Merry Christmas 2009!

Merry Christmas 2009 from the Stone Family!

It is hard to believe that it was four years ago when our Christmas card featured all of the “new” things in our lives (home, baby Amelia, Jeff’s business). While this year did not bring as many “new” (and voluntary) things, there certainly were several “changes”…

JEFF: This month Jeff is celebrating his first year with Youngstedts. After making the very difficult decision to close the doors of Sold4U Motors last fall, God graciously provided this position through Jeff’s network in the auto industry. As a commercial account manager, Jeff spends his days drumming up business for their Goodyear and Maaco stores. He even got to ride in the Goodyear Blimp in August with a few of the Goodyear Store managers! God has also used Jeff’s photography to provide for our needs, and he’s had the privilege of shooting all sorts of events throughout the year from weddings, to family portraits, to CD Covers to Vikings games. Jeff also had a "blast" deer hunting this year with Alicia's dad and was able to get his FIRST (and second) deer! Jeff was also in the VBS drama at church this summer and continues to be involved with the children's music ministry at Grace.

Deer Hunting

Jeff and Brad from Eau Claire Goodyear on the Blimp

Jeff rocking out as Arlin Schecter with The Optimisitics at Grace!

ALICIA: As his bride of 10 years (!), Alicia thoroughly enjoys her calling as “keeper of the home”. Going gluten-free last February has brought drastic changes to our kitchen, which she is trying to embrace as her new “hobby” of cooking with many new staple ingredients. She recently “retired” from leadership in MOPS and is now investing into the lives of the women of our neighborhood through a Bible study (on the opposite week from Jeff and his guys).

ANIKA: She is 6 ½ years old and blossoming as a first-grader. Life changed dramatically for her as we adapted to our homeschooling lifestyle this fall. We have already made many precious memories as we spend Nolan’s naptimes growing her love for learning. We would not trade this time with her for anything… though admittedly she is very ready for her neighborhood playmates by the time they get off the bus each afternoon! Anika just performed in her first Christmas musical at church (and Alicia served as the assistant to the assistant to the assistant choreographer). The Sparks program at church is the highlight of her week and this was Anika’s first summer in “real” Vacation Bible School and it rocked! (Especially with her rock star mommy as her teacher, and her even rockier star dad debuting in the drama!)

Anika on her first day of 1st grade.

AMELIA: She is 4 ½ (emphasis on the ½!) and loves learning alongside her big sister. She spends a few afternoons each week at preschool and fills notebook after notebook with her letters and numbers. Going gluten-free has been a change for her as well, but thankfully it has been a rather smooth adjustment over all. She loves helping mommy experiment with new recipes in the kitchen! Amelia enjoys the Cubbies program at church and spends much of her free time crafting, playing dress-up or “doing finances”.

NOLAN: Our "little guy" is 16 months old and has obviously changed a lot in the past year! We thought Amelia was an active toddler, but Nolan is busy, busy, busy. His big sisters continue to adore him and can be so helpful at keeping him entertained… and safe. His big brown eyes and adorable dimples melt our hearts… as he swings from the chandelier over the dining room table (you might think we are kidding...). We don’t recognize many words yet, but that does not keep him from chattering almost constantly (accentuated by shrieks). He keeps us on our toes, but we can’t remember life before our sweet Noley!

We are so thankful for God’s clear hand in our lives to bring about these changes over the past year. We are even more thankful for the God who NEVER changes, knowing that we can trust Him in these uncertain times. May you sense His faithful presence as we begin a new year most certainly full of changes!

 The birth of Christ was foretold LONG before his coming 2000 years ago (see Isaiah 9:6-7). Nothing in history has changed history like the birth of Jesus. We want to honor him and celebrate his birth this Christmas, because JESUS CHRIST IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

“Feliz Navidad” is what you will hear around our house this year as we celebrate with our Guatemalan brother (Rodolfo Mendoza) and his wife (Debbie) on their snow-filled visit!



Christmas blessings to you and yours!
Love, the Stones