2010 Maier Family Christmas Letter

December, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas!

As we marvel at the great gift of God in our Savior Jesus Christ, we want you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. We thank our gracious God for the gift of YOU, the gift of each opportunity to share or be with you (or at least exchange Christmas greetings each year!), and we wish you God’s most awesome and excellent blessings this Christmas season and throughout the New Year.

This past year held lots of changes for our family, not the least of which was our move from Lansing, which had been our home for 20 years, to the Ann Arbor area in southeastern Michigan. (Please note the new address!) Dave is now 15 minutes from the District Office – and he does not miss the 2 ½ hour commute at all! Spring was busy with Joel’s graduation, helping move Leah, Joel, and James from apartments/dorm rooms to new apartments/back home, attending call services at the seminaries in St. Louis and Ft. Wayne, and looking for a house.

In June, Dave and I shopped for a new home and purchased it the day before we left to attend the Synodical Convention in early July. We moved Joel to Nashville later in July and then spent a week with family at Camp Arcadia, took Hannah to Montana (for her senior pics … see photo), went to Ohio for Leah’s graduation (Master’s in Speech Path), sorted, cleaned, had a garage sale, and began packing the house - all in August – and then moved over Labor Day weekend. It was a challenge, but God is good (all the time!) and we are thankful. Here’s an update on the members of our family:

David ~ completed his first full year of being District President October 1. He loves his ministry which provides numerous and various opportunities to serve including … working with the Board of Regents at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, for a stronger college (our alma mater); visiting numerous congregations and winkels; attending and speaking at various pastors’ conferences around the state; and working with ALL of the District’s staff, Circuit Counselors, and Board of Directors. He was awarded the Alumnus of the Year from Concordia University, Ann Arbor, where he was also the commencement speaker for Joel’s graduation.

Pat ~ enjoys traveling with David when possible ~ looks forward to meeting the larger family of God at churches around the state ~ encourages the pastors’ wives who meet with her at area conferences ~ found joy in helping Leah plan, prepare, and decorate for her wedding ~ continues to unpack and decorate our home … now for the Christmas celebration.

Leah ~ received her master’s degree in Speech Pathology from Kent State and is working as a Speech – Language Pathologist for the Manistee Intermediate School District. She also changed her name to Leah DeWees. Kyle & Leah were married at Camp Arcadia on October 2^nd and honeymooned in St. Thomas (scuba dived, swam with sea turtles, and explored the local culture). They are now living in “downtown” Arcadia with our ‘granddog’, Ellie. Kyle, the new fulltime Program Director for Camp Arcadia, is dearly loved by our family!

Joel ~ graduated from Concordia University, Ann Arbor, with a Child Life Specialist Degree. He then worked as temporary program staff at Camp Arcadia in June ~ volunteered at Camp Victory Junction in North Carolina (one of Paul Newman’s Hole In the Wall Gang Camps for seriously ill children) and Camp Quality in Fenton, MI (a local camp for children with cancer). Since August he has interned as a Child Life Specialist (CLS) at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, TN, where he gave the three singers of Rascal Flatts a tour of the hospital (and works with a CLS who had Carrie Underwood in her wedding and who is married to the lead singer of Thousand Foot Krutch, a popular Christian Contemporary band!)

James ~ worked on Program Staff at Camp Arcadia all summer ~ transferred from Hope College to Michigan State (School of Engineering) ~ survived finding his way around a new school, coaching “The Pull” back at Hope, and the activities of Leah’s wedding…all while having mono! He is living with a friend’s sweet mom since his parents moved away from Lansing ~ loved his weekend with Joel in Nashville in October, especially the “techno sushi bar” ~ loves snow having taken up snowboarding.

Hannah ~ still loves her parents even though they decided to move 2 months before her senior year of high school ~ flew to Montana with her parents (Christmas/B-day gift) for “homemade” senior pictures ~ worked as end-of-season staff at Camp Arcadia and returned home to help pack and move FIVE days before her first day of school as a new student at Dexter High School (which she LOVES - PTL)! She worked hard to remain calm and be herself in a new house, a new town, a new school, with new friends, finding her way to a new mall (you get the picture!) and is blessed with a positive attitude, a never-ending smile, and has parents and siblings that are very proud of her!

Some pictures ...

Hannah, David, Pat, Gramma Kemmerling, Kyle, Joel, and James