Merry Christmas, From the Rackley Clan!

The Lord has really blessed us with a great year of learning – primarily about His gracious gift of peace.

We started the year with Chris’ last semester of grad school – he took on 12 grad credits, along with his regular 50 hours a week job at the Worthwhile Company, with the hopes of graduating in May. Thanks to some gallbladder issues, an emergency surgery, and a 5 day hospital stay, that graduation date got pushed back a tad. (Talk about needing peace!!) But we were all happy to celebrate in August when that diploma finally arrived!  Having him “back” and his not having to rush off to do homework or study every night has been such a blessing – almost like he’s on vacation all the time!  He’s still enjoying his job as an Information Architect (basically, designing the blueprint of clients’ websites).

Kami turned 2 in March. She’s just as much of a girly-girl as her older sister. She loves to wear a donut pillow around her waist (her tutu!) and play ballerina. She’s also quite good with our iPhones and iPad (“Daddy’s big phone”) – over 80% of the apps on our apple devices are for the girls! She is very very curious. And, naturally, thinks Curious George is the best monkey ever!

She loves to cook with me in the kitchen and eat. Everything. She’s only an inch shorter than Chloe (who is over twice her age), so she can do pretty much anything her big sis can do.

Kami’s favorite things to do are play with her dollhouse, go swimming, and eat snacks. Her favorite restaurant is Chik-fil-A and her favorite place is the park. 🙂

Chloe is our new 5 year old as of the end of October. She started K-4 this year right in our extra bedroom, “the school room”, and is loving it! She’s learned how to read some small short vowel words and thinks she’s pretty smart. 🙂 She thinks so much differently than other kids her age – and she shares everything she is thinking with all of us.  This makes her such a joy to have around.

She’s learning so much about God’s grace, in her own way, she is such a rebuke to me. She has a tender heart for the needs of others – she’s always trying to take food to our neighbors “because they might be hungry, mommy!” – and she is always seeking to make others happy. It’s easy for her to get animated about things that go wrong, or against her plan, though, so learning about peace has been a big theme for us around our house.

Chloe’s just finished her first year of violin lessons and has had 4 recitals already! She loves playing – and even practicing – most of the time – for which I’m really thankful.

Her favorite things to do are play Sesame Street games on my computer, play dress-up and pretend, and color pictures for her friends. Her favorite restaurant is Chik-fil-A. Her favorite place is “Tennessee – because that’s where Dollywood lives.”

Chris and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this August. We’ve learned so much about each other – and I love that guy so much more than I ever have.

I’ve kept busy with cooking, cleaning, picking up toys…you know the usual mommy stuff. 🙂 I’ve had a few catering opportunities that have come up throughout the year that I’ve really enjoyed.  (There’s nothing like getting paid to cook!)

God has really taught me about what His peace is – especially through the loss of my dear sweet Grandma. She taught me so much about hospitality, sewing, loving my husband, and just enjoying my girls. Not having her around to send a Christmas card too, or to call and say hey, has been really tough for me this year. But again, God’s peace has been persistent in my heart.

I also got to run my first half marathon this year! Boy was that a challenge – but a blast. I loved having my family all around me cheering me on!

This Christmas we have the opportunity to cook for a Christmas Dinner at our church in West Virginia. We are so excited to be used in this way! It’s been our dream to take our family on a ‘real’ ministry-focused trip, and although it will be short, we are thrilled to see it finally happen! Chloe’s all ready to set tables and Kami….well….she’ll be a great taste-tester. 🙂

To all of you, so many of you have been such a blessing to us this year at church, online, or just through your smiles and comments.  God has blessed our family in so many ways – we’re just thrilled to be able to put a smile on some of your faces throughout the year.

As a thank you to you for your encouragement to us – and a reminder of what God has given us – here’s a little song Chloe prepared for you all this year. Merry Christmas everyone, and may God bless you and your families in a very special way this Christmas!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NHvw9EfuRY&w=560&h=315]