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2007 at the Udens
I decided to give Barb a break this year. She has written all of our previous Christmas Letters, so you'll have to have my perspective on our year this year.
2007 has been an another eventful year in our home. We started the year with a massive ice storm that left us without electricity for a week. We were blessed to have a generator to use along with our neighbors as we worked together to get though the storm. Then came the cleanup of all the branches that came down. Pretty amazing what some frozen water can do.
After the ice storm we went to Hastings to celebrate my Mom's 80th birthday. We enjoyed the day with her and the rest of my family. As I look back at the rest of this year, I am so grateful for that time we all had together.
We have been very blessed through my computer business this year. I have had lots of work this year, so it has been a very good year. I have done major upgrades on several of the networks I support, and have added a few new cllients, so this has been a very busy year for our schedule. I have been self-employed now for over 11 years. I have added a remote support service this year for my clients, so it saves lots of miles (and fuel). I can now get on to anyone's desktop once they click a link on my site, and run the app and connect back to me. It is simple to do, but it is a great tool.
In March, Jaci & Kayla competed in the Nebraska State Fine Arts Festival, and Kayla received a Superior with Invitation (1st Place in the state) on a solo human video. Jaci also got a Superior with Invitation on a small group human video. Then Jaci & Kayla were both in large group human video and large drama group which both got Superior with Invitation. We were all excited for them and proud of their accomplishment. The "with Invitation" meant that they were invited to go to the National Competition in Indianapolis in the fall. The then went to Indianapolis in the fall and did a Missions Trip along with the Fine Arts National Competition. It was a good experience for them.
Barb is still homeschooling all four children. Zach started Kindergarten this year. He is so excited and it is fun seeing the thrill in his eyes as he is discovering all kinds of new things. Josh is a 4th grader and Kayla is an 8th grader this year. Jaci is still part time at Kearney High School and part time at home. That has been working very well. She does the basics at home (Math, English, History, Science, etc.) and the extra curricular at the High School (Band, Choir, Art, Spanish, etc.). She seems to think that the High School is the "fun" stuff, so we need to work on PR at home a little more. :)
In May, my Mom passed away in her sleep, so we had arrangements to be made, and lots of decisions to make. Mom was doing well and was planning on coming to a concert in Kearney on that Thursday evening, but we found her in her bed that morning. We were thankful that she did not have to suffer. While it is a shock to our family, it is easier for her. We miss her lots. My Dad had passed away just four years ago, so life has changed.
A week later, Jaci was a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding. She really enjoyed it, and looked so grown up. The bride's family is good friends of ours from church, so we enjoyed celebrating with them.
In June we traveled to St. Louis for my niece's wedding. We had a quick but good trip, and it was a nice wedding on a nice day in St. Louis.
Then our busy summer began. We were in Hastings most weekends, either sorting through stuff at my parent's home along with my sister and brothers, or we were working on repairs on the house, or something related to getting my parent's home ready to sell. By the time we got started back to school, we had the house empty and ready for the realtor. Our home is full yet, as we are sorting and organizing here at home, but we were happy that we made it though that process in Hastings in a good way. While we miss our parents, we still had fun remembering stuff from years ago.
We were able in the middle of all this to get up to Estes Park, CO for a couple days in early July. We love the mountain scenery. We found snow in July, which the kids thought was great. We climbed some rocks, took LOTS of pictures, and even got some shopping time in Estes, which all three girls enjoyed.
Barb and I decided to replace the carpet in our family room and living room with wood flooring, so the geek tried to be a carpenter. It turned out ok, but don't look too closely! I'm not changing careers either. One more thing that kept our summer busy.
I got elected as President-Elect of the Kearney High Band Parents Association. That meant for one thing that we were responsible for refreshments at Band Camp in August for 200+ students, twice a day. Barb spent most of the day there that week, and I stopped in when my schedule let me. We have traveled with the Band to all their competitions this fall, and continue to be active in the Parents Assoc. Since we both enjoy music, and our kids all enjoy Band, we've had a fun time being involved. We have monthly meetings too, but we enjoy meeting new people and getting to know them. Jaci is a Junior this year and still plays her flute. Kayla will be in the KHS Band next year, and is practicing her French Horn. Josh can't wait until he can play drums in the band. And Zach counts every tuba that gets on the field, no matter what band it is. He's gotten snickers from those sitting around him. It's been fun. I helped with the pit crew and Barb helped with the Band Moms, so we got to know more people this fall. Oh, I also help keep maintain the Kearney Bearcat Band website (www.kearneybands.com). Jaci said she really enjoys being in the Band, and continues to develop her flute playing skills. She is even taking private flute lessons this year.
We all were involved in Mega Sports Camp at our church later this summer. It was an excellent event and we had quite a number of kids come, many that we not involved in any church. Barb and I helped coordinate the Ice Cream truck that went to East Lawn trailer court and gave out lots of free ice cream on some hot summer days to the kids in that trailer park. I was quite an experience, as it has been every year we've done it. Jaci helped coach Cheerleading, Kayla was on a music and human video team, Josh was in the week-long camp, and Zach hung out with Barb as she help in the Kitchen
Jaci was in the cast of the High School's musical this fall. They did "Fiddler on the Roof", and they did a great job. Jaci enjoyed singing and having fun with her friends.
Barb continues to serve on a Worship Team at our church as well as coordinating the Nursery. We still enjoy our weeknight Bible Study we lead at our friend's home. It is a great place to get to know people, to really dig in to God's Word, and to apply it tour our lives today. If you are not involved in small group, I'd encourage you to find one. I continue to serve on the Tech teams at church. We are building and developing a Video Venue ministry where a team of us work to record the services and sermons. We record on CD, DVD, MP3 for the Podcast, and have added a live streaming Webcam this fall. I am still working with a team to build and maintain our websites for the church. Check it out at www.NewLifeKearney.org. Jaci & Kayla are both involved with the Drama team in our Youth dept, and Kayla helps coach the Drama team for our Children's ministries. They both have a small group they go to on Sunday evenings. This December Kayla, Jaci, Barb & I all sang in the annual Singing Christmas Tree. It has become a tradition at our home to be involved in the Singing Christmas Tree each year. We are grateful to get to be a part of the church family and of the great things God is doing in and through our church.
We pray that your Christmas season is filled with God's love and peace, and that your New Year is a journey of growing in God's kingdom and learning to hear His voice and know Him more.
