The King Family year brought to you in a 25 day countdown…
25 – On June 29th we celebrated our 25th
wedding anniversary with a day planned out by the kids and my parents. The day
ended with a meal prepared and cleaned up by them and with all of us (and even
a few significant others) around the dining room table.
24 – The number of words in one of my favorite quotes from
2016, spoken by one of my favorite speakers, Christine Caine: “God takes highly
unlikely people, takes them into highly unlikely places, gives them a highly
unlikely strategy, and gives them a highly unlikely outcome. “
23 – The approximate number of trips the King Taxi takes
weekly, to and from various activities like viola (Isaac, HopeAnne), violin
(Eden), Messiah College orchestra (Isaac), voice/keyboarding (Mary), swim team
(Shoun), dance (Mary), running (HopeAnne) and sign language (Eden).
22 – The approximate number of times I say don’t in the first five minutes of the
day as in, “Don’t lick the drain,” “Don’t throw your potty down the stairs,”
and “Don’t play drums until at least
6AM.”
21 – The age of our oldest. That makes us old, too. Andrew
will graduate from Asbury University in the spring with a degree in media
communication and an emphasis in film and TV production.
20 – The age of our second oldest. Jesse is at Eastern
University for his second year, studying middle education with a focus in math
and science.
19 – The number of days between today and Christmas – time
to get this letter finished!
18 – And the age of our third oldest. Mariana is a freshman
at Marymount Manhattan in NYC studying theatre arts with a concentration in
theatre performance and a minor in musical theatre.
17 – The number of King’s Strings concerts this year. The
group is constantly evolving as children graduate and new ones join us. The
number of concerts has gone down but so has our need to fund lessons and
purchase new instruments. God has it well-orchestrated.
16 – Mary and Shoun turned 16 this year and John has the
unenviable task of teaching them to drive.
15 – Isaac is 15 but turns 16 in January. That’s three who
need to learn to drive. Pray for John.
14 – The number of days I spent at the beach this year. The
family joined me for most of them but it’s always refreshing and relaxing to spend
a few days alone at my favorite place.
13 – The number of years we’ve lived in Mechanicsburg. It’s
hard to believe that this is the longest we’ve lived in one home. The move in
2003 was difficult but we know that we are right where God wanted (and needed)
us to be. Our encouragement to you is: If God calls you to go, you go.
12 – Eden is 12 years old and in 6th grade at
Infinity Charter School. This is her second year there.
11 – The number of people around my dining room table this
Christmas. Sometimes more if we’re
joined by a significant other or two.
10 – HopeAnne turned 10 this year and after struggling this
summer to do the thing that she loves most – run – was diagnosed with
exercise-induced asthma. Now she runs with a smile again.
9 – The number of King kids. John might think it’s the new
number of completion. I disagree.
8 – In August, John, Shoun, and my dad traveled to Kenya to
serve on a missions team. Shoun was also able to visit with many family
members. A highlight of the trip was lion sightings while on safari.
7 – In July Andrew left for Brazil to serve as a camera
intern for the Olympics. He was able to enjoy several events along with seeing
many athletes through the lens of a camera. He is hoping that connections there
may lead to a position at the winter games.
6 – It was in June that our family grew again. After
HopeAnne’s sister lived with us for a few months last year, we asked that our
home study be kept open. It didn’t take long for our agency to call us about a
15 year old in need of a home. God and I have had many talks about why He keeps
sending me teenagers but we have been so blessed to have Mary in our home. She
really did fit right in.
5 – It only took 5 hundred and eight days but Victor is
finally, officially (barring yet another setback) potty trained. This has been
an issue as he has transitioned into preschool (“pretty” school to him) this
year. Now if we could just get him to sit still, to be obedient to teachers, to
stop spitting, spinning, and self-injury. Never a dull moment.
4 – April was the month of Victor’s third birthday. He was
pleased that we were able to resurrect Johnny Cash to join us for the day. We
are thankful for friends who are willing to bring joy to a special little boy,
even by playing a dead country singer for an evening.
3 – And about that 3 year old, Victor. We would be fooling
ourselves if we didn’t acknowledge the frustration and discouragement that have
come from parenting a child with special needs. However, we can also say that
Victor has truly been a blessing to us. He is teaching us more about loving
like Jesus, with compassion and grace and expecting nothing in return, than any
other life situation could. And what joy his successes bring!
2 – The number of adoptions we hope to see finalized in our
family in 2017 – for Shoun (finally!) and Mary (who surprised John on his
birthday by announcing that she had told her caseworker she wanted her goal
changed to adoption!). Home study #????? here we go…..
1 – The reason for the season is the One in whom we put all
of our hope and trust. Twenty five years of marriage has brought us a number of
ups and downs, but through it all, we can praise God for all that we have
learned and the ways in which we have grown closer to Him and more like Him. We
don’t know what the new year brings for any one of us but we are not anxious
and we do not worry; the baby born in Bethlehem so many years ago died so that
we might have life and freedom in Him. Daily we make the choice to put our hope
and trust in Him and not in people or things that will ultimately fail us. And
with the love and grace that we receive, we strive to always pass the same
along to others.
We are thankful for each and every one of you. Thank you for
the role you have played in our lives and in our hearts.
Merry Christmas!
Cindy,
For the whole King Family
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