Greetings from the Ruhlig family,
My theme verse for 2009 has been Romans 8:28 which promises us that, “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose.” It hasn’t been a peaches and cream year for us, but we have so much to be thankful for. His many promises to us are just one of our many reasons to rejoice, even amidst the trials!
Doug lost his job after the end of September. We had suspected it was coming, but it’s still a little surreal when it actually happens. We are praying for wisdom to lead us to the job that God would have for him as well as if we will be able to stay in our house or not. There are a lot of unanswered possibilities and scary what-if’s right now, but it would just take too much energy to worry about all of them right now. So for now I’m just thankful that Doug is around more and thankful for the opportunity he has to discover a more enjoyable career path. He continues to enjoy playing sports and has played on both a softball team and a basketball team this year. Saturdays that he’s able to, he plays basketball at the church with friends. Unfortunately he has not been able to go hunting this year, but the pain is somewhat soothed by his one true love – his Jeep.
This year was my first full year of running the Just Between Friends of North Tampa events. This has been such a rewarding experience for me on so many levels. I am so thankful this opportunity was given to me and I look forward to many more years being part of the JBF family! I continue to dislike my transcription work, but isn’t that usually how it is with the job that pays the bills? I did, however, get to take a break from it to have my gallbladder removed, and for that I am thankful. If you ever feel run-down and need a few days to sleep it off, just have something surgically removed. Important life lesson.
Kaitlin is now 6 years old and in 1st grade. She is a genius and has looks to boot. She joined Girl Scouts this year as a daisy and we appear to have found something that she truly enjoys. Being a daddy’s girl, she rarely passes up an opportunity to snuggle with him. She makes us laugh every day and draws attention everywhere we go with her insanely lovely mane of hair. I’m pretty sure we could charge admission to see it. She is brilliantly artistic (I might be slightly biased, but one would expect that, me being her mother and all) and is constantly creating new “projects.” She loves school, but says that she doesn’t like reading. Sigh. I guess everyone has a flaw.
DJ is 2 and all boy. He climbs, jumps, wrestles, throws, prefers toys with wheels and, much to his father’s delight, can point out a Jeep from a mile away. He resembles his daddy both in looks and attitude. Please pray for me. He does, however, have a sweet streak and never a day passes that I’m not at some point smothered in little man kisses and hugs. I often make him promise to me that he’ll never stop being sweet to his mommy. So far, so good. Of course, he’s his big sister’s greatest fan and thinks everything she does is just the best. She has so much patience with him! I just love seeing them play together. We finally discovered part of DJ’s allergy problems this year, and as a result he cannot eat processed sugar. It’s made such a change for him for the good! 
This year has certainly held many changes for our family. While some may not be as good of a change as others, we are thankful to know that God can work all things together for good. As a family, we continue to go to Christian Church in the Wildwood (no spot is so dear to our childhood…) and are continually blessed by the sincere love of the believers there. As a family we also took a trip to Oklahoma this summer to visit my family. It’s always a good visit and always passes too quickly. We look forward to the possibility of more family trips in the future.
We hope that 2009 has found you trusting His promises and able to have joy and peace, even during life’s tests and trials. May you have a wonderful holiday season and a heart ready to see the good in any situation for 2010!
Love,
The Ruhlig Family
