Hello family and friends,
Wow! It’s hard to believe another year is coming
to a close and Christmas is only a few days away. We hope this Christmas greeting finds you doing
well and that you are taking time to relax while soaking in the JOY of this
special season. We are thankful for
another year of fun times together and we would like to share a few highlights
with you.
Michael and Amanda are
doing well and stay very busy with work and the daily activities that come with
raising four beautiful little girls.
This summer, they loaded up all the girls and headed to Destin, Florida
for a glorious week of family “fun in the sun.” I can’t
imagine packing for four children, traveling with four children and how many
times they must have had to stop for a break.
Hannah and Lilly enjoyed their time at the beach and Brooklyn and Renee
got to play in the sand for the very first time. Anyway, they seemed to have a great vacation and
I am sure they will all want to go back again soon! Hannah turned 11 this year, is in the 5th grade and is doing excellent
in school. She is such a great big sister and is so responsible and loves
helping with the twins. Her soccer team
"Forney Blast" won 1st place in their age group for the
fall season. It was exciting to see the
team get that “big” trophy and all the players got a really nice trophy
too. Hannah scored several goals during
the year and has a large "vocal" group of fans that support her at
all her games. As most young girls do, she loves
stylish clothes, shopping and music. She also loves
to draw and when she visits the “Ogle Farm” is the first one to ask if she can
go collect the eggs. Lilly turned 6 this
year, is in the 1st grade and reading on a 2nd grade level. We are so proud of her! She loves school but also looks forward to
days off so she can sleep in. Each month
she has a specific reading assignment and it has been fun listening to her read
various books to us. She loves
playing school with her sister and several of her dolls and has a very creative
imagination which makes us all smile.
She also loves playing the mine craft game on her kindle and has even
created chickens and horses to live in her game world. Brooklyn and Renee turned 18 months on
December 13th and are growing, learning and becoming quite independent. It has been a fun year watching them go from
crawling to walking and now climbing! Brooklyn loves to wear buckets on
her head, pat and love on her sissy and has several sweet little crazy faces
that make us all laugh. She is perfectly
content to sit and cuddle and hang out in your lap (which Nanny loves) and has
already started kicking around a soccer ball.
Renee has SO much energy and buzzes around being very busy. On several occasions,
I have caught her getting into her sister’s snack bowl. She
loves to climb up on everything and after she reaches her destination, looks
back at you with a big proud smile that will melt your heart. Michael and Amanda are getting a little
more sleep than last year at this time and are thankful that all four girls are
healthy, smiling and happy.
Brad and Kate are also doing well and are involved in a variety of
activities that they enjoy. When
Brad has free time, he loves to run, fish and play golf along with several other
outdoor activities. He has also been
using his carpentry skills around the house again this year and I have been
quite impressed with his work. He
continues to work as a pastor and teacher of “The Gathering” where he serves
with enthusiasm and a loving heart. It’s
been a year of seeking and waiting but God has blessed him in his job and I
know he will let Jesus “take the wheel “as he works to create something awesome
for 2014. This is Katelyn’s third year
teaching and loving the kids at Beasley Elementary School. She loves working with the kiddo’s, is having
fun and enjoys spending time with her co-workers which have become special
friends. She recently found a new
passion for “crafting” and has been creating lots of beautiful items. This
summer Brad and Kate took a road trip to New Orleans. They had a good time
trying some of the yummy food at the famous restaurants and experiencing the
musical heritage and traditions of the area. They love spending time and sharing life with
a wonderful group of friends. They are
also looking forward to beginning a new journey, moving forward in a new
direction, expecting a year of wonderful things with The Gathering. The year ahead will be exciting for both Brad
and Kate as they transition and continue serving while making new friends
within the community.
Barry and I seem to stay
very busy too. This summer we took a
trip to Panama City for some beach time and spent
the week relaxing and enjoying the ocean.
We had a couple of rainy days which turned into watching movies and
shopping which were perfect days in my book.
During our time there we were also able to take an “air boat alligator
tour” and a “mystery dinner cruise.” It
was wonderful to have some time to slow down the pace a bit and have a little “beach
side” fun! This year Barry and I also
had the opportunity to take a trip to India.
Barry had to go for work and I of course decided to tag along. Our trip
was wonderful, exciting, inspiring and sad all rolled together. It was like nothing I have ever experienced
before in my life and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to meet so many
wonderful and loving people. Barry is
working hard but still seems to enjoy “most” work days, likes puttering around
on his tractor and loves being a “Paw” to four sweet little girls. We have added two cows and 8 chickens
to the farm this year and love having them all here with us. I have realized however, that farm work is
tricky and sometimes you have things happen that aren’t quite so fun. Barry had to “bail off” of Cody while riding
him this summer. We realized that Cody doesn’t enjoy riding as much as we do
and we are still working with him and hoping that we can change his mind. One of the things we love about our home is
our pond. Even though it can be a
beautiful addition to the farm, it can also be a bit of a challenge. We were trying to eliminate some of the moss
and in the process it didn’t end well for “some” of the fish. I was devastated and now we are researching
new ways to manage the problem. Thankfully
some of the fish are still with us and hopefully will continue to grow and remain
healthy. We loved having a garden this
year and enjoyed bountiful crops. There
is nothing like having fresh vegetables right in your own back yard. My favorite addition this year would be my 8
sweet hens. I have become quite fond of
them and love having fresh eggs every day. We are enjoying every moment of being a “Nanny”
and “Paw” and are thankful that we are able to spend lots of quality time with
our family.
Goodbye for now and
hopefully this gives you a small glimpse of our year. May the joy of
the season surround your life each day and May the New Year, be full of hope,
opportunity and miracles. This is our Christmas wish for you, our wonderful
family and friends. Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year! Life is good
here at the “Ogle Farm” and we are truly blessed! ~ Love,
Barry and Tina ~
