January 2025
Greetings, friends and family!
2024 was such a full, fun year for us, filled with challenges and growth. It seemed to flash by in a nanosecond, and yet we captured so many golden memories along the way that I love to look back and remember every bit of it, while at the same time looking forward to what 2025 has in store for our little family.
March 2, the girls and I enjoyed our first big karate tournament in Denver, where we learned a lot and won first and second places in our categories. I also sold my mini van and bought my dream vehicle, a Lincoln Navigator. It's wonderful to have AWD again instead of becoming immolated at home during every snow storm! I love my new car and even learned how to change the oil. In April we enjoyed what is becoming a yearly visit from our dear aunt and uncle and cousin from California, Tante Anita, Onkel Tim and Christina. TJ had a rare and fortunate break from work and we were all able to tour Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (where it snowed the whole time), Garden of the Gods (warm and sunny!), Manitou Springs, celebrate Oliver's 3rd birthday, and they were able to watch a rare triple belt promotion (where Bella, Lizzy, and I all tested at the same time!).
Oliver is our spunky three year old, and it's been such a pleasure watching him grow up. He is our happy, friendly, energetic little boy who adores his Daddy and wants to do everything Daddy does, but also follows his sisters around wanting to be included in everything they do as well. He is already doing preschool and sounding out words, and this summer he learned how to swim! He is also becoming much more confident on his inline skates.
Summer flew by, with farmer's markets every weekend, a camping trip to Eleven Mile Lake, and lots and lots of swimming and karate. TJ worked 80 hour weeks as our company Greer Innovations flourished and word of mouth brought almost more work than we could handle. He was fortunate to find a wonderful crew of part time subcontractors who could help him out as needed. I'm so proud of him and how he has kept our company's reputation sacred and built so many lasting relationships among the business owners of our community!
In August, our friend Andrew Powers finally succeeded in dragging us down to Pueblo and introducing us to the joys of tubing the Arkansas River, and thereafter we were to be found every warm Sunday afternoon either serenely floating the green waters, laughing as our tubes swirled around the rapids and occasionally capsized, or bodysurfing the epic slide located in the center of the river as it flows through City Park. Tante Anita coming out for a second visit in September was the perfect ending to a beautiful summer!
Bella turned nine at the end of September, and celebrated her birthday at the park surrounded by her many friends. She is our gorgeous, silly, serious, responsible fourth grader, with piercing blue eyes and a fiercely loyal heart. We have many conversations with her about all sorts of things, and she asks extremely intelligent questions and comes to her own conclusions on many issues. She loves God and the Bible and can't wait to be old enough to assist me in teaching my class of 2-3 year olds at church. Her favorite hobbies are swimming, roller blading, and writing letters to her friends and family. She also achieved red belt in karate and has shown remarkable talent in music and playing by ear on the piano.
October was a crazy month for us. As you might have noticed, once again our address has changed (hopefully for the last time, at least for a while!) We have been patiently and casually looking at homes for quite a while, waiting for the right moment to buy. The right home, at the right price, in perfect timing, basically dropped into our laps! Halloween night instead of trick or treating with my kiddos, I found myself unloading a large Uhaul moving truck for the sixth time and frantically hunting for my limited supply of candy to hand out to the neighborhood kids who came up the sidewalk. The minute the last box was unloaded, a perfect Apocalypse of snow descended upon us and it snowed for a solid week, measuring literally feet deep. I haven't seen such a snow storm before in our three years of living here in Colorado! It was wonderful though, I kept the fire in our wood burning heater crackling and unpacked and set up my very own home in record time. I love my granite countertops, split level rooms, our spacious basement, our back porch perfect for rocking chairs and knitting bags, our enormous custom swingset/fort, and my half acre of gardening and chickens potential. Please come visit us! We are centrally located to the whole country and so you have no excuse 😝.
My Dad (Andy Stoeppler) still lives with us, and enjoys bike riding and swimming. He also has grown quite fond of my budgies, and spends a lot of time talking to the birds and buying them treats. He reads stories to the kids and helps out around the house, and has made many friends through our church.
In November, our feisty, spirited Lizzy Sunshine turned eight years old. She worked very hard this year making her lollipop business a surprising success, and has over a thousand dollars in her own bank account as a result. She is a great shopper, a fascinating thinker, and her creativity never ceases to amaze me. She has more self confidence than I will ever possess, and she accomplished the feat this year of growing both taller and heavier than her older sister. She has also become extremely interested in cooking and has the makings of being a wonderful chef. At least fifty people showed up to her winter wonderland themed birthday party in our new backyard!
December was a restful and family oriented holiday season, as we celebrated with friends and enjoyed almost continual snow storms with breaks of remarkably warm weather. We rekindled our family love of inline skating, and almost every Friday and Sunday we are to be found tearing up the floor at Skate City. We finished out the New Year with a traditional German raclette dinner with dear friends, and actually managed to stay up till midnight this time and opened the doors to let 2025 in as the neighbors blasted off fireworks. Perfection.
With Love and Peace,
Jenna, TJ, Bella, Lizzy, Oliver, & Andy
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" Psalm 133:1
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