Hi Friends and Family, December 2014
I (Susan) am in the mood to do an old fashion Christmas letter, so here you go! We have had a great year at the Holly Home in McDonough. Some challenging times, joyful times, apprehensive times, but lots of fun along the way.
Jacob is doing great. He graduated from Georgia State with a degree in Psychology and continues to live in Atlanta. He is a managing one of the busiest Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich Shop in Atlanta. He is learning many things about the business world and using his psychology while managing his employees. He seems to like it and has weekends off for now which is nice.
Megan turned 21 this year. She just finished her Associate’s degree in Social Work and is planning to go to Dalton State College next fall for her Bachelor’s degree. She works at Truett’s Grill now and is looking forward to being the counselor coordinator Camp Krisland in Pennsylvania again next summer. She loves working at summer camp and is looking forward to adding to the curriculum next summer at camp.
Stephen is busy as a sophmore in high school. He enjoyed marching band in the fall and is looking forward to playing soocer again in the spring. He is also interning with one of our church leaders learning how to lead and teach at church, school, and in FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). He is a Star scout in Boy Scouts. He is taking a heavy course load at school which has created new challenges for him this year, but is learning more every day.
Kevin is in 7th grade and is more involved in scouting this year. He likes going on the camping trips and enjoyed summer camp with his cousin Nicholas. He turned 13 this year and got his first phone so his thumbs are sore from texting :-) He is good at communicatig with us and that is nice. He plays the trumpet in band and is also involved in FCA at school.
David continues to work in the operation for the FAA and enjoys his job. He is also having fun with our “genie” (samsung computer) at home teaching it (through programming) to send emails/texts to us when the dog needs to be fed or go out, when the washer/dryer is in use, and other things. He is creating a fun way to remind us all of daily tasks so we as parents don’t have to nag the kids.
I am still interpreting. That may sound boring by now, but after more than 20 years it is still a daily adventure. I've interpreted weddings, funerals, births, death, business meetings, interviews, video relay, many different medical appointments, education and I love the variety of challenges. I’ve gotten involved with Helping Hands for the Deafan organization that is raising money to help low income deaf people find jobs and get housing. This is a new challenge for me!
The five of us are involved in our local church Stockbridge Community Church and we are helping out in the youth group. We love the people there and are enjoying being part of this church family as we grow closer to the Lord.
We had a rough patch with Dad Holly. He was diagnosed with cancer in July. He had to go through chemotherapy for 6 months and has successfully gotten throught the worst of it! Praise the Lord, he had a good report and will be closely monitored from now on. We are so grateful Mom Holly knew something was wrong because she was persistent with the doctors to find the diagnosis. She has been a pillar of strength through it all.
We have had some fun times this year taking trips to see Mom Emery and stopping by St. Augustine on side trips. Stephen and I went on a mission trip to Honduras with 21 friends from our church. Teaching Bible school to the orphan kids and helping out in the inner city was a wonderful experience. David, Stephen, Kevin and I went on an Eastern Caribbean cruise and that was fun and relaxing. We also enjoyed going to see Mom and Dad Holly more often this fall.
We are so blessed and thankful for your love and friendship. God is truly there in the good times and bad, helping us to learn to depend on Him and we give Him the Glory for the great things He has done. May you experience His amazing joy, peace, and love this season.
Love ya,
The Holly’s
Susan, David, Jacob, Megan, Stephen and Kevin
1 Cor 13:13 Three things will last forever- faith, hope and love- and the greatest of these is LOVE.