Merry Christmas
from the Merry Family
We hope this letter finds you and your loved ones healthy and well. As we write this, we are thankful for God’s many blessings and rejoice in His goodness. In a year of challenges and struggles, we are reminded of Christ taking on the pain and suffering of mankind and becoming one of us….
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” John 1:14.
Like all of us, 2021 has been a year of mountains and valleys. God’s grace has been with us in the valleys and we are thankful for the mountaintop joys as well. We pray you find His grace strong and comforting in these times.
It has also been a year of firsts. Maggie got her first office job, her license and is going to college at running start. Lucie and Iva had their first airplane ride ever at ages 9 and 11 to go to Disneyland. Joseph attended school in person for the first time ever and loves it. Although Todd was a firefighter for 11 years, Todd also got his first 10 year pin this year as a paramedic. Silas is the first of all the kids to experience hitting (almost) 6 feet tall. (Time will tell if he is the last.) Vivien and Molly had no firsts that we can think of, though Molly is considering her first pair of reading glasses as she is experiencing the trombone arm effect when she tries to read in low light, so maybe that counts.
Here’s an update on our clan, starting with the youngest…
Vivien (7 years old) continues to be a bright light and joy in our family. She is now in the first grade and takes the bus with Joseph every day. Her teachers and aides are so kind and loving. We are grateful for her caregivers who help out so much at home and really do have an affection for Viv. Over this past year, Vivien has finally put on some weight and grows stronger every day. She loves to give out smiles and giggles for anyone who brings her a balloon. Vivien was recently granted a “Make-A-Wish” grant for a bedroom remodel. We are in the process of changing our downstairs office into a full bedroom with a kitchenette for both Vivien and Joseph. It will be so nice to have them both downstairs!
Joseph (8 years old) has gotten so much taller this past year! As we mentioned before he attended school in person for the first time in his life this year. He loves school! He has already moved into his second wheelchair since becoming part of our family in December of 2019. Joseph is truly a happy guy and loves to be in the center of any social event. He loves to cuddle on the couch with one of the siblings or is just content hanging out with the family. We are thankful for our caregivers for Joseph as well. Seattle Children’s has been a huge blessing in providing an eye-gaze device which we will receive soon will be a huge help in communication. We celebrated his 8th birthday and Vivien’s 7th with a combined birthday party and fundraiser for Home of Hope and he charmed the around 80 or so people who showed up and generously gave.
Iva (9 years old) is our easy-going, quiet homebody who gets along with everyone. Both Iva and Lucie love to curl up on the couch with a good book. Iva loves crafting with anything she can find. If you see scissors, paper and glue somewhere in our house, you know Iva has been in the area! Currently, Iva and Lucie are practicing their skills with concrete candle holders with Todd. Both Lucie and Iva enjoyed a fun trip to Disneyland with Molly and friends last month. Iva is enjoying piano and is getting good advice from Silas on how to play by ear.
Lucie (11 years old) has a tender heart, especially for Vivien and Joseph. She is our consistent babysitter and loves caring for them. Our tall girl has also been helping others with babysitting, which she loves! This is Lucie’s first year in Logic at HIS Ministry Co-op and she has been so diligent with her schoolwork. Lucie loves to make lists for herself, then check off her completed tasks as the day goes on. She loves to organize and tidy things up as she goes. She has especially enjoyed the Mandie books over this past year. Fortunately for her, there are 47 books in the Mandie series.
Silas (14 years old) has recently gotten into cryptocurrencies. He has always had a bent toward investments and making his money grow. It has been exciting to see him getting so excited about this area! He is currently at Heritage Co-op and takes a speech class as well. Public speaking is his favorite class topic and he recently gave a message on the Cancel Culture movement to the middle school students at Highlands Community Church. He and Maggie went on a pro-life Justice Ride earlier this year with Created Equal, persuading people to love mamas and babies in the womb well. Just a few weeks ago, Silas was asked to join the high school worship band at church! He is looking forward to this and has a gift when it comes to piano and he is eager to share it with others.
Maggie (17 years old) is now a Running Start student at Bellevue College! It was hard to say goodbye to so many good friends she grew up with at His Ministry Co-op in June. After graduating from the Rhetoric program, Maggie went to Ohio to serve as an intern for Created Equal – a pro-life ministry in Ohio. This was a great opportunity for her and at the same time, so hard for us to let her go for that long! Now that Maggie has her driver’s license, she loves to keep a busy social schedule with her many friends. She also got her first office job with Backflows Northwest and loves her new friends there and is thriving.
Molly is still enjoying family and friends, jogging at Gene Coulon Park three days a week, and writing and speaking when she can. She is looking forward to speaking to the moms group at church in January. She finished a book about VIvien and is currently writing about Joseph. Her goal is 30 minutes every morning but it usually ends up being just a few days a week. She has also started serving as a discipleship leader for the freshmen girls at church and is enjoying getting to know the sweet girls better at d-groups. Last but not least, she loves to do her favorite thing - travel - as much as is humanly possible with a family of 8 on a budget. Whether it is planning a big 20th anniversary trip with Todd, or doing a short one or two night trip with just a couple of kids, she loves to squeeze in as much family time away as she can.
Todd has been enjoying some projects around the house. Most recently, the bedroom remodel for Vivien and Joseph has been his main focus. These creative projects have been a great outlet for him. He continues to serve on the board at Home of Hope Ministries and at H.I.S. co-op. He is involved with teaching at co-op and is doing two Units this year, complete with exploring sheep guts and dissecting eyeballs and brains with the kids. He loves his job with King County Medic One and is thankful for the great people he works with 10 years in. This year he and Molly celebrated 20 years! How time has flown by!
Thank you for taking the time to “catch up” with us. We love getting your letters and hearing updates from you all.
Blessings to your family,
The Merrys
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