Our "Happy Thanksgiving" Christmas Letter

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! 

No, that is not a typo.  Due to some poignant reminders of all we have to be grateful for, we have decided to extend the November holiday into the Christmas season, and Lord willing, we will drag it through the entire coming year and beyond.

On November 13th, our 19-year-old daughter, Christina, was driving home from youth symphony rehearsal when a woman in a minivan ran a red light right in front of her. Unable to stop or even brake the car, Christina hit the side of the van straight on at 55 miles per hour.  The front of her car was crushed and caught fire.  Christina, dazed and confused from the impact, fell out of her door and into the intersection, and there she was mercifully rescued and brought to safety by an eyewitness—a sweet grandma--who stayed with her until Jamey arrived at the scene.
  
Miraculously, she walked away with only bruising and a lingering concussion.

This has left me with a persistent sense of the preciousness of the lives around me, and a deep gratitude for a second chance to show Christina and my other loved ones how glad we are that they are here!

In that spirit, I have asked my kiddos to share in their own words what has made them grateful this year.
  
Rebekah: In some ways, I feel like this past year has been very similar to previous years; I am finishing my last year of coursework at Western Michigan (hooray!) and will *hopefully* begin my internship sometime next summer. But in other ways, this past year has held some very special moments. I was so blessed to have our cousins living next door for the summer while they looked for a house; we made so many special memories. I also worked with clients for the first time this summer, one semester with preschoolers and another with adults with developmental disabilities. It was an incredible experience and it really encouraged me as I move forward in the music therapy program.
  
God has taught me a lot this year but one of the things I am most grateful for is His presence and peace in the times of uncertainty. This year God essentially gave me a game plan to live by in response to fear or anxiety.

In 2 Chronicles 20:3-23, the Israelites were going to be attacked by a great multitude of enemy and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, was greatly afraid. He immediately sought the Lord and gathered the people together to recount all the times God had demonstrated His faithfulness to His people in the past. The king prayed to the Lord, saying, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Jehoshaphat then encouraged the people to stand firm because the same God that saved them from the Egyptians was with them still. And when the people had begun to sing and praise the Lord, He set an ambush against their enemies and routed them, making the enemy armies destroy each other.

All that to say, I’ve been encouraged this year by family, by friends, and through Scripture to fix my eyes upon Christ by remembering what God has done for me in the past, and to stand firm in His grace and move forward in a spirit of peace and gratitude for what He has done and will do in my life. The battles that I face are not mine to win - they never were. Praise the Lord for His perfect deliverance, even when it looks different than what I expected! 

Christina: 2017 has been a year I will never forget. New friendships, new travels and many new opportunities. I have been so incredibly amazed at what God has brought into my life. I was able to go to Uganda to visit and help a friend living there. I’m so grateful to have had that opportunity, and am hoping to go back very soon. 

I started college this fall and honestly have not really enjoyed it much. The atmosphere is crude and unpleasant, and I was taken very aback by it at first. It has been very difficult to adjust, but I can see God growing me in new ways. 

Mostly this year I have been so grateful for God’s protection—as I traveled overseas and especially, in the car accident I was in a few weeks ago.  I am so very thankful to still be here and that nobody was seriously hurt in either of the vehicles. The verse I had written on my wrist that day was Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”  All of those things mean more to me now.

Elijah (age 15): This year has brought many difficult things our way, but the main one was when Christina got into a car accident last month.  It was a very scary experience which reminded me that God is in control no matter what happens, and that we are not promised tomorrow.  

On the other hand, I have also experienced the blessing of playing on an amazing varsity basketball team.  It has taught me the value of hard work and perseverance and although it is a big commitment it has allowed me to make new friendships and learn from my mistakes and identify new role models. 

Isaiah (age 12):  This year has been exciting in many ways.  I’m very thankful for the ability to play basketball.  I am learning how to be a good teammate, how to be encouraging, and how to help people who are younger than me since I am one of the older ones on the team.  I am also thankful for my family.  My parents and older siblings are very encouraging, and this makes me feel better when I make mistakes. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”  This is my life verse.

Jude (age 10):  This year, I am thankful for Camp Roger.  I get to go there once a month for a whole day.  We go on nature adventures to learn about God’s creation.  The first time I went, I caught a frog that was a foot long extended.  I have also caught freshwater jellyfish.
  
I am also thankful to play basketball with Isaiah and Kaiden.  Our team is good this year.  We are 4-1.  Basketball has given me new friends.  I am also thankful for baseball.  It teaches me sportsmanship and gives me good exercise.  Our team won the Lowell Little League championship two years in a row, which was fun!

Kaiden (age 10): I am thankful for sports because they are fun, and for Camp Roger.  I like to learn about nature and I love archery, canoeing, and flying over a pond.  We got to take a rope and swing out over the “lake” (which is really sand) and there are pretend alligators and pythons and sinking sand.  If you figure out how to get over it, you win.  We all lost.  

I am also thankful for Brutus, Tabby, Mom, Dad, Rebekah, Christina, Elijah, Isaiah, Jude, and Keira.  I am thankful for my adoption day, for friends and grandparents, all kinds of animals, Epiphany, snow, Craig’s Cruisers, Christmas lights, a house, and a bed.  And kittens.

Keira (age 8):  This year I am thankful for my adoption day.  I am thankful that God has given us a good life.  I am thankful that my cousins lived next door to me for a whole summer.  I loved to pick raspberries with Cousin Sal and Lilias, and we spied on the boys playing cars and they didn’t see us.  

I am thankful for our creek because it is fun to float leaves down it like a race.  And for Smelly, my stuffed dog who sleeps with me.
  
Jamey and I are thankful for the 23 years of marriage God has given us.  We are thankful for good work—his in medicine, mine on the home front.  We are thankful He did not let us plan our own way, and thankful for the way that the beautiful and hard things in life have worked together to make our years so rich and meaningful.  Knowing God as our good and loving Father has helped us look for silver linings in all things.

Most of all we are thankful for reminders of God’s love for us.  Christmas reminds me that God is with us—in everything, every second, for always.  Easter reminds me that He is for us, as demonstrated by His willingness to die on our behalf so that we could love Him and live with Him as adopted sons and daughters.  Everything else is Thanksgiving!
  
For other Birmingham news and updates, visit us on Facebook, Instagram (syoopermom), or on our family’s blog, which can be found at jdbirmingham.blogspot.com. Or just come over and we’ll tell you more than you ever wanted to know in less time than you thought possible (we found we can cover the most ground if everyone talks at once😊) 

We really do love it when people come, and we promise that what we lack in social graces, we try to make up for in baked goods.  Rebekah’s homemade blueberry pie and Christina’s chocolate chip cookies will make it worth a visit, I promise! 

Much love from all of us—
The Birminghams