Dear Friends and Family,
It’s that time of year again! And who can believe it? I know we all say it every year, but doesn’t it seem like just yesterday that the year began? Well yesterday or not, 2009 is swiftly coming to a close and it’s time to write the end-of-the-year letter. As you can see, we’re ready to celebrate!The year began quietly. The sometimes bitter cold of winter slowly faded into spring, and in May we celebrated our first year of wedded bliss. By July we were moving out of a house we had fully expected to spend years in, and were unsure of where life was going to lead from there.
David continued through most of 2009 as a full-time student, which had been his focus since the summer of 2008. On September 11, 2009, he graduated with highest honors from Clayton College of Natural Health with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Health. Years of hard work finally over! On the 23rd of September (my birthday!) we got our business license from the City of Harrisonville and Health for Life was officially started! God has blessed us in many ways, one of which is that we are able to work together offering health and wellness consultations in person, and David offers consultations online and over the phone. He has written several articles for one of the largest natural health websites, NaturalNews.com (check out his articles!), and Clayton College featured one of his articles on their website. He was also recently spotlighted in Clayton College’s quarterly newsletter. While we are living in Texas David is also working for my father whenever he can as a fire scene technician, which essentially means he does a lot of digging out of burned residences and commercial properties, looking for evidence and such, and also does other little odd jobs around the fire scene. If there is one thing David loves it is to learn, and I think it’s been a fun learning experience for him. David spends most of his free time researching health and nutrition issues, and is keeping up with his music just a bit these days, playing the piano and guitar occasionally.
Back in June we were able to visit my family in Texas for a week and then got to fly to Arizona with my parents for a week long vacation in Sedona. After having just gone through some difficulties, the time to relax in such a gorgeous place was much needed, and proof, once again, that God always gives us what we need and so much more.We spent the week relaxing in the hot tub, star-gazing in the chilly night air, hiking, getting massages, soaking up the breathtaking views, and just generally chillin’. My family and I visited Arizona annually before I married, so it was fantastic to be back again!
Arriving home from that trip we came very suddenly to the conclusion that our house had a significant mold problem that was causing or contributing to some health issues we were both experiencing. Before the end of the month we had made all the arrangements and moved out of our little house on Wall Street, and have been living with David’s parents or mine since the middle of July. We are currently in Texas with my family while the basement at David’s parents’ house gets worked on for us to live in. We are both thankful that God has given us this chance to spend some real, quality time with my family — an opportunity we know we’ll never have again! And progress is being made on the basement; once again God has been showing us how he cares even about seemingly insignificant details of life and David’s Mom has found some fantastic deals on various items for far less than we expected to have to pay.
God has continued to bless us richly this year, as he does each year, even through the difficult times, and we thank God that through the trials we grow and mature. We’re both looking forward to 2010 and all the potential that it holds for us, and for the time to come to go home and start to rebuild something of a “normal” life. To God all praise and glory!