Merry Christmas

It's been a little over a year since we moved to Marion and we all seem to be settling in just fine.

 We felt welcome the moment we moved  thanks to our wonderful neighbors and congregation.  

Paul has been staying really busy with his first year of ordained ministry. Life as a pastor is certainly different, but it's also very exciting. It's great to have a vocation that allows you to wake up each day with enthusiasm for going to work. You can visit the church website at www.faithlutheran.org. You can even hear Paul preach as one of the pastors on the weekly Podcast. 

Taylor is a Junior at the University of Dubuque and works part-time at Petsmart.  He and his cat “Phoenix” seem to like living in Dubuque which is about an hour away. He just earned his Pilot’s license and any day now will be tested for his instrument rating. The next step for him is to fly twin engine planes. He certainly has a passion for flying. 

Stevie is doing great! In fact his social life is better than ours. Three days a week he attends an “Adult Day Care” that is less then a mile from the house. He loves it. The activities range from art (his favorite) to going on field trips. The other two days he works with Carley and Jessica who teach him independent living skills. In the summer he spends a week at camp with his best friend Bryan.  We are so grateful to have so many people help us care for him. 

This past year I took a sabbatical of sorts. I took the year off to learn, explore and decide what direction I wanted to take. I planted a vegetable garden, worked on our geneoogy, volunteered at the local animal shelter, took art lessons and was a docent at the local art museum. I met a fantastic group of women through Prairie Woods Franciscan Spirituality Center. We took a 10 week class together based on the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron where we explored creativity and being an artist. This created such a bond between us we continue to meet every two weeks. I have decided to continue in massage therapy and have some fun with my inner artist too. 

Taylor

Stevie at choir

(left side brown shirt)

Bishop Burk, Paul & Pastor John

Our Garden