Merry Christmas from the Ireland Cabin!
Chris and I give thanks to the Lord for all of the wonderful family and friends He has blessed us with over the years and we are praying that you remain safely in the hands of our King. We have had another wonderful year at the Ireland Cabin and as we reflect on the year that is past we are glad to report that our little family continues to be generally happy and healthy.
Our year has once again been marked by travel. Chris and I were blessed with a week to ourselves this past January and we used it to cruise the Caribbean Sea. We needed to celebrate after all, because this past January was our 150-month anniversary… I wink as I say that because Chris knows that I would use just about any excuse to sneak away on an adventure with her… All or part of our family also made it to Phoenix for swimming in Grandma and Grandpa’s pool, San Jose for the US Women’s Olympic Gymnastic Trials, Dallas for Mariners Baseball, Cabo San Lucas for… well fun, Southern California for a Disneyland adventure, The Snake River to camp at Fishhook with dear friends, and finally to Fargo/Grand Forks for Halloween and our nephew Nolan’s (Tim and Kaley) baptism.
Perhaps our favorite trip of the year however was a trip back to Minnesota to celebrate the wedding of Chris’ cousin Parker with family and friends. Rahab was a beautiful flower girl for Mackenzie and loved every minute of the wedding party. As I mentioned in last year’s letter, one of the dreams Chris and I dream together is to have wonderful relationships with our family and friends and we are so thankful this year that God is continuing to allow us the means to travel and spend time celebrating with the ones we love. This year we were especially blessed to have Chris’ mom, dad and brother out to the Ireland Cabin as well, and would like to extend an invitation to all our family and friends to come spend time at the Lake with us.
As I write these letters every year I often think of how amazing it is to be married to Chris. God could not have made a better choice for me and I am so very grateful that I have her friendship and wisdom to lean on as we walk through life together. Chris continues to be the primary teacher for our home school classroom and even though she would tell you it can get exhausting and exasperating at times, she continues to prayerfully instruct and guide the children through their daily lessons. The kids are learning wonderful responsibility traits from the way she has structured the classroom and I am very encouraged by their steady progress. She also continues to attend Bible Study Fellowship and is deep into a study of the gospel of John this year. One of the bigger stories of the year for us is that earlier this year Chris was asked to serve on our Church’s leadership council. After carefully praying over that decision she took the plunge and has been busy learning the ins and outs of church leadership and it comes as no surprise to me that she has quickly developed a reputation as a wise voice on the council.
Jadon would like everyone to know that by the time you read this letter he will probably be seven (Dec 17th). Jadon is reading chapter books on his own. His favorite at the moment are the Jack and Annie adventure books, but he has also read some boxcar children books as well. He will frequently ask to keep his light on at bedtime to read. Jadon also took a plunge of his own and started piano lessons this year. It is fun to watch him learn music and play his first songs.
Jadon spent a second year playing “Coach Pitch” baseball this season, his last before he moves up another level this spring to “Machine Pitch”. I treasure how much he loves the game. He is collecting baseball cards, knows his favorite players and loves the Seattle Mariners. We were even able to sneak down to Dallas to watch the Mariners take on the Rangers this summer and even though our team lost I loved the time spent with him watching baseball. This fall, because of a scheduling goof up with the soccer league Jadon took on a new sport: Ninja Zone! It is gymnastic style Parkour, classes in which the boys learn to climb walls, tumble, and do all kinds of other cool stuff and he loves it! In spite of all Jadon’s growing up though he still loves to play trains, cars, and build his Lego creations. It is his turn to set his sights on Daddy’s swimming test this summer…
Esther is almost ten years old (Jan. 2017) and is in the fourth grade. That first ten years went quick! As gymnastics came to an end this spring Esther decided that she would like to change gears and give team sports a try. She signed up for soccer and has just finished a wonderful season. She absolutely loved the camaraderie with the other girls, the strategy of the game, and winning of course! She discovered that soccer came fairly naturally to her and was even encouraged by a couple of goals this season. As I write this letter soccer has ended and Esther has started basketball. Chris and I are hopeful that her year of team sports will be a big success that will lead to much confidence and many friendships for our little girl. All else being equal, Esther is simply excited that she passed Dad’s swimming test this past summer and no longer has to wear her life vest on the dock or beach!
Rahab would like you to know that she will be five soon (Dec 28th) and almost every day she has a different idea for what type of birthday party she would like. This year Rahab convinced us to sign her up for dance class. It melts my heart to watch her do “neck tall” and her other various moves. She continues to love her dolls, dress up, and especially her time, when she can get it, cooking with her Mommy. Rahab told me the other night she would like to marry her Daddy when she grows up and was pouty and disappointed when I reminded her I was already married to her mommy: “It’s simply not fair”, she told me, “that mommy got to you first…” What’s a daddy to do? I play a game with the kids by accusing them of growing up too fast, and they always roll their eyes and promise me they won’t, but in Rahab’s case its mostly true.
And as for me, well I get to be Husband to the one and Daddy to the others… My life is full of shoulder rides, baseball cards, and encouragement. I keep pretty busy most of the time. This past spring I made another trip to Nepal to encourage the brothers and sisters there and although I didn’t make it to RTDC’s graduation I was honored to share the gospel at several pastor/leader conferences during the week. Another season as a High School football referee is in the books this year. This year I was moved over to the “Referee” position and it was an interesting year learning how to lead and set the tone for our officiating crews. At Crossroads I was happy to help bring the “Ultimate Date Night” by Jay and Laura Laffoon to Yelm. It’s fun to help build a culture of excellence around marriage in our church and we had a great time! When I can I’ve enjoyed working around the cabin and in my woodshop on small projects that interest me, and that make our life fun and better. It sounds like changes are once again coming to Alaska Airlines. Earlier this year the airline announced the acquisition of Virgin America and I’m sure this next year will be full of change and transition, as Alaska gets bigger. Other than that I continue to fly the Boeing 737 and I am still taking classes to finish my seminary degree at Fuller.
This coming year we are hopeful to see you and catch up with you. We thank God for you daily and pray that you will rejoice in the saving knowledge of a baby in a manger… Indeed, the Kingdom of Heaven draws near to us even when we least expect it. This Christmas we look forward to the things to come, praying all the while to see them with Heaven’s eyes…
Merry Christmas from all of us at the Ireland Cabin,
Greg & Chris,
Esther Jadon & Rahab
