Un-mailed, last minute Christmas newsletter.

[kimana517]

Dear friends and family,

This has been a great year! So great, in fact, that I did not have time to get any Christmas cards out. I’m disappointed about that, though I must admit I don’t mind saving money by not buying stamps. J As it is, I’m typing this e-newsletter at 10:43pm on Christmas. Better late than never!

2008 began crazily for Isaac. Tax season for accountants really starts at the end of December, so he was in his crazed tax season mode, and he was finishing up a few seminary classes. This summer he continued his classes, but is taking a break from them for tax season and may be changing seminaries in the summer or fall. He began learning Greek this summer, and really enjoyed that.

At the end of June I added the responsibility of treasurer to my job as church secretary. I’ve done well with most of it, but I must say it’s a great help to have a husband who is an accountant to help me when I need it! I’m not looking forward to year-end financial stuff, but the thought of it has increased my prayer time. J

I have another potential job lined up – I may be a model! I think every tall, thin girl thinks about doing that, and finally it seemed like the right time for me to go for it. I truly did not expect to hear from anyone, but the day after I emailed some pictures to the only legit local agency I know of, the owner called me to set up an interview! We met and she gave me a contract of representation; I officially have an agent! Since then I have been taking some commercial/lifestyle photos that will be used to hopefully get me booked by clients. Isaac has been my reluctant photographer. J If my agent says the photos are professional enough, we just have to wait for one of the agency’s clients to say, “We want that girl for our ad campaign.” It’s all so exciting. My goal was just to apply so I would never wonder, “What if?”, and it has come to more than that already. Isaac has started calling me his trophy wife. J

We were blessed to get to return to El Salvador in July with a team from our church. This was our second time there. It was very different than our first time – we actually did some manual labor this time! – but both times were amazing. It’s so awesome to return there and be remembered from last time, and to shock the kids by remembering their names too. We love the people and country of El Salvador very much, and hope to return there again.

A recent big thing for us was getting our roof replaced. We put it off as long as we could, but tropical storm Fay (which brought us lots of wind and rain) made it leak in several places. We couldn’t hold off any longer. Our bank account may be hurting, but it is nice to not have to worry about leaks for hopefully another 30 years.

This Monday we’ll celebrate our 5-year wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it’s been that long – and that short! Each year just brings more happiness; there are definite perks to marrying one’s best friend. J To celebrate, we’re planning a 3-4 week trip backpacking around Europe in May or June on as small a budget as possible. We will eat the European equivalent of Ramen noodles if we have to. J

We hope to begin the process of adopting our first child this coming year. I’ve wanted to adopt all my children since I was a young teenager. Isaac also had the desire to adopt, even before we met. We want to adopt from poorer countries as much as we can, because we feel that even an orphan in the USA will have a far better life – and more chances to hear about Jesus – than one in a poor orphanage in a country where Christians are the vast minority. Our visits to an orphanage in El Salvador have strengthened that conviction. At this time, we are planning to start with a child from Ethiopia – but of course the world of adoption is ever-changing, so we’ll let you know next year what actually happens.

If you would like to pray for us, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- The coming tax season craziness for Isaac. Pray for health, clarity of mind, and kind clients.
- Wisdom for Isaac as he decides whether or not to change seminaries.
- Year-end financial stuff for my job as treasurer. Pray that it all goes smoothly!
- My modeling career. If I start getting booked, I plan to use all the money to help fund the adoption of our first child. Speaking of which…
- Adoption. Pray that we will somehow be able to afford it! But also that God would make the process go smoothly and as quickly as possible, and that if our child is already out there somewhere, that God will keep him or her safe and give them hope that we will find them soon.
- Our trip to Europe. I suppose it seems odd that we’re going to Europe and still asking for prayer for finances for adoption, but to put it in perspective, adopting from the least expensive country to adopt from is still 4-5 times the amount of our budget for Europe. We are going to Europe now because once we have kids, we won’t be able to – at least not as inexpensively.

And that’s the year’s main points! We love each of you and wish you the happiest of new years. Merry Christmas!

Love,
Isaac & Bethany

P.S. The picture at the top was taken today. We took advantage of the 80º weather to celebrate Christmas at the beach. White sand and fluffy white clouds are my kind of white Christmas!

Comments

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

Such a beautiful picture and a wonderful newsletter catching us up on your lives! Merry Christmas to you and Isaac!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Isn't the picture great? Not bad for a self-portrait! ;o) Although it does make me laugh that a bit of my hair is under Isaac's nose; it makes it look like he's got a Hitler mustache. Hehe.

An e-newsletter is not nearly as good as a Christmas card, but what can ya do? ;o)

Merry Christmas to you too! Well, actually, I suppose it's Merry Day After Christmas now. =o)

[asoulinbliss.livejournal.com]

Cute pic, and may God bless the adoption process in the coming year!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[dramaticsuzy.livejournal.com]

I'll be praying for you this coming year, especially as you begin the adoption process! Wonderful pic.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Suzy!

[thatloopyqueen.livejournal.com]

Cute picture! :)

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thanks! =o)

[breezy83.livejournal.com]

That was so fun to read, even though I already knew most of it! And great idea to have the prayer requests all lined up. God bless you!

PS adorable photo!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Yeah, posting it here is kind of silly since y'all have been reading as each thing happened, but I figured I'd better cover all my bases. =o)

Thanks!

[t-jay.livejournal.com]

Of course, you HAVE to brag about the temps. :oP

A few days ago, while Michael was in single-digit temps, I called him from San Luis Obispo, where I was sitting outside a Starbucks in a short-sleeved shirt and boasted about the sunshine. It was 65 degrees, which was warm to me, of course...and Michael was at the gaming shop, where some of the responses from the other guys, after Michael reiterated my boastings, shall not be repeated in this comment. :o) Stuff like, where I could go and all that. LOL

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Of course! It's my only ammunition against the whiny people saying, "Oh, woe is me, it doesn't feel like Christmas without snow. Weah, weah, weah." Never mind that the majority of the world doesn't have snow for Christmas - and neither did Jesus. So I revel in the warmth, and make my revelry known, to hopefully make those who don't realize how good they have it and in some cases have severe hindsight bias feel stupid for whining all the time. ;o)

Ha! See, it's not just me. And I'm glad you don't let precipitation, or the lack thereof, determine your Christmas spirit. =o)

[bluiidmommy.livejournal.com]

I love your child-earring! Hehe.

Seriously, though--great picture!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

I read your comment three times before I figured out what on earth you were talking about. Hehe. Actually, that's my grandma!

[lupinskitten.livejournal.com]

Cute photo. =)