(Here is our 2019 Christmas letter for those who did not receive it)
God’s
blessings be upon you this beautiful and holy season! In this year’s letter, I thought it would be
fun to incorporate song titles from the 80s since that genre has made such a
big comeback—especially with our teenagers anyway! Speaking of teenagers, I’ll start our
year-end summary with them—I’m Thunderstruck that we now have 3
teenagers in our house, and one soon to be leaving!
JOSEPH turned 18 this fall and is a senior,
which obviously means he’s Under Pressure to do well on the ACT,
apply to colleges, submit scholarship applications, discern what degree to get,
and Party
Like it’s 1999 before he heads off to the adult world of heavy
responsibilities. His Sweet
Dreams are Made of This: being
able to play baseball at college while earning an awesome degree and growing in
his faith at the same time. And who am I
to disagree with that? These upcoming
months are literally the Final Countdown to college and now we
just have to wait and see where the good Lord guides him. Hopefully he won’t run So Far Away that we
rarely will get to see him, but he is looking at colleges like Ave Maria in
Florida, Benedictine in Kansas, and Franciscan University in Ohio. Thankfully, nothing as far as Africa
or the
Land
Down Under, but I’m sure no matter where he goes I will constantly be
reminding him to “Call me!” J When he is not studying or working on college
applications, he can be heard Time After Time playing his favorite
Led Zeppelin songs on his Eddie Van Halen electric guitar, mountain biking with
friends, skiing, or playing baseball.
MICHAEL is 16 and is a junior this year. He is
doing great in school, but to be Straight Up I’ll tell you that he is
not fond of studies and sometimes he would like to Shout something like---“We’re
Not Going to Take it Anymore!”
He thinks the homework load is unjust and would rather spend his time
playing sports. He Just Can’t Get Enough of
playing baseball. Competitiveness
courses through this kid’s veins and he has to work hard to keep his “We
Will Rock You” mentality in
check. But we Don’t Stop Believing that
his “Won’t
Back Down” personality will make him a great leader someday (with a
healthy dose of humility mixed in, of course).
To be honest, there are moments when his teenager attitude makes us
think, “We can’t live With or Without You, Michael,” but
just as quickly, we see a Total Eclipse of the Heart and he is
suddenly our joyful, sweet son again. So
I guess we won’t say “Beat It” just yet. J Michael grew like crazy this year; perhaps that
is because he eats as if he’s Hungry Like a Wolf and spends many
hours a week at the gym working out like Rocky (this should make you start
humming the Eye of the Tiger tune in your head---sorry if it gets stuck
there! J)
DOMINIC is 13 and in the 7th grade. He has a Burning Heart for math, cello, robotics,
and playing basketball. When he’s on the
basketball court wearing his red team jersey, he looks like a Little
Red Corvette, but his coach chooses to call him “the Ferrari.” J
Dominic also enjoys long-distance
running and he ran his first 10K last Spring.
He placed 3rd in his age group, and finished in the top 1/3 over all the
age groups…Let’s Hear it for the Boy!!!
As you know, One Thing Leads to Another, and now he would like to train for a
half marathon this Spring, and perhaps a full marathon someday down the road to
follow in his uncles’ footsteps. This
boy has so much energy that if he was asked to Walk 500 Miles, he would
choose to run them instead! Now that is what I call The King of Pain! J
NATHANAEL is 9 and is excelling in the 3rd
grade. He is our little Crazy
Train, always running around wanting to play something wild and crazy,
like an Air Soft Gun Battle on our property, a Laser Tag War in the dark, or a
5-day Axis and Allies game with one of his brothers. He is always filled with energy, and is always
willing to do something that might take him to the edge of the Danger
Zone. He likes to play baseball, but I think he
likes collecting baseball cards even more than playing the game. With his countless freckles and those Irish
eyes that are always smiling, There’s Always Something There to Remind Me
of the Russell side of the family. J
ISAIAH, our baby, is already 6 years old and in the 1st grade, which nearly Takes
my Breath Away! Oh, Sweet
Child O’ Mine, how did you grow up so fast!? What I Like About You is your sweet
smile, your contagious laughter that makes everyone around you feel like they
are Walking
on Sunshine, the way you still don’t mind a Kiss and snuggle-time from
your momma, your timid but kind spirit, and the way you always offer to help
with chores. It makes me want to Jump
for joy when you offer to help out without even being asked (will you teach
your older brothers to do that, please?). J
PAUL AND MARIA still live in our Love
Shack in the woods of Montana.
With all the crazy wildlife that we see on our property, along with the
wild and crazy things that our 5 boys are always up to, we have thought about
putting an entrance sign in our driveway that reads: “Welcome to the Jungle,” or perhaps, “Now
Entering the Hurlbert Zoo.” Paul still
loves his job with the FAA. What a
blessing for him to be able to work from home and stay in his flannel pajamas pants
or scrubby jeans all day if he wants to!
Yep, he’s my Sharp Dressed Man J I am still crazy about him and he still Makes
My Dreams Come True after almost 20 years of marriage. I can tell Paul’s job is very fulfilling for
him, but I often wonder if he’s just Working for the Weekend, where he
spends his time mountain biking and perfecting his homemade chokecherry wine
recipe. Wine-making has become a fun
hobby for him and it definitely has a learning curve. He’s had to dump a bad batch or two down the
drain and say, “Oh well, Another One Bites the Dust.” But most of his home-brewed wine tastes
amazing and we hope you can come sip a glass with us sometime at our jungle/zoo.
As for me, I have started to substitute
teach at the boys’ Catholic school, which I really enjoy so far. I also enjoy my weekly prayer group with my
girlfriends and occasionally going out with the gals for a glass of Red
Red Wine—because, after all, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Lately, I’ve been having fun learning to
crochet hats. Paul thinks I should make
a Raspberry
Beret to wear around the town, but I told him to Dream On. J
Well,
I’m sure you can tell that it has been a blessed year for our family, and I
hope for yours as well. We would be so
grateful to hear what is going on in your lives and also for you to say a
prayer for us as we strive to be a holy family in this secular world. There are so many distractions and evils in
our world that are fighting to destroy good, holy families; truly, Love
is a Battlefield. The good news
is that Jesus is always ready to supply us with the graces and the mercy that we
need—Faithfully. He is just waiting for us to ask. He loves it when we talk to Him frequently, when
we are Livin’ on a Prayer, even just little prayers like: “Jesus,
I trust in You,” or “Thank you, Jesus,”
or even, “Kyrie Eleison” (Lord,
have mercy)! Perhaps that is the
greatest gift of Christmas—Christ coming to give us His mercy! Let’s keep sharing the Good News of God’s love
and mercy with those who Still Haven’t Found What They are Looking
for. J
Love
through Jesus, our Stairway to Heaven,
~the
Hurlberts
