JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD HAS COME! In the name of the One who brings true joy, we offer our Christnas greetings to you! So many thoughts rush through my head as | try to recap the year 2000. So much is the same, so much has changed, so little paper to write it all down! | hope | can do justice to share with you the blessings the Lord has given us. After 12 years, our dog, : ain oe “named Dawg, died We bought a pop-up camper! With our children’s ages falling between diapers and summer jobs, Guring the Summer we felt it was the perfect time to do the obvious family adventure. And what an adventure! Our With objection from my First night out was in late May and our last was in September. We did numerous one/two nighters family, | am CERTAIN with one weeklong trip across South Dakota to the Black Hills. We enjoyed building campfires, atc a wou vey eating marshmallows, listening to crickets, and surviving awesome thunderstorms (one that Should NOT even try. actually moved a neighboring camper). Too much fun! Sonnier, our cat, is 5 enough for me! But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, We have a bedroom! You may remember LAST years letter made for My power is made mention of us tearing apart our bedroom. As with many perfect in weakness." notorious building projects, what started out as a little change in Therefore I will boast all | 700m color, ete, turned into total renovation right down to tearing off lathe and plaster. After 10 months of sleeping in Daniel's room, having dressers in the hall and no closet, we have a bedroom once again! the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 1 Corinthians 12:9 Wey AY The day before Easter, I noticed that my vision had become very blurry. I quickly realized the problem was not dirty contacts but my eyes. At this point, I had a few moments of pain; feeling like something very sharp had gotten into my eyes. I was able to visit an eye doctor the next day who determined that the cornea in both eyes had been damaged. By this time I was unable to open my eyes because of the extreme pain. By Wednesday, Iwas unable to eat and could hardly walk. (Having four children, I can still say this woas the worst pain I have ever experienced.) Iwas sent to a specialist at Sioux Valley Hospital. He said that the cleaning solution that I had used on my contacts was suppose to neutralize into water after a few hours; mine had not. Instead, the cleaning solution had displaced the fluid that is naturally in the contacts and when placed in my eyes, had eaten away at my corneas. He prescribed new ointment for my eyes and a “really nice” pain Killer! By Saturday, Iwas able to peak one eye open and the other one followed by the next day. A good while longer and I regained full vision in both eyes!!! Praise the Lord! One full week of blindness can teach a lot of things. Like how much we take for granted (try putting toothpaste on your toothbrush or eating cereal without your eyes) and how much the Lord has to say to us if we'll just take the time to be still and listen! Mike ond | celebrated our 12th anniversary this year! Mike continues to teach 2nd grade and | am stil at home. We also enjoy working our Melaleuca business. This summer we took a trip to Florida for a vacotion and to attend the convention. We had such a fabulous fime. Mike joined our youth group to DC'00 and along with my mom, and friends from my church, | attended the Beth Moore seminar. Together, Mike and | gave a fry to swing dancing. It is no secret os to who enjoyed that the most!_ As usual, Mike sill loves to run and is the Cross Country coach. He ran in the Twin Cities Marathon in October! | sill love to work on scrapbooks for the kids whenever | can squeeze it in.Bethany is now in fifth grade. In addition to her piano lessons that she began last spring, she is now playing the clarinet. We are very proud of how she is doing in school. Last spring she earned her second trip to the Regional Science Fair in Mankato. During the summer Bethany spent 6 days at Big Sandy Camp and this fall she went to a babysitting clinic, both of which she absolutely loved. When I asked her what I should say that she really likes to do, she said “snuggle with my mom’. Ahhh, gotta love that! ‘Ashion is our frst grader. She i loving the chance to leam how to read and shares her new reading talent with us as often as possible, Ashton likes to spend any free time playing with her toys, creating pictures to share, or snuggling with Daniel. Her friendships are becoming very important to her and Petra is in thind grade and continues to love school She had an exciting cummer with her first trip to Big Sandy Camp for 4 days and being in the Little Miss Mt. Lake pageant. She also got her ears pierced this summer. She has now started piano lessons and loves to write her own songs. Once, while proudly telling me the words to her latest song, she excitedly said. "I can't believe no one else has ever thought of is song!” Dann eee eer et inks that going to school like his sisters would be the coolest. He settled for going to ECFE with me and had a great time. As no surprise to you mothers of boys, Daniel will make anything he finds into a toy gun. Amazing, isn’t it. He loves being loves to spend time with them. There are always a good supply of “letters” for her friends laying around our house. Mike’s right hand man and wrestling with us for no reason. He continues to have the energy level of his Dad and is usually in motion. fe ance pe emcee a ae and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be barn and a time ta die...” Cn Nauember 4, my family lost our Dad ta a disease he had fought for quite awhile. No one could hawe prepared me far this. He was a husband, a father of 7,a grandfather of 21, a great-grandfather of 8, and a child of the Father. Se, as we miss him herve, we tafe comfort in Rnewing that he is enjoying his life now wathing hand in hand with Jesus with ne pain and anty jay. His memory is visible in his fingerprints left in so many of our homes. He was an incredible craftsman and buit the Ritchen, bathroom, launduy cabineta in my home as well as aur entertainment center, CD cabinet, desh, and the beautiful bedroom set for cur wedding gift. As I.read on in Ecc.3, I had to smite when it said, “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to. mewn and a time te dance.” Oh, how wonderful for the Lard to hawe led me to those words, for my dad LOVED te dance and J. ain cextain J. with never again have a gentleman lead me around the dance flear with the grace that my Dad could duvit waltz...that is, until Z meet with him again in Heaven. We will pray that each of you find joy in this Christmas season. We're aie forward to heating from you! ASh+Oh oie Nie i sh Bown “ ole8T@rconnect.com Let us fx our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who forthe joy set before him endured the cross, scorning Its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 Love, THE NELSONS ‘Christmas 2000