Friday, December 26, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Christmas 2008
I started to hand write this Christmas note but then the power went out in the Ice Storm and we started camping in the house which was fun for the first 24 hours.Of course we have all the resources needed to survive for many days without power....but I drew the line when Tom suggested we purify the fish pond for our drinking water.....Oh how fun it was to hear the hummmm of the very clean refrigerator when the power came on 3 days later. Christmas preparation is quite different this year and the cards and notes such an encouragement! Tom & I appreciate hearing from our friends & family at this time of year.
Enjoy the news from our family to yours on this cold and blustery winter afternoon in Windham,NH....
Most of our girls are grown and on their own. Tammy & Matt are well in Toronto where Tammy is finishing up her teaching certificate. Marcy & Brook live on the Somerville/Cambridge line and tonight Heather will fly home from Santa Barbara. We had quite the fright when her school was on fire during the wildfires you probably read about just before Thanksgiving. Tommy is finally taller than his sisters and looks forward to the zaniness when they all come to visit. 2009 will be brighter as we gather for New Years in Toronto with Tammy & Matt.
Tom is now a director @ Eliza Corp in Beverly and I still work at Holy Family Hospital but changed departments to the Quality Dept. I finally have weekends and holidays off! The flexibility has been a real blessing with Tommy's schedule.
This summer was very special when Tom & I went on a mission trip to Quito, Ecuador to help out at For His Children Orphanage. We were able to go see our sponsored child, Evelin who calls us her Padrino & Padrina (Godparents)down in Latacunga where FHC has its second orphanage. I can not tell you how special that was! We are hoping she and her little brother, Omar will be adopted this coming year. Please join us in praying they will be adopted by the same family!
Thank you to so many of you who contributed so that we could provide for the handicapped children at the orphanage. We were able to build a wonderful swing set out of eucalyptus for the handicapped swing we brought with us.
We also visited the Compassion Projects that many in our church have sponsored children in. What an amazing program held at the church in a very poor neighborhood! We brought gifts down to all the children and lots of soccer balls for the kids not sponsored. We were allowed to visit the children's homes and everyone was so hospitable. Did you know that the letters you write to your sponsored child are treasures to them? They save all of them! We were able to meet Marcy's sponsored child and his whole family.
We came back with a heart for all of the children we met. They are all so well cared for at For His Children by their Tia's but our tears still flowed like prayers as we struggled with the pain of these precious babies abandonment. For His Children Orphanage is now a part of us! If any of you would like to know how you can sponsor a child there for $30 a month let us know and we can get you in touch with Melinda & Clark Vaughn who run the orphanage. They can really use the help during these difficult economic times.
Well I am being called to help with the decorating ...wrapping...cleaning.....baking a tray of cookies....at least one....but at least the shopping is done! Enjoy this special time of the year and please keep us posted how you are thru email or snail mail or maybe cellphone while your stuck in traffic, or how about facebook....I promise....I will let you be my friend!
Colleen for the Ostberg Family still Celebrating the Incredible Gift of a Baby in a Manger to the Whole World!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
The Big Dig!
Saturday
December 22, 2007
Today was Gingerbread House time. I have had the candy and all the supplies for weeks but finally today I was ready to start the construction. Check out the photos of our architectual wonder.
The Guests have all arrived!
It has been nonstop action around here ever since.
December 23, 2007
Click here to read about The Big Dig
I loved having a week off to get ready this year. Today ended all of that with my first day back at work. It was a nice day at work today....everyone worked well together and the hours slipped by so now I am back home again ready for a full night of present wrapping. I could tell I had been on vacation because I was so much more mellow compared to my coworkers. Let's see how long my peace level at work lasts.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Christmas 2007
Merry Christmas to all of our Family & Friends!
Winter has come early this year in New England! We will certainly have a White Christmas this year. We didn’t get a chance to get out the Christmas Lights due to all the storms we have had on the weekends but it is bright and cheery inside our home as our children make their way back home for this special holiday celebrating our Lord’s birth.
Tommy lives here year round and has had quite an adventurous fall starting at a new school that emphasizes math & science. He continues to enjoy Scouts, Youth Group and his new found favorite pastime …Skateboarding. Heather is just home from her first semester at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. She is just loving seeing the snow and doesn’t seem to mind the cold although she is having trouble getting up early……
Brook moved back home temporarily until she can find a home of her own. She really enjoys her work in the accounting dept at ElizaCorp in Beverly, MA and is going to school part time. We are very proud of her. Marcy is now a teacher in the Boston Public Schools teaching Biology & Chemistry. She has a lovely apartment with her best friend from high school in Cambridge. It has been fun exploring Boston with our very knowledgeable tour guide. Tammy & Matt will arrive tomorrow from Nappanee, Ontario for Christmas. They continue to live in their cozy apartment saving for a house. Matt enjoys programming and Tammy is working & going back to school for teaching. Tom & I celebrated that our older three are all employed and have their own health insurance! So you can see the house will be full again & the festivities are about to begin. I am only able to stop for a moment to write this short update because I took a vacation week from work at the emergency room at Holy Family Hospital. It has already been 4 years that I have been back to work. This may well become my new Christmas tradition. Somehow I have managed to get Tom to slow down abit from his hectic work schedule at Eliza while I have been on vacation and we have gone off to breakfast and had some time to rearrange the kitchen. We have to keep the kids guessing when they come home.
Our prayer for all of you is to relax and enjoy your time with your loved ones. Continue to be a blessing in their lives. Merry Christmas!
Love, Colleen for the Ostberg family
Winter has come early this year in New England! We will certainly have a White Christmas this year. We didn’t get a chance to get out the Christmas Lights due to all the storms we have had on the weekends but it is bright and cheery inside our home as our children make their way back home for this special holiday celebrating our Lord’s birth.
Tommy lives here year round and has had quite an adventurous fall starting at a new school that emphasizes math & science. He continues to enjoy Scouts, Youth Group and his new found favorite pastime …Skateboarding. Heather is just home from her first semester at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. She is just loving seeing the snow and doesn’t seem to mind the cold although she is having trouble getting up early……
Brook moved back home temporarily until she can find a home of her own. She really enjoys her work in the accounting dept at ElizaCorp in Beverly, MA and is going to school part time. We are very proud of her. Marcy is now a teacher in the Boston Public Schools teaching Biology & Chemistry. She has a lovely apartment with her best friend from high school in Cambridge. It has been fun exploring Boston with our very knowledgeable tour guide. Tammy & Matt will arrive tomorrow from Nappanee, Ontario for Christmas. They continue to live in their cozy apartment saving for a house. Matt enjoys programming and Tammy is working & going back to school for teaching. Tom & I celebrated that our older three are all employed and have their own health insurance! So you can see the house will be full again & the festivities are about to begin. I am only able to stop for a moment to write this short update because I took a vacation week from work at the emergency room at Holy Family Hospital. It has already been 4 years that I have been back to work. This may well become my new Christmas tradition. Somehow I have managed to get Tom to slow down abit from his hectic work schedule at Eliza while I have been on vacation and we have gone off to breakfast and had some time to rearrange the kitchen. We have to keep the kids guessing when they come home.
Our prayer for all of you is to relax and enjoy your time with your loved ones. Continue to be a blessing in their lives. Merry Christmas!
Love, Colleen for the Ostberg family
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