Christmas Greetings

Christmas Greetings from the Lambdin Family

 

Christmas 2008

 

Dear Friends & Family…..

 

Since Christmas of 1987, the past 21 years, we have sent out a Christmas letter and family photo no later than December 1^st each year – with one exception in 1998, the year Grace was born on December 4^th and we wanted to include her birth announcement with our Christmas greetings  – so our annual letter/photo went out on December 10^th that year proclaiming – “It’s a school” (as Jim Elliot had been “birthed” that year), “It’s a Girl” and “It’s a Yahtzee!” (our 5^th girl – 5 of a kind).

 

Many of you have been recipients of our letter and photo for all 21 years – our dear family members, lifelong friends from Lakeview Assembly Church, youth group “kids”, and enduring friendships from our childhood, high school & college days.  Others have joined our circle in the following years through Brookside Christian & Jim Elliot Christian High Schools where we have been a part of 21 graduating classes (11 at BCHS & 10 at JECHS), ministering to and becoming close with well over 1000 students and their families as well as becoming friends with dozens of co-workers at both of these schools.  For more than 13 years as a consultant with Creative Memories we have been privileged to become dear friends to many wonderful people in our community as well as other consultants throughout the country which has added to and enriched our circle of friends in amazing ways.

 

We cherish each and every one of these friendships and relationships and thus have always enjoyed sending out our heartfelt greetings each year along with a letter updating everyone on our lives and of course a photo of our growing family.  That, along with receiving cards, letters and photos from many of you, became a treasured tradition in our lives that we all eagerly looked forward to each year.

 

As the time came to create our annual greeting and prepare to print photos, letters and labels and then purchase stamps for well over 500 recipients this year, we had to make a tough decision to change the way that we sent out our Christmas greetings.  Because you are all so dear to us and because our circle of loved ones is ever increasing through new students, staff and families we come to know and love each year at JECHS, we realized that before long we would be sending out letters to thousands each year and that we simply could not fit this into our budget.  Realistically this is a point we should have come to a few years back but we just kept holding off as we truly loved this Christmas tradition.

 

I must tell you that as I (Beth) wrestled with this inevitable decision, it effectively stymied me from doing anything other than sending out an “evite” and facebook invitation to our 18^th Annual Lambdin family Christmas party that we have always included in our Christmas mailing.  Honestly, I was even a bit depressed by the ending of this “era” so I just put off thinking about it or doing anything about it until now. As the season progressed many commented on how they had not yet received their Lambdin Christmas letter or wondered if they had been taken off our list which added to my dismay as well as coming to the realization that we really should do something, even if it didn’t look like it had for the past 21 years.

 

After that lengthy introduction….let me announce the beginning of a new era – the first Lambdin family electronic Christmas greeting which will go out via email (beth@bethlambdin.net) , facebook (Beth Lambdin facebook page) and be posted on my blog (www.bethlambdin.net).  Hopefully everyone who we have come to know and love throughout our lives will receive our heartfelt greeting, our family photos and our sincere wishes for a joyous Christmas season and a blessed New Year.  Perhaps even some who we have not been able to keep up with via “snail mail” through your various moves will now receive our yearly greetings. I know that through facebook I have recently renewed precious friendships with several old friends who I lost touch with over the years.

 

Here is our update on Lambdin life for 2008 –

 

Dan & Beth just celebrated 22 years of marriage on December 20^th and are still loving the Lord, loving their life and loving each other.

 

 

Dan just completed his 10^th year of teaching and being the Chaplain at Jim Elliot Christian High School.  Still is called to minister to teens through Christian education & still loves his dream job!  He returned to coaching high school this year as the junior varsity volleyball coach – both Amy & Kristen were on the team.  He also coached Joy’s 5 year old soccer team this fall.   

 

Beth continues to blend together Motherhood, Homeschooling, JECHS development director and CM consultant into one very full & blessed life.  However her passion is for motivating and influencing others to live a life of purpose and desires to someday be able to use her gifts and talents in speaking and writing in a more full time capacity. 

 

Michelle (19) just successfully completed her first semester at The Kings College (www.tkc.edu) in New York City.  After returning home last Christmas from Australia, she spent the spring semester being a nanny in Hawaii before returning home for a summer in Stockton where she worked as a personal assistant for a local realtor. 

 

She is loving her college experience and we are all living vicariously through her.  Dan & Beth were able to attend Parents Weekend this fall and both agreed we would love attending this college after sitting through a lecture on Constitutional law.  She lives right in the heart of Manhattan just steps from the Empire State Building (where the college is located in the bottom two levels).  If you are ever in New York, be sure to look her up!

 

Michelle continues to have a passion for the unborn and those who are slaves throughout the world.  We can see how the Lord is using her time at Kings to not only give her an outstanding education but to continue to ignite her passions and dreams.

 

 Amy turned 16 this fall and was blessed by some dear friends with a trip to New York to see “Wicked” on Broadway!  She spent five days in NYC touring and visiting Michelle but nothing compared to Broadway!  She says she will still take the country, cowboys and horses over city life any day.

 

She is a sophomore at Jim Elliot and plays volleyball, soccer and runs cross country.  She is involved in the Interact Service Club and on the Yearbook Staff. (a girl after her Moms heart!)  She is working on getting her drivers permit with the goal of being in the drivers seat by this summer.  (which means she will be looking for a great summer job to pay for the added car insurance needed – and so the freedom of childhood fades away!)

 

This year she has participated in a year long “Rite of Passage” being mentored by women of faith as she transitions into being a young adult who is responsible for her ongoing walk with the Lord.  We are proud of her strong faith.

 

Kristen is rounding the corner to being 15 and has begun her freshman year at JECHS.  She is doing very well academically and has made many friends in her class.  She too played volleyball and plans to join her sister on the soccer team in the spring. It has been a bigger transition to high school on “the Mom”, as Kristen was her “right hand” girl at home.  Her and Amy are the best of friends and enjoying making high school memories together during these years.

 

She loves taking photos and is the proud owner of a very nice camera that she purchased through hard earned babysitting money.  Kristen loves the Lord and is such a peaceful, diligent, joyful young lady who is a blessing to our entire family.

 

 Rebekah has joined the teenagers after her September birthday when she turned 13.  That makes a grand total of four teenagers in our family. (which by the way we are loving!)  She has been promoted to Moms top assistant and is quite capable of any and everything she is asked to do.  

 

Soccer is at the top of Rebekah’s list of things she loves which include cooking, emailing friends, planning parties and fashion.  She is a highly sought after babysitter and with her older sisters in school and consumed with sports and homework, she  gets most of the jobs (and her bank account bears the proof of this)  She continues her love for acting and just completed a stint in the show “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat”. 

 

All too soon she will be joining her sisters at Jim Elliot and we are savoring every moment with her at home on a day to day basis.  Rebekah is a bright, talented & energetic young lady with lots of spirit. (and quite multi faceted as the photo depicts – playing football in a dress!)

 

Grace just turned 10 on December 4^th and we celebrated her “decade day” with a trip to the beach – horseback riding, lunch on the wharf, shopping, boogie boarding (yes you read that correctly – boogie boarding in December!) and dinner.  It was an amazing day.  Most of our birthday celebrations are backyard bashes with homemade cakes & old fashion party games …but for the 10^th we have a big birthday event.  She is sure to remember her special day forever.

 

 

Grace is still our sweet little girl – eager to please & always ready to give a great big hug.  She plays soccer and swims on the swim team.  During our homeschool co-op she took a public speaking class and was incredible.  She has quite a gift.  She is in “training” as the next babysitter and gets lots of practice with her younger siblings – Joy & Daniel.  We are enjoying her childhood.

 

Joy is just as her name says – a joy! She is an energetic, fun, lively almost six year old who brings us all great joy.  She is also a constant source of entertainment as she is always belting out show tunes at the top of her lungs or quoting from movies at the perfect time.  She loves to play “pollies” with her friends, hang out with her sisters and read books with her favorite adult friend – Sallee.  She is always willing to run errands with Mom and looks forward to dates with Dad.

 

Daniel is simply the center of the universe here at the Lambdin home.  He is just adorable and so full of life.  He loves playing any type of ball  – football, baseball, soccer, basketball – he is fascinated by it all! (and he throws everything even if it closely resembles a ball)  He is running all over the places, climbing up on top of things and cuddling on the couch as well as freely passing out kisses to everyone.  He is a delightful 20 month old baby boy.

 

As we shared last year in our Christmas letter, we are still pursuing adoption and are waiting somewhat impatiently for the Lord to bring us a baby brother to love, cherish and raise as a part of the Lambdin family.  We spent the better part of 2008 filling out forms, going through interviews, completing a home study and raising funds in hopes of being able to adopt a baby boy through a pregnancy crisis center.  Since we do not qualify for the California foster/adopt program due to the restrictions on only having two children per bedroom, we can only adopt privately or internationally.  We have been waiting since April for a mother to choose our family for their child.  It has been a bit discouraging although we continue to hope and pray for the Lord to bless us with another child.  We are considering going international although that would require us to raise another $20,000….which honestly is a bit daunting.  We hope that in our 2009 Christmas letter we will be able to introduce you to a new member of the Lambdin family.  Please pray for us as the Lord leads.

 

There is so much more we could share but this electronic Christmas greeting is already much to long.  For more than you may ever want to know about our lives – subscribe to Beth’s blog at www.bethlambdin.net by hitting the “Subscribe Here” button in the right hand corner of the blog site.  (You will have to confirm your subscription via email after you subscribe) 

 

We hope that you are enjoying a wonderful Christmas season – we have loved hearing from many of you through Christmas greetings both electronic and in the mail and what a joy it was to see so many at our annual Christmas Open House.  Please know that we love you, think of you often and pray for you throughout the year.  You all hold a special place in our hearts and lives.

 

Blessings,

 

The Lambdins