Scobba 2008 Christmas Letter

May God's promise of eternal life give you hope,
the presence of the Holy Spirit give you faith,
and Jesus' perfect love give you peace.
December 2008

Dear Family and Friends,
With each Christmas card we send, our thoughts and prayers are with you! May 2009 include many blessings for you and yours.

2008 has been a good year for the Scobbas. Megan turned 8 in August and is in 3rd grade this year at St. Jude of the Lake. Charlie coached her softball team this summer and is now coaching her basketball team. She had her first game last weekend and was very excited to score a basket!

She will also be appearing in Pirates! the musical through Ashland Productions in January. She loves the singing and dancing, and we’re excited to see her on stage. She is on the math team again this year and is a Girl Scout with her “volunteered” mom as a troop leader. We’re still getting the hang of it, but I enjoy having something we can do together. Megan is a great help to us around the house, and we’re very proud of how she’s growing as a sister and a friend.

Shea turned 5 this fall and is a busy preschooler. He is going to all-day pre-K at St. Jude’s and is really thriving. It’s fun to hear about the letters he learned and the little friends he’s made. He’ll be very ready for Kindergarten next year. He too is a great big brother to little Sammy and likes to be a helper around the house. He’s a very thoughtful boy with a smile that melts our hearts.

Sammy is 19 months old and doing his best to keep up with Megan and Shea. He spends his days at Laurie’s and really loves it there. He’s learning how to climb stairs and likes to look at books, watch Baby Einstein videos, take baths, bang on things, throw balls, and try to catch Furry the cat.

Charlie and I are doing well. Charlie is teaching 4th grade at St. Jude of the Lake again this year and really enjoys his class. Their enrollment was down a bit this year, so we are praying that next year’s numbers are good and that his job is secure. He keeps very busy with teaching, coaching, and doing an awesome job of helping with the kids, laundry, dinners, etc.

I will be celebrating my 10th year at Trane in January and really love my job and the people I work with, which is such a blessing. I’m trying to get the hang of Girl Scouts, and I’m still part of my Monday night Bible study group. I fit in reading, scrap-booking, and gardening when I can.

Be sure to check out our latest adventures in our pictures at www.kodakgallery.com/charlieandtracy (password: scobba) and drop us a note at tracyscobba@hotmail.com or scobba@usfamily.com (Charlie). Or, you can find us on Facebook. If ever you’re in The Twin Cities, give us a call. Our home is always open.

Love and blessings,
Charlie, Tracy, Megan, Shea, and Samuel

Klein's Korner announcement

My parents purchased the local bait shop and live bait supplier in Rock Rapids. My sister Melissa moved from Omaha to Rock Rapids so that she could run it. She and her son Jaylen are doing so well since the move. It has been such a blessing for them and our whole family. This is the announcement in the Lyon County Reporter.

Sleepy Scobbas

I have been whining a lot about Sammy being sick and our overall lack of sleep over the Thanksgiving holiday. I am so thankful though that he is feeling better, and we all seem to be catching up on our sleep. Praise the Lord!

Sam slept 11 hours last night, but after being up for just over an hour, was back to sleep on the couch with Megan. The picture below is what I found when I came upstairs this morning after getting ready for work. It was really tough waking them up to head out the door.

What a sweet big sister our little Sammy has!

Paperback Swap

I can't really say what I'll think of this because I just joined. But I'm trying this paperback swap for exchanging books with others. It seems like a good way to receive and get rid of books. Check it out.

Megan at Bat

Sammy's First Steps

Friday, March 28, 2008

Wow, I can't believe March is almost over, especially when I think about how long this week has seemed ...

I'm excited that our friends Dan and Raye are coming to stay with us this weekend. They live in Omaha and are coming up for a conference for Raye's work. They're a fun couple who love to play Euchre, so Charlie and I are pumped to play cards with them. I think we're also going out to dinner - to a sit down place - so that's pretty rare for us. :-) Anybody want to come over tonight to help me do some last minute cleaning before their arrival?!

Saturday morning Megan has a retreat for her first communion. I sent invitations out today for the big event on April 19. The retreat should be fun.

I am getting ready to starting doing a monthly prayer training for my women's Bible study group. We're doing a wonderful Beth Moore study on the fruits of the Spirit at our weekly meetings, and we have a prayer time at the end of the evening. But there are several ladies who are uncomfortable with praying in the group.

I suspect this is because many of them have not been trained in prayer. It may seem like a silly thing to be trained in, but like any of the spiritual disciplines, it takes training and practice. I'm hoping that by working on our prayer together, we will have more rich prayer time with each other, on our own, and with our friends, family, coworkers, etc.

If you have any resources or testimonials, I'd love to hear them!

We had a very nice time in Rock Rapids for Easter. It was wonderful seeing much of my family after not seeing them since Christmas. And we'll all be together again in early April for a visit with my sister Erin who's coming from Alaska with her family. Yippee!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
Hugs,
Tracy