Christmas Wrapping- Up

Hi everyone! It’s Amber. I’m just finishing up another semester here at Corban, and barely making it out alive! This year has been so busy so far but it has been great as well! I have been able to take part in our Women’s golf team here and was appointed team captain, which is really exciting. Our season didn’t go too bad. We didn’t have a full team for any of our tournaments but Morgan and I were able to represent our school in each match. This spring we should have a full team for sure. I am thinking that we will be pretty good! Let’s see…I am the sports information director’s assistant here at the school! It is an awesome internship that is really fun! I get to write the articles for the various sporting events, I am the photographer for some of the events, and I put together our schools new athletics website! (www.gowarriorsgo.com). It has been a really cool job so far and I am loving it! I will be continuing it into the spring semester as well, which is baseball season, so I am stoked! I just added another minor this semester, this will make my load a little more but it is going to be worth it! My current areas of study are now: Major – Special Education, Minor – Environmental Sciences, Minor – Sports Journalism, Minor – Inter-Cultural Studies. Inter-cultural studies is my newest one and I am so excited! I have been offered and awesome opportunity for this upcoming summer break! A group of students from my school and church will be going to Uganda in May/June to help out with their ministry programs! They have asked me to come and be in charge of the sports department/planning. This will be a really cool trip if I end up going!Last, but not least, my shoulder is doing really well! I still can’t throw, which is a total drag, but I knew it would be a slow process. It does not hurt as badly anymore and I have most of my range of motion back! I am pretty excited to be able to throw again in February or so. I hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas season and God Blesses you in many ways! Remember what Christmas is really about! =D God Bless, and happy holidays!
- Amber
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I have had quite the year. I’m about to close on my first house, had surgery (again), and I’ve transitioned roles at work. It’s very exciting all the changes that present themselves during life. I want to thank you all for the warm wishes, prayers, and notes. I will be having surgery again in March and would love your good thoughts at that time too. I truly appreciate you all. Thanks again, and may God bless each of you.
~Melissa May~
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Hello again family and friends. You know it's that time of year when it starts getting cold outside, there's a scent of pine in the air, and your Mommy starts nagging you about Christmas letter entries! (love you Scerd :)) I hope you all have had a wonderful 2008. My year has been filled with plenty of non-stop college life. I'm still employed at the swim and tennis club and still enjoying the atmosphere but mostly the friends I've met there. It hasn't all been hard work and studying though, I did manage to take a few road trips in '08 that were pretty monumental. I flew to North Carolina in the spring to welcome my good buddy Kip Seifert home from Afghanistan and accompanied him home on his cross-country farewell tour from the Army. Believe it or not I managed to make it from coast to coast in just over 42 hours. In the summer, I had the amazing experience of driving my girlfriend home and spending a week with her and her family in Northern Idaho for swimming, boating, and laziness on Lake Coeur d' Alene. I couldn't thank them enough for the great time I had or how well they treated mom, dad, and me. Just before fall semester my good friends Joseph, Doug and I drove up to Seattle to be groomsme in what was the first of our high school friend's weddings. David "Hoppy" Hopkins got married to his beautiful wife Katje in a park overlooking the Puget Sound on a perfectly sunny day. After the rehearsal dinner me and the other groomsmen set sail on the Sound for over two hours watching the sunset while reminiscing and talking about what's in store for our futures. As we stepped off the boat and onto the dock I'd realized it was one of the best experiences of my life. I know I have plenty of books to read and essays to write but I hope hat next year is just as great as this past one. I love you all.
~Joshua Ryan~
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Hi to everyone and Happy Holidays. 2008 has been a pretty good year for me, but I am looking forward to 2009. We are five years into ministry here at St. Helens and we love living here. The town is going through tough times right now as the paper mill shut half its production down. The church is growing however and that’s really great. This year I was the head coach of the high school girls tennis program, we are turning the corner and were competitive with almost every team in our league. We finished the season tied for 4th place. 2009 will be an even better season.


I didn’t do very well in keeping in contact with my old friends but I think of you all often. Wouldn’t a reunion one of these days be great? Maybe in Montana or some other great spot. Our home remodeling project continues on. We are hoping to get kitchen counters done pretty soon and then replace a sliding glass door with a window. There’s always something to do that’s for sure.


Here’s to a Merry Christmas to you all and may you be blessed and prosper in 2009.


Mike
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Greetings to all,
I hope your journey thru 2008 was a happy one. Our road was full of surgeries, celebrations and more remodeling. We all came thru with our limbs in tact and our hearts filled to overflowing. In June, the doctor determined that I have arthritis in my upper back. I cut back on my work load, but it didn't make a difference, so I recently took on a full schedule again. Each of us is looking forward to events in 2009. Mike will be taking the month of February off for continuing education. He has been accepted to Duke Divinity School in North Carolina. I get to tag along. We will be visiting our friends the Coles and spending some time at Hilton Head. I am thankful that we will all be together for this Christmas Season. I pray that this Holiday is a blessing to you all.
God Bless, Nan