Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Luke 2:10-12
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Joe and Joleen

Joe continues to work at Clear Channel Outdoor here in Phoenix. The commute is getting to him lately as the city is improving the freeway between home and work. It makes the ride treacherous! The work is "supposed" to be completed by this time next year... we'll see! Anyway, he is thankful for his job and the company that has been so good to him over the years. He still enjoys woodworking and has taken some bowl turning classes. He made the nativity scene pictured in front of our home a couple years ago. To tell the truth, he made about 85 of them (with the help of our small group) as people placed orders faster than we could say, "No more orders, please!" Our small group decided to take the project on as a service to others so no money was made, just fun memories!

I have had a great year personally. After a little over three years in the real estate business, Joe and I decided that it just took too much time away from the family on the evenings and weekends. During the first couple of years, when my business was a lot slower, it wasn't so taxing on the family but that third year really picked up for me and the result was several evenings and Saturdays with clients. Realizing that we don't have too many years left before the kids start going to college or moving out, we made the decision to bring me back home full time. I am loving it! I realize now that I had taken being home for granted and now I am really appreciating this time more than ever!

Maegan (14)

Maegan graduated from 8th grade this May and started her Freshman year at Northwest Christian School in August. She is loving the environment there and has made many new friends. She is your typical social teenager, constantly texting or on the phone. She lettered in Cross Country for NCS. Both boy's and girl's teams made it to the State Meet. She plans on running track starting in February. Maegan still loves the drums and was just asked to join the high school praise band at church! Currently she is studying for her first finals which start on Wednesday. A few of the great things about Maegan are: She is really growing in her relationship with the Lord. She had a real desire to go to Christian school this year. She looks for ways to help me around the house. Without me asking, she pitches in and is such a help. She is very studious and works hard in all subjects. She is a caring person and she is a great big sister!

Melissa (13)

We have 2 teenagers in the McBride home now! What a joy! No, seriously, it has been more fun than I ever imagined. Melissa is now in 7th grade, still at Anthem Elementary (it's a K-8 school). She does very well in school and gets her homework out of the way as soon as possible so she can spend time with or on the phone with the same people she just spent the whole day with at school! Whatever! Volleyball is her "thing". She was on a club team last year called FEAR. She then made the 7th & 8th grade combined team at school. Club season just started back up and she is on the FEAR 14s team. Eight other girls are on her team and we will really get to know these families well as we travel to tournaments together. A few great things about Melissa are: She always has a smile on her face! Everybody likes Melissa. She's a real friend. She loves Junior High youth group!!

Joey (10, will be 11 in Jan)

Joey is in the 5th grade. School has always been a bit of a struggle for Joey but something has really kicked in this year and he is excelling. We are so pleased. Joey's interests are broad: reptiles, drums, baseball, school band (percussion), swimming, video games, eating, the Military channel, pool & ping pong. We got a pool table this year. It has a ping pong table top that fits over it. He can beat all of us at pool! Hands down, he is the best, or luckiest, player in the house. This goes over real well with his sisters as Joey rubs it in as only a little brother can, victory dance and all! He plays ping pong well but has some work to do if he wants to be "house champion" of that too. Joey got a snake for Christmas last year. Jake lives in Joey's room and has only gotten loose in the house twice. Once, we found him that same day and the other time we found him 3 days later! Joey got contacts this year, in case you couldn't figure out what was different about him. His glasses are a thing of the past. Joey had been begging for contacts for a couple years. After an unfortunate tetherball incident, we relented. Some great things about Joey: He has a great sense of humor. He keeps us all laughing. He puts a lot of effort into everything he does. He is kind and compassionate toward others.