Merry Christmas from the Litscher Family!
It is hard to believe another December is upon us and it is time to write our Christmas letter! We hope and pray this letter finds you and your family healthy and well. Our family is thankful for another year of God’s gracious blessings and provision in our lives.
The biggest event for our family in 2008 was the birth of Gabriel Drew on April 18th! After much waiting and prayer, God has blessed us with the gift of another little boy! Gabe is a very smiley baby, and looks just like Ken (red hair and all). He already has four teeth and weighs at 8 months what Jonathan weighed at one year! Jonathan loves being a big brother and showers Gabe with lots of kisses and hugs. It is so fun to watch the boys interact together and while our deepest prayer is that they will grow to love Jesus, we also pray that they will remain lifelong friends.
Jonathan is continuing to grow up so quickly. He will turn 4 in January, and often times Ken and I are in shock about how we have a child old enough to attend preschool in the fall! Where has all the time gone?!? He loves attending Mother’s Day Out twice a week and has made a lot of new friends at school (along with all the college students on campus that he considers his friends J). He still loves cars and trains, and constantly amazes us with the things he understands and the ways he communicates.
Ken is halfway through his second year as a Resident Director at Covenant College. He continues to enjoy his job and we are so thankful for the ministry we get to have with the college students in our building and across campus. We have 8 Resident Assistants on our staff this year (2 more than last year), and our building is almost completely full with about 110 students. Ken also oversees the on-campus apartments where another 60 students live. He works very hard building relationships with students, mentoring leaders, and encouraging the spiritual and social aspects of our Residence Hall. God has truly wired him for this kind of work, and it is exciting for me to watch the ways the God is using his gifts and abilities. Ken is also on the Alumni Board at Trinity, and enjoys his twice yearly trips to Chicago for meetings and the chance to hang out with some of our college friends. When he has free time, he still loves watching Packer football, reading, and playing his guitar.
I am still working per diem at a local hospital in the Special Care Nursery. I am working a combination of nights and days, and I am so thankful for the flexibility nursing allows our family and my role as a mom. I have started attending a MOPS group this fall (which I love), and when I am not busy with the boys or helping out with things at the college, I love to read and connect with friends. This fall Ken and I have also enjoyed leading a small group for engaged and seriously dating couples on campus. We are studying The Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas.
Our lives are busy and full, and we have settled in to life in Chattanooga and adjusted to yet another big transition. We have been able to develop some great friendships with some of Ken’s co-workers and have enjoyed the crazy lifestyle of being in Residence Life! God is good! We are looking forward to traveling again at Christmas to see family in MI and WI, and I know Jonathan is hoping for lots of snow to go sledding! J
We are thankful for those of you whom we have been able to physically connect with over the past year, and love hearing from those of you who we haven’t been able to see. We pray that you all have a Merry Christmas as we celebrate God’s greatest gift to us – His son Jesus!
With much love,
Ken, Renee, Jonathan & Gabriel
Thank you so much for the Christmas letter. Wish we could have gotten together over the holidays. We love you!!