The weeks around Christmas this year were full to overflowing with fun family and friend activities. So much, it wore us out! I never like to post on FB that we are traveling, so I thought I’d summarize it all after the fact. Here’s a peak at a Hostetter Christmas Season…

• Christmas Musical at Lindale. The kids were thrilled to participate in this and spent hours practicing. We were overwhelmed with the project and all the work that went into it. (Thanks, Diane Burkholder!!) The kids made us proud and we appreciated that my parents were able to come see it. Our shy little Karla has been transformed into a confident young lady. She had the first lines of the play and a couple of solos. Such a far cry from her preschool days.
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• Dinner out! We took the kids out one night to Kyoto’s in Harrisonburg. It’s a Japanese steakhouse where they cook in front of you. The food was incredible and we loved watching the kids faces. Karla’s mouth didn’t close the whole time. Cooking was never so cool. Now when we are traveling and looking for a place to eat, Ryan requested the place where they had the “best chicken” and cook in front of you. Afterwards we drove out to Singers Glen to a fun light show that someone had set up, timing the movement of all their lights to Christmas songs.
• Christmas in Powhatan. A little quieter than some years, but probably the most relaxing couple of days over the holidays. Friday the 23rd, we went to the Lewis Ginter Botannical Gardens in Richmond for their light show.  There must have been a million lights on display. We laughed (a LOT) watching Mom try to compete on the Wii. =) Just remembering gives me the giggles. In a search for Mom’s hidden serving trays, I found some old toys in the attic (the Classic Little People set) and pulled them down for the kids. I had wondered what happened to them! But no luck on the serving trays. Their whereabouts will remain a mystery.
• Christmas Day in Newport News. For the first time ever, I didn’t spend Christmas day in Powhatan. We traveled on Christmas Day to see my Hertzler grandparents in Denbigh, with my parents, brother and nieces. They are in their 90′s and still living independently on the family farm. Grandma has Alzheimer’s and couldn’t seem to place half of us. Karla just “had to be Jill, because Jill is NOT a woman.” But you could tell they enjoyed having the family with them and it was good to see them.
• After three days at home/work, we hit the road again for Lancaster. We spent one day with Obe’s family, and packed a lot into it. Karla got a sewing machine from her Grandma and learned how to sew an apron. The men played disc golf and then we headed to Black Rock!
• Black Rock is the annual gathering of 60+ Hostetters at Black Rock Retreat Center. It’s a highlight of the year for the kids, who basically get to spend 3 days running all over the conference center and gym with their second cousins. We typically see them for meals and bedtime. A highlight for me this year was watching them join the adults for a game of indoor soccer in the gym. The ball was flying around so fast – definitely not a game for kids. But Karla and Ryan were fearless and played hard….until they got hurt. Ry took a ball to the gut and Karla took one to the eye. It was inevitable, but I was so proud of them for sticking it out and not being afraid to fight their great-uncles for the soccer ball.
• Home again, home again….for four days. Then we took a trip to Cincinnati! Both kids memorized all the books of the Bible this past fall and we had promised them a reward. That reward was a trip to the Creation Museum just south of Cincinnati. We traveled with friends, which made the miles go by fast (good thing, ’cause that’s a 7+ hour trip one way and we left after school on Friday!). I think it made an impact on the kids to really see the Bible come to life. If you’re anywhere close to it, I recommend stopping in! On the way home on Sunday, we stopped in Charleston, WV and found one of the coolest children’s museums ever.

Whew! There were actually a few more parties thrown in, the Christmas parade, Heatwole Christmas, my work dinner… but I didn’t think you would keep reading through it all. =) This past week found me in bed by 9, two nights in a row. I think I’m fully recovered now and enjoyed a very relaxing weekend.

Karla is now a third grader, which means taking a lot more responsibility for her own work. There’s not a subject she doesn’t like (except maybe word study). This year has brought a maturity in her that has caught us off guard. Three years ago, she was the preschooler that was too shy to speak on stage. Last week at the Christmas musical, she had the opening lines and sang a solo. Wow. She is becoming more outgoing in all aspects, loving sports, school and friends. She is enjoying piano lessons and a tumbling class on a weekly basis. The past year she also rotated between softball, swimming and basketball! She loves animals and nature (so much she cried when our tree came down in a storm) and dreams of a future working with animals..a dolphin trainer to be exact.

Ryan started Kindergarten this fall. On the first day of school he came home quite disappointed because they hadn’t taught him to read yet! Reading quickly clicked with him and he is absorbing everything his big sister throws at him, including multiplication tables. Ry is glad he is old enough now to participate in sports and played T-ball and soccer this past year. He has such a big way of saying things. He loves to be a helper and enjoys Legos and his bike. Two siblings could not be closer and I love hearing them interact. Their friendship is a huge blessing.

We added a puppy to the household in May, an Australian Shepherd/Cocker Spaniel cross that Ryan named “Fergie”. Unfortunately, puppies grow up to be dogs that like to bark and chew, so we are learning to adapt. Ryan appears to have liked the IDEA of a dog more than the dog himself. He is an outdoor dog and Karla spends the most time with him.

Obe is in his 11^th year with Rockingham County Public Schools, 6^th year as an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT). He’s developed quite the reputation of being down to earth, with a wealth of knowledge and resources that he freely shares. He really enjoys his job and the people he interacts with. His travels this year to teach at conferences includes a week in Alberta, Canada and local trips to Baltimore, Washington DC, Richmond, and Roanoke. One of his personal highlights was participating in the Warrior Dash with a group of friends. It’s a 3 mile obstacle mud race. The guys had a lot of fun training for it. He’s got a few pictures on Facebook.

As for me, my daily routine did not change much this year. I continue to be stretched and challenged by my responsibilities at SmileMakers as the Administrative Coordinator. There were a lot of human resource issues this year that are teaching me how to be an effective manager. Apparently my goal for 2012 is to be a better delegator! Still lots of room to grow. I continue to play volleyball every chance I get, and my new favorite exercise is Zumba. =) At my 10 year college reunion this year, I got to play in an alumni fast-pitch softball game. That only made me miss the game that much more, so we’ll see if I can find opportunities to use the cleats a few more times in 2012.

We love to travel, and our favorite memories this year were in camping trips, hiking and game nights with friends, a couples’ weekend to Charlotte, NC (segways and Grandfather Mt), and trips to the waterpark and beach. You might think we don’t enjoy our jobs…we really, really do…but we also love to get away.

The big transition for us in 2011 involved a decision to begin attending Lindale Mennonite Church. Ridgeway Mennonite has been a home for us for the past 11 years, but at this point in our life we felt God leading us to make a change. Lindale is the largest congregation either of us have ever attended (415 attended last Sunday), but with that comes a lot of opportunities for our family. The children are loving the programming available to them. Both participated in the Christmas musical and sang their hearts out. The Wednesday evening Bible studies have also been meaningful to us. We’re still getting settled in, and appreciate that we can still stay connected with our friends from Ridgeway as well. We’d love to hear from all of you!

Blessings,

Obe & Jill, Karla, Ryan

Yesterday, it dawned on me that I didn’t know what (if anything) my children knew about Sept 11. So I asked. They knew nothing, and suddenly I wished I would have thought out my answers to their following questions a little better before I asked! In an effort to begin an awareness with them without scaring them, I kept it simply. Ten years ago, before you were born but not so terribly long ago, was a very sad day. Several people who were very angry took an airplane and crashed it into a skyscraper (you know those tall, tall buildings in cities?). Many people lost their lives that day. My sweet little girl replied, “That’s not so sad. If those people knew Jesus, they went straight to heaven!”

Ah, the simplicity of the faith of a child.

As a church, we are studying “The Naked Anabaptist” along with the Mennonite “Confession of Faith”. Today we are focusing on the peace position and responding to our enemies. I don’t know how much of the sermon and other conversations my almost 6 and 8 year olds will pick up. But perhaps the greater lesson is one I can learn from them. Death is not the end, not something to be sad about. After all, if you know Jesus you’ll go straight to heaven.

We appreciate all you do for our kids. You have been flexible, understanding, encouraging…and our kids love school. They try so hard to please you and do all that is asked of them. We have loved each and every one of our kids’ teachers. I have just one complaint. When was the last time you stepped back and considered how much work you send home? Do you all talk to each other to know what homework each teacher assigns? Last night, we worked our way through a reading log (20 min/night), math log (10 min/night), fitness log (10 min/night), health log (points for any fruits/veggies/healthy snacks), plus created reminders for the fine arts program (turn in tickets for arts events that you attend for rewards), the after-school enrichment program for the arts, the after-school challenge program, the school talent show, the 2 fundraisers that are running at the same time – and it’s only the second week of school. Add to that keeping up with library books and nightly homework and the things WE want our kids to experience like household chores, small group/Bible study, walking the dog, piano lessons and gymnastics and suddenly my seven year old has a more complicated schedule than I do! I think I signed off on 5 things last night alone.

So, to “make fair” as my kids would say, I have a homework assignment for you. Please record on this log the number of minutes my child spends at recess each day, I’d like to know if they eat all their lunch, how many water breaks they get, if they used their manners today, and if they participated in class. Please record this information daily, check it for accuracy and sign off. See I want to make sure that I know more about my child than you do and I’m starting to wonder!

If I could do it again – teach, that is – I wonder how it would change now that I’ve had the eyes of a parent. I am not against homework, but we’ve already experienced weekend and summer homework before the third grade. Dear teachers, please understand, it’s almost 4 until they get off the bus. Can I have my children for at least a part of the evening, since you’ve had them all day?

Sincerely,

Mom

Crust:

3 1/2 c grated raw squash

1 1/2 c grated raw zucchini

1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 T Bisquick

1 tsp salt

Mix together and spread into a greased 11×15 jelly roll pan. Bake in 400 degree oven for 15-20 mins (until set).

Top with pizza sauce, 1 lb browned hamburger, onion, pepper, mushrooms, pepperoni, crumbled cooked bacon….whatever pizza toppings you like. Sprinkle with oregano and parmesean cheese. Top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Have you ever really stopped to think about it? Or do you just go because  that’s what Christians do? I don’t mean the answer you give to your 5-year-old who doesn’t want to sit through the sermons, but the deep down, real reason….why do you go? (Which, by the way, maybe should be the answer you give your 5 year old!)

I asked that question of two friends recently, and the resulting conversation was very revealing as to what our expectations are from church. See, we are in a time of processing and the exercise of verbalizing what you believe, why you believe and how you live your faith is incredible stretching and good. I could tell you my answer, but I’m curious what you’d come up with on your own. I challenge you to post your comment to this blog with your answer before reading anyone else’s answer. If you will honor me with your thoughts, I promise I’ll share mine. =)

Yesterday, Ryan decided he needed to take care of all the dandelions in the lawn. This is no small task, mind you. But he didn’t get overwhelmed by the big picture. He put his head down and worked. You could definitely see exactly where he had been! I didn’t have the heart to tell him he wasn’t getting the roots and that they would all come back. He was way too proud of his work.

When I was teaching, I  had a poster of a dandelion on my wall and the caption read, “Dandelions are my favorite flower: They never give up”.

Know what else? Karla came out to see what he was doing and he did such a good job of explaining to her how important it was, the work that he was doing, that she joined in with him. Little Tom Sawyer!

Arriving at Black Rock, Karla spied the Bible in our room. She very excitedly called out, “Look, a Bible! We can use it to solve all our problems!” Oh for the faith of a child.

When two of his cousins were fighting, he became quite concerned. Approaching his great-aunts and great-uncles, he announced, “Hey, would one of you adults see why that little child is crying?” His duty done, he felt fine to go off and play.

We were participating in a scavenger hunt and I asked, “How’s my little man?” Ry replied, “Good…how’s my little mommy?”

Ryan found a magnifying glass and wanted to keep it. But he bravely stood in front of the Hostetter crowd and announced in the microphone that if anyone lost it, they could have it if they raised their hand. Also, he announced that he was selling his balloon animals after the show (Daddy would only let him keep two). When asked how much, he said for free! I don’t think he was one bit nervous.

While taking down the Christmas tree, I suddenly noticed a drawing on the wall beside it. Ryan got a Nerf dart gun for Christmas and apparently lost one of his darts inside the tree. He had drawn a picture of a tree with a dart exactly where it had gone so that we had a map to find it when we took the tree down. I’m not sure when he put the poster up, but it made me smile.

At the grocery store, we got in line behind a woman with a cart full of junk food- sodas, frozen pizzas, TV dinners, chips, etc. The sodas were hung on the edge of the cart and Ryan eyed them for a few minutes. Finally he could hold it no longer. “Mommy, that’s cool…..are they healthy?” I replied, “No, Ryan, those are sodas.” I should have known what was coming next, “She has lots of things that aren’t healthy.” Proclaimed in his loud little voice for all to hear. As I ducked my head, the woman sheepishly said, “It’s true. It’s all for my husband. He should hear that.”  Ryan proceeded to begin telling her what was healthy as I quickly shushed him. A little proud, but quite embarrassed, too.

I had a few Mommy proud moments, too. Karla played piano in front of all 60+ Hostetters during the talent show. She told me when she was finished, “I was scared at first, but then I just forgot about the people and thought about the music.” Who would have thought two years ago that my shy girl would accomplish this? Later, she wanted to know if we would play Sharks & Minnows in the gym. I told her she had to ask Aunt Joyce. She said, “I’m a big girl. I can do that.”

For some reason I think I’m already forgetting some of the funnies…all of you Hostetters out there, if you can remember any, please let me know!

I debated about skipping the annual Hostetter update, because my first thought was that nothing has really changed. But I suppose this is why I need to write a Christmas letter – to help me realize how much we have to be thankful for in the past year. It was actually a very full year and while we still live in the same house, same jobs, same church…we have new experiences to share.

Karla is learning that each grade gets harder and that sometimes you have to work for that “A”! She still loves school and is excelling in reading and writing. After two really great years, this one is proving to be a bit more challenging due to the mix of kids in her class. But Karla is learning to stand up for herself and her beliefs and that has been fun to watch. This past year she played t-ball in the spring and took swimming lessons this fall, finally learning to put her head under the water and swim. Another addition has been piano lessons. While she doesn’t like to practice, she loves being able to play. She has two kittens, Simon and Ginger (our first three attempts at kittens all ran away).

Ryan started Pre-K at Karla’s elementary school. He LOVES school, riding the bus, being the teacher’s helper, and all that comes with it. Just this month he tested out of the speech program. They feel he is communicating at or above grade level. The transition to school has been an easy one for him. It sure does make the days easier! Ry also took swimming lessons this fall, but he still reluctant to put his face in the water.

Both children started attending Wed evening Bible school at a Brethren church here in town. We so appreciate the Bible-based teaching, singing and fun activities for them, and the weekly date nights it brought back for us.  They also both conquered riding bike this summer, no more training wheels! They are still each other’s best friend and like to do most things together.

Obe has a new-found motivation to exercise. It’s called high cholesterol medicine. This fall brought a gym membership for him and he really seems to enjoy the outlet. At work, he has shifted his focus this year from SmartBoards to iPads. He still teaches the SmartBoards, but there’s always a new technology out there to keep things fun. We all enjoy playing with the iPad (the perks of working in technology!) At church, Obe is teaching the preschool class full time. The little boys love Mr. Obe. This is an age group he thought he could ever teach, but is doing a really good job.

I tackled a play this past Easter, directing Song of Life at Ridgeway. As most of my projects go, this one consumed a lot of time and energy, but was very rewarding. The local paper even picked up the story, which led to a full house the night of the show. Then in July, I traveled to Indianapolis with the junior high from our church for a week- long service trip. I have enjoyed working with the junior high group for the last several years and this trip was no exception. Each year I’ve added a few new responsibilities at work (SmileMakers). My official title is now “Office Administrator” and just like it sounds, anything and everything can fall in it. The job keeps me on my toes. I still am home each day to meet the bus and for that I am grateful. The other new thing for me is braces. I have been struggling with more frequent headaches in the past couple of years. One of the things the dental office where I work specializes in is TMJ therapy. Dr. Johnson is correcting my bite, first with an orthotic and now permanently with braces. My headaches have disappeared and I’m getting straight teeth to boot. I never had braces as a teenager and thankfully it’s going better than I thought it would. I have about 15 more months to go.

The highlight of our year, though, was our 10-year anniversary trip this fall. We traveled to Antigua, Guatemala with friends John & Brenda Hedrick, for an incredible, adventure-filled week. I could write a whole letter about that trip alone, but to summarize, long dinners, adult conversation, laughter, and fresh pineapple juice. More details and pics can be found on my blog at www.hostetter.wordpress.com. Many thanks to Obe’s parents for taking care of the children for us.

That about wraps things up! Maybe the real reason a letter was harder this year is the number of you that are on Facebook and write blogs. In some ways it feels like we stay in touch better than before. We appreciate you, our family and friends, and are thankful for the life we’ve been blessed with. I’ve been teaching my junior highers the past few months on Moses and the children of Israel. I have been struck again by the patience of God as the children over and over again complained and begged to be taken back to Egypt. My prayer for each of this next year is that we will be children who do not try the patience of God, but who’s eyes are opened to the workings of God and give Him the glory. As our kids have been singing recently, “Because a thankful heart is a happy heart. I’m glad for what I have, it’s an easy place to start….”

Blessings,

Obe & Jill, Karla, Ryan