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Psalm 118:1 “Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!”

Being among the “psalm singers”, we continually meditate on these and other comforting words in the Psalms. God’s love endures forever but our lives are racing by. Guy and I have found ourselves at the “half-time evaluation” as our counsellor-friend likes to call it. For the multitude of blessings we’ve know these past 23 years, we are overwhelmed with gratitude.

The highlight of our year was a trip to beautiful Tupper Lake in Northern NY to visit my Mom and Poppy Jack (kids call him Poppy Lumber Jack in his huge log cabin!) Then we traveled down to a quick 2 day visit to grandma Lois Ewald at Hephzibah House in NYC. See picts on Guy’s link. It was our first vacation in 5 years!

Last April Guy’s short film Taylor Made showed in our local theater one night to 2 sold-out crowds. We had 3 Colts’ coaches attending including head coach Jim Caldwell. Indiana’s Life Centers used the film at their annual Banquet as a fundraiser and we were thrilled to support the effort to save babies’ lives.

Hannah has been working as a CNA for the past 6 months and will graduate from nursing school this May to take her RN test. She maintains her 3.7 average and she is ready to be done!

Kate has finished her 3rd semester @ Taylor University where her list of activities could fill her own newsletter. She is now an English Lit major and sure of her calling to do, well, anything relating to English Literature bar “Business Writing”.

Caleb worked 3 jobs this summer, but found time to spend 18 days at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s engineering camp where he tested vehicles in a wind tunnel, and stayed up all night playing ridiculous teen exhaustion games. (Midnight madness - capture the flag until 2am). He has been accepted to Rose-Hulman, known as the “MIT of the Midwest”, and God willing, Caleb will attend as a freshman this fall.

Julia keeps us all on the chubby side with her amazing cookie baking. This year she joined our city’s youth orchestra (violin) and loves it.

Noah is far too tall for 14, Zach knows far too much about football for 12, Maddy is the most excellent mother’s helper and best big sister. Elijah and Isaac are working hard to catch up on reading and math (Caleb drills them on fact cards) and God answered Isaac’s prayers for a cello last year- he now has one year of cello lessons under his belt. Olivia is everyone’s darling 3 year old - our absolute joy and the apple of her father’s eye. He spends more time reading Bible stories and playing play-dough than he ever used to!

Now I’m sounding too “all-is-well”, of course we have our hardships: cars break down too often, the downstairs floods in the night (poor Isaac and Elijah - they sleep down there!), sometimes clients don’t pay, Kate’s Crohn’s disease keeps us on our knees so often, friends of ours have marriage trouble and the roof sometimes leaks, but the memory verse Guy gave me this month is 2 Corinthians 12:10, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Although these wonderful days of raising a family will end, Truly - His love does endure forever.

Blessings to you all this New Year in Christ Jesus our Lord! The Camaras

Family Pictures

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is a triumph!