Hi Everybody!
The word which would best describe 2011 is “Transition”. This year the Stanton Family wants to give our extended family and friends a glimpse of our busy and sometimes hectic life. We have been very blessed this year and we are most grateful for Nathaniel who was born in January; if any of you have lost count, he is child number 9 and increases the boys in the family to a total of 5. The following is a condensed version of the highlights of the year.
January
Anna-Kate turned 7 and child number 9 Nathaniel Lee joined the family on the 29th. Joel began a car washing business while taking tests to earn college credit. He passed every test he took.
February
Gerald, Joel, Samuel, Gabrielle, and Benjamin went to their first defensive handgun class in Nevada. Gabrielle also turned 15. Samuel created and began posting on our family blog. You can visit us at: http://theisleofstantons.blogspot.com/. Joel applied for an internship with the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC) in North Carolina.
March
Gerald, Joel, and Sam went to a family economics conference on North Carolina and Joel was interviewed for the NCFIC internship. They had a great time and came back with all sorts of new ideas. David turned 3. Sarah and Danielle participated in a 4-H food presentation event. They worked hard to plan a meal, create a place setting, and prepare a dessert. Nathaniel was not gaining weight well so Heather began pumping to increase her milk supply. This is significant because the next several months became focused on Nathaniel gaining weight, going to the doctor, and trying to determine why he was not thriving.
April
Joel was accepted as an intern in North Carolina. Joel and Gabrielle also participated the Certificate of Merit piano evaluation for levels 7 (Gabrielle) and 10 (Joel). They both passed the levels and received the honors award for their performances and received an invitation to a special recital. Joel qualified for a California-wide piano convention for one piano piece he presented. Sarah, Samuel and Gerald all had birthdays with Sarah turning 12 and Samuel turning 17. Nathaniel improves but was not “on track” with the growth charts. He was perfectly “on track” developmentally so we were happy we were only dealing with a weight issue.
May
Gerald and Heather celebrated 20 years of marriage. J The impact of Joel’s absence had on the household was extensive. Everyone felt the change, even Nathaniel!
June
Samuel graduated from High School and gave a speech at the graduation ceremony. Gerald began an 8 week family leave during which he, Samuel, Gabrielle and Benjamin went on another firearms training trip. Samuel applied to an emergency response training academy based in Big Sandy, TX called ALERT. (Air Land Emergency Resource Team).
July
We took a short family trip to Big Sur CA; we had a lot of fun. The campsite was just beautiful, and we enjoyed hiking around the surrounding area. Nathaniel, it was discovered was a very good camper who loves to be outside. Gerald, Samuel, and Benjamin went on a two day backpacking trip at the end of the month. Samuel was accepted by ALERT and left on the 25th to start the basic training.
August
With both Joel and Samuel gone we spent the first part of the month adjusting to the change. Gerald’s family leave also ended so he was back at work. Gabrielle started a soap business called, “Song of the Suds” with Psalm 28:7 as her business verse. Benjamin turned 14 at the end of the month. Anna-Kate and Benjamin were baptized on Aug. 28th for which we heartily rejoiced! What a delight to see God work in their lives!
September
We started school at the end of August and by September were in full swing. Joel celebrated his 19th birthday, his first birthday away from the home and the family. Samuel completed the basic training phase of the ALERT academy which was the hardest endeavor he had attempted in his life. Gerald, Sarah, Danielle and Anna-Kate flew out to Texas to see him graduate. Both of Samuel’s grandparents from Texas came to the ceremony which provided a great chance to catch up with Gerald’s family in Texas. Samuel stayed at the academy for the second phase of the training during which he learned several useful skills, specifically, underwater rescue, diving, wildfire training, firefighting, basic tree removal, rope repelling and professional CPR certifications.
October
At our local church, Reformed Heritage Church, we celebrated Reformation Night on Oct. 31st instead of Halloween. The night was a time of fun and reflection starting with games, performing a play and ending with dessert. Benjamin collaborated with a couple of other amateur writers in the church and scripted the play on a lesser known Protestant Reformer named George Wishart. Danielle turned 10. Nathaniel weighed in at 17lbs 12oz which was an encouraging milestone as it was twice his birth weight. He had improved measurably in all areas and we delighted in his cheery and responsive personality.
November
We all took a deep breath as we headed into the final stretch of the year. We had multiple responsibilities at church each Sunday and began preparing for Joel’s return. He arrived home on Nov. 21st with much joy and many experiences to share. This month also marked Gerald’s 8th year with his company. In 2003 he began working for Atheros but the company is now a part of Qualcomm; Atheros was bought in May of 2011 and retained the name Qualcomm- Atheros only in the wireless group. We had a relaxed Thanksgiving and spent the next week anticipating Samuel’s return.
December
On Dec. 3rd, Samuel returned from the training academy with a vast amount of skills mentioned above and is hoping the Lord will use them either in work or ministry. In the interim he will be studying computer networking as part of his higher education and vocational training. Joel started working at Target. Christmas is just a few days away and we wonder where the month, let alone the year, has gone.
Our year passed full of blessings and new challenges. We all learned many things about ourselves, each other and most importantly about the grace of God. He carried us through some trying times and gave us joy and victory in untried areas. We can honestly say with David in Psalm 34, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear it and rejoice! “
The Stanton Family, Gerald, Heather, Joel, Samuel, Gabrielle, Benjamin, Sarah, Danielle, Anna-Kate, David and Nathaniel Lee
