January 4, 2007
Christmas Letter 2006
We had intended to send out this Christmas letter weeks ago, but we were delayed for many reasons, including a 48 hour power outage and various rounds of the flu. So without further ado:
Happy Holidays from Hillsboro!
Christmas 2006We are grateful, but a little sad, to be back in Hillsboro. It is hard to believe that we have already been home from Israel for over four months. We still don't feel settled but we are adjusting to life in the States. We miss Israel and our friends there very much.
We have had a very busy year. We had lots of company visit us in Israel. We were able to travel to South Africa to visit Scott's parents who are serving a mission. We also traveled several places in Israel, such as Eilat, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The end of our stay in Israel was an adventure. We got to visit the inside of our apartment bomb shelter, listen to air raid sirens and hear rockets landing nearby.
On the way home from Israel, we stopped in Belgium and had fun visiting where Scott had served his mission. It was a nice break in the middle of our stressful move. Once we returned to the States, we bought a minivan, drove to California twice and flew to Utah once. Scott had a bout with pneumonia, and Tyler had another visit to the emergency room for a set of stitches to match the scar above his other eye.
Scott has been busy at work transitioning back into his group in Oregon. He is still helping out the team in Israel which requires him to go in to work early twice a week. Scott is thrilled to live near a library full of English books again. He has been busy with his church calling and house projects such as installing shelves, a new dishwasher and a new kitchen faucet.
Tiffany is happy to live closer to family. She is not so happy that she has to get up early to get Tyler off to school. She hasn't managed to catch up on her scrapbooking, but is enjoying catching up with her friends in the attempt. She spends much of her time in her new minivan taking the kids to tumbling, the library, and running errands all over town.
Tyler (5 1/2) loves kindergarten, especially recess and riding a yellow bus. He is obsessed with the movie Cars, but we are trying to keep it under control. He has enjoyed learning to ride a bike and is busy learning to read and write. He loves his backyard, Legos and trains.
Brooke (3) has started talking a lot more since we returned home. She always tries to keep up with her brother and is sad that she can't go to school too. She loves her dolls and is careful to tuck them in and kiss them good night. She is very social and loves preschool and church nursery class.
Baby (-6 months) is getting bigger every day and therefore so is Tiffany. He or she is expected to arrive around June 16th. We are thrilled to have a new baby on the way.
At this wonderful time of year we are grateful for our blessings: family, health, safety and especially the joy that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings us. We are also grateful for each of you and hope you feel the peace and joy of the season.
Love,
Scott, Tiffany, Tyler and Brooke Bowden