Christmas Letter

Here is the Powers' Christmas letter for all of you not currently on my Christmas card mailing list.

Merry Christmas to you too!

Merry Christmas from the Powers family, Christmas 2007

2007 has been a year of many adventures for the Powers family. Not a whole lot of changes (other than all the growing) but it seems like there is always a story to tell! I will attempt to fill you in on our family and make it interesting at the same time!

We begin our story from the beginning (a very good place to start). Mikayla turned 11 this year and we are always amazed at how much she changes from year to year. This year the most noticeable growth was in her maturity. She occasionally completes tasks without prompting and often finds ways to jump in and help. She loves to giggle, talk and hang out with her friends. She has a very vivid imagination and most days you can find her with her nose in a book or listening to her cds. Her biggest adventure this year happened 15 minutes into vacation when she fell and broke her arm. Her proudest moment was the fact that she never cried!

3 snakes, numerous tadpoles, 20-30 frogs, 2 turtles, 2 salamanders, 1 lizard, 1 hermit crab, 3 hamsters, 1 squirrel and a rat. That is how many creatures followed Brice home this year. Thankfully most of them either wandered away or passed away so we don’t have to change our zoning status to “zoo.” He loves to draw or build with his Legos and his new goal in life is to be a police officer in LA (they seem to have the most police chases there). Brice is 8 and continues to be the quiet mannered of the family with very creative ideas.

Turning 5 was a big deal for Carra Grace this year. Her unique and determined personality continues to make us laugh (and often cry) daily. She loves, loves, loves dressing up (or some days down) and playing with her baby dolls. She has creative names for her “children” such as “Cuteness”, “Fatness”, “BerBer”, and “Burpness”. No really, we couldn’t make this up. She spends a lot of time with her little brother and her coloring books. She started some Pre-K schooling this year and if her ability were to match her excitement for school we would have algebra conquered by June. She is the featured artist for this years Christmas letter! Don’t you love the 5 legged sheep?

Owen. Owen is the child we should have had when we were 20. He turns 3 at the end of the year and has more personality and energy in his pinky than some people have in their entire body. The child feels no pain, has no fear, runs like the wind and insists on wearing his hat backwards. The child keeps us more than amused with his creative discoveries of life. He loves his dad, sports, and sword fighting and has a very busy imagination. Not much gets past him – so watch what you say! As much as his sister loves to talk, I think he has her beat. The kid rarely stops talking! If we could harness his energy, we could be millionaires. Instead we are just tired.

Tina gets to stay home with the current chaos that we call life. Aside from the usual household duties, she teaches the kids and fiddles with her camera. If you want to keep up with the family throughout the year, you can visit our family blogs where she journals the many adventures and pictures of our life. You can visit the Hawk family blog at www.abbydog-hawk.blogspot.com and the Powers family blog at www.cinnamonscootsturf.blogspot.com . (Note: These are family blogs so you will also find updates of the other Hawk or Powers siblings at those sites!) If you stop by, leave a comment and say hello!

This year Buff’s travels were a bit more minimal than in past years with only an exciting trip in May to Azerbaijan (yes, it is a real country - there is a geography challenge for you!) where he was able to teach local pastors and missionaries practical theology. He is looking forward to going back again next year in the fall. He also has another opportunity to teach in Romania in March. His most exciting development this year is that the church is bringing on 2 more associate pastors to help with the ministry at Lighthouse beginning in 2008. This will help his scheduling immensely as well as giving him a stronger accountability network.

And so we close out 2007 and look forward to another year of adventures and growth, Lord willing. We praise the Lord for His continued teaching and His constant mercy. Thank You to all of our family and friends for their love, prayers and support.

Love and Prayers,

Buff, Tina,
Mikayla, Brice, Carra Grace and Owen