ELDERTON'S 2012/13 CHRISTMAS & NEW YEARS LETTER

This is our annual letter to all our friends and family and the time has flown by again.

Josh
Josh turned 13 this year and was thrilled to finally be a teenager. Having older sibs, he’s always seemed older than his age. He finally gets to go to senior youth group and loves it and never wants to miss bible study on Wednesday nights. Starting high school this is a challenge for him as the level of responsibility has been raised. It's cool that we can e-mail the teachers to ask about him and his progress. He's playing basketball and lot's of Call of Duty on PS3. It’s a new way of socializing with his friends without leaving the house as he can play with them through wi-fi.

Kayla
Kayla is going to Langara college getting a B.A. in fine arts with the eventual plan to be an art teacher. I always tease her that she might meet her future husband there (since coincidentally, that's where her parents met). Her boyfriend Taylor takes exception to that (since he doesn’t go to Langara). She has moved up to being a waitress at the Keg restaurant and loves the tips. When she has time, she loves to bake and cook and makes various creations (when mom is not around).

Leah and Matthew They have just celebrated their first anniversary in June (just a couple of weeks after the duke and duchess of Cambridge) and are doing well. Leah still works full time at the daycare and they both lead the junior youth at Granville Chapel. Matthew got accepted into the year long teacher's program at S.F.U. It will be challenging for them next year as he won't be able to work as he'll be going to school full time. They are looking forward to leaving December 26th to go to Missouri to the Intervarsity Urbana missions conference with 20 others from their college and career group.

Wayne He is having fun as usual living his passion. He's looking forward to the tennis centre expanding in 2013. After 13 years of working there they've finally been approved to build 3 more indoor courts (an addition to the 6 they have). His health has been up and down. It was a year in Oct since he had his cardiac ablation. It has done wonders for him and has gotten back to normal living. This is better than living in fear the old ticker will go out of rhythm at any moment (which it did on a regular basis before). Having worked on a tennis court for 35 years has had a toll on his body, he's been diagnosed with arthritis in his hips. Growing old really sucks sometimes, and we are just in our early 50's! He had the opportunity to speak at the U.S. open coaches conference in New York this year and also in Chicago.

Janice I had a great opportunity to go to Hong Kong in March with my uncle Edwin and 4 other relatives. I loved going to such a far away place and doing all the touristy things. The highlight was meeting my mom's siblings, of course they treated us like royalty too. Accommodation was convenient since Sally’s mom had an apartment there that was empty (it was only 2 trams stops away from one of my Auntie's home). I started working at McDonald's full time at the beginning of the year. Josh was getting older and didn't need me to be around, so I made the decision to work so I can get the company benefits. It really made a difference since both Kayla and Wayne needed dental work and Josh new glasses. Working there is great when my mood is up because I love to talk to the customers and do my work but really challenging when I am low. I actually hurt my back lifting a heavy bucket at work and had to go on compensation for 2 weeks (yes my body is getting decrepit too!). Thankfully it was not a more serious injury. Now I've learned how to lift properly from my physio. The support group I lead for people with mood disorders grew this year, which is a blessing to see after 6 years of running it. I know the group has made a difference for the ones that come regularly so even though it's not easy, I ask God to give me the wisdom and energy to keep leading. It was a tough year in that we lost some dear people we really cared for, and it just reminds us that life is short and we need to make the most of it and doing what God wants us to do. All the best to you and yours in 2013.

Love,
Janice, Wayne and the kids