Written by Jackie, Posted here by Kevin:
Wow! What a wondrous and joyous year we have had. A year full of growth and amazing changes. We are still living in Kentucky and feel like we are planting some roots here in the Bluegrass.
In January, Kevin was off to Japan again, but it was for only two weeks this time. I could hardly wait for him to return as I wanted to tell him some wonderful news. We were expecting our first baby and I was due in October. We were so excited.
February brought another baby into my brother's family. Benjamin is Bud and Vickie's third child. That made six grandchildren for Mom and Dad, and one more on the way.
Kevin's work is going well, there were some changes as the IBM site in Lexington transformed into a new company, Lexmark International. A definite advantage is that we won't be getting transferred near as often as with IBM. That is a blessing to us!
At the end of April we spent a week in California. We stayed with a friend from Purdue who ought to work as a tour guide. We had a chance to see a great deal of the San Francisco area and relax a little, too. It was a wonderful vacation that will probably be the last for awhile.
The summer brought many visits from family and friends and in June we were able to go to West Virginia for a wedding of a high school friend to his new partner in life and a Campus Crusade ministry. It was good to see some old friends again.
In July we traveled back to Indiana for the 4H fair and watched our nieces and nephews show their livestock. We had a good time in spite of the high temperature and me being 6« months pregnant.
We are very involved with our church. I am still the nursery director and we both remain in the choir. Kevin now teaches our young married Sunday school class and is really enjoying it. He also is serving as a deacon which has helped him to appreciate prayer and the ministry that is provided by a church family.
This brings us to September and my first baby shower. The girls I worked with had a shower for me which helped me realize that it was really going to happen. I had a great pregnancy, no sickness or complications at all. The nine months went so fast.
I retired in October. As much as I enjoyed my profession, Kevin and I decided that I should stay home and be a full-time wife and mother. My due date was October 15th and it came and went. I went into labor on October 20th around midnight and had a precious daughter 15 hours later on Monday the 21st of October. Labor went fine and Kevin was a wonderful coach and partner. When Carmen was born he quickly became a proud Daddy. It is such a wonderful experience bringing a child into the world. It is exciting having three in our family, four if you count our spoiled dog.
I love being a full time wife and Mommy. I am anything but bored throughout the day. Carmen keeps me on my toes. She's really a good baby and growing so fast. I find it hard to get everything done, I guess that's why this years Christmas letter is a little behind.
We headed back to Indiana for Thanksgiving and had a good time sharing with family and friends and showing our little girl to all who hadn't met her yet. We are going back for Christmas and hope to visit with more friends and family. We are so thankful for all of you.
We can see again this year, how the Lord provides for his children just as he promised. The birth of our daughter was such a miracle, its hard to compare to anything else we have experienced. We look forward to a joyful holiday season and we hope your year has been as rewarding as ours. We pray that your holiday season and the year to come can be used to glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In His love,
Kevin, Jackie & Carmen Hope
