A beautiful, worship-filled, joyful merry Christmas it was, as we set our gaze and affections on the mercies of our Lord, who came to earth that He might save sinners from their sins and restore fallen man to their Creator through the perfect sacrifice of Himself.
You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 6:11
Twenty Twenty-Two: a life-changing year unlike any other. For the first time in 11 years of marriage, we moved a total of zero(!!) times, travelling only once to Spokane. With baseball in the rearview mirror, we’ve joyfully and diligently been planting roots in our Conley Cottage while learning to live simply in one place and raise our children faithfully in the process. The Lord has been so kind by providing for us a faithful church with faithful leaders to encourage, exhort, teach and sometimes rebuke us, while lovingly and sacrificially partnering with us toward growth in our knowledge and trust in the Lord while we seek to glorify Him in all things. We have been enjoying long term participation at CBC and as a result, have been so blessed to gain clarity in many areas of our lives that we were previously ignorant in. We are thankful to be home. The ordinary life is truly the extraordinary.
Bearett (9) is as brilliant as ever, extremely artistic and creative, loves reading, and enjoys destroying taking apart everything. He is steadily promoting in Taekwondo and took aim at his first hog this year! He continues to be the best at finding lost things, recalling obscure Bible and history facts, and constructing small inventions with various pieces of “treasure.” So much of what makes Bearett special is usually what gets him in the most trouble, and we’re praying the Lord would do a work in his life to direct Bearett’s greatest strengths toward righteousness.
Amelia (7) is our biggest helper without comparison. She’s a willing and diligent worker, offering help in meal preparation, cooking, washing the laundry, and unloading the dishwasher. After deciding to move on from gymnastics in March, she too has found a love for Taekwondo, with a special ability of axe kicking higher than her head! She seems to be extremely balanced and peaceful in life, content to be herself. We’re so thankful for her slowness to speak, and for her sweet personality.
Ella Mae (5) has always been a pistol. She has such a unique mind and is quick to utter the most extreme absurdities. We sit around as a family and often quote or re-watch videos of Ella Mae doing only what she does. She loves acting as a mommy to her countless stuffed farm animals and baby dolls (she wants to be a farmer’s wife when she’s big), being best friends with her little sister, dancing around the Cottage, playing with our two dogs (we got a second Chesapeake Bay Retriever and named him Fellar!), and singing worship songs. After a recent date to The Nutcracker, ballet may be in Ella Mae’s future.
Molly (3) is incredibly smart, wild eyed, loud, and bouncy. She’s always on the move and hardly ever walks—skipping or dancing or jumping or headstanding instead. She’s already learning to read, can write her own name, loves coloring and snacking, and doesn’t have any quit in her. Molly is completely unashamed to steal hugs, kisses, the crayons, or your breakfast, anytime she wants. We’re thankful for her confidence and strong personality.
All four kids are homeschooling and doing so well. The older three are also participating in electives at our church’s school and each are playing violin. As for violin, they all are thriving in their own unique ways, and it has been such a joy watching them excel in something so foreign to their parents, as neither of us have any sort of musical abilities.
Kendall has continued to grow tremendously in her view and love of the Lord, His church, marriage, raising children, and keeping the home. She has grown in her love of the church and has had such sweet opportunities to participate in the body in ways unlike ever before, now that we’re home permanently. Settled and with a clearer view of her purpose in life as a daughter of the King, she is thankful to be out of baseball and instead, daily sharing in the lives of those in local church—a gain without comparison.
Adam started a new business giving private baseball instruction and has built up a steady clientele. His long-term pursuit is training for ministry either to serve in the church locally or in the church on foreign mission. He loves his church, his wife, and his children more than ever and is so thankful and content to be home with them with such regularity.
We’re praying for peace, contentment, and joy in the Lord this Christmas season.
With love, The Conleys
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 14:1
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