Merry Christmas!

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope you have had a wonderful year and that you are enjoying the Christmas season. We are so thankful for God's provision and faithfulness through this past year. As the 2009 year began Josh and I were dealing with uncertainties and health concerns. At the time there were a lot of changes happening at our work and we really weren't sure what might happen next.

As we look back on the year it is so great to see the growth that was a result of the difficult circumstances we were facing. We sought God's guidance even when we didn't understand what was going on with our health, jobs, and schooling. The Lord made it evidently clear that his plan and timing is perfect. It reminds me of a verse I memorized in high school, "But these things will not happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! The will not be overdue a single day. " Habakkuk 2:3

We have experienced God's blessings in every area of our lives. My surgery was successful and there have been no further complications and Josh's health has been better the second half of the year. Josh received a promotion as the Associate Director of Maintenance and I am now an Executive Assistant and Human Resources Director. We had the opportunity to move into a house on campus this summer and we have enjoyed having extra space to host events and have family visit. Josh had the opportunity to coach our church softball team and I have stepped up in my leadership with the junior high youth ministry.

This year was a great reminder for us that no matter what we are going through we can trust in God and depend on his Word. We enjoyed spending time with family over Thanksgiving and we are looking forward to spending more time with family during the Christmas season. We encourage you to remember Christ in this season and the true gift of life. May the Lord bless you and make his presence known to you in the coming year.

You're in our thoughts and prayers. Merry Christmas!


J & J Moore

Ginger Bread House

Our Christmas tradition is to make a gingerbread (we use graham crackers) house each year. We try to do something new and be more creative each year. Josh's little car with Santa driving is my favorite part this year. Of course we start out saying that we will not eat any of the candy while making the house. But that rule gets thrown out after about 30 minutes of hard work:)

Thanksgiving and Christmas Tree Farm

Josh and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year.

Josh's side of the family, including his cousin Lydia stayed with us for a few days. A friend from the seminary also joined us for Thanksgiving dinner. We enjoyed our time together. Everyone helped out with the big Thanksgiving meal, which worked our wonderfully. I cooked my first turkey and it was successful. Marilyn showed me how to cook the turkey in a bag. It was a breeze! I'll do it that way every time. We went into Chicago one of the days and we had some good laughs playing Cranium Pop 5. We completed a Steelers puzzle just in time to put it back in the box. Madi and Hannah had a lot of fun playing with everyone and Charlie was just cute and quiet as usual.

The following Saturday we went to a Christmas tree farm with Eric, Melissa, the kids and Mike. This was the best Christmas tree farm I've ever been to (well I haven't been to many, but this was great). There was a small lake on the farm and several different fields that you could walk through to find your tree. Josh and I searched for quite a while until we were ready to just pick one and go. That was when we spotted the one that we loved. In fact we liked it so much we didn't even measure it and just cut it down. This resulted in Josh cutting off about a foot and a half from the bottom in order for the tree to fit in our living room. It is beautiful and we really enjoyed the hunting adventure.

Baby Charlie

We are excited to have a new nephew, Charlie Robert Weis. We had a chance to visit Charlie, Melissa and Eric at the hospital this week. All is well so far and we look forward to watch Charlie grow just as we have been blessed to watch Madi and Hannah grow the past two years.

STEELERS Nation

Despite the loss on this day. We had a lot of fun going to the Steelers game in Cincinnati. Josh went shopping more than I have ever seen to help find Steelers clothes so that we could all represent! It worked out great. We were entertained by the game and of course the crazy fans around us. We also took a wonderful night scape tour before actually getting back on the highway to head home:)
GO STEELERS!!!

Jacob and Alyssa's Visit

With summer coming to an end, my mom and dad brought Jacob and Alyssa down for a visit before school started back up. We had a good time with them. We took the train into the city and went to the Field Museum. The kids got a chance to go to Chuckie Cheese and of course we played some games. We loved having them all here. It was a great visit!

Friends and a Wedding

I was so glad to get to take a trip to Minnesota for Charity's wedding this summer. I rode with Bob and Cindy and we had tons of fun seeing many friends from Cornerstone!

Easter 2009

Madeline and Hannah: February 2009

A Winning Birthday

Josh and Mike got a fantastic birthday present this year. The Steelers winning the Superbowl!!! We went out to a friend's house to watch the Superbowl with others and a cake was made in celebration of Josh and Mike's birthday. We were all sporting Steelers clothing and we even put Josh's flag on the car window for the drive over. Josh and I brought our terrible towels to cheer the Steelers on the right way. Our friend Amber brought a Commercial Bingo game. So we were intently watching the commercials not just for their entertainment value, but also to try to get a bingo on our commercial card. What an incredible birthday, we'll see what the guys get next year for their birthday!

The Traveling Friendship

Kristin and I have known each other for going on 8 years now. We first met as roommates in College at Cornerstone University. It was evident even in the beginning that the Lord wanted us to be a part of each others lives. As we watched other roommates fight, kick each other out of the room, get into trouble and never really connect; Kristin and I often found ourselves grateful to have ended up living with one another and growing into a very blessed friendship. Throughout college we experience many great times together that were fun and funny. We also shared difficult times and times of distance. But in the midst of it all we continued to grow in our friendship and create a lasting connection. After college we had the opportunity to live together for a short time again and then eventually we both got married and ended up living hundreds of miles away from each other.

However, those many miles have not kept us apart. We share phone conversations and cards. Sometimes emails and facebook message. But the best thing is our "Traveling Friendship." God has been so good to us and has provided opportunities for us to see one another on various trips. It just so happens that Kristin's in-laws live in the same town in Ohio and my in-laws. So, we have been able to coordinate on two occasions now getting together while we were both vi sting family in Ohio. Also, this past summer, Kristin and I happened to realize that we were both going to be taking a trip to Michigan during the same week and managed to set up a time to meet at the beach with a few other friends.

How awesome it has been to have these random get togethers with Kristin, especially when they happen when we are on vacation and in another state. God has truly blessed us by allowing us these moments, that are wonderful, though often too short. May my story of my friendship be an encouragement to you today, that God provides for our needs and sometimes our wants. God has created us first to have relationship with Him, but then to have relationship with one another. I miss you and Love you Kris!

Christmas 2008

Just wanted to get some pictures up from Christmas 2008. We enjoyed spending time in Ohio with family. And of course we made Gingerbread houses (which is hoped to be a tradition for Josh and I). Josh and I tried to create a Cape Cod style house. Melissa and Eric work on a church and Mike's gingerbread house was along the lines of a Frank Lloyd Wright version (hoping I spelled his name right!)

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving in Traverse City with my parents, my brother and his family and my grandma. We truly enjoyed our time with them. I think my favorite things was my dad's great idea to go play laser tag as a family. It was fun to watch Alyssa scream and laugh every time she got hit while dad tried to be the sniper. Jacob also tried to be sneaky while Josh got a lot of hits and good hiding spots. I held my own (at least that is what I think) and at the end of the game Jon was the winner of the whole event.

It was nice to see family and to spend time relaxing. We did our traditional shopping on Black Friday. We got a couple of good buys, but overall it just didn't seem like there was as many incredible deals and at Walmart we tried to miss the crowds by waiting for the register in the hunting department where the line was long, but not nearly as long as at the regular registers.

We thank God for our great family and the time that we had to spend with them for Thanksgiving!