For those of you who are not on our Christmas mailing list, I wanted to post our annual Christmas letter to wish you a blessed holiday season and to share a summary of our year...
May God’s graces be showered upon each of you this holy season as you strive to make more room for Jesus in your hearts! Here is the annual update on our family:
Joseph, age 10, is excelling as a 4th grader at St. Andrew Catholic School. He enjoys art, history, reading, airplanes, baseball, being an altar server at Mass, playing piano, chess club, skiing, Swiss army knives, and anything Nerf. He is eager to start hunting with his dad in a couple of years.
Michael, age 8, is a tremendously bright 3rd grader at St. Andrew Catholic School. He enjoys math, computer games, airplanes, baseball, chess club, playing piano, skiing, and helping me entertain Nathanael. He is eager to start singing in the Cathedral’s children’s choir in January.
Dominic, age 5, loves his pre-K class at Our Redeemer’s Lutheran school. He enjoys playing board games, putting together intricate train tracks, playing baseball, pretending to be various ocean animals, and copying everything his older brothers do. He is eager to start Kindergarten at St. Andrew School in the fall so that he will be “big” like his big brothers.
Nathanael, age 1, brings so much joy to each one of us! He enjoys making animal or machine sounds, reading books, snuggling with his teddy at naptime, playing with trains, and making mommy chase him all over the house. He is our first redhead (although we’re still not sure if the color will stay) and has such a sweet, happy disposition that we almost feel ready for another baby. :) We will trust in God’s will and timing.
Paul, who wishes not to disclose his age :), continues to enjoy working for the FAA as a safety inspector, but his real passion is taking advantage of all the Great Outdoor opportunities in Montana. He spent many happy hours hiking and hunting, and we went on many family camping adventures this summer. He is eager to fill our freezer with elk meat in the coming year, as well as do some more fly-fishing.
As for me, I can’t wait to look my age instead of being carded every time I buy wine at the grocery store. :) I still enjoy participating in my rosary group and Bible study group, helping with our local 40 Days for Life pro-life campaigns, as well as sewing and writing when I can find the time. I especially enjoy writing on our family blog that chronicles all our important family events, as well as random things that I ponder, so if you’d like to read more about us, visit: www.atotustuusfamily.blogspot.com.
I would like to leave you with a powerful story to carry with you throughout the New Year…The portrait of Jesus pictured below has become very special to Paul and me. It is called “Prince of Peace,” and it was painted by an 8 year old child prodigy named Akiane Kramarik. Despite being raised by an atheist mother, she started having visions of Jesus and heaven at age 4 and began bringing them to life with her brush. Akiane says, “I want my art to draw people’s attention to God.” Her own mother’s conversion to Christianity is confirmation that her wish is coming true. The other amazing story behind this portrait is its connection to a young boy named Colton Burpo, who also claims to have met Jesus when he nearly died of a ruptured appendix at age 3 (Colton’s story is beautifully told in the best-selling book, “Heaven is for Real”). When Colton’s father showed this painting of Jesus to his son, it was the ONLY picture of Jesus that Colton said looked just like the Jesus he visited with in Heaven! Wow! Now every time I look at this picture I can really picture my precious Savior looking at me with those loving eyes, and it makes me desire to love and serve Him more so that I can spend eternity with Him someday… I pray that you grow to love the Prince of Peace more this year than ever before too!
May God’s graces be showered upon each of you this holy season as you strive to make more room for Jesus in your hearts! Here is the annual update on our family:
Joseph, age 10, is excelling as a 4th grader at St. Andrew Catholic School. He enjoys art, history, reading, airplanes, baseball, being an altar server at Mass, playing piano, chess club, skiing, Swiss army knives, and anything Nerf. He is eager to start hunting with his dad in a couple of years.
Michael, age 8, is a tremendously bright 3rd grader at St. Andrew Catholic School. He enjoys math, computer games, airplanes, baseball, chess club, playing piano, skiing, and helping me entertain Nathanael. He is eager to start singing in the Cathedral’s children’s choir in January.
Dominic, age 5, loves his pre-K class at Our Redeemer’s Lutheran school. He enjoys playing board games, putting together intricate train tracks, playing baseball, pretending to be various ocean animals, and copying everything his older brothers do. He is eager to start Kindergarten at St. Andrew School in the fall so that he will be “big” like his big brothers.
Nathanael, age 1, brings so much joy to each one of us! He enjoys making animal or machine sounds, reading books, snuggling with his teddy at naptime, playing with trains, and making mommy chase him all over the house. He is our first redhead (although we’re still not sure if the color will stay) and has such a sweet, happy disposition that we almost feel ready for another baby. :) We will trust in God’s will and timing.
Paul, who wishes not to disclose his age :), continues to enjoy working for the FAA as a safety inspector, but his real passion is taking advantage of all the Great Outdoor opportunities in Montana. He spent many happy hours hiking and hunting, and we went on many family camping adventures this summer. He is eager to fill our freezer with elk meat in the coming year, as well as do some more fly-fishing.
As for me, I can’t wait to look my age instead of being carded every time I buy wine at the grocery store. :) I still enjoy participating in my rosary group and Bible study group, helping with our local 40 Days for Life pro-life campaigns, as well as sewing and writing when I can find the time. I especially enjoy writing on our family blog that chronicles all our important family events, as well as random things that I ponder, so if you’d like to read more about us, visit: www.atotustuusfamily.blogspot.com.
I would like to leave you with a powerful story to carry with you throughout the New Year…The portrait of Jesus pictured below has become very special to Paul and me. It is called “Prince of Peace,” and it was painted by an 8 year old child prodigy named Akiane Kramarik. Despite being raised by an atheist mother, she started having visions of Jesus and heaven at age 4 and began bringing them to life with her brush. Akiane says, “I want my art to draw people’s attention to God.” Her own mother’s conversion to Christianity is confirmation that her wish is coming true. The other amazing story behind this portrait is its connection to a young boy named Colton Burpo, who also claims to have met Jesus when he nearly died of a ruptured appendix at age 3 (Colton’s story is beautifully told in the best-selling book, “Heaven is for Real”). When Colton’s father showed this painting of Jesus to his son, it was the ONLY picture of Jesus that Colton said looked just like the Jesus he visited with in Heaven! Wow! Now every time I look at this picture I can really picture my precious Savior looking at me with those loving eyes, and it makes me desire to love and serve Him more so that I can spend eternity with Him someday… I pray that you grow to love the Prince of Peace more this year than ever before too!
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