Christmas Letter 2015

December 2015

Dear Family & Friends,

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

We hope this letter finds you well and that you are celebrating the Christmas season remembering the hope we have in our Savior.

This year has been a year of change for us.  As most years, it has been filled with both joyous occasions and challenges.  Through all of it, we’ve been content knowing God’s grace is sufficient for our every need.  We sold our Harlan house in April after only one showing.  We had planned to close in May, and began the construction of our new house in Fort Wayne.  Closing got delayed for reasons beyond our control.  We finally closed in July.  While our new house was being built, we lived with Dave’s parents, Denny & Carol.  We all loved creating great memories with Grandma & Grandpa and cherished the time we spent together.  Our home was finished in October and we moved in ready to start a new chapter as a family.  We’ve loved turning our house into a home. 

In May David and Tiffany traveled to Boston for a Thrivent trip to see Raeann, Tiffany’s mom, get inducted into the Thrivent Hall of Fame.  We were very proud of her and glad we could celebrate that achievement.

In June we took a Pure Michigan vacation with Tiffany’s family.  We spent three days on Mackinac Island.  Then, we stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City.  Liam loved all the water slides!  Both kids were excited to sleep in bunk beds.  We all enjoyed the beach, cherry flavored everything, fudge, and the beautiful scenery.

On November 24^th, our dear dog, Daisy May, passed away.  She was diagnosed with an enlarged heart earlier in the year.  Despite being on medication, her heart grew too large for her little body.  We are thankful for all the wonderful moments we had with her over the last ten years.  She was such a sweet dog and remained happy and loving to the end. 

On November 25^th, Dave’s mom, Carol, had a stroke.  With the help of family and friends, and the skill of physicians, she made it through surgery to remove a clot and is currently working very hard at the rehabilitation center.  She is making amazing progress in her recovery.  Although it was a terrible situation, we’ve seen God’s hand of guidance and protection in all of it. 

In addition to all of that, we’ve...

Lilly – Our big four year old is learning and growing so much.  She started Preschool this fall at Buschor Hearing Preschool.  She is in a special education classroom that specializes in deaf/hard of hearing instruction.  Lilly is learning to sign and say many new words, including her name.  She loves to sing, count, and sort colors.  She is learning to write words, including her name.   It is so much fun to see her blossom.  She also started ballet this fall.   Lilly is our fashion expert and always wears the appropriate jewelry, sunglasses, and purse for every occasion.

Liam – Our five year old, little man started Kindergarten this fall at Central Lutheran School.  He is creative and smart and brings us so much joy.  He has the mind of an engineer and loves to build with Legos and make his own creations.  Life is one big adventure for Liam!  He still enjoys learning about science related topics.  He knows all his letters and their sounds and has started reading.  Liam started Karate this year and loves it.

Tiffany – Tiffany is teaching part-time again this year at Ascension Lutheran School.  She really enjoys the balance of being home with the kids and teaching her students.  She is also an independent consultant with DoTERRA, Mary Kay, and Wildtree.  One of the highlights of her year was traveling to Australia for a week with her mom for a Thrivent trip.  It was a once in a lifetime experience that she’ll never forget.

Dave – Dave continues to work for Thrivent. He loves being able to help his members. He also volunteers for several committees at church and Liam’s school.

We try to keep the family blog up to date with all our latest adventures.  You can check it out at – www.davetiffanyliamlillyherman.blogspot.com

We pray you have a wonderful Christmas, remembering that we have true hope in Christ.

Love,

The Herman Family

Update on Carol

On November 25th, Carol, Dave's mom, had a stroke.  She was at church when it happened, which was a blessing.  The stroke was identified by her sister-in-law, who is a nurse and she called 911.  She got into the hospital in time.  They rushed her to surgery to remove the clot from her brain.  She was on a ventilator for a couple days.  Each day she gained more strength.  Once she was stable, they moved her to the rehabilitation center.  She impressed her therapists with her sweet attitude and hard working spirit.  She will hopefully come home later this week.  She has a long road ahead to regain words and comprehension, but she's strong and willing to work hard.

All her progress came in baby steps.  She wasn't able to feed herself at first, but got stronger and was able to soon after this picture was taken.  Dave has been a big help to his dad and I know Carol enjoyed his visits.

Carol with her grandkids.  So glad to see that smile!

Cheerful as ever, but ready to come home.

Daisy May

We were all heart-broken when our sweet dog passed away.  She was a member of the family.  She was our first adopted baby.  We were surprised that she died so quickly after getting sick.  We were happy that she did not suffer and stayed happy until the very end.  Here are some of our favorite Daisy moments.

November 2015

November, as most months, was a busy one.  The kids had many activities with school.  Liam had his Thanksgiving Feast, where he got to be an Indian.  They had games in the gym and then a meal at the church fellowship hall.  Liam also got to be the scientist of the week.  He decided to teach his class how to make a baking soda volcano.
We celebrated Liam's Gotcha Day.  He took cupcakes into school and shared some of his favorite adoption books.
Lilly had tubes put in her ears again.  She did a great job and all the staff at the hospital were happy to meet her.
On November 24th, our sweet dog Daisy May passed away.  She was 10 years old.  Earlier in the year she was diagnosed with an enlarged heart.  She had been taking several medications, but her heart grew too large.  She died peacefully at home.  She was a happy, sweet-heart up until the very end.
On Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, Dave's mom had a stroke.  She made it through surgery to remove the clot.  Then, she recovered in the hospital before moving to the rehab facility.  Dave staid with his dad and sister at the hospital.
I took the kids up to Michigan to be with my family, but kept my phone close so I could updates on Carol.  We had our regular Thanksgiving meal and did our Friday shopping.  This year, Liam went with me and was a big help.  Lilly went over to Rick and Anna's for the day and played with her cousins.

Lilly did not want Rem to leave after his visit.

Liam's Gotcha Day cake and cupcakes

We enjoyed a visit from Grandma Kusch.  Liam and Rem were laughing and Lilly fell asleep.

The Thanksgiving meal did not come soon enough for Lilly.  She was ready to eat!

Liam holding his cousin Gwen

Liam was a great helper on Black Friday.  There came a point when he was done with shopping.

Liam's reward for helping on Black Friday