2012: A Year in Review

As the year draws to a close, we are reminded daily of the faithfulness of God throughout the year.  We trust in His timing, in His plan and in His sovereignty.  We are grateful to him daily for all our many blessings!

Our biggest news this year is that in September we found out that we are expecting again!  We will welcome Baby #3 in mid-May (due date is the 16^th).  We are looking forward to our first ultrasound on Christmas Eve … and YES, we will be finding out our baby’s gender! J  Mommy is looking forward to our first spring/summer baby … and a schedule-free summer to adjust to three kids under 5. J

We are still trying to sell our house, it’s been on the market since February of this year.  We’ve had some very promising showings over the past month so we continue to pray that God’s timing would work in our favor in this regard.  We are looking to move into Dan’s parents house in Williams Bay (about 10 minutes down the road) – they have been trying to sell it for about 4 years, and have been living in Honduras for the past 3.  It’s currently rented on a month-to-month basis, so moving there upon the sale of our house would be relatively easy.  We are praying for this transition before baby arrives and before school decisions have to be made for next fall … but ultimately we trust God!

Dan’s work has continued to provide for us, in spite of a struggling economy and plummeting housing market.  This year we have been faced with some tax changes, more to come in 2013 … and about 3 months of very slow work in the late summer & fall.  But thankfully we are emerging from the slump into a very busy winter/spring!  Praise God!  In his spare time, Dan still enjoys hunting and playing with the boys, mostly teaching them how to throw and hit a baseball. J  He stays involved at church as an AWANA leader for 3^rd and 4^th grade boys on Wednesday nights, and has also joined the leadership team for the newly established “GuySpace” for boys in 7^th-12^th grades.

Haaken turned 4 in September, just after he began his first year of pre-school.  He attends Maranatha Preschool at our church (Calvary Community Church in Williams Bay) on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  It’s been a good transition for him; he makes friends easily and does well in his school and Sunday school settings.  He has recently learned how to spell his name and is also learning to write it!  He already knows all his colors, shapes, alphabet and his numbers up to 20 (and sometimes more)!  He is enjoying his 2^nd year in AWANA on Wednesday nights as a “Cubbie” this year, memorizing Scripture, learning more about God and playing lots of energy-burning games with his friends.  J  We are looking forward to signing him up for his first year of T-ball in the spring, and soccer next fall … along with 4K! (Around here we have 4-year-old kindergarten provided by the public schools.  The schedule varies by school.)  This boy has plenty of energy to BURN!

Hunter turns 2 on the 15^th of this month and it seems like time has just flown by.  He’s learning more words, how to string 2 and more words together to communicate … and also how to throw himself on the floor for a nice tantrum. J  He tends to be ‘calmer’ than his brother overall, but the two of them together can certainly be a dangerous combination, ha!  He still loves to snuggle his mama a bit, take long daily naps (thank you, Jesus!), chase the dog, play with trucks & cars and generally run in circles.  He’s learning his colors too, and seems to pick up on things his big brother is doing very quickly.

Some days at bedtime I look back on my day and wonder what I did all day … but I certainly have no shortage of things to do!  I enjoy my involvement in my ladies Bible study on Tuesday mornings, and my new leadership role in my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group … I’m in charge of Publicity, so I feel great about putting my Marketing degree to work! J  I’m also a MOPS small group leader, so I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my 6 special ladies as well.  I’m finally past the overwhelming tiredness that early pregnancy brings, and starting to enjoy the anticipation.  I’ve been blessed the past 18 months with some cherished mommy-friends in the same life-stage – what a blessing to enjoy ‘grown up’ company, be ‘real’ with each other and find encouragement among like-minded women!  I still very much enjoy time in the kitchen cooking and baking, as well as scrapbooking (mostly digitally these days), when I have the time and the little ones aren’t running around under-foot. J 

Hoping all our friends and family are enjoying a blessed holiday season … remembering that when we cherish Christ in our hearts, and remember that He is the source and beginning of our hope and joy, that we are not that far from Bethlehem after all!

With love

Kristin (for the whole Hovestol family)