2009 Christmas Letter from the Pages
Dear friends and family,
I can’t believe the year is gone. It has been full of great changes for the Pages which has made life without Danny more bearable. God has given us new directions that have helped us grow and mature in ways we never thought possible. As my new blog column at the Idaho Press Tribune says… We are on to the Next Page… Here are some of the things we are doing:
Jill is still working at Syringa House, a treatment center for teenage girls as a supervisor. Even she will admit that she has grown and changed tremendously over the last year! She graduated from Liberty University with a bachelors in Criminal Justice and started on her masters degree. In her spare time, she works with the Youth Group at Calvary Chapel, and spends time with her sisters Abby and Becky. The eligible bachelors have to work hard to get time with her if they even meet her qualifications… And her biggest news of the year was buying her own house! Wow! Connect with her on Face book.
Stephen is still plugging away at Liberty University in the ROTC program as a Communications Major. He is continuing to enjoy the Communications classes and is well-liked by all his professors. He is hoping to be able to serve in the Civil Affairs side of the military. Yes, he still has a “best friend” and will be spending his Christmas at her house this year. Connect with him on Face book as well.
“Becky’s Next Page” can be found at Joycespage.downsyndrome.com. Turning 20 years old this year, she has turned the page to adulthood. We made some changes to the house, and made an apartment for her which has a living room / kitchen, a bathroom, and 2 bedrooms. Being independent brings responsibilities that she is learning… cleaning her own apartment – especially the kitchen and refrigerator are sometimes difficult. Her biggest dream has come true as she has started attending classes at College of Western Idaho. This semester was Spanish and Computers in the Community Education program, next semester will be her first real class – Speech Communication 101. Since her first speech at her high school graduation, she has wanted to do public speaking. This year, she has done 4 speeches! The largest one was at the Buddy Walk with 1200 people! Connect with her on Facebook.com/Beckypage3.
After attending the National Down Syndrome Congress Conference in August with Abby and I, Becky came back with a new perspective on Down syndrome. She learned about discrimination, and how to stand up for her “rights” as well as seeing other adults with Down syndrome who functioned at her level or above. The “big deal” as she will tell you, is that they had boyfriends and are getting married! Teaching God’s timing to her will be another challenge. Abby had a wonderful time at the NDSC Sibling conference where she made new friends and learned how to be an advocate for her sister. We all came back with a vision for our little group here. Becky and I have now
joined the board of the Treasure Valley Down Syndrome Association and are trying to make a difference in the lives of people with Down syndrome here with an emphasis on the adults.
Abby has had the most growth this year. After much prayer, about what to do for Abby’s schooling, God graciously opened a new door. She started at Covenant Academy, a small Christian School which caters to home schoolers. Its high academic standards have pushed her to her limits, but she continues to get A’s and B’s. She is thrilled to be a part of Covenant Academy’s sports program. Chosen as the volleyball captain, she was a great asset to the team. Practicing as much as possible, she is learning the finer points of basketball. Mr. Barrett, Liberty and MaryAnna are great coaches! She is also thrilled to be performing in our church choir which has their Christmas Program this week. Other big events this year included a mission trip with Hope House, a whirl wind tour of the east coast while attending Jill’s graduation, and a surprise 16th birthday party! For my sometimes disorganized daughter, juggling all these activities has been a challenge, but she has done it without a lot of help from me! We are so proud of her accomplishments!
Jeff is still at Costco. He too is extremely proud of the kids and spends his free time helping me run them to all their events, and reading. Connect with him on Face book.
So, we move onto the Next Page of life in the Page household. No more home schooling I love being the mom / cheerleader instead. No boys around the house L to eat all the food! We sure miss them. Finally, I am writing! You can read more about our Next Page at idahopress/newswest.com/blogs/thenextpage in my blog at the Idaho Press Tribune. After years of waiting on God to be active again in the community, I am finally able to. Connect with me at Facebook.com/Joyce.Page.1 or Twitter/Pages7.
After losing Daniel at the end of last year, I lost my birthmother and a dear cousin, I developed a frozen shoulder, and my mother battled breast cancer (and won), but God is still good. I spent a month in Eleuthra, Bahamas for Pat’s services, and a week in Illinois for Scott’s services. God made both of these trips blessings in disguise. He has been faithful to keep us and grow us through a tough year. We are so proud of all the kids and what they have accomplished this year! If you have had a tough year, I pray that you too would see God’s faithfulness despite the trials. Especially now, as we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, It is the time to take our eyes off ourselves and onto our Savior and what a great salvation we have!
In His Service,
The Pages
