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Happy New Year from the Mantor Madhouse!

We have finally recovered from a long Christmas break in Iowa and my Christmas decorations aren’t down yet, so I figured a Christmas/New Year’s letter was still appropriate!

Like most years past, 2009 was full of change for us. We have down-sized the Madhouse by two members - the cat ran away last spring and Sparkie found a new home when we discovered Ryan was allergic to her. As if that wasn’t enough change, in July we moved to Wilmore, Kentucky so I could pursue my master’s degree. Right away Garrett joined the carpenter’s union and went to work at the army depot building scaffold and concrete forms for an 8-year government project; a true blessing considering construction work in Illinois was non-existent!!

The hardest part of the move was finding a new church home - we hated “church shopping” and really wanted to settle in somewhere, but at the same time really wanted to find a community that would encourage our whole family to grow closer to Christ. We knew we had found that when we visited Quest Community Church - the people were real, honest, overflowing with love, and their lives were marked with true transformation.

Through hearing many of their stories and processing through our own stories, Garrett and I realized that our lives were not marked with transformation, instead we had each tried really hard to love Jesus and serve him, but always on our terms; on our strength. This fall, Garrett, Hunter & I stopped pretending that we were Christians and surrendered our lives to him and Andrea is at the beginning stages of processing what it means to follow Jesus. It’s hard to express in words the transformation we have experienced. We have been learning to forgive, to be authentic, to be less selfish & more loving. As a response to our new relationships with Jesus, Garrett and I were baptized in December. Garrett’s dad drove all the way from Iowa to be there for us!

We know that this is where God has called us to be and each of us are enjoying our new Kentucky home! Hunter, who is now 11 and in 6th grade, has friends right across the street & spends many hours with them. He joined the Cross Country team this fall and earned several medals. He is very busy with Boy Scouts. His goal is to become an Eagle Scout like his dad, so he is busy working on merit badges and attending campouts. This summer he will have the privilege of attending the 100th year jamboree in Washington, D.C. He continues to be an avid reader and does very well in school.

Andrea is 7 and in 1st grade. Last summer she announced that her name is no longer Andi, but Andrea. We try to accommodate her request, but frequently forget. Our neighborhood is FULL of girls her age, so our little social-butterfly spends many hours out and about. She also loves to read and has discovered chapter books like the Babysitter’s Club Little Sister series. She spends a lot of time coloring and writing, but also loves to watch TV. One of her friends has gotten her into Hannah Montana, so the Disney Channel is on most of the time!

Ryan will be 4 in May and continues to be...well...Ryan. He still has no fear and no limits, but has avoided the emergency room thus far. He did spend 4 days in the hospital early last year with Kawasaki Disease, a rare, but serious condition that can have very serious long-term effects. Luckily we caught it early and treatment was successful. We did discover he is allergic to dogs and dust mites. Since moving to Kentucky (and away from Sparkie) he has had very few flair-ups. He loves playing with his cars, trains, and his many stuffed animals!

Leigha turned 2 in October and contains enough attitude and drama for the whole family. She is such a sweet girl - and makes all of us laugh with her funny sayings and facial expressions. Her temper does easily surface and when it does - watch out! (No idea where that comes from) Whether you see her at home, church, or shopping, you will always see her carrying at least one baby - always wrapped in a blanket and usually with a bottle in her mouth! She is an excellent ‘mommy’ that feeds, rocks, sings to, and reads to her babies!

Garrett has become active in Scouts - going to most campouts and meetings. He’s also the Activities Chairman for the Troop. Much to his delight, Kentucky is filled with board gamers. He’s even found a group that meets weekly at a game store in Lexington. The highlight of Garrett’s year, though, was completing his Bachelors of Science Degree in Management from the University of Phoenix in December. We were all so proud of his hard work! With all his new-found free-time, Garrett has joined the sound team at church and occasionally helps with construction projects.

This fall I started my Master of Arts in Biblical Studies degree at Asbury Theological Seminary. My semester was filled with Greek flashcards and more Greek flashcards. I completed 9 credit hours and really enjoyed diving back into school. At the beginning of this year I was thrilled to be hired (almost) full-time by the seminary in their Advancement Department as the Major Events Assistant. In addition to helping the budget, I also get to take 12 credit hours each year for free. This coming semester I’ve decided not to take classes, but may start up again this summer or fall. I don’t get much down time, but when I do I usually spend it reading or watching CSI re-runs!

Over Christmas we packed up the herd and headed back to Iowa for a 10 days. We got to see lots of family and the kids got to experience some real snow! I was very happy to leave the cold behind when we came home. When we got back to Kentucky we experienced the first snowstorm suitable for closing schools here. In fact, they expected it to be so bad they cancelled schools before the snow began to fall! When it was all done, we had maybe 2 inches and temperatures in the high teens - I know, frigid! Some schools were canceled all week!

That’s just one example of how we’ve discovered that Kentucky is a world of it’s own. All the jokes you heard about Kentucky - they’re true! Garrett even overheard someone at work say last week, “He’s going back to Tennessee to get the title to his motorcycle so he can sell it and get his girlfriend out of jail!”

We try to post all of our “Only In Kentucky” experiences on Twitter and Facebook - if you ever need a good laugh! I’m also trying to get back into the blogging habit. There just never seems to be a dull moment around here! We really do love the chaos of it all.

The last line of Christmas/New Years letters are always awkward, so I’ll just say.....