Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Tetreaus in sunny Arizona! 2008

The Lord continues to bless our family and helps us throughout our daily lives and activities. This year was one of some travel and excitement also. Our “big” trip was a vacation out east to see sights and attend a big family reunion on Toni’s side. Her parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year. All the sisters and grandchildren (and 2 greats!) were able to attend. What a blessing! There were 52 in all. We all landed at Toni’s sister’s home in PA. She has a beautiful place and was gracious enough to put up with all of us. We also spent some time in New York City, D.C., Gettysburg, Hershey Park, Valley Forge, and Philadelphia. It was a whirlwind, but we were very grateful for the opportunity to take our boys to see several places that are important to their country’s heritage.

In addition, Joel has had the opportunity to take several ministry trips. Currently, he is in India, so we are praying for a safe return home. We miss him greatly! He will be headed to Vietnam in March 2009.

This fall finds us homeschooling Jeremy and Joshua. Jeremy continues playing with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, which he really enjoys. He also played baseball this fall and really enjoyed it. Joshua played soccer this fall as well, so we kept busy with lots of games and practices. All three boys are continuing with piano lessons and are doing well. Jonathan still attends Tri-City Christian Academy. He is busy with band, choir, chorale; and now is playing basketball. He was really thrilled to make the Varsity team at TCA.

Joel enjoys ministry at Southeast Valley Baptist Church. This year has been one of adjustments and changes, but the Lord is always good. We recently had the opportunity to purchase additional land adjacent to our property, so we can expand our space. We have an immediate need for some classroom space, so our leadership team is busy making plans. We ended 2008 with a high attendance of 240. The church is growing in both numbers and depth of leadership. We are very encouraged about what the Lord is doing at SVBC.

Toni is still teaching 26 piano students in addition to homeschooling, and continues with many ministries at church. It has been a busy year! We are looking forward to our Christmas break!

We pray that you will be blessed when you focus on the true meaning of this special season: Jesus Christ, born among us, and ultimately, the One who paid the price for our sins. We pray that you will trust Him for your salvation if you’ve not done so already.

Come see us! We look forward to your visit!

The Tetreaus (Joel, Toni, Jonathan, Jeremy, and Joshua)