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This has been a crazy year in the Felts household. We don’t remember much before April, other than Wes being busy with the church, Mitzi being busy with students, and Caleb being busy with crawling. In the spring our year took a very bad turn. Mitzi’s grandmother had been dealing with strokes for several years. In March the strokes got worse and Grandma Cash decided that she had lived a good life and decided not to fight anymore. We made a sudden trip to California to be with her and family as the Lord to her home to be with him. It was very hard on Mitzi as it was her only living Grandmother. She was a like a second mother to Mitzi. It was very difficult to watch her pass. The one positive was the time to reconnect with family and be reminded how precious they are. Four days after getting back from California we found out that Mitzi’s father was not doing well. He had been struggling with dementia for a couple of years. He went to the hospital due to bowel problems. The next day we found out that he had cancer. It turned out that he had a form of prostate cancer that spreads very rapidly. The doctors gave him only a couple of weeks to live. Mitzi and Caleb flew to Omaha a few days later and Wes drove the Durango down. We spent a week with the family and got to say goodbye to Rich before he got too bad. Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things we have ever had to do. In June Mitzi had an opportunity to work at a camp for Latino students called La Cima. It is a leadership camp for Spanish-speaking students. She had a great time. This camp prompted her to evaluate her job. She started teaching ESL to work with Latino students. Lately she has not had many Latino students. She decided to look into the high school by our house. When she called to ask about the job, they asked her to come in for an interview. They hired her on the spot. We took that as a sign that God wanted her there. In July we took our youth kids to camp. Most of you know how important camp is too us, and it was great to get the chance to do this again. We took around 30 kids to Eastern Washington for a week and had a tremendous time. God worked in many of the kids’, and the adults’, lives during the week. Caleb also came with us for his first camp experience. He definitely added a new element of fun to the week! And we’re planning for another adventurous week this summer. After camp we had a joint first birthday party for Caleb and his friend Wyatt (born one day after Caleb). We had a blast with a house full of people. The boys were totally adorable playing with each other. Caleb started walking a week before his first birthday, so he wanted to walk everywhere. He got too many toys, but he loved it! September brought the start of a new school for Mitzi with all new challenges. She now has about 60 students, most of which speak Spanish. Her commute is about 7 minutes. She is enjoying her new job, with all of its new challenges. Also in September, things picked up for Wes at the church. The senior pastor resigned and Wes picked up much of the responsibility for keeping things running, and keeping the doors open. It has been an interesting few months, but we now have a new senior pastor, and relief is in sight! In October we faced one more tough time. After fighting pancreatic cancer, Wes’ aunt, Colleen, passed away. It was another difficult time, but fortunately the night she passed, most family and many friends were there to say goodbye. December has also been a crazy month. Wes turned 30 on December 11th. Mitzi threw him a surprise party complete with family, friends, food, and snow. It was great to see everyone and celebrate Wes becoming old! We have been busy trying to get ready for Christmas. Mitzi’s mom flew out in the middle of the month to spend some time with us. The craziest thing of all is the snow. We have had snow since the 13th with not much end in sight. This makes life a little interesting. It is definitely beautiful and a change of pace. We are thankful for all that God has blessed us with this year. We have had some really hard times, but we are blessed to still have family and friends. We know that God has great plans for us in 2009. We pray that this holiday season finds you well. Try to remember the reason we celebrate is that we know a Savior that died for us and is with us. We wish you a safe and prosperous New Year. Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano. Love, Wes, Mitzi, and Caleb Felts |