kids. Send him some,via UPS...you'll make his week)
Apple Juice
Pull-ups (hoping to get rid of these in 2015!)
Sugar Snap peas
French Fries (He refers to McDonalds as "FrenchFries" which is about the only thing we buy from there)
PBS Kids (Daniel Tiger)

Jane:
Elsa (from Frozen...duh). She loves to use "Elsa hands" to freeze people during tag.
Cinderella. Don't tell her, but she is getting glass (plastic) slippers for Christmas.
Pioneer Club (Wed night activity at the church up the street)
Food (the girl can and will eat everything. Veggies, yes. Tom Kha soup from Tim Thai's in Westminster? Bring it on.)
The Pirate Fairy (Kristen pretty much loves this movie too.)
Getting into older brothers' stuff (especially art supplies).
Drawing countless tiny circles. Fine motor skills...check.
All things girly....but she doesn't miss a chance to join her brothers in playroom wrestle mania either.

Thomas:
Kindergarten
Baked Potato from MES school lunch
Playing backyard football with Jack
Philadelphia Eagles (thank you Uncle Eric)
Connect 4 (he is brilliant at this game)
Making people laugh
Swiss Family Robinson

Jack:
Playing football with Tom or Dad or anyone who will play with him. And with himself.
Talking about football.
Watching Ravens football.
Swiss Family Robinson
Friends at school
Going to downtown Baltimore
Old Bay
Lamborghinis (and any other sports car). He watches the cars as we drive around and calls out by name any Mustangs or sports cars he sees (Mustangs are most common around these parts. This happens so much that Andrew recently told Kristen...I see a Mustang!!)
Fudge