Family and Friends-
Merry Christmas!!! We hope you have had a great year and if we haven’t gotten to see you much we want to see you soon! We miss you!
Our babies are still the biggest blessing we’ve ever received. Hayleigh will be 4 in February and Alivia turned 1 in July. They are so beautiful and growing way too fast. Hayleigh goes to preschool 2 days a week and spends a lot of time singing, playing make believe, writing, drawing, reading, dancing, and playing outside. She learns things so quickly and is constantly trying to discover new things. She has conversations with God daily about everything and anything. He has answered her prayers quickly and directly, such as when she prayed the night before we got a huge snow storm when she asked for “not a little snow, but for it to cover the whole ground!” It has been awesome to see her heart grow to know and love Jesus! Alivia is a red head and she acts like a red head! She is very strong willed and is totally aware of things around her even though she acts innocent. She is very bright like her big sister and knows about 50 words now that she uses regularly and adds more words every day. My favorite time of the day with her is before bed when we rock in the rocking chair and she sweetly cuddles with me! They spend a lot of time with grandma who gracious takes care of them while I work. Both girls are true blessings!
We have been through many hard times, big and small, this year as I’m sure some of you have as well. God has been teaching us many things through these times. We feel blessed to experience trials though, because we know that God uses these times to grow our dependence on Him. The book of James from the Bible really taught us how to view trials we face. I’m not saying rough times aren’t hard, I’m just saying that we have learned to rejoice in our trials because of the good we see God making of the mess. God always provided and will provide in our times of need! Always!
We moved about a year and a half ago into our neighborhood in the city here on the West Side of Grand Rapids. And we love it! We love our neighbors and the friendships we are starting to build. We know God placed us here and we’re quite excited about that. We also felt very convicted this past year to open up “our” house to those in need. We believe that nothing we have is our own but that everything we have has been given to us so that we can use it to bless others. So, we have had 3 people living with us off and on for the past 6 months. It has been an awesome experience for our family to hear God calling us to bring people into our home and then to actually do it! We have been learning that we need to start ‘walking’ forward to take action in what God is calling us to do in everything. Opening our home to people, whether to live or just hang out here, has been so rewarding for us.
We are constantly seeing how weak and prideful we can be. We see how broken we are and the choices we make are. We definitely can’t make it without help. We are so thankful to have a God that takes us in our weakness and show us that we are still accepted and loved despite how messy our lives can be. We have a Holy God that forgives us and loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to the Earth to live a holy and righteous life that we couldn’t live. Jesus’ death and suffering makes it possible for us to know God. Jesus pleads on behalf of us and God listens. God accepts us as we are because Jesus paid the price for our sins. This is why the Amey family celebrates Christmas. The gifts, songs, tree, lights, and snow is all fun but we truly celebrate because on this day we remember Jesus’ birth. The birth of our Savior, our Friend, our Love. We are so grateful! “A Savior has been born to you, He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
Know that you are loved! The Amey Family - B.A., Lindsey, Hayleigh, & Alivia
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 29:12-14
