Doughan Christmas Letter 2013

Christmas Greetings

We are diaper free in the Doughan House at the end of 2013!  Maybe I shouldn’t have led with that, but it is a sign of things changing at the Doughan house.  Little people are growing up.  Our conversations at the supper table now include topics like: spelling tests and Mom/Dad’s policy on owning an IPOD.  But this kind of change is good.  Corinne seems more prepared for it than I am.  She pulls me along and helps me to loosen the reigns from time to time.  Here’s your 2013 Doughan Family Update.

Jackson (age 7) learned to ride his bike this summer.  First Grade is pushing him and he is developing deeper friendships and did I mention, spelling tests.  Ah, I remember those days of spelling tests.  He likes his teacher.  He likes school.  I am seeing the Lord work on his heart which is a joy for any parent.  Jackson is addicted to Mindcraft and Legos, and dunking the ball on the little hoop in the basement…and he is eating me out of house and home.

Micah (age 5) learned to read this year.  He will surprise his Kindergarten teacher next Fall by already reading small chapter books.  It is still a little surprising to have him read road signs in the car.  Micah has built a great friendship with his sister since the two them rule the roost now most days.  His comedic timing grows by the day.  His laughter is usually the contagion that has the whole family laughing over supper together.  Micah is addicted to checking his own books out at the library, eating his chocolate dipped biscotti like its chocolate corn on the cob, and enjoying being scared by stories about large African cats with big teeth.

Anora (age 2) is a blue eyed little lady.  As mentioned above, she is diaper-free and very proud of that fact.  She asks her mom questions about heaven, “Will there be toys there?”  She runs around the house in her super hero costume in pursuit of her caped-brothers.  She carries her baby doll with her on their adventures.  Her brothers lack such a sidekick!  She makes me smile every day, giving the best “knee hugs” when I come home from work, “Daddy’s home!”  Anora is addicted to helping Mom make supper, knowing where the contents of the dishwasher are stored better than her dad, and bossing her brothers around when they are healthy and offering to take care of them when they get sick.

Corinne (always 29) grows more beautiful every day.  She gives herself to our children and to our Church.  I am such a lucky man.  This year, Corinne is learning to play the guitar and trust God in all things.  She has become a regular singer at Church – I love hearing her sing on Sunday morning.  The kids don’t know the quality of their nightly lullabies.  In May, Corinne surprised me with a trip to Colorado Springs – just the two us (thanks Auntie Becky for watching the kids!).

Colin has completed his MBA (December 2013).  Boom – ten years in the making!  Thanks honey for letting me live at the library so many nights – now you can go back to school for your nuclear fusion degree…if you want to.

God is teaching us so many things during 2013, but none more so than how to lead others you care about through trials and struggles – when to offer solutions and when to just love on them.  What a beautiful thing it is to live in community.  God’s grace and provision are so evident and even…tangible.  Our prayer for you, our dear ones at the other end of this letter, is to seek the Lord (the God of Heaven born in a manger) and do life with a community of people you love…even though it is messy.  After all, that’s what God did for us.

The Doughans