SamBeller.org

Welcome to Sam's New Web Site! We will continue to add more news and neat stuff, but in the meantime there's lots to check out--including recent photos of Sam, the full archive of journal entries dating back to 2000 when the site originally launched, and links to resources for families with special-needs children. You can also send a message using the contact page, submit comments on your favorite entries, and join the e-mail list to be notified of special Sam news!

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Merry Christmas & A Joyous 2006

Greetings from the Enchanted Cottage.

We wish you all a grand Christmas season and hope that in this time of year, you will find many moments to stop and acknowledge the great gift in the coming of the Messiah.

Frankly, our lives, our marriage, our everything would be a big fat huge mess without the wisdom of the Holy Spirit ministering to our hearts and minds. Praise Him who is our Counselor and Rescuer!

The news from the cottage is that 2005 was awesome. This was the year of CAMPS!

By the generous gift of many fellow HKS employees, our entire family enjoyed a weeklong camp for families affected by disability in June – Joni and Friends Family Retreat Camp - was awesome!! See http://www.joniandfriends.org to see details on the camp.

Also in June, Tevah attended a Christian Leadership camp at Abilene Christian University (http://www.acucamps.org). Kelly volunteered as a teacher and Jacob and Simone had fun in the “pre-camper” program created to entertain the kids of the teachers. What a deal!

In July, Sam was so blessed to attend his very first camp-away-from-mom-and-dad (we, personally, do not see the draw J). Sam attended Camp Summit for 7 days (http://www.campsummittx.org). He stayed in a guys cabin, did guy stuff, went on a ropes course (with lots of help as he was in a harness sling), rode horses, swam (floated), and attended a dance with colored hair spray and a crazy hairdo one of his counselors gave him. Sam’s nurses were with him 24/7 providing him continuous care while at camp. He loved it and didn’t want to come home (but did sleep A LOT the first night home).

While Sam was at camp, Tevah, Jacob and Simone were shipped off to David’s folks house in Roundrock for a week of fun at “Camp Nana and Papa”. So, we had a week with no children at home and no plans. It was amazing how good it is to just completely slow down and spend time together. We named that “Camp Rest.” It was glorious.

In other non-camp news…
David was promoted to Senior Associate at HKS, Inc. We were all very proud and thankful for his hard work as an architect. Kelly is still not getting paid for a single thing that she does (and wishing that someone would pay her).

Sam has had a really healthy year – no big bought with pneumonia. He’s now enjoying life in Junior High. He’ll be 13 in January!! After a rocky start and missing his elementary school (lots of grumpy days), he has made some great new friends at his new school. Sam is quite blessed to have siblings who love him so very much. Jacob and Sam have developed quite a special brotherly bond this year … a blessing for both

Tevah, 10, loves school this year – she and 5th grade get along well. She is very responsible with all her schoolwork and a thinker. She is continuing with her study of piano and is doing well in her 3rd year of this. She is also now a Girl Scout … so if you need cookies, let us know. Sales start in January.

Jacob, 8, has another awesome teacher this year. God continues to provide for our children in education! Jacob is enjoying being on his first official hockey team. He is “all about” the tools in everything he does. So, it’s only natural that he would choose a sport that had a ton of equipment! He performed in two talent shoes this year doing bike stunts (little guy style). You gotta find your niche!

Simone, 6, started Kindergarten. Yeah… everyone is in school! She loves it and asks for more homework (which is given to her promptly!). She is loosening her limbs in gymnastics and now able to do the splits … ouch. She is still obsessed with the medical field and aspires to be a NICU/OB nurse or doctor. She is funny and keeps us all laughing with all of her impersonations that she does.

Children are a blessing and so wonderfully made!

Our family took a chance… on a dog named, “Chance”. He’s two years old and some kind of a hound/black lab mix. Our motivation was to get a companion dog for Sam and buddy for our entire family. However, Chance seems to think our household is quite overwhelming. We’ve had him since just before Thanksgiving and he’s made great strides in becoming one of the crazy participants in this circus house. Our nickname for him is “The Horse” because he is soooo tall ... we’re not used to dogs who can put there nose up to the kitchen counter!