Christmas Letter

Hello one and all…
Good evening from the warm confines of the Zehr household. The night is very dreary. It is raining again. Why, I do not know. We have had more rainfall this fall then I can ever remember. Unfortunately, this really doesn’t mean much. As the years continue to slide by I realize my memory seems to have been left behind on some path in the past. I am hoping it will catch up with me here soon. But enough useless chatter about the weather and my lack of grey matter. I will try to bring you up speed on the many wild happening of the past year.
My wife continues to teach our children here at home. This seems to take up a lot of her time. When you mix in the cooking, cleaning, laundry, husband, and all the other things she does, she is a very busy lady.
Sierra, turned 9 in Sept. and is in the process of becoming a 21 year old. This past year she has started helping her mother with most of the household chores. Such as a little cleaning, some cooking, most of the baking, and a lot of laundry. She loves taking care of Kaiden and continues to prop him on her hip. She enjoys singing and she enjoys school until math becomes involved. She must get this trait from her father. He seems to have very little joy in his life where math is concerned.
Aleya is in first grade and is learning to read. School is a little more difficult for her. One reason for this is her energy level. She loves doing things and we have been amazed at her ability to imagine things. When I came in this evening she was a turtle… Where this comes from I do not know… She loves animals and enjoys feeding a calf twice a day, unlike her sister who doesn‘t enjoy the chore.
The Boys. It is hard to mention one of the boys without the other. Jayden and Jackson are 4 1/2. They are always doing something. This summer they spent a lot of time wandering around the shop watching dad work on trucks and other pieces of equipment. It was very common to see them poking a screwdriver in this and sticking a piece of metal in that and in most respects fixing things about as well as dad was…
Kaiden is our youngest and is just over a year old. He endured quite a bit of trauma in September. He burned his mouth very bad with an electrical cord. He was in a hospital in Richmond for 5 days, and then a couple of miserable weeks recovering from that. The doctors were pretty certain he would need plastic surgery, but he amazed us all, and it looks like we will be able to avoid that. We have an appointment in June to make a decision, but the dr’s are very hopeful! Praise the Lord!
I am still farming, singing and trying to balance this with family life and church life. This seems to be a very difficult thing to accomplish. The farm continues to grow. We are currently milking 140 cows and it looks like we could easily be milking 150-160 by spring. We desperately need another barn. I am trying to be patient and let things play out before I rush in and make some silly decision. I have two men working for me. They are doing a wonderful job and I am thankful I have them on the payroll. They make it possible for me to be involved in Voice Of Praise.
VOP was rather busy this year. The highlight of which was a 10 day tour to the NW. We flew out rented/borrowed a van and drove around this beautiful corner of the world. It was good to meet new people as well as reconnecting with some old friends. We are currently working on another album. Hopefully it will be available by the summer of 2010.
Life continues to be one of joy and trials. It is so easy to wonder at times what God’s plan is and why he allows things to happen. The truth is, Jesus probably wondered the same thing. I am thankful Jesus was faithful. That He carried through with God’s plan. Without His life my life would be a complete shambles and full of depression. So, may we all realize anew the reason for the season. May we rejoice in the coming of the Messiah and eagerly await His return.
May God richly bless you
The Zehrs