CHRISTmas 2014
Well, another year has come and gone. The Greenwood Family has stayed pretty busy
in the midst of some pretty big changes for us.
Right now, we are in a season of waiting. We found out in March that our former church
was going in a different direction as far as a senior pastor was
concerned. Chris and I had talked
previously that if it came back as a no, then we knew that our time in Reston,
VA was coming to an end. So, when we
found out, it became time for us to start applying to churches. Since Chris and I have a passion for
discipleship and family ministry, we just thought it made sense for him to
apply for Associate Pastor positions.
Time and time again, we got pretty far along in the interview process
thinking that we would be moving. But
time and time again, we heard, “We really want to say yes to you, but we just
feel like the Lord is wanting us to tell you, ‘No.’” On one of our interviews, we were having
lunch with the search committee and the senior pastor. During the lunch, the senior pastor asked
Chris why he wasn’t applying for senior pastor positions because everything
that he saw on paper about Chris looked like that is what he needed to do. So, Chris and I took some time to pray…trying
to get more clarity on the direction God was leading us. Chris has never had the desire to be a senior
pastor. He didn’t go to seminary with
the dreams of being the main man, so this was completely new territory for him. During this time though, the Lord continued
to grow the passion of discipleship and family ministry in our hearts. So, as Chris began to apply to senior pastor
positions, we began to look at leading a church with these two areas as the
primary focus. We got phone calls with
plenty of interviews. Chris shared his
passions and ideas on how to incorporate discipleship and family ministry into
the life and function of the church. And
again, we would get pretty far in the process.
And again, we heard from multiple churches, “We are excited about the ministry
vision that God has given you, but we just don’t feel like our church is ready
for the vision.” So, at the end of August, our family moved to
North Carolina to live with Chris’ parents.
Chris was wondering what he would do to provide for his family when out
of nowhere, he got a job offer to work part-time at the new Evangelical
Presbyterian Church (EPC) here in Goldsboro.
They wanted him to work with the youth and bring a family ministry focus
to the youth group instead of a program/activity focus. During all of this, the Lord is continuing to
fine tune what He wants our ministry to look like. We ask that you pray for wisdom and guidance
as we feel like we are getting closer to what He wants us to do. As we continue to wait, please be praying for
us as individuals. Over the last several
months, the Lord has brought some things to the surface that He wants us to
work on. We don’t look at this season as
a waste of time, but rather God preparing us for what is to come. Pray that we don’t lose heart as He continues
to work on us so we can be the individuals, couple, and family He desires us to
be.
Now on to more exciting things…nope, no baby
announcement this time! But I do want to
take a moment to update you on the Hootie Hoos.
You may be asking, “Who are the Hootie Hoos?” Well, we have been asked
that question quite a bit. The story
goes that one day, the kids were full of energy. I made a passing comment about how they were
acting like a bunch of hoodlums, but it just didn’t seem right because they are
far from being a bunch of hoodlums. So, I
said they were acting like a bunch of Hootie Hoos. Chris liked it and it has stuck. So without further ado, let’s talk about the
Hootie Hoos!
Hootie Hoo #1: This would be Josiah..our sweet, 6-year-old
son. Josiah started 1st grade at 268 Academy (the name of our
homeschool) in September. He continues
to do amazingly well in school. Some of
his favorite subjects are art, math, and science. When we lived in VA, we had a friend that would
take time to teach Josiah different art mediums and show him how to draw,
paint, etc. I think this one-on-one time
has helped Josiah to fall in love with art.
His favorite part of math is addition/subtraction speed drills. He gets so excited when it is math time and
often wants to do his speed drills first.
This year for science, we are studying underwater sea creatures. About a year and half ago, Josiah saw the movie
“Dolphin Tale.” This is the true story
about a dolphin named Winter who lives in Clearwater, FL. Since seeing the movie, he has been reading
and learning as much as he can about dolphins. Chris and Josiah actually went
to see Winter when we visited our family in GA in April. The highlight of his visit was being able to
touch and take a picture with Winter. So
with all of this interest in dolphins…and now whales and sharks…we decided to
spend the year studying about underwater sea creatures using the Apologia
curriculum (which we HIGHLY recommend). We constantly find him with a book in
his hands. One of his favorite times is
when we go to the library and check out new books. When we moved to NC, we decided that he was
ready to get his own library card. He
has enjoyed being able to check out his own books. Since moving to NC, Josiah has loved the
freedom of having a backyard to play in. He has also enjoyed riding his bike
and hopes to take the training wheels off sooner than later. We found a church
here in town that has the AWANA program.
He continues to do well with his memory verses and enjoys his time with other
boys and girls his age.
Hootie Hoo #2: This would be Sophie…our sweet, lovable almost-five-year-old
daughter. Sophie started Kindergarten 1
at 268 Academy this September. With
Josiah, I started a kindergarten curriculum when he was four and finished the
rest of it the following year when he was officially enrolled in kindergarten
with the state. This worked so well,
that I decided to do it with Sophie. So,
even though she isn’t officially enrolled in kindergarten, she is doing
kindergarten work and is doing an amazing job!
Her favorite subjects are science and math. So far in science, she has learned about the
five senses, how God created her, and the weather. In math, she has already learned how to count
to 100 by 1’s and 10’s. She is learning
how to tell time to the hour and half-hour and how to count money. Sophie also loves to read. It is crazy how well she can read and is
already reading chapter books like her older brother. Sophie has also been enjoying the freedom of
having a backyard to play in. She loves
exploring the world around her. Another
thing that she has discovered is she loves to run. Yes, running!
Often times on our family walks, she would start off riding her
scooter. Part way into our walk, we
would see the scooter on the side of the road with Sophie running down the
street. On our way back home, she would
pick up her scooter and ride it the rest of the way home. Sophie is also in the AWANA program and is
doing really with her scripture memory. She has a small class size which is great for
her shy personality.
Hootie Hoo #3: This would be Kyrie…our
sweet, independent three-year-old daughter.
Kyrie started Pre-school at 268 Academy this September. It is so much fun watching her learn so many
things so quickly. She has learned her
months of the year and days of the week.
She knows her numbers up to 20.
She can name all the letters and tell me the sounds that they make. We have been working on some fine motor
skills like coloring, writing her name, writing the letters of the alphabet and
cutting with scissors. The thing that she has improved the most on is her
reading. We have known for quite a while
that she is able to read, but in good Kyrie fashion…she just didn’t want to do
it. About a month ago, she decided that
she really wanted to read and will now sit down and point to the words as she
reads them. Kyrie tends to be more of a
home body and has a strong maternal side to her. She LOVES her some babies…real or play. When she plays with her babies, she does
everything from changing their diapers to feeding to reading to playing with
them. This transition has been a little
hard on her because she knows she has quite a few baby accessories in storage,
but doesn’t quite understand why she can’t play with them. Kyrie has been to AWANA a couple of times
since she turned three. Some weeks she
is fired up about going and other weeks she isn’t, so we let her stay home. But we are still working on her memory verses
and it is amazing that at three she is able to remember the verses!
Hootie Hoo #4: This would be Tobias…our sweet, rough and
tumble 17-month-old son. While the older
Hooties and I are at school each morning, Tobias spends time with Chris. They usually do chores, go for walks, watch
“Your Baby Can Read” videos and then find some time to get on the floor and
wrestle. Josiah was never much of a
wrestler, so now that we have Tobias, we are learning a whole new way to play
with him. His favorite thing is for us
to throw some pillows on the floor and lay down on them. Before we know it, Tobias is crawling and
climbing all over us. If his brother or
sisters are on the floor playing, he has been known to tackle them. Often times we are telling Tobias to be
gentle with his older siblings, and I have a feeling this is how it is going to
be for many years to come! Tobias wants
to do the things that the older Hooties do, so often times that means bundling
him up to take him outside when they go out.
If we don’t, we often hear quite a bit of yelling…I often feel like he
is cussing me out in baby talk. Tobias brings so much laughter to our
family. He knows that he is silly and
will do what he can to make us laugh. He
continues to amaze us in how much he understands. His ability to follow directions is
crazy! He knows how to put his clothes
in the hamper, put his shoes in the shoe basket, put his toys up along with
many other things!
Well, it seems like each year our update gets
longer and longer. I guess that is what
happens when you have six people to write about!! We have stopped paying for and keeping up
with our babysite.com membership. Instead, I
have begun a blog. Please feel free to check it out. I have our family blog
and individual children blogs. Just go to:
We pray that you find time this
CHRISTmas season to slow down and remember
the reason for this time of year…to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ
who became the Risen Savior of the World.
With Love,
Chris, Sara and the
Hootie Hoos
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| Merry CHRISTmas from the Greenwoods |
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