Merry Christmas Letter 2022

 Merry Christmas!

Hello Family and Friends!  

We hope this Christmas season finds you joyful and well.  We are blessed to have you in our lives, even if we don’t see each other all that often.  This Christmas season, we are reminded that…

“She shall bear a son, and you shall ca
ll his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” Matthew 1:21

As it may be with you, 2022 brought its share of challenges and joys.  Still, we are thankful for the peace in the middle of the challenges.   

In April we were able to take a long-dreamed of family vacation to Maui.  All of the older kids were able to come, though we only had a couple of nights where everyone was able to be all together because of the needs of Joseph and Vivien we were still so thankful for a chance to get away and enjoy beautiful Hawaii.

Here’s an update on our clan, starting with the youngest…

Vivien (8 years old) is now in the second grade at Hazelwood Elementary.  She loves riding the bus to school and back each day (although she will be the first to tell you she doesn’t like early mornings!)  Viv’s giggles and her bouncing balloons bring a happy note to the house.  We are thankful for her caregivers who help out in so many ways.  She also has a wonderful para-educator, teachers and therapists who do so many fun things with her.    

Joseph (9 years old) is becoming a young man!  He is now in his third wheelchair as he has grown so much.  Mr. Social also loves going to school and hanging out with any crowd.  We are in the middle of some tests at Seattle Children’s which will hopefully lead to him having a Baclofen pump installed.  This will make him so much more comfortable as well as make it easier to manage him.  Again, we are so thankful for his caregivers, paraeducator, therapists and teachers!

Iva (10 years old) continues to be our happy homebody.  Iva is often found curled up on a couch with a book.  Some of Iva’s favorite books this past year were Story Thieves and The Hero’s Guide to Saving the Kingdom.    This year, she started a computer programming class, Taekwondo, as well as a cooking class at Heritage!  Iva has also gotten quite good at whipping up a batch of slime (just in case you need any).  A highlight of her year was a trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon!  She, Lucie and friends went on some fun hikes and made lasting memories,
    

Lucie (12 years old) will tell you that the best part of her year was getting her little Cavapoo “Sophie”, who just turned one year-old (and yes, Lucie threw a party for her).  Lucie loves her friends in Logic class and is always trying to get them together for events.  When she’s not doting on Sophie, she is usually found on the swing set in the backyard, listening to her music.    Lucie has been expanding her role as babysitter and is usually eager to help out with Vivien and Joseph in a pinch.  Her caring nature is a quality we are all thankful for
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Silas (15 years old) has been driving with his permit!  This is his last year as a “homeschool” student, as he will step into Running Start at Bellevue College next year.  He has been busy working at out church (Highlands Community) about 10 hours a week, doing various maintenance tasks.  He has been hoping to pick up some more hours as he works toward eventually buying his own car.  Silas is often found on his keyboard upstairs, pounding out some new tunes.  He was able to play for the Highschool worship team at church, and his hoping for some more opportunities.  This past summer, Silas went on an internship with Tiny Heartbeat Ministries, a pro-life ministry in Moscow, Idaho.  He loved the feeling of independence and the friendships he formed while there.  He plans to go on the Justice Ride in Ohio again this next Spring.  

Maggie (18 years old) is finishing up her last few quarters in Running Start at Bellevue College.  This past summer, she bought her first car, which she lovingly named “Chuck”.  With her car came a growing independence, as she is quite the socialite.   She enjoys her work at Backflows Northwest in the office. She also helps lead a team on Thursdays to do pro-life work at a nearby abortion clinic and loves when babies are saved and mamas are supported and loved.

Molly continues to spend time with family and friends, write, jog, hike and travel whenever she can.  She helps lead sophomore discipleship groups at church and is loving the teenage years with her kids.  Todd says she is stuck in the teens herself so she relates.  She enjoyed short trips with Maggie (to Palm Springs) and Silas (to Knotts Berry Farm), as well as a trip with Lucie and Iva to Zion National park with their BFFs..  She attends lots of timeshare presentations and uses travel card points  to get free nights to support her travel habit.  She and Todd were able to get away for a few nights for their anniversary to hike at the beautiful Columbia River gorge area.  Managing Joseph and Vivien’s medical needs, with doctors appointments, therapists and scheduling caregivers keeps her hopping.  Last but not least, she has enjoyed teaching Bible at HIS co-op this year and digging into the Word to try to make it relevant to the wonderful kids she gets to teach

Todd has been busy keeping up with the rest of the family.  His homeschooling load has been lightened a bit as Molly has been doing most all the schoolwork with Iva.  He has enjoyed some fun projects around the house such as building a carport finishing up Viv and Joe’s bedroom remodel.  This last May he celebrated 23 years in the fire service.  He’s grateful every day for the opportunity to work with some great people while helping those in need.

This year, at the beginning of the year Todd asked God about a word for the year.  He was prompted to think about the word “sustainable”.  Molly was in wholehearted agreement with asking God for sustainability in life.  The last few years have felt so dramatic and times, with the ups and downs of the adoption and caring for medical needs.  Thankfully we have been able to obtain some more caregiving hours for Joseph and Vivien which has made life feel a little more sustainable.  We are thankful to God for His sustaining grace, His sustaining provision and a life that has moved from “almost out of control” to “only somewhat crazy at times”, which feels a little better!  We are grateful for a God who sustains us.

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