Family of 6, Part 2: 2013

Dear Friends and Family,

It is a joy to write to you and reflect on God’s faithfulness in the last year once again. He is so worthy of our praise and adoration. “Oh come let us adore Him” is one of the lines that our family is singing in these days before Christmas. We love to share life with you. Here is what we’ve been up to in the year 2013:

Carl - It still feels like Y2K was just yesterday but here we are on the verge of 2014. I can’t believe it. They were right when they said time goes faster as you get older. Our youngest is 7, our oldest just turned 16, and we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this year! We did not make it to NJ this year because of destruction caused by hurricane Sandy, but we were blessed with a visit from my sister and my dad. It is sad not to live near family, but the Lord continues to be gracious to us through our church family through which we have made some new friends this year. I still think the hardest aspect in my life is being a good dad. Nothing else humbles me and sends me to the throne of grace for help like parenting. And indeed His grace is sufficient. In Christ I can go face any circumstance. This year I joyfully grew in my understanding of the Trinity. God the Father didn’t create us because He needed someone to love. He has been loving His Son for eternity and we share in that eternal love through faith in Christ. In John 17:24 Jesus says, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

Kerstin - This year was filled with the business of life homeschooling with a family of growing children. We enjoyed visits from friends and family, and trips to Idaho, Yosemite, Angel Island, San Francisco, the Sierras, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Carlsbad, and Joshua Tree National Park (I had to go to our blog to remember what we did this year!), and I’m excited about taking the kids to Germany in 2014. I keep pretty busy with our family, teaching the kids, ministering, running a half marathon, and painting for commissions as well as publishing children’s books and working on more illustrations (I finally have Maggie’s Bunny for sale on Amazon and more books are coming :) For perspective, I treasure a bracelet that Hanna made for me with the words of Philippians 1:21 which remind me of my sole desire for each day—for to me “to live is Christ.” May that be true of my life in 2014.

Johanna (16) - Sweet 16! Cheerful Hanna is full of ideas and creativity. She makes the most beautiful earrings and even knit baby booties (her Oma would be proud). When she sees something she’d like to make, she buys the supplies with babysitting money and gets to work! When Lily threw a baby birthday party for her doll, Hanna brought a huge gift bag full of gifts. Hanna had a great time flying to Alaska with Maggie to attend Victory Bible Camp where Carl and I had worked years ago. It inspired her birthday party theme to be camo/survival. She likes running, mountain biking, and participate in 5Ks. Hanna also played on two soccer teams and continues to do and teach ballet. Hanna, Maggie, and I (Kerstin) had a blast climbing up to Nevada Falls at Yosemite. Hanna continues to play viola and piano. She plans to go to get a nursing degree and become a paramedic. Hanna likes the verses: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Magdeline (14) - Spunky and fun-loving Maggie also enjoyed going to Alaska with Hanna and marveled at the wide open spaces to hike, climb, and explore. She even got to live her dream of riding a black horse there. Maggie also loved playing on two soccer teams with Hanna—Hanna playing defense and Maggie offense. I watched her score two penalty kicks! There is often a soccer game going on in our backyard now, as Trey has joined the soccer fervor and loves to play with Maggie. When she was sick, Trey told her, “Dad is so lucky to be your dad. I wish I was your dad. If I was your dad, I would pay you $100 for being sick!” Maggie still amuses us with funny things she says, like telling me the lotion I use smells “like garlic.” I say, “You mean orange ginger?” She answers, “Yes…and garlic!” When we were driving to the airport and it was 100 degrees, Maggie saw some cows and said, “I bet those cows are almost hamburgers, sizzling and baking in the sun!” Rollerblading, skateboarding, dirt bike riding, and surfing Maggie likes Isaiah 40:30-31: Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Lilyana (9 1/2) - Tender and thoughtful Lily is growing each day. She recently began reading the Bible on her own (in addition to our daily family devotions) and is in the book of Ephesians. Lily is deeply moved by Jesus’ death on the cross, and has many questions about the gospel and her beliefs. She is often an encouragement with sweet notes and practical help, especially when someone is sick or weak. Lily enjoys her siblings, complimenting Hanna’s mousse parfaits with “WOW—professional!” She gets dragged into playing soccer, even though “it is just not my thing.” Lily told me today that it is just so hard “to do schoolwork at my desk, have a book on my bookshelf catch my eye and just want to read.” She loves to help, finding small jobs with neighbors and friends that made her so happy. Lily continues to play piano, and is saving money for a cello. She is also funny, talking one evening about when we “donated Trey to the church” (instead of dedicated :). One favorite quote this year was when Lily stated, “We should be poor at some point so we can know how it feels.” She likes Psalm 23: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Carl III a.k.a. “Trey” (7 1/2) - Full of life and energy, Trey continues to keep us hopping and laughing. He never stops thinking, talking, or going. Some days I find him in pirate garb doing schoolwork and talking about how he would LOVE to learn bagpipes. Even alone, Trey is chatting with himself in the backyard complimenting his body parts, “Thank you legs, and thank you feet for walking….” One day he remarked, “I can’t believe I’m a person….I can’t believe I’m alive!” Trey collected dead crabs at the beach, naming them Andrew, Marcus, and other friends’ names. He brought them home and laid them out to dry in the backyard. Trey loves his sisters, always wanting to share everything with them, especially Lily. He wants to be either a policeman (“because they have cool belts with lots of gadgets on them”), soldier, pirate, or a pastor (“like dad”) when he grows up. He prays such thoughtful prayers, including “that You would become greater and I would become less.” Trey loves to sing, play piano, play soccer, draw detailed pictures, do research (recently reenacting Washington crossing the Delaware with matchbox cars), and snuggle with me :) Although he did ask me if you have to kiss when you get married—“cause I don’t want to!” He wants his middle name to be “Crocodile” and his children to be named Andrew, Calvin, and Jose. When Hanna and Maggie were chatting a bit loudly after Trey was in bed, he knocked on their wall and said, “Be quiet in there. I’m trying to get some shut-eye!” Trey’s favorite verse is Psalm 23:4: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas, and God’s peace in 2014.

Much love,

The Fletchers

We love to keep in touch. Visits are wonderful too! All our information is the same:

Our church web site where you can listen to Carl’s sermons: http://www.gracechurchsr.com