Our Christmas Letter

Well the cards have been mailed - for the most part...still working on a few - but I thought I would share some of our families Christmas letter with you here!

Merry Christmas from the new Smith home in Marshall, Minnesota! 2011 has been a year of many changes including our big move. If you are ever in the area we would love to have you come for a visit!! We are so blessed to be here in a wonderful neighborhood and community and really feel God has led us here.

Isaac, fifteen, is in the 9th grade! Marshall has a much bigger High School than Beresford, so it has been an adjustment for him. He is settling in and becoming more at home here. Isaac is involved with the Knowledge Bowl at MHS and they won their first competition last week! He will be traveling with his Grandpa Johnson to Haiti again after Christmas and is very excited to go back.

Gabriel, now eight, is in Mrs. Deutz’s 2nd grade class at Parkside Elementary. He loves math, reading and spelling the most and is doing well in school. He has made several friends in our new neighborhood and it has been fun having kids his age living so close. He loves learning new magic tricks and wants to be a magician!

Elijah has matured so much this past year and we see it most in his vocabulary. He talks all the time and enjoys exploring the world around him. He loves playing with tools and helping his daddy with projects. He has adjusted well in his new daycare and Markel has become like a member of our family. We feel so blessed to have someone so wonderful to love on our kids while we work.

Karlena joined our family on December 20th, 2010, and has been such a wonderful addition to our home. She is happy, calm and content and every bit adorable. She is in a race to keep up with her brothers and has recently started walking. She has an irresistible smile and brings that much needed “pink” into our “blue” home!

We are very thankful this year for all of God’s blessings in our family even when the changes are scary and things haven’t gone as we hoped or expected. We continue to look for ways to be examples of His grace and love to others. We pray that you will also find comfort in His presence and draw to Him in all things.

God Bless and Merry Christmas!
Dominic, Kristin, Isaac, Gabriel, Elijah and Karlena