Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Merry Christmas! We are wrapping up 2007 with thankful hearts for all the many ways, both big and small, that Jesus has loved on us. It has been a year of blessing, of growth, of provision, of waiting, a year of hope. Our Savior is truly our Emmanuel - God with us! He does not leave us on our own to figure things out. He loving and faithfully guides us, nudges us, sometimes pushes us...to grow and trust in Him, and not in ourselves or our understanding of things. He proves Himself with unexpected blessings, with daily provisions, and with sustaining us and teaching us in the difficult and, at times, disappointing times. Our faith in Him has been tested and strengthened this year!

We have traveled the world this year! Christiaan and Kristina had an amazing opportunity to travel to Israel with our church during the spring. (Christiaan's parents came from Holland to babysit!) The four of us were able to spend three weeks in Holland in August, reconnecting with all of Christiaan's immediate family. Then, in November, a special family from our church blessed us with a free 7-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera, for all four us! Our passports have certainly been well-used this year! Scroll down the blog for more pictures and stories.

Our big news is that we are currently a "waiting family", waiting to adopt a baby! We are with a non-profit adoption agency - Independent Adoption Center, or IAC - and plan to adopt within the U.S. We have completed all of our paperwork and requirements and could receive news at any time! We are so excited to bring a new child into our family, another hand to hold.

Our adoption website is: www.christiaanandkristina.com.

Christiaan continues to enjoy his work at Cornerstone Fellowship as the Director of Children's Ministry. He also enjoys working on computers and staying up-to-date on the latest technology. He's looking forward to becoming a new dad again!

Kristina spends her time as a stay-at-home mom and a part-time piano teacher. She has stepped down from doing music for the women's ministry at church, in preparation for our new baby, but still occasionally participates in the weekend services' music. Both kids are in school now, but it's still amazing how busy life has stayed!

Mariana just turned 8 in December. She is in 2nd grade at Valley Christian. She loves school and is becoming an expert reader. Her favorite subjects are science, math, art, music, and reading (I told you she loves school!). Mariana loves Jesus and knows that He loves her! She started piano lessons this past fall, and loves it. So far it's working out to have her mother as her teacher. We are embarking on our orthodontics adventure (yikes!). In January, she will have four teeth pulled, the first set of several. It's a bummer when both your parents needed lots of work done on their teeth.

Jack celebrated his sixth birthday in Holland and started Kindergarten at Valley in September. He loves school, too! He is a hard-worker and is so proud of the assignments he brings home. He loves transformers and all kinds of action figures. Jack is learning to pray and loves learning about the Bible.

That's us in a nutshell! We pray that you might experience the true Joy of the season, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the reason we celebrate at this time of year!

Come, let us adore Him,
Christiaan, Kristina, Mariana and Jack

Jack's Christmas Program

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Christmas Recital

Kristina's students performed at the annual Christmas Piano Recital. First year performer: Mariana!

Santa...revealed.

Friday morning I went to wake Mariana up for school. Usually she "mm-hmm's" me until I come back again five minutes later, when it's time for her to really get up. This time, however, she immediately launched into the question, "Mom, is Santa Claus real? And I WANT THE TRUTH."

I knew this was coming. She has been pondering this question for weeks now, and I'd been able to evade the question thus far. I had even wrapped a few gifts from Christiaan and me, purposely, so she would know that we give her and Jack presents, and then I was planning on putting out a few more for Christmas morning from Santa. (Disclaimer: we teach our kids the REAL meaning of Christmas - Jesus becoming a human, coming in the form of a baby, a Gift to us, which is why we exchange gifts. We hang stockings and enjoy pretending Santa comes, too. For fun.)

So, back to her question. I didn't want to lie. She had successful phrased the question in a way that pinned me to the wall. I told her I'd be right back. I ran down the hall to Christiaan and was like, "What do I tell her?" He said, "Tell her, 'Santa is fun!'" I told him, "She's not going to buy it. She's been thinking way too hard on this!"

I went back to her room and told her the truth. Santa was real. But not anymore. We have fun pretending he comes. She guessed, "But the presents are really from you and Papa?" I had to admit, "yes." "I KNEW IT!" she exclaimed.

Then we had a nice heart-to-heart where I threatened her that she would not get any of those extra presents if A) She went looking for the presents, or B) She told Jack. I think the threatening worked! :)

Now we have to keep the dream of the toothfairy alive...