December 2003
Dear family and friends,
The Holt family has had some changes this year. Eric was laid-off in July from a job he had done for 18 ½ years. What a blow! Work had been slow for the last couple years and with no over-time, we had been trying to live with less. But when unemployment checks started coming, we truly learned to live on LESS! It was a $7.00 an hour pay-cut. I am still working at my teacher-aiding job and continuing to love it, but I have started probing the idea of being “The Teacher”. I am hoping it doesn’t come to that since I really love what I am doing right now. Sometimes we wonder why we have to go through certain hardships, and this has been one of those times. God has been so good to us though. He has never promised anyone to give the “extras” in life, but to provide for our NEEDS. We have definitely had to depend on Him and He has shown us His love through others. We are truly grateful for the generosity of our family and friends through this time. It was so hard at first to accept help, but that is exactly what God wanted us to learn. To tell you the honest truth, I would rather help others than to accept help, but God needed for us to be at the “receiving” end to better serve in the “giving” end. I can look back through my life and see that each hardship has lead to an opportunity to be a blessing to someone else. It sure stinks going through these hard times, but God knows what He is doing!
Now for the good stuff. Caleb is now out of high school and pursuing a life in the Navy. I didn’t know it was so hard to get into the armed forces. He is still in the sign-up stages, which started last June. He had some medical issues to take care of and is now contending with the more academic matters. He planned on shipping out for boot camp with a friend on November 4th, but his friend had to move on without him. I have reservations about the whole thing, after finding out they lost his paperwork twice, but Caleb is still determined to join. It will be good for him to get some discipline and an education, but I worry about the life-threatening side of the package. But I will trust God to take care of that part. No matter what happens, Caleb is a child of God and is in good hands no matter what happens.
Grace is a senior at Grandville High School. She is doing very well with her studies and heading down the college prep road. She is all set to take her A.C.T. test this month. I hope that helps her get some scholarship money. She plans on a career in education like her mother and would like to attend the community college here in Grand Rapids before shelling out the big bucks for Grand Valley State University. She should be able to live at home for both colleges, if she can stand her mom and dad that long. She no longer has a boyfriend. They broke up shortly after Christmas last year. She has kept her nose to the grindstone at school, so there is no time for a boyfriend. What a smart girl! There will be time for that later. Last summer, Grace took her first airplane ride. She traveled to North Carolina with the elderly lady she cared for. She really enjoyed herself and even made some new friends.
Josh is now riding the bus to school with Grace. He is a freshman at G.H.S. So far he is doing well, except for that very low grade in Science. He has also had a little trouble with his talkative nature. Mom and dad are not happy with the detentions for this kind of behavior. Josh has made friends with a boy from Kosovo. Feke lives a few blocks from our house and attends G.H.S. It is fun learning about other cultures. This past summer Josh has sharpened his skills at the bike jumps. I am so glad I don’t have to watch it though. He has come home with scrapes, bruises, gashes and stories that would make any good mother cringe. I just can’t see the fun in purposely hurting oneself. But boys will be boys. Josh is also learning to be a little more careful in his choices of friends. Last summer we had to call the police to stop a so-called friend from trying to beat Josh up over a misunderstanding. The really bad part is that this kid lives really close to us, but Josh has purposely stayed clear of him. Then just a couple weeks ago we got a call from school to inform us that Josh was with some kids that had drugs on them. Josh told the principal he had no idea they had it on them. He didn’t really know the kids that well, but they said they had something to show him. Before they could show him, they took off running when they saw a teacher coming towards them. Josh had no idea why they were running and told the principal that. I will be on my knees praying (big-time) for the influences in our children’s lives. Josh is a good boy and I hope he has learned from these experiences.
Kristi is doing well in school. She is in the 8th grade and her last year at Cross Creek Charter Academy. All her grades were good this past marking period. She is a good helper. Lately, she has been going home with a young teacher (Angela) after the morning church service to help with correcting and grading of papers. Angela provides the main meal and Kristi brings dessert. Sometimes Grace goes as well. They correct and grade for a while and then watch a video. I am sure Angela loves the company since she is single. This is good practice for when my girls become teachers. Kristi is leaning towards that career as well. She would probably make a good nurse too. Kristi loves children and likes to babysit as much as possible. I have heard from so many moms that Kristi is very good with kids and that the kids just love her. Both my girls will not only make good teachers, but good moms as well. I am proud of them.
Isaiah is having a very good year at school. He has an excellent 5th grade teacher at Cross Creek Charter Academy. She has a very quiet atmosphere in her classroom and that helps tremendously. Isaiah has trouble with noise and too much activity around him. Mrs. Galloway is very patient and loving with just the right amount of firmness. I worked with this teacher my very first year at Cross Creek and have always been impressed with her teaching techniques. I am hoping Isaiah will learn some new behaviors that will aid him through his remaining school years. He went for A.D.H.D. testing this summer and some counseling. In my opinion, he doesn’t really have an attention problem, but more of a hyper problem. He just has a hard time sitting still. He’s still paying attention even when he is having a “hyper attack”, if you know what I mean. He is a very smart boy, so his grades aren’t suffering. His teacher set up an incentive program for his good behavior and Isaiah has cashed in on his first prize (lunch at Wendy’s) recently and has a good start on the next one. His classmates are enjoying the “new” Isaiah and have even stuck up for him in times of trouble. In the past, if Isaiah was even near trouble he was blamed since he had a “reputation”. It just warms my heart to see his classmates help him rather than blame or “egg him on”. I hope this is the turning point. Recently we purchased a Bible for Isaiah at his request. Imagine that! He has started reading in Genesis and intends on reading through the whole thing. When I mentioned it to his teacher, she said he could do his required book reports on books of the Bible. I am hoping his Bible reading will cause him to think about what God wants him to do. Who knows, we may have a preacher in the family some day or at least a very well-behaved policeman.
Here comes some good news. Eric starts working at another print shop this Monday, Dec. 8th. He will have the night shift. It has been a long, scary process, but we are finally there. There will be a Christmas at the Holt house!
Well, God bless you and may you have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Jesus Birthday and a very Happy New Year! Just remember that Jesus would rather suffer here on earth and in hell, than to live in heaven without you! Thank you Jesus!
Love
Eric, Susan, Caleb, Grace, Joshua, Kristi and Isaiah (Candy, Chuck and Spooky)
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