To you this night is born a Child
Of Mary, chosen Virgin mild;
This Little Child, of lowly birth,
Shall be the joy of all the earth.
Merry Christmas to all of you! May
the Christ child be the center of your joy this Christmas season and throughout
the New Year.
We have completed our first year in
Bishop. We are really enjoying the church, town, and lifestyle that living in
Bishop brings. Samuel has now been a Pastor for over a year now. He has enjoyed
this first year and is eager to learn and study more for years to come.
Now that we are more permanent we are taking
on some projects that we have wanted to do for some time. We planted a sizable
garden this year. We had a better harvest than either of us was expecting (I
won’t say we have green thumbs, but rather that God is very merciful!). We are enjoying all of the canned goods and frozen
items that we were able to store.
We also got some chickens! Samuel
built a coop for them out of recycled materials that were either donated to us
or very inexpensive. We started with 12 chickens and are now down to 8 (2
hopped the fence and “played” with the neighbor’s dogs and 2 turned out to be
roosters and now have a nice home in our freezer). We just recently started
getting eggs from them (the 8, not the frozen roosters).
We also got a dog. The timing was
right for our family and the dog is a good fit for us. His name is Owen and he
is about 4 months old.
Our biggest news for this year is
that we are expecting our third child. We found out in August that we are due
on April 19th. We are so excited and thankful that God has blessed
us with another child. Anna and baby are doing well. Abel is very excited. It
will be such a joy to see him with his little brother/sister.
This year we remembered Simeon’s
first birthday. We were able to be in Oregon for the occasion and it was a
blessing to be with family.
We also went to Minnesota for the
annual Synod Convention. After Simeon’s death, we realized that we personally
needed to be more diligent in our own spiritual growth as well as fostering it
in our children. We started an organization called “According to Your Word”
(the name is taken from the Song of Simeon in the Luke 2:29-32 ). Through this
organization we are hoping to help other parents and teachers be diligent in
looking after their children’s spiritual care. At this year’s Convention we
were able to distribute and sell our first publication. It is a Catechism
coloring book, using pictures to help children understand and remember the
catechism and giving parents and teachers a way to start instructing them at an
early age. We have a number of other projects in the works and hope that by
next Convention we will have a “Color the Liturgy” book available. We have a
website (www.accordingtoyourword.com)
where you can look to see what we have been working on.
Abel turned 3 this year. He is quite
the young man. He is growing like a weed and getting smarter every day. Anna
enjoys her time at home with him and has been starting to do more formal
“schooling” with him. Abel really enjoys Bible Story time (we have to look at
the picture of David and Goliath every time!) and he is also learning Bible
verses, hymns, and parts of the liturgy. It is amazing how quickly he is
picking things up. Dad and Abel spend many afternoons digging up worms and
doing other projects outside.
We were blessed to have some
visitors to our part of the country this year. Samuel’s friend from high
school, John, came to visit for about a week. We made the trip to Death Valley
(lowest elevation in North America), the Bristlecone Pines (oldest trees in the
world), and also to a railroad museum right outside of town. While he was here
the town also held its annual “Mule Days”. It celebrates mules and their part
in much of the area’s history. They have a rodeo of sorts, but use mules
instead of horses. It was an interesting experience to say the least and we
look forward to going again next year.
We were also visited by the Jacobsen
family (Pastor Jacobsen was who Samuel vicared under in Oregon). We did a bit
of sightseeing with their family as well and had a fun relaxing time to catch
up and visit. We took them to the Bristlecones and the train museum as well.
And last but not least, we finally
made it down to see Samuel’s Aunt Margi in S. California. It is about a 5 hour
drive, but hard to make when Samuel works so much. She took us to Disneyland
(Abel and my first time!). She also took us to Costco and Walmart (a big deal
when you live in Bishop where everything is overpriced and you don’t have a lot
of selection)! It was good to see family and have a bit of a break from regular
life.
We have had a very nice year here in
Bishop. We are finding out about many of the great things this area has to
offer. We have been hiking, fishing, camping, and have done a lot of biking. We
feel very blessed that God has put us here and look forward to many more
wonderful years.
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
Glory to God in highest heav’n
Who unto us His Son hath giv’n!
While angels sing with pious mirth
A glad new year to all the earth.
(ELH 123)
We pray that you have a very blessed
Christmas season celebrating the Christ child and remembering why He has come
to us.
Love,
Samuel,
Anna, and Abel Gullixson
P.S. If you want more updates/pictures Anna has been writing
a blog at www.gullixsonfamily.blogspot.com.
