Wright Highlights

*Welcome to our annual "newsletter". I apologize for the fact that if you read this blog regularly, this is all going to be pretty redundant. But it's the best way we could come up with to let our out-of-town friends and family know what's going on in our lives AND include as many pictures as we want without draining a half dozen ink cartridges! I sometimes dream about being able to sit down for hours and write each and every one of you a long personal note; and maybe one of these years it will happen. But for now, this online newsletter will hopefully get the job done. We love you and pray for you a Christmas full of joy. *


Well, it's that time of year again, where I attempt to boil down hundreds of thousands of moments into a few short paragraphs. This year has been a full one: full of challenges, full of laughter, full of everyday craziness, and full of blessings. Even the tough times have brought blessing, because they've forced us to look to our heavenly Father and find deeper intimacy with Him.

I'll fill you in on each of the kiddos as best I can, and then share a few noteworthy events from the year. More than anything, we desire for you to glimpse the amazing work God has done in our hearts and our lives over the past 12 months. Here goes . ..



Rachel (6) is thoroughly enjoying the first grade. Every day, when we ask her how school was, we get the full report: who got into trouble, who went home sick, who fought with whom. She'll make a fortune someday as a gossip columnist. Her favorite things to do include: reading; writing little "books" and illustrating them; helping Mommy bake; sleepovers; eating anything containing sugar; telling her siblings what to do and how to do it; dressing up like a princess; and singing praise songs. And she still loves to talk. Three words I would use to best describe her would be: independent, dramatic, imaginitive. This fall, she played soccer for the first time, and loved having her daddy as her coach. It was fun to watch her become more confident and enthusiastic as the season progressed. Another highlight of the year was losing her 2 front teeth. She's enjoyed taking part in Sparks (part of the AWANA program), where she gets to play games, make crafts, and learn lots of Bible verses.



Zeke (4) continues to be his own little person. He's always surprising me with what he knows: the other day, he spelled out 5 or 6 words for me. When I looked at him in shock and asked where on earth he learned that, he replied, "From watching Super Why." He operates on his own timetable. If he's not ready to do something (reading, potty training, etc.) it's absolutely no use to get him to try. But when he's ready, he takes off! In a "slowest eater" contest, I'll put my money on him every time - a typical breakfast for him lasts from 30-45 minutes. He's thoughtful and sensitive and affectionate. Several times during the day I'll hear a little voice behind me: "Mom, I love you", or "Mom, thank you for fixing dinner for us." A sweeter kid simply does not exist. Or a louder one. He's typically pretty quiet and enjoys playing by himself, but when he does talk, he has only one volume - LOUD.

Zeke's crowning achievement this year was receiving a 3rd place trophy in a kiddie tractor pull. He enjoys attending Cubbies (AWANA) on Wednesday nights and his absolute favorite place to go is Chuck E Cheese.





Karis (3) is our little fireball. Her favorite thing to do is to contradict anything I say. She's . . .. well, we'll call her "multidimensional": She loves to play rough-and-tumble games with Daddy or with Zekers, but she also loves taking care of her baby dolls. She pushes all of my buttons, more than any of the other three, but she also makes me laugh like no one else. She constantly attacks her baby brother (and anything else that moves) and yet she can be so sweet and snuggly. She has been loving her first year of Cubbies, and done a great job learning her verse every week. And she finally has enough hair to do something with! In September, she broke her big toe and smashed the her second toe, at a wiener roast; we're still waiting for her toenail to grow back. She certainly has a way of keeping life eventful. She also informed me today, in the middle of a restaurant, that she'd rather have her bottom wiped by me than by anyone else. Talk about a compliment . . .





And then there's Malachi. He turned 1 in October and he's a little man of extremes - either laughing and squealing in delight, or screaming in rage. We had a rough start with him, but the older he gets, the more fun he becomes; he loves to wrestle around with the others and is finally learning how to fight back! He can be so demanding, he drives me batty some days; but then he gives the best hugs. When he's in the mood to snuggle, he grabs onto my neck and nestles down on my shoulder. And somehow, in those moments, all the day's frustration is forgotten. One of his favorite things to do is to bolt as soon as his diaper is off, and run around the house, buck naked, yelling as loud as he can. He's a total clown and a total Daddy's boy, more than any of the others were at his age. (Must be because they share so many of the same strange habits). You will never see his head without some kind of scrape or bruise or goose egg, and you will never see his chin without drool. He's full of life and does everything 100%.




As for Danny and me . . . .

June and July were fun, busy months for us. We headed up to Put-In-Bay with my extended family for 3 days, then drove to Camp Forest Springs in Westboro, WI, where Danny spoke for youth camp. The kiddos had a blast and it was nice to take some time away. We stayed the night in Chicago both on the way there and on the way back, which afforded us the opportunity to visit Millennium Park and eat at Danny's favorite pizza joint: Lou Malnati's. The day after we arrived back, our church had VBS, where Danny got to teach 3-4 year olds for the week!

In October, Danny stayed with the kiddos for 3 days so I could attend Nancy Leigh DeMoss's True Woman conference in Chicago with 20 women from our church. It was great to spend so much time with adults, the worship was so refreshing and the messages were straight from God's Word. What a wonderful weekend. On the way home, a deer hit our van (I was driving), and pretty much totaled it, but praise God all of us were unharmed. And He provided us with a "new" van shortly afterward.

I've also enjoyed being involved in Grace Moms, a ministry of our church for young mothers (OK, some of us aren't so young but have young children!). We meet monthly, as a large group and in small groups - it's been such a joy to receive godly instruction from older women of our church, and to spend time with other moms and realize others face the same challenges I do and are just as crazy. It is truly a gift to be part of this group, and to be able to study the Bible with other women through several Bible studies that have taken place throughout the year at our church.

Just a few weeks ago, Danny was able to go to the Dominican Republic, where he had the chance to help with a baseball clinic; speak in a couple of church plants; teach national pastors-in-training; and go to the beach! He was thrilled to be able to spend time with Bob & Anna Nilsen, who our church sent as missionaries to the DR about 5 years ago. And the kids and I actually survived the week without him . . . barely!

He has also kept busy with preaching, teaching, counseling, marrying, etc. One really cool thing he's been able to do since the kiddos have gotten older is to take Rachel or Zeke with him every so often on hospital / nursing home calls. They love the one-on-one time with him in the car, and they get the added bonus of encouraging someone in the process.

As I glance back at the year behind us, I'm filled with awe and gratitude at what God is doing, both in our family and in our church body. We see evidences of grace all around us - and the ultimate GRACE, the reminder of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, born to die, to become sin for us so that in Him we might receive His righteousness. HIS physical birth led to our spiritual birth. We have been given unending life through HIS death and resurrection, if we only turn from our sin and believe in Him. Oh, blessed miracle!

O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay Him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things; to Him be the glory forever! Amen.

We pray for you that you may know the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God this Christmas.

All our love,

Danny, Charity, Rachel, Zeke, Karis, Malachi