Dear Friends and Family,
Happy New Year! I hope your Christmas was joyful and Christ-centered, filled with light, hope, cookies and cocoa. I hope you were able to spend time with loved ones soaking in the awe and wonder of the season, thankful to be a child of the King. If that doesn’t sound like the Christmas you just experienced, that’s okay. It’s a new year. We can put first things first and start afresh. That’s the beauty of starting again.
As we close out another year and look toward the next one, I have contemplated how far away 2024 felt to me as a young mother. It loomed large as a year far, far in the distance—so far away, in fact, that it felt like an alternative universe. Busy with the tasks of young motherhood, I could not imagine our family being anything other than a party of five, tucked into our beds under the same roof for as long as time could unfold. Now, as I sit writing this letter, I feel my heart melting a bit. This year that seemed forever away stands at the door, knocking. Our first baby, sweet little Abby, is going to graduate this year. I know, I know. So many of you have gone through it and you are thinking this really isn’t a big deal. But you know what? It feels like a really big deal to this mama. It feels like the end of an era, the closing of an act, and if I’m honest, my emotions are all over the place. One moment I’m so excited for Abby’s opportunities and her future, and the next, I’m ready to clip those wings and promise her the moon if she will stay home forever and ever and ever and ever.
But time stops for no one. So here we are, praying and trying to help Abby make tough decisions. What will 2024 hold for each of us? None of us really knows, but we do know that the joy of the Lord can be our strength if we choose to rely upon Him. We know that the One who made us holds the future and will guide us through each step.
Abby is enjoying her senior year, continuing to run cross country and track. She also plays piano for the youth praise band, and she stays busy with WPHS (media class at her high school) and several clubs. She is in her fourth year of Spanish and looks forward to studying abroad in college. She is a very academic young lady and loves learning, reading, and challenging both sides of her brain. She is a joy. She isn’t perfect, but she is a delight. The thought of her graduating—I don’t look forward to it at all. Not one tiny little bit. It actually makes my stomach hurt, if I’m honest. But then again, I long for her to be all God calls her to be, and I know that may mean she can’t fit under my umbrella her entire life.
Our Josiah has had a good year. He finished middle school and started high school. He plays tenor saxophone in the marching band, and he plays bass guitar in the jazz band. He is now taking two classes at Pace High and takes his academic core classes through Santa Rosa Online at home. This has been a wonderful blend for Josiah, and we are thankful for the change. He is able to get his schoolwork done at home but also get up, get dressed, and show up at school on time. He also makes music every day with friends in his band classes. Josiah’s love for music is only eclipsed by his love for making it louder. He has recently become enthralled with audio equipment and has installed speakers, subwoofers, and receivers in his room to create concert-like experiences. For Christmas, he received a projector and screen, so now we are having amazing movie nights in his room. Josiah also loves driving and talking about cars. He will be sixteen in March, and that mile marker will be a punch in the gut for this mama, as well. Time is a thief, y’all.
Jack is in the third grade and loves playing ball–he throws the football, catches it, makes touchdowns, and it’s amazing how often the crowd goes wild. You will often find him with a book in his hand, feasting on an adventure with a side of comedy. Jack likes to crack jokes and make us laugh, and he’s pretty successful at it, too. He also loves writing and drawing in his journal. Recently, he made a newspaper, Guernsey News, and included weather, upcoming events, and, of course, jokes. He loves math and tinkering, like his Daddy, but he also reminds me so much of myself at his age. He is a wonderful blend of the two of us, and we are so thankful God allowed us to have one more.
Joey and I continue to teach youth Sunday School, but we sometimes wonder if we aren’t getting a bit old for it. We are definitely not cool. We never were, but it’s getting harder not to notice. But we do love our church family and the youth keep us on our spiritual toes. We have enjoyed some fun with our kids this year too—a trip to Legoland in March and another to the Rocky Mountains of Canada in the summer. We also have stayed busy watching Jack play basketball and soccer, Abby run, and Josiah play in the band. Throw in several college campus visits, and this year has been quite full. Joey continues to engineer like nobody’s business, and I continue to be in everybody’s business as a stay-at-home (but not all that much) mama.
I know life is changing for us soon, but not today. Today is just one of those days between Christmas and New Year’s—Thursday? Friday? Not sure. It’s a day when everyone is home together, Joey keeps finding jobs we need to finish, Josiah keeps finding sound equipment online (look at this, Mama, this is a steal), Abby is listening to a podcast on theology, and Jack is putting together a Lego set. I’m doing laundry, drinking coffee, and writing. It’s a good day. It has been a good year. And it’s a good life.
I pray you enjoy the winding down of 2023 and the start of 2024. Let’s treasure the time God gives us. And to the Class of 2024, just settle down. It ain’t time for that yet.
Warmest wishes,
Misty, Joey, Abby, Josiah and Jack McMath
Carrying Anna, Carrying On 