Merry Christmas to all and to all a good sign, yes, I know that's not how the poem goes, but for around here it is so much of what in life is changed. We are blessed this year to get to spend Christmas with Mark's dad and his family in North Carolina. We are looking forward to this time with family. This year has been a big one for John, more growing, more going, and way way way more signing. Between attending a Deaf church, getting involved with Deaf friends and meeting Deaf therapists who like to work with John and help me learn more sign too, we are finding that ASL (American Sign Language) is more and more John's first language and a comfortable fit for Mark and I as a second language. Mark and I both have days when we feel likes our brains are being stretched but it's good stretching and seeing John being more comfortable communicating with people and happier to just go off and talk to people at church because he knows they understand him is so wonderful, so worth it. Mark's residency at Lutheran Senior Services is going well, it's a hard program with many struggles, but by God's grace Mark keeps slogging through it and in May we will see what God has planned for our future. I'm enjoying life in the city, with friends nearby, our Deaf church and all that's here. There are days when it's harder than others to get used to Mark's long hours away from home, but those pass and we get on to other days when the time flies by and Mark is home before we realize it. We pray that each of you has a Merry Christmas, enjoy the celebration of the life of Christ and finds the New Year has some blessings to bring too.