celebrating Jesus's birth...

because he gave He gave His life for us...

we celebrate new life in Him.

praising Jesus for this year:

in prayer,

in fellowship,

in fun (for those of you wondering, this is St. Basil's Cathedral in candy),

through song ("Go tell it on the mountain!")

through creation,

and the enjoyment of creation!,

in hidden places for quiet times,

and joyously for all to see,

we worship you Jesus,

thank you for our family,

but most of all, thank you for YOU and YOUR love!

And on the more composed side...

It has been a while since we all had a photo together, but here we are as a family for Thanksgiving: The Hoffmans. What a blessing!

we thank the Lord for laughter...

We enjoyed a very fun Thanksgiving with lots of laughs!

Evan told us about a game called "push." This entailed two people standing with their feet planted and only their hands can touch. You try to push the other person off balance using only hands.

This literally provided hours of entertainment...

...and laughs!

It was so great to have all of the family together in one house for an extended time! We look forward to many more years like it!

russia...

We are pleased to share that for our one year anniversary, we would like to remember our marriage by service. God has called us to lay down our lives for Him and also for each other. After our first year of marriage, we are excited as to what the Lord has already worked within us and through us. Lord willing, we are excited that this is only a beautiful beginning to what the He has for us. Because of the love Jesus poured out for us, we desire earnestly to pour out His love onto those around us.


Therefore, on this note, July 2nd, we will have a great opportunity to spend seventeen days in Russia ministering to Russian children at a Christian Camp. The pictures are from when Sandra served there in 2007. Above is the river that the camp sits near. From July 2 through July 18, a small team of three will be in Russia helping Mark Piester of Far Reaching Ministries, who will be leading our team. Our team will help assist the local church in Rybinsk (located 180 miles north of Moscow) with their ministry to children at their annual summer camp.

This summer camp will minister to 90 children between the ages of 7-14. Children come from many different family backgrounds; some have attended Sunday school, and some are fortunate to be brought up in Christian homes. Most are invited by friends and grandparents and come from broken homes and/or have alcoholic parents. One thing that they all have in common is that their families cannot afford to send their children to camp. The cost to send a child to camp is $90.00. If you would be interested in providing a scholarship please contact us for additional information. Below are some of the kids from the camp that Sandra got to know when she was there a couple years ago.


Above all please keep us in prayer. Pray that God will give us a willing heart to follow Him in all that He has called us to do. Also pray that out of our life, God will receive all the glory. Thanks for taking part in what God is doing in our life.

update on God's plans...

Well, I know everyone says they want to blog more, but this time I mean it! The last few months have seen a change of residence, foreign travel plans, and more scheduled events than we thought possible.

Sometimes the Lord has to take away something good before we will look and be blessed with something better. Although we loved our little house in Los Osos, being forced to move allowed us to find the blessing of things we didn't really realize were lacking. We found a cozy house within walking distance of church, which yields relaxed weekends and great fellowship with our friends who live in the neighborhood. We get to stroll around Morro Bay for almost-daily walks, sauntering through the quiet streets and to the peaceful beaches by the Rock. We also have a yard - and this time it even has grass!

We have also been preparing for our trip to Russia - filling out applications, writing prayer letters, and shopping for odds and ends. It is amazing that the trip is almost here - I guess you can never feel fully prepared. I know the Lord has prepared this trip for us as we get to serve together - as He has called us, so He will also equip and provide.

...no not the macerena...

Yes, that's right, an OCARINA! Our friend Tom asked me to play violin for a competition he is entering on YouTube. It is a competition for the instrument that he recently acquired called the Ocarina. There are two pieces on his entry and I am playing the violin in the second one. Although it is not my best performance ever, it is fun. We actually recorded this one in my living room/kitchen while I was sick! The piano was recorded earlier and therefore wasn't there for me to tune to, so my E-string is slightly off! But, nonetheless we had lots of fun and the results are posted in YouTube on the below link.
Raglan Road and The Blue Sky of Ljubljana

...and we're back!

After a 2 month break from sharing our lives with all of you, we have returned (along with my fixed computer!) While I am rejoicing in having my little computer space back, I figured better fill everyone in on the missing time :). Here is a quick synopsis.

A Hike up Bishop's peak in the cold air...it froze my lungs! :)

The Yearly Gingerbread House (/ice scating rink) building party, hosted by Joe and Kristen. This was a commemorative experience for Josh and I since last year's party marked one of the first hints of interest that we had in each other.

Christmas with the Hoffman Family.

A date to San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker! What a treat! (Found out later that you weren't supposed to take pictures in the Opera House! oops!)

Little Lewis' first Christmas ever! He was very festive!

So now, we are in the midst of February! It is cold and... finally raining here in the central coast... we thought it would never come this winter! And then "it" showed us... by SNOWING in Atascadero! It also has been hailing here in Los Osos quite a bit. Most everyone around here has gotten very sick because of the weather's indeciciveness. However, we won't let it stop us! Sick or not, here we come!