Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas everyone,

Here’s the Holt scoop … Caleb has signed up for another 4 years in the Navy.  Right now he is stationed in Little Creek, VA, where his ship (USS Whidbey Island) is undergoing major repairs.  It will not be deployed again for a couple years.  He has been on three deployments since starting in June 2004.  Each deployment was in the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean, and along the coast of Somalia.  The big news this year was that his ship was involved in returning hi-jacked ships to their rightful owners, along the coast of Somalia.  The USS Whidbey Island was also the ship that fired the warning shot at the Iranian speedboats that rushed toward US ships in the mouth of the Persian Gulf.  Scary stuff!  He also got to see that luxurious resort in Saudi Arabia that has been all over the news lately.  It’s amazing how much of the world he has seen.  Anyway, he is still cooking up a storm for the sailors aboard his ship.  Next June he can choose another place to be stationed and has already put in a request for Hawaii.  That sure would be a fun place to visit our son.  In April, Josh and I (Sue) got to welcome Caleb home from his last deployment.  Caleb left his car in MI and we brought it back down to VA for him.  That was quite the sight to see his ship come in!  Caleb gave me a tour of the ship too. We also enjoyed seeing him in August when he was home for Grace’s wedding.

Grace and Vic reaffirmed their vows on their first anniversary (Aug. 16^th).  We had fun preparing for the big day.  We tried to keep it very economical, and did pretty well at staying close to the budget.  She had a lovely wedding gown, a simply decorated church ceremony, and a gorgeously decorated reception hall (thanks to the wonderful help of Aunt Barb Holt).  A lot of friends and family helped as well to make it a very special day.  Grace and Vic are currently living with us.  Grace works at a Day Care Center in the area and Vic was just laid off from a factory job in Muskegon.  It is a blessing that he doesn’t have to travel to Muskegon every day, but he is in need of a job.  He is very gifted and college trained in computers, so if anyone knows of a computer job around the Grand Rapids area, let us know.  They are both a great help around the house.  They do some of the cooking and cleaning and that makes me extremely happy!

Joshua is still going to physical therapy three days a week for three hours each of those days.  Those hours sure make it hard to get a job, along with the fact he is in a wheelchair.  He did start working at a Centennial Wireless store recently with a friend.  He is making a little money right now, with the hopes of making lots more when the two of them can buy the store.  Josh is a natural salesman and his friend, Bob, who has worked with Centennial for a year, is quite the salesman as well.  Josh has a wonderful girlfriend, who used to be one of his physical therapists.  They had to keep their relationship hush-hush while Lisa worked at the Spinal Cord Recovery Center in Rockford, MI.  She is now back in college to further her education in the medical field, so they can make their relationship public knowledge now.  Lisa is a sweetheart and Josh is a very fortunate young man to have found her.  By the way, Josh got an 11-point buck on opening day of hunting season.  J

Kristi is finishing up high school this year.  She will be done in January.  She just celebrated her 18^th birthday at the end of November.  She is still the strong-willed child that she has always been.  It has caused some strife for the family and herself, but she will really go places in this world when that strong will is aimed in the right direction.  She can be the sweetest, most wonderful loving person, while at other times be totally the opposite.  I think she is trying to figure out just who she is; and when that happens, she will be on the way to great things.  Kristi also has a boyfriend.  His name is Eric.  He used to play wheelchair basketball with Josh a couple years ago.  Eric isn’t paralyzed, but an amputee and has prosthetic legs.  We will keep you posted on what Kristi decides to do after high school as those decisions are made.  I hope she goes to college.  She has thought about going into nursing. 

Isaiah is a sophomore in high school.  He will be 16 this year in December.  School is going well for him.  His grades could be better if he tried harder, but he is the typical teenager who wants to put in as little effort as possible.  He is a great help around the house though.  He does dishes, cleans out the kitty litter, and does other chores around the house.  I slip him a little money now and then since I appreciate his help so much.  Isaiah has been interested in church and the Bible lately.  He does his “Quiet Time” devotions and has started being an usher during the Sunday morning worship services.  I am so proud of him!   He used to be quite the troublemaker, but has been making much better choices lately.  He is a lot of fun too.  I appreciate his humor and so do many others, but his siblings just think he is rather annoying.  Isn’t that how it goes?  His teachers don’t always appreciate it either.  He’s a really good kid though!

Eric is still working at Wynalda Litho in Rockford, MI.  He works at night from 8:00 pm to 6:30 am four nights a week.  He works in the bindery department doing many different jobs.  He did this same type of work at Custom Printers in Grand Rapids for 18 years.  When he was forced to make the switch back in 2003, he took a huge pay cut.  Because of that, I have had to make a major change in my employment this year.  Working at Cross Creek Charter Academy the last nine years has been such a joy for me.  It hardly seemed like a job since I loved working with the students and staff there as a paraprofessional (teacher’s aide).  To help, I also started working as a tutor at the Sylvan Learning Center during the summer and after school, and started privately tutoring a couple other students after school.  This just got to be too much and I began looking for something that would bring in more income without stretching myself so thin.  This summer I joined my best friend (who also worked at the school with me for seven years) at Vredevoogd Heating and Cooling.  I am now a Customer Service Representative and answer phones and do other office work.  While I was learning these new skills I had huge second thoughts about the move and wondered why I had ever decided to leave the job I loved so much, but I have grown more comfortable with my new work and enjoy the steady income that it provides – and I don’t have to work three different jobs to help the family finances.

I think that about covers everything.  If you have the internet and would like to keep up on our family, you can visit these two websites:   www.joshwholt@blogspot.com to read about Josh, and www.angelfire.com/hi5/holtpage/  to read about the whole family.  I don’t post very often, but you can check once in awhile.  I do have pictures on both sites and some video of Josh in physical therapy on his site.

                                 All our love,
                                        Eric, Sue, Caleb, Grace & Vic, Josh, Kristi and Isaiah