Elderton’s Christmas & New Years letter letter 2013/14

We have had another amazing year seeing how God has blessed us and upheld us through the bumps in life.
Leah and Matthew celebrated a lot this year. They have been married for 2 years now and are still enjoying their honeymoon stage (I think this lasts until the first kid arrives). 

They are both junior youth pastors now tasked with the spiritual guidance of  the grade 6 & 7’s and  helping them take steps to a faith of their own. Also, they have been mentoring the young leaders who volunteer with them. Matthew graduated from SFU in the summer with his B.A. and then finished his education degree. Now is the hard part of finding a full time job teaching high school.

Leah is still working at the daycare and being a much in demand babysitter.  They both will make great parents and I can’t wait to be a paw-paw (grandma) one day. She was challenged this year to bring home the bacon as Matthew was in full time school for the whole year.

Kayla is working on a degree in visual arts with a view to be a high school art teacher one day. She attends the SFU downtown campus.  She’s moved up to being a waitress at the keg restaurant now and the bonus is, if we have dinner with her, we get the 40% discount too.

Josh is 14 and in grade nine.  He is now the same height as Wayne and relishes the fact he will be taller than his Dad. Wayne estimates he will be 6’ 3’’.  He decided to leave the French immersion program at school. It was a tough decision but it has paid off as he made the honour roll for the first time. We were pleasantly surprised, and couldn’t believe it since he tries to do as little as possible at school. Unfortunately for Wayne, he quit tennis and is enjoying playing basketball at a community league instead (coaches like tall kids).

Wayne’s centre was expanded this year and now has an additional 3 new courts adding to the original 6 making it the 2^nd largest centre (court number wise) in BC. He spoke at conferences in Boca Raton, Chicago and in Cancun. I don’t usually travel with him but I couldn't pass up a chance to go to Mexico.  It wasn't too hard to enjoy the white sand and blue water while Wayne was busy attending his conference. This was the first time he was asked to speak at the world-wide International Tennis Federation conference. It is held every two years and this year was attended by 850 coaches from 90 different countries.  He was very honoured as he was asked to be a keynote speaker. He is still hobbling around and is waiting to be put on the list for a hip replacement. It’s a bummer to not be able to run as an athlete.

For the first time in a while we splurged and bought a new car. It is mostly Wayne's car (a Ford Escape). It is nice to not drive around in something that needs repairing all the time. The kids love all the technology and ability to sync their phones and music. I like the heated seats.

I am still working at McDonald’s , I can’t believe it’s been 4 ½ years since I started! I enjoy the job and talking with the many “regulars” that come to the restaurant . My living room group mood disorders support group has been going well and I am glad that our church can provide a place for those hurting people to come to get encouragement and support.  This year our group started cooking and eating a communal meal together once a month.

That’s all the news for now, may God continue to bless and keep you this coming year.