Happys:

• Leaving the kids behind and spending our anniversary in San Francisco #9years
• Moving into our dream (rental) home
• Reconnecting with our college besties (at Disneyland of course) after nearly 10 years
• Camping at Carlsbad, Big Sur and with friends at Big Bear
• Lance adventuring alone with the kids in Sequoia
• Keri having a kids-free girls weekend with her mom and sisters (yes, at Disneyland)
• Enjoying book club, girls/guys nights, family days, and couples parties with our BFFs
• Vacationing in Hawaii (well Lance was working but Keri and the kids were having fun!)
• Lance’s work moving us to London*

Crappys:

• Losing Tom Henry (an Irish man Lance baptized on his mission) in a fatal car crash
• Parting ways on not-so-good terms with our apartment complex after discovering the place wasn’t up to code
• Experiencing fear like never before (will it ever end??) when the whole family got lice**
• Struggling through 6 months of testing, doctor appointments, hospital visits after Lucas was diagnosed with failure to thrive and global hypotonia
• Feeling like God and others abandoned and betrayed us; working through fear, doubt and anger during Lucas’s health issues***
• Leaving friends, family and all things familiar when we moved to London

Footnotes:
*We’re on a 2 to 5 year assignment in London with Gallup. We’re excited to experience city living, travel throughout Europe, and have a “once in a lifetime” adventure. We’re not excited about the weather, British school system or distance from our kids’ grandparents. We’d love visitors!
**We don’t have lice anymore and no I won’t tell you when we did so you can check the dates to see if you gave it to or got it from us.
***I can’t say we got through the struggle and now see all of the hidden blessings etc etc that come from trial. It sucked and some days I’m still bitter. But I can say that I believe in a God who understands the journey — who knows who we can become but loves us as we are. We hope this season you’ll feel that love, understanding and acceptance too.

Happy Christmas! 2019 | Love, Lance, Keri, Lila (4) & Lucas (2)