Merry Christmas from the Gansons! 2017

Merry Christmas!!!

It's that time of year again.... when I waver back and forth for several weeks wondering if I should send Christmas cards, write and snail-mail a Christmas letter, get pictures taken of the kids to send along... and then suddenly it is the week of Christmas and it still feels like there is so much to do!  (So many gifts to wrap!  So many cookies to bake!  So many calories to consume!)  So, like last year,  I am resorting to what I CAN do in this moment, and that is a blog post. :)  Merry Christmas, friends!  Don't let the lack of a physical card in your mailbox fool you into thinking that we love you any less.  Here's what the Gansons have been up to this year:

Micah is 11 going on 21 and in the 5th grade.  This year he started a "lawn mowing business," but when you're 11, your business can only grow as much as your parents are willing to transport you. :)   He is a super hard worker, even in the oppressively hot South Carolina summers.

Ben helped Micah and Caleb both buy their own stocks this year, and Micah especially loves to research what to invest in.   He has chosen basketball as his "sport of choice" and plays both summer and winter ball at the Y. 
Micah was baptized this past October, and I think 2017 will be the year we remember as when Micah really came to love Jesus.

 It's so cool to see him own his faith and to watch it move from his head to his heart and into a lifestyle.  Being the extrovert he is, and the way he really loves people, he often asks total strangers if he can pray for them.  (Such as this lady at the library.)

Micah's latest hobby is learning piano.  Here he is with our little buddy, Caedmon:

Caleb is 8 and in the 2nd grade.  He is still our most imaginative child, and his mind is always coming up with a new invention or costume, especially during math lessons. :)  If he's not an entrepreneur someday, I will be shocked.  Here he is convincing his sister to hold some wood together while he nails it.  He said he was going to make doghouses to sell.  (The original plan was to make "real houses" but since he didn't know how to do air conditioning, he settled on doghouses.)  The prototype never made it past this stage, unfortunately.  :)

Here is the "Iron Man" costume he designed.  Much to his chagrin, I wouldn't let him leave the house in it.  Not a good idea in the South. 

Caleb played spring baseball and also basketball this year.  He finally made a shot on the very last game of the season, when his grandparents, cousins, and our friends the Jettes were all there to see him.  Judging from his excitement, you would have thought he won the National Championship.  (He also liked to "wave to the audience" as he dribbled down the court.)

Caleb loves practicing the piano, reading, and making his sister angry.  (He and Abby are the best of friends and the worst of enemies.  Every. single. day.)

Abby is 5 (6 in just a few weeks!) and is in kindergarten.

She LOVES school (Finally! A girl after my own heart!) and her handwriting is already 10 times neater than the boys'.

For her presentation one week at our homeschool group, she was supposed to share about something she wants to do someday, and her biggest heart desire was to "have a kitty!"  ("Alas", Caleb is allergic.  That, and her parents aren't super fond of animals in the house.)

Except when arguing with her brother, Abby is a pretty sweet little girl.  She loves to be around people (she asks every night, "Is tomorrow church day?  What about CC day?" - CC is our homeschool group) BUT also craves "alone time."  She'll spend hours in her room playing with her flag.  (Yes, a flag.  We have a little flag from Haiti that she talks to like a friend.)  When we were on vacation earlier this year and she hadn't had alone time for two days, she finally went into the hotel bathroom, closed the door, and talked to the roll of toilet paper for a while. :) 

Janelle (that's me!) took over as the Director of Foundations and Essentials (elementary-age classes) at our Classical Conversations homeschool co-op this year.  It has kept me extra busy, but I really, really love it!  It's the perfect combination of organization/administration and people interaction for me.  We have about 20 really amazing families in our program, and they add so much joy to my life!  Plus, homeschooling is something I remain very passionate about.  (For our family!  I know it's not for everybody!)  Don't get me wrong, I love our "break weeks" from school as much as anyone else... (and sometimes get jealous of the daily "breaks" other parents get from their kids who go away to school!),  but ultimately, I am truly thankful that I get to see my kids grow and learn every day.  I know that ultimately childhood will fly by (I can't believe I already have an 11 year old!), so I count this as a very sweet season.  In my spare time.... Gotcha!  What Mom actually feels like they have "spare time??" Haha!  I do love my 3-day-a-week hour to go to the Y alone, and I usually have a good book by my bed.   Ben and I celebrated 14 years of marriage this past September, and I think we like each other as much as ever!

 Ben is still loving the bi-vocational lifestyle of both leading our church and financial planning at Carroll Financial. Speaking of books, these are the kind he has on his bedside table:

 Sickening, isn't it?  On any free evenings we have, if he's not reading or preparing for a sermon, he's snuggled up with one of those big white books at the bottom of the stack.  He's finishing up his 4th class and has 3 more to go before "THE BIG TEST" which grants him the status of Certified Financial Planner.  I will never understand how he can read and absorb such dry information about "cost recovery convections" and "deductions for obsolescence" and "nonforfeiture provisions" (???????) Uggg, shoot me now!  But he somehow loves it.  Mike Jette, Ben's "boss" and our kids' "South Carolina Grandpa," has a lot to do with how much Ben loves his job.  There is no line between "work" and "ministry" for them, and they spend a lot of time praying with and for people and building "Kingdom connections."  Ben was a little nerdy in his excitement for their new website: https://www.mikejette.com/

Ben has also found himself on the executive board of a new organization called "Pathways", a unified community effort to provide comprehensive solutions for those who are homeless or in need in our county.  Historically, churches in Rock Hill have not "played well together", so it's really exciting to see some momentum not only with churches coming together but also government-run entities. Ben told me the other day that he has no idea how he has ended up on this board with some of the most influential people in our region, but this is certainly a big part of his heart and very much a "God thing."

Our Haitian kids are still in-the-waiting.  This coming March, we will have been "in process" of adopting 2 children from Haiti for 3 years and our paperwork will have been in the Haitian system for about 2 years.  Which, despite what you may think, I count as a blessing.  We knew this would be a long process (4 or more years), and we were banking on that fact when we started because Abby was only 3 at the time and we wanted to adopt two kids ages 5 and under.  With her just turning 6 in a few weeks, it now seems pretty safe to say that there will be a gap age-wise between her and the other two kids.  Actually, about 6 months ago, as we were praying before bed (as we usually do) for the "Haiti kids," Abby stopped us and said, "Wait.  What ARE Haiti kids?"  And we realized she probably doesn't remember a time before we were in this process.  At first she was freaked out by the idea of new kids joining our family, but she's recently started to express "cautious excitement" and eagerness, another reason why it's good the process has taken so long.
There are a million reasons why the process is so long and expensive; some are ridiculous, and some are very good, but ultimately, I know they are worth it.  (A few friends have asked recently if we have all the finances we need for the adoption.  The answer is "no" but we won't know an exact number of how much MORE we'll need until we know who our children are and how much longer it will be until they come home.  But I KNOW the Lord has asked us to do this, and so it will work out!)  In January, I will start the tedious paperwork all over again to renew our homestudy, immigration papers, etc., for the year.  It would be amazing if this would be the last time I have to do that!  2018 is the first year that something "might" actually happen, but we shall wait and see!

Rock Hill Vineyard (our "other baby") is still a joy to us on so many levels.  I can't even believe the amazing people the Lord has given us!  This January will mark 3 years of regular Sunday meetings, and there are too many cool stories to share here about the people of our church and how they are living out the gospel in everyday life.  We just love being a part of what God is doing.  This year we will probably need to figure out what to do about our "little room" at the YMCA.  It's working for now, but can sometimes get pretty squished before the million kids go to their classes.  We don't have any clear answers yet, but I know the Lord will show us what to do!  http://rockhillvineyard.org/

Finally, here are a few unique things we were able to enjoy this year. (We skipped the annual Vineyard conference, freeing up a little time to do some shorter mini trips):

In February, Ben had a financial planning conference in Orlando, so the kids and I got to go along and enjoyed a day at Disney World!  (As Micah puts it, "the greatest day of his life.")

Then we drove the extra two hours to see my parents in Florida for a couple of days...

 In May, we took two days to visit Charleston!  We got to visit Fort Sumter (school day!) and hang out at the beach.  What a beautiful city!

In June, during our normal "summer visit to Maryland," we tacked on a trip to New York City.  So much fun, but so much walking!

At the top of the Empire State Building

Thus concludes the (much-longer-than-anticipated) Ganson family recap of our year.  We miss and love so many of you whom we live far away from, and are so grateful for the amazing friends we have locally!  Have a very blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year, knowing that you are loved by the Father and by some folks in South Carolina. :)

Janelle,

 for Ben, Micah, Caleb, and Abby  too!