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Dearest Family & Friends,
Merry Christmas 2007 & Happy New Year from the Messmores!
We’re so thankful to share with you highlights of this year since a lot has happened and we’ve grown so much.
2007 has held a large amount of changes; such as:
· large growth in our church from under 300 people
to close to 500
· the move into our new building south of Jasper (www.ccjasper.com)
· Mark graduated with a Masters in Theology from Campbellsville University in May
· Kara’s job opportunities (it’s been a process)
o Hospital Social Worker (worked in the E.R. for 3 months doing psych assessments but she figured out quickly it was not something she wanted to pursue)
o Hospital Discharge Planner - current PRN (fill-in) job as a Social Worker
o Serves as counselor at our church for the community (Winds of Change Counseling) still working towards state licensure so Kara travels to Louisville for supervision (she loves city life!)
o New Part-time office management job with Central Christian Church in Huntingburg, IN (kind of our sister church in the next community)
· basketball coaching for Kara – official 7th grade assistant coach & continues to help out with the high school teams
o we continue to have the Varsity girls over for pre-game meals which is so much fun!
o It’s been a privilege to be part of the girls’ lives and growth.
· Mark helping with the track program – timing at meets
· Us both helping out with doing The Loft (a high school Bible study and Q/A time on Sundays)
· Us both running 2 Marathons this year (Cincinnati & Columbus, OH) – we both broke our previous best times and ended up with Mark 3:56:55 and Kara 4:24:36. We’re taking a bit of a break from running after doing 10 races this past year and hope to pick up some mini-marathons this Spring & may do another marathon in the Fall.
· Watching Ohio State play in the Horse Shoe versus Wisconsin was a definite highlight in Oct!
· Renovating the House continually (COME & VISIT!) – Landscaping got done but unfortunately the drought killed off some of it.
Tira & Trill still continue to enjoy sleeping, bathing one another, running into plastic bags, running up and down the stairs, and wrestling together. However, they are both becoming cuddlier with us, which is nice to come home to.
This year has continued to hold many milestones for both of us and we hope this upcoming year will be just as exciting though a bit more structured. Life holds its own surprises but God has topped all of our initial hopes for this past year and we know 2008 will be just as wild!
We conclude this letter with smiles! It’s another crazy year – keep in touch with us!
God’s Blessings & Love,
Mark & Kara
