I Cried

but not out of happiness. I am truly sad to see George W. Bush leave Washington today. He may not have done everything right, he may have made some poor decisions, his approval rating may have been very low, but he was a good man doing the best he knew how with what he was given.

September 11, 2001 shaped and framed his presidency. Had that day not happened we would be in a very different place today. I think that America tends to forget what happened or didn't happen in the days, months and years following that fateful day.

I don't pretend to be a politically savvy person. I don't know the rhetoric, I refuse to debate about it. I just know I don't feel right about the man sworn in as president today. He is a great speaker and he seems to have everything together, but still I worry.

Where will he take our country? What will we look like in a year? in four years? In an effort to make everyone equal will he take away rights we hold so dear? In an effort to be so different from the Bush presidency, will he make decisions he shouldn't? He mentioned God several times in his speech and referred to our founding fathers, yet I worry about the fate of Christianity under his leadership.

I question, I worry and above all I pray. I pray the Lord will work through the new President. To use a sinful, imperfect man to further His kingdom here on earth. I know there is a greater plan and I pray. I hope you are doing the same.

Since my last Post

I seriously debated how to post today. I finally downloaded the pictures off my camera from Christmas and the weeks following. Originally I wanted to write a bit then include a picture or two about what was happening. Well, 30 pictures later, I didn't think my blog could handle that many separate downloaded pics. So as you can see I opted for another slide show. I hope you enjoy it. Some of the pictures need no explanation and some do, so here is a quick narration for the pictures. Enjoy.



We had several "Christmases" this year. The first of which was held here at our house with Grandma and Grandpa Adams, Aunt Amanda, Aunt Nora and Uncle Scott. Nora and Scott had flown in from Arizona to spend the holidays in Michigan. They spent two days at our house, playing with the kids and visiting with Doug and I. The kids had a blast with all the new toys too. Some of the favorites are featured in the slide show. We also did Christmas at Grandma and Pappa Wyckhuys' house. I forgot to take pictures after they started opening gifts so there are only a few from this party.



Right before school went back into session the boys received their monthly buzz. They had put on Star Wars tattoos from the card packs Aunt Rachelle had brought on her visit to our home shortly after New Years. With the buzz cut and tattoo they really did look like Marines.



The Saturday after New Years a bunch of the college kids, a high schooler and Grace's friend Alana all from Hillsdale came over for a visit. The boys brought their Warhammer stuff for a game in the basement and the girls brought the first two seasons of HOUSE to watch. They also brought a gift for Doug, the big decorated acorn. The kids had taken to calling themselves the "Squirrels" and had named Doug the squirrel keeper. They all have special names and each received their own nut on Christmas. The girls also played Tea Party with Sarah and Hannah Montana on the Wii. They were such good sports. We got in about 5 episodes of HOUSE too. It was a very fun day, I think everyone had a good time.



Then just last week, right before the deep freeze, all the kids got to go outside and play. Doug and the boys shoveled the walk while Grace played with Sarah and sometimes Daniel. Once all the work was done everyone but mommy joined in a wrestling match in the snow. What fun!! I stayed inside and prepared hot chocolate and helped replace wet gear. Let's just say it is a good thing we have more than one set of hats and gloves for each of the kids.



That brings us to today. We had a snow day today because it was just too cold to go outside. I suppose there are places in this country that have school no matter how many degrees below zero it gets, right Pam, but we got a free day because of it. Doug let me sleep in a bit and kept the kids busy watching a movie, "Tinker Bell", and then went to work. While he was gone I had the kids sweep and mop every square inch of tile in my house. They love to wash the floor with a good old fashioned sponge and bucket of soapy water. Hey, at least it is mostly clean right? Once our work was done, we ate lunch and took a nap, yes everyone took a nap. After nap we had Arts and Crafts time to help keep things calm. They had a blast making foam pictures for family and friends. Dinner was Pancakes and Eggs a favorite at our house. We ended the evening with a bit of Wii. All in all it was a great day.



The last picture in the slide show is one Doug wanted me to include. I hung these on the wall above our bed one day when he was at work. Now, despite the fact that they may be crooked or not level with each other, I kinda like the set up. Doug claims the two small ones remind him of head stones. What do you think? I have included a poll to the right, let us know what you think and the winning response will be our final decision on what to do with the wall.



Thanks everyone for reading and taking the poll. See ya all next week ~ or whenever I have something new and interesting to post and I promise no more slide shows for a while. :-)

Clan Happenings

Our year in Pictures

Our Christmas Letter

Dearest Family and Friends,

The Adams Clan wishes you and your families a very Blessed Christmas Season. We hope that you are enjoying all the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon you this past year and are looking forward to the blessings of another year.

This has been an unusual year in the Adams' house. The winter began with the kids practicing for their Children's Theater production of HONK!Jr. It was a lot of work with long practices, but in the end they enjoyed it and would like to do another one soon. The final performance was in May and lots of family and friends came out to see our little froglets.

In early spring we got to visit Greenfield Village with Grandma and Grandpa Adams. We actually did this several times over the course of the year, but the spring visit was a Civil War reenactment. The boys even enlisted in the army and were mustered out on the field. Poor Daniel thought he was really joining the army. He had a very sad face as he and his brothers marched out onto the field for some practice drills.

In June school ended and VBS began. Joel and Ben Brenner came for their annual visit while Mark and Renee went to Mexico for their 10th Anniversary. Lucky them!!! We had a great week with the boys. It is always fun having 5 boys and 2 girls in the same house for a week. It is true what they say though, after three or four kids the more you add it isn't really any harder, just louder!!

In July Grace, Sarah and I traveled with my mom and dad to North Carolina to see cousin Amy get married. We had a great time. The girls were great in the car and for the whole trip. Grace pretty much lived in the hotel pool and Sarah and Peyton, my niece, were joined at the hip! This was a trial run for our big family trip to Florida this coming June. I can't wait to write about that in our next Christmas letter.

August was quiet, but September brought big changes. September 1st we moved into a rented home in Hillsdale so that the church could handle some major repair issues at the parsonage. The rental house was big, beautiful, and temporary. We moved back to the parsonage on October 25th. On October 27th Doug received a call to be the sole pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Britton, Michigan. After several weeks of heart to hearts with God, Doug accepted the call. So, November 23rd was Doug's last Sunday at St.Paul's in Hillsdale. We moved into the Emmanuel Parsonage on December 5th and Doug's installation was December 14th, just in time for Christmas. We have hit the ground running here, but are excited to see what the Lord has planned for us in this place.

We are all still occupied with our old hobbies too. Warhammer for Doug and the boys, violin for Grace and just being kids for Daniel and Sarah. I keep busy keeping everyone else busy and I find time to read an occasional book or surf the web. We look forward to hearing from all of you. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Lord!!

Blessings to you all,
Doug, Robyn, Grace 9, Nathan 8, Jacob 8, Daniel 5, and Sarah 3!
10925 Welch Rd
Britton, MI 49229