Christmas Letter

I didn't have time to type up a Christmas letter this year before the cards went out, so I thought I would write one here. Some of you that have been on our blog have already heard a lot of this but to those of you that are new, Welcome. So here goes.

This year flew by as it seems to do with the kids getting older. We went on a few small trips and had some visitors this year. We had two exchange students stay with us for short periods and we are expecting one more over the Holidays. David, a 14 yr old from Korea, was here for 4 weeks during the summer. Kichi, a college guy from Japan, was here for 2 weeks at the beginning of school. We love having students stay with us to teach them about our culture and get to learn about theirs. These students come over with a Christian organization and this is our chance to share our faith with those from other countries.

Valor became a teenager this year. Yes 13! I cannot believe we have a teenager. He is in 7th grade and loving school. He is taking Algebra 1 this year (usually taken in 8th grade) and so far he loves the challenge. He played his last year of "Little League." Ethan and he got to be on the same team. He made the All Stars again so it was a pretty long season, but a fun one. We took a break in the fall this year from sports and I don't think he liked that very much. He did get to run in a 5K on Thanksgiving and did it in 27 min. He is looking forward to indoor soccer after the 1st of the year. He is still playing bass guitar and this year he has decided to take up the trumpet. He is doing great except for the fact that he just got braces and that is making it a little hard to play the trumpet. He was baptized this year and continues to stand up for his beliefs in the classroom and with his friends. It is awesome to see him mature in his faith.

Ethan is 11 now and in the 5th grade. He is now one of the tallest in his class! He has grown the most this year. He played baseball on the same team as Valor (the only 10 year old in majors!). He also made All Stars. That took us to the middle of July as games were postpone due to all the fires we had. He wasn't too happy about the break from sports in the fall either. He is now playing indoor soccer and loves it. He plays goalie and has no fear in there. He just dives for the ball no matter who is about to kick it and has gotten kicked quite a few times. The boy is tough. He ran the 5k also in 26 min. He got to go on his father/son trip this year that he has been saving up for. They went to AZ for Angels Spring Training. I have never seen him more excited. He also was baptized this year and it was so neat to see Dad baptize his boys. It is also great to see Ethan grow more in his faith on his own.

Jadon is 8, (9 in Feb), and in the 3rd grade. He continues to scare us as he has no fear either. His love for reading is really growing. He played baseball this year and still loves doing cart wheels and playing in the dirt on the field! I think it is a little slow for him. He started playing indoor soccer also and I think that is more at his speed: fast! He also ran the 5K his time was 44 min. He didn't mind the break from sports it gave him more time to play outside with sticks, digging, finding bugs etc. He is definitely our outdoor kid. He also got baptized this year.

Breandan is 4 (5 in Feb.). He started preschool this year. He only goes 2 days a week for 3 hours and he loves it. He needed to get some interaction with kids his age as he is so used to the big kids. The preschool is at the other boys school so they all get to go together. He loves that. He is in the Brave Bears class and he has wonderful teachers and lots of parents involvement. He is so excited to start his sports this year. He can't wait, literally, he keeps asking. He did play indoor soccer last Jan., and he loved it.

Jay went back to work at Norfield last November. They have laid off more the 100 people but he is still there Praise God. He is also really busy with Matthew's Cafe. We finally found a home for the church in Feb. and it is going good. He got to go to Angels Spring Training this year for Ethan's father/son trip and I don't know who was more excited, they had a great time. He also ran the 5K, he ran with Jadon, 44 min.

Sheri (me) is still staying home with Breandan most of the time, but I am looking to go back to work part time now that they will all be in school. Not sure where yet, but God will show me. Now that Breandan is in school two days a week I have more free time (Yeah, right). One of the days I work in Jadon and Breandan's classrooms and the other I usually end up at the grocery store with no kids. Wow! It has been thirteen years since I could say that. I am still leading Children's Ministry at church and having a lot of fun with it.

Well we hope that you have all had a great year. The good times where we can rest at his feet and the tough times where we can lean on Him and allow Him to carry us (those are the times we grow). We pray that you will have a great 2009 and hope to see you all some time this year!

Love,

The Nash's

Jay, Sheri, Valor, Ethan, Jadon, and Breandan

Update on Valor

Thanks for all your prayers. He is doing great, he is acting as though nothing happened. By Friday he was ready to be done with the crutches and to run again. It is so hard to keep him down! So thanks again! Praise God for quick healing!

Prayer for Valor

I just wanted to ask for prayer for healing for Valor. He was playing football at school today and fell on top of some kids and another kid fell on top of him. He couldn't move his legs with out them hurting A LOT. So the school decided to call an ambulance. I get this call from Jay ,who got a call from school, that Valor can bearly move his legs and they are going to take him to the hospital by ambulance. OK talk about freak out time for a Mom and Dad. Jay made it to school and went in the ambulance with Valor and I met them at the hospital. Well three hours later we found out nothing is broken!!! Praise God. He does have multiple contusions and strained ligaments in both legs his left more then his right. He is on crutches and needs to stay off his feet. Please pray for healing and comfort! Thank you! Thank you also to all those who helped with the other kids and stuff while we were at the hospital.

Thank you Lord for my husband!

OK well I am posting two today because I have so much to say. On Monday Jay and I drove to Stanford (about 3 1/2 hours from here) for his cancer check up. I am very glad to say he is still cancer free!!! It has actually been a while since he has gone in so we thought it was time. He had some x rays and blood work done then saw the Dr. The x rays were clear and all looked good. We don't know the blood work yet but everything else is good. I can't believe it has been 2 1/2 years since he finished treatments and has been cancer free. Praise God! Thinking back to that time and the blur of it, it seems like another lifetime. But we will always remember the things that God showed us and did in our life at that time. We had a great day spending time just the two of us, on the drive, going out to eat and we got to go to Ikea also! Thank you Lord for this good news and for my husband!

June 2006 while Jay was going through chemo. American Cancer Society's Relay for life in Chico.

Christmas Tree Hunting

We have a new tradition now since we moved up to Chico. Evey year we go up to Lassen National Forest and cut down our own Christmas tree. We have to buy a permit for $10.00 and find the marked areas that they allow cutting, and we get to pick out our own tree. The Kovacs' and the Peltiers and us set out on Sunday to find the perfect Christmas trees. We have a great time searching and hanging out with our friends. Some years are easier then others because of the weather. Every year we go, there is at least some snow but this year there was none. We didn't even really need our jackets. We found a few trees, some easy to get to and others not so easy. Of course the boys wanted the tree that was not so easy, so we went for it (well Jay did). He had to cut through a lot of manzanita bush to get to our tree. We measured the tree when we got home and it was 12 feet tall! We cut off the top 7 feet to decorate and we will burn the rest. We are going to decorate it tonight along with our advent.

Breandan wanted this tree to take home. But we took a picture instead and let it live for another year.

Not a very good picture but just to show how big the tree was.

Thanksgiving

We started our Thanksgiving Morning by working up an appetite. Jay ,Valor, Ethan and Jadon participated in a 5K run. The Run/Walk was to benefit the Jesus Center in Chico. The Jesus Center serves the homeless in the name of Jesus. It was a great cause and something really neat to do as a family. We have so much to be thankful for it was great to give back to others. We had a great time. Breandan was a little to young, he wouldn't have made it all the way. So I stayed with Breandan and waited at the finish line to cheer everyone on. We saw lots of people from church, school, sports etc. It was great to see everyone come together. Ethan finished in 26 min, Valor in 27 min, and Jay and Jadon in 44 min.

After the run we went to my parents house for dinner and "sleep". Mom cooked a great dinner as usual. We had a great day.

We are so thankful for all of our family and friends. God has really blessed us. We hope you had a great Thanksgiving also.

A Visit From The So. Cal. Crew

I finally got around to downloading the pictures Mel took on their visit up to Chico. Will, Annalisa and Mel came up for their annual Chico visit in October. We love spending time with them and getting to catch up. This time the Book Family Farm was closed so we found some new things to do. We played disc golf, went to Bear Hole, went to the Kovacs' for game night, went to the Root Beer Shop and walked around down town. We are so blessed by great friends and fun times whenever they visit. Thanks guys for coming up to see us.

Way to go Valor!

OK so I have not been here in a while and I have been tagged twice, I am working on that. But I have some other news.

Valor was nominated by a teacher and invited to the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington D.C.. Ten kids in 6th and 7th grade from his school were invited. We are very proud of him. The letter he got said. " You were selected for this honor based on your maturity, academic success and leadership potential"

Their web site says:

"Junior National Young Leaders Conference (JrNYLC) offers mature, high-achieving middle school students the opportunity to learn about leadership by studying the leaders of the past and by focusing on social advocacy to make a positive impact in their homes and communities. Through an examination of both different historical time periods and characteristics of leadership, students will gain a better understanding of what it takes to become an effective leader.
www.cylc.org/jrNYLC


So he would get to go to D.C. for six days and have conferences and go on tours and hang out with kids his age from all over the country. We don't know if he is going yet, we are looking into it more. We are also waiting to hear what other kids from his school may be going. But even if he doesn't go what an honor to be nominated and invited!!

Thinking of Donna

Well I have made the hard decision that I cannot go down for Donna's memorial, so I wanted to post here and let you know that I am praying for everyone. I pray that the service will be a celebration of life and that there will be joy and laughter along with the grief when remembering her life. In the time that I served with her in Children's ministry she was such an encouragement and so much fun to be with at Koinonia. My heart is with all of you even though I can't be there. Love and miss you all.

VALOR is a TEENAGER!!!!!!!!

Wow. Can't believe we have a teenager. We don't feel old enough :-) Not only is it Valor's 13th birthday but it is also his golden birthday, 13 on the 13th. Big day. While I was looking back at these pictures, it seems like another life time. I put so many pictures on here so I will try to make the words short.

We are so proud of Valor and the young man that he is becoming. He loves the Lord and is not afraid to share Him with anyone. He is our evangelist at school and with his friends. He stands up for what he believes in the classroom and is not afraid to speak out. He loves going to Youth Group Bible Study at Matthew's Cafe and Calvary Chapel .

He loves sports: soccer, baseball, hockey, etc. He would try just about any sport. When he is not playing sports, he loves hanging out with his friends. He has a great group of friends. He has been playing the bass guitar at school for three years now. He is also our book worm. We can't keep enough books in this house for him to read. He is a great student and loves school.

We used to jokingly pray for the Lord to come back before we had teenagers, but we are actually looking forward to this phase (most of it). We love being able to have "adult" conversations with him about politics, religion, and just everyday life. This is the age that they start making more "life" decisions for themselves and it is exciting and scary all at the same time.

Well Valor, happy birthday. We are very proud of the young man you are becoming. The verse we have chosen for you is:

I Timothy 4:12 "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

Love you,

Mom, Dad, Ethan, Jadon, Breandan

2 Months old

8 months old

2 years old

Valor 4 years old, Ethan 2 years

4 years old

Daddy and Valor 5 years old

First day of kindergarten

Valor 6th Birthday, Joey Kovacs 5 years old

7 years old Space Camp

8 years old

Valor 9 years old, Jadon 4 years old

10 years old (Uncle Neil & Aunt Holly's wedding)

Valor 10, Breandan 1 1/2

Mommy and Valor (1o)

Valor 11 years old

Jumping off the rocks at Bear Hole - 12 years old
12 years old

Playing cards with Mema 12 years old

Valor and Joey 12 years old