* * Season's Greetings! * *

Hello! Merry Christmas.

Hope all is well with everyone. We're keeping busy as usual. We've had an interesting and educational year, especially the last few months.

Mark did beekeeping this year in 4-H, so in September, we spent a weekend processing our 3 bee hives. We extracted 150 lbs of honey and got 1 ½ lbs of beeswax.

It's a very time consuming job, but boy, is the honey good! Mark sold half of it and we're keeping the other half for ourselves.

Nick did Tree Planting for his project. Not a hard thing to do with all the trees we are always planting! We lost a lot this year due to the drought we had though. Jenny's project was Seed to Flower. She grew lots of different flowers and herbs.

A couple of weeks ago we helped butcher 3 hogs. We got a half – 81 lbs of meat. That was a real learning experience for all of us! We have 26 hens now that are laying. Jenny helps to take care of them, then sells the eggs and she makes a little each week with that. The boys are still doing the paper route in Hollansburg.

Mark is really growing up. He's around 5'11 now. He's the computer "techi boy" at the high school and a member on the principle's student advisory committee. He just finished up with the Academic Team. This past July he went with the youth at church to the National Youth Conference in Colorado. After he got back he decided he was ready and wanted to be baptized. We were very happy. He just got his Ham Radio license a week ago. Doing great in all his studies too.

Jenny played softball this summer. She got to be pitcher some of the time.

She just started her "phase one" of her braces. It's gonna be a long process. Her baby teeth aren't coming out. She's doing well in school. Got a few boys that like her.

She fell a couple of days ago and sprained her ankle real bad. Spent the last 2 days in doctor offices to make sure nothing was broke. She has to wear an air cast for a while.

Nick planned on playing ball this year on a traveling team, but it kind of fell apart. He also got braces on a couple of months ago- his won't be quite as complicated as Jenny's though. He's doing very well in school also. He's in eight grade, but taking 9th grade algebra with Mark. He really enjoyed the butchering of the hogs. He and Allen helped skinned ours. Jenny also thought it was neat to see and touch all the inner parts of the pig. Last month, Nick went out to feed the cows and we had a BIG horned owl in the barn, 18-20 ins tall. We think it was after the chickens, but didn't get any. There were lots of feathers around. He finally flew out after I opened the doors up. He was a beautiful bird!

We had a nice vacation this summer. Stayed in Ohio this year for the most part, except for the Michigan Space Center. Camped again, of course. Went to Sauder Village- a pioneer village in Achibald. Went to Cedar Point and went down the 300 ft-almost straight down, roller coaster- Kids loved that. Marblehead Lighthouse. Seen Thomas Edison's home, Malabar Farm- Louis Bromfield's home (a famous author) where Humphry Bogart and Lauren McCall got married. Was a real neat place. Allen would like to go back again.

Allen and I seemed to find things around here to do all the time. He's always building something. He's been building a root cellar room out in the new barn. He had a real bad fall the beginning of summer. A ladder slipped out from under him and fell 9 ft and broke the tip of his elbow off. Had to have surgery to attach things back together.

Sold our Nissan truck last month. A guy from GA called and wanted us to meet him at the airport to buy it. Strange, huh? But he did. Got a 99 Ford Ranger now.

We did do the puppet campground ministry again this summer as a family. Summer just flew by. Helped with kids camp at church. VBS. Had garden to tend to and I planted more flowers of course. We keep busy with church jobs and activities. Allen teaches Jr. High, while I teach preschoolers. This next year I am going to be the church clerk – giving up the job of typing the bulletins each week. I've been doing a little work with my sister, she opened up her doctors office with another lady doctor in August. I'm going in tomorrow morning. I leave here at 6:30 a.m. And get home about 6:30 p.m. Kind of long days.

The Lord has been very kind and generous with his blessings upon us. We give Him all the praise and glory and thanks for all He done. May the Lord Bless and keep all of you in his care. You're in our prayers. May you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

* * * * * The Howell's * * * * *