The Balvin Family Christmas letter

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. –Psalm 145:8, 9

Dear Friends & Family,

Wow, 2006 is a year that we will forever remember. In last year’s Christmas note we announced that we had made it a whole year without having any kids. Well…we sort of lied. We didn’t know it at the time but God was in the process of blessing us with a third child. For those of you keeping score, that is 3 in 3 years. No it is not a misprint; we now have 3 little crazies running around the house!

On August 28^th, 2006 we joyfully welcomed Andrew Titus Balvin to the family. Our doctor had us expecting a Catherine, but we were pleasantly surprised with an Andrew. Weighing in at 7lbs. 7oz. and measuring at 21 inches long he is truly an amazing addition to our family. He has been happy, calm, and content just watching the world around him. Jacob and Isabelle couldn’t be more excited about having Andrew around and shower him with kisses, hugs, squishes, and the occasional whack (just to show him whose boss!).

Speaking of Jacob, 2006 has been a big year for him. He got a new bed, a big boy bike, and plenty of bangs and bumps. Plus, he has learned how to go #1 and #2 in the toilet! Somewhere between a Star Athlete and an Olympic Equestrian, Jacob loves playing with sticks, balls, bats, clubs and horses alike. But he is no emotionally challenged jock. God has given Jacob an extremely tender heart. He shows concern for others and is the first to offer hugs for anyone that looks hurt or sad. Izzy and Drew have a great big brother and Mom has a wonderful helper around the house.

Isabelle turned 2 December 1^st. She is a courageous little girl. Izzy has grown up so much in the past year and likes to spend her days reading books, doing puzzles, kissing Andrew, listening to music, following Jacob around, and destroying stuff. She fears nothing, keeps pace with Jacob and will have no problem running up a cell phone bill as she has become a very good talker. Potty training is just around the corner for her (thanks be to God!).

This has been a year of transition and growth for Brenton and I. But in spite of everything we’ve walked through, God has been extremely gracious and faithful to us both. In January my dream of visiting Hawaii came true. Primarily on funds I was awarded from Tupperware we spent 6 days in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was incredible; truly one of the most beautiful place we have been. While we were there we went to Pearl Harbor, a real Luau, snorkeling, and spent lots of time relaxing on Waikiki beach.

Then, in March Brenton and I drove to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a much needed 8-day spiritual retreat at a place called Sonscape. This was another beautiful place (our back window looked right at Pike’s Peak) and both Brenton and I benefited from time alone with God and with one another.

A final highlight of the year was in June when our entire family packed into the new mini-van, a 2003 Kia Sedona, (which we bought in April) and took our first family road trip. We stopped to spend 5 days in Michigan with some dear friends and then continued on to New York City. There we celebrated my cousin’s high school graduation and spent a day seeing the sights of New York City. It was a long trip, but it was a lot of fun.

I am staying busy at home during the day with the kids and selling Tupperware on some evenings. It’s a great blessing to be able to stay at home with them, and still make some money. I plan on starting some preschool lessons with the kids this up coming year. Brenton has changed jobs; it was a tough decision, but he is taking some time off from ministry and is currently the General Manager of a restaurant in Coon Rapids. We both agree that now is the time to be intentional about building a solid foundation for the rest of our lives. And so we are taking steps to make that happen.

We hope that you are doing well and experiencing more and more of God’s love and peace this Christmas season.

Love, The Balvin’s