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Merry Christmas!
Here is a quick synopsis of our year:
HOME AND WORK: This time last year, Mark was half way through his second year teaching 10th grade English in Newark, New Jersey. Mark misses getting paid to read and teach about great literature to some of the most resilient and wonderful students ever. In Jersey, Juanita was enjoying staying home with Zion since all three of our other children were in school. But by June we were off to West Lafayette, Indiana to start our new adventure of graduate school at Purdue.
But before we started graduate school we spent the summer living apart since Mark had mandatory Army training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina for three months. Needless to say, the difficultly of our summer was grossly asymmetrical. Mark spent his summer getting paid to exercise, shoot stuff, repel from towers and learn other Army stuff. He also managed to go to the temple every week and read a lot. Juanita, on the other hand, had absolutely no discretionary time and couldn’t use the bathroom without an audience. But she was an amazing trooper and she spent her summer alone with the kids trying out different parks going to farmers markets, playing in our back yard unpacking, decorating and planting a yummy garden.
Since reunification Mark has tried to make up for all the dirty diapers and bed time rituals and stories he has missed and enjoys nothing better than reading stories to the kids for bedtime. Juanita has taken up easel painting and enjoys being able to exercise while Mark watches the kids. The PhD program in Political Science is pretty much what Mark expected it would be and he is trudging along.
CHURCH: (The division between church and home and family is not at all as easily compartmentalized as this letter would suggest). Let’s back up to New Jersey. Last Christmas found our family in New Jersey surrounded by so many amazing, spiritual, supportive kind friends in our ward family. It pains us to not be with them anymore. Juanita kept busy as the primary president in our local church in New Jersey. (She was like the principal of a Sunday school for children ages 18 months to 11 years). Mark enjoyed being her little helper in all things related to Primary. Juanita was released from this responsibility just as she began to get comfortable and was whisked off to work in the Young Women’s where she did weekly activities with teenage girls and helped them strengthen their testimony of Christ. Meanwhile Mark went from being a Sunday School teacher to a counselor in the Young Men’s organization to a counselor in the Elder’s Quorum Presidency. Fast forward to Indiana. Mark is loving his new assignment in the nursery (it’s basically Sunday school for toddlers) where whenever Mark is asked to give talks or prayers in sacrament meeting a chorus of nursery children yell, “Brother Denninghoff!” Juanita, meanwhile has endeared herself to the adult population of the ward here in Indiana as she has served as a Relief Society teacher and now as an advisor in the Young Women’s. We have recently transitioned from reading a scripture or two as a family to sitting down and reading a page in the Book of Mormon as a family and we have already seen an increase in the Holy Ghost in our home and a greater desire in our hearts to keep God’s commandments. As a couple we are starting the Bible again this year and we have enjoyed having conversations about the meaning of this sacred text.
Eve (age 7) is enjoying first grade. She is very active. She enjoys jumping rope, playing basketball, soccer, baseball and doing mountain climbers and push-ups. She is also very service-oriented. She has begun changing Zion’s diapers and unloading the dishwasher. When she is not moving she is reading. She loves to read the Book of Mormon personally as well as with her family. This year her spiritual questions have become more profound. Her questions about where she was before she was born and what it was like in heaven, left us all wanting to learn more about where we came from and what it was like when we were in heaven. She has been recognizing the influence of the Holy Ghost in her life. It is obvious to us that God is preparing her for baptism.
Esther (age5) is our precocious little debutante. For a five year old she has a quick wit and she successfully charms the pants off of her teachers in kindergarten. She enjoys dressing up, coloring writing stories and reading Mo Willems books. Esther’s prayers have become more meaningful this year and it’s becoming more apparent when she feels the influence of the Holy Spirit because she will mention it in her prayers.
Asenath (age 4) enjoys going to pre-school and playing with her little brother and cuddling. She has an infectious smile and is quick to say, “Mommy, you look beautiful!” or “Daddy, you look handsome!” It doesn’t matter if we are wearing sweat pants or our Sunday best. When Juanita goes on her dream vacation to Italy she knows that Asenath would be a worthy traveling companion because Asenath appreciates “la vita vera”.
Zion(age 2) enjoys sitting on any bodies lap reading elephant and piggie books and ripping through the house like a honey badger. Zion is proactive. He is anxiously engaged and does many things of his own free will. For example, instead of screaming for food, he commandeers any food he can reach in the fridge or pantry. Instead of asking for a book on a shelf he pushes chairs over and climbs the bookshelf(much to the chagrin of his parents). Zion is an exhausting delight and has benefited from being around very vocal siblings.
Our greatest treasure is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and despite the vicissitudes of life, we feel richly blessed to know that God is our Father and that Jesus Christ has took our sins upon himself so our sins don’t have to come crashing down upon our shoulders. We feel so blessed to have made promises with God in Holy temples that allow our wonderful family to continue as a family after this life. May your Christmas be filled with the light of Christ and your New Year bring a recommitment to making Him the center of your life.
With Love,
The Denninghoffs
