Larson's Christmas Letter

Dear friends and family,

I have never been this late with my Christmas letter let alone writing it online. So the cards are in the mail and here is our Christmas letter.

Aaron- graduated with his BS in counseling  and is working on his masters, he finished his first year with all A's of course. He is strengthening his counseling career with working at several different drug and alcohol centers. He recently had a second interview with an organization called NARA. So we are praying that he gets the job, hours are a little better and more time with family. 

Tracie- is still in school and will be done hopefully in September with a degree in Billing and Coding. I am hoping to get some kind of job in a hospital or clinic setting. I am adjusting to our new home in salmon creek. Its a little farther from church so sometimes its hard to get to some functions at church due to busy schedules and distance. I am still working part-time at Fred Meyers and they have been very good about my school schedule.

Alyssa 21- she got married in august and so we have a new family member. It has been great getting to know our new son in law. They are in early stage of marriage, so they are busy with work and spending time together. Anytime we get to hang out we cherish it. 

Kayla 18-is still in Kelso, she is working at Papa Murphy's and is living life. She is still a child in an adult world to me, but she is doing as well as can be expected while on this adult journey. She does come to visit often and it is a joy to have her in the house.

Alex 16-is a sophomore at Skyview and he is really enjoying it. He is doing well academically and is in wrestling this year. Its his first year wrestling and even though he hasn't won one match yet it is the experience he is gaining. He has been so busy with wrestling that he has missed youth group alot and that is always a concern that he is getting fed. So we continue to speak into his life and feed him the best we can.

God has been so good to Aaron and I, he has protected us from illness, harm and is always providing for us. He provides a roof over our heads and the finances to be able to provide for our kids when needed. He has kept our kids healthy and blessed us with 4 kids that makes us laugh and still feel young. Aaron and I love our family so much and enjoy any time that we get to spend with each one of them. It is humbling to sit back and see what God is doing with each one of their lives. 

I ask you to pray for each of them, one is on their own journey,one has a hard time making friends, one needs more hours at work. So thank you to those who are constantly speaking into their lives. They will someday look back and be forever grateful for you!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Tracie

Not sure what title to give...

I love my life, I love that God has given me the responsibility to be a wife, a mother, a sister and a daughter. What I struggle with is God's calling for me. I want to be nice, not selfish, loving, a good listener and most of all I just want to be pleasing to my Father.

You would think that after 20 years I would recognize that not all people change for the better. The reason I say this is because I have struggled for so long to see the positives in her and they are there. Its just the negatives out way the positives. There has been so many negatives in my life with her that she now has used that negative attitude on my kids.They have made their own opinions of her. I broke away for the last time, I have chosen to surround myself with positive and not negative. It has not been easy, I have been mad, cried and I have yelled at God and asked him why he chose her and I to be a team? What was he thinking? Because I am not the way she is, I have been told, I may look like her but I am nothing like her. I try not to judge people, I try my best to love all people, I try and keep friends, deep friendships, and she does not have those things. So I feel sorry for her, I realize shes lost, she needs to draw closer to God. He teaches, He loves, He forgives and He wants her. It seems all I can do is pray for her and hope she finds happiness in her life.

I do have to say my fault in this relationship was I was a wild child, looking for for love in all the wrong places, wanting to go find myself way to early, I was disrespectful at times, I lied, I used her for my benefit at times. All the while she was good to my kids when they were younger, she took me in when I could not make it on my own as a single mom, she loved me through my tears. Somehow the relationship turned destructive. I can not name a specific date because it came in waves, seasons, things would be good for a while until I did or said something she did not approve of. She is not capable of communicating calmly, instead she attacks until she gets so riled up you can not get a word in. So how long do you live with this? What's the plan God? I'd like to know....

I believe the relationship is not good for me or my family, I believe having safe boundaries is a priority when it starts to affect your husband and kids. So I will not say I do not cry or I do not get angry sometimes. Especially when I found out my dad had to go to hospital 4 days ago and he was unresponsive twice in the ambulance, I did not get a phone call from her, I got a call from someone else. How do I handle this?

I cry, I get a little mad, I pray to God and ask him what do I do?
He says, "Wait...Wait on Me"!


Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD;

 Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD

So looks like I am waiting on God to handle this situaion...