Merry Christmas!

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Ellie donated 11 inches to Locks of Love

I have never been more proud of Ellie!

She has such a giving, compassionate heart.

She teaches me so much about being a child of God.

THE BEFORE

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THE AFTER

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WITH HER PONYTAIL

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THE ACTUAL CUT

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ANOTHER BEFORE SHOT

www.locksoflove.org

New Years Eve

We got to ring in the new year with some great friends at my parents house!

We played games and then What fun we had counting down!!

then, we ran out on to the deck and banged pots and pans!

It's a tradition i used to do when I was younger and we stayed at my grandparents house!

I was so glad to share it with our friends and their kids!

it's so much more fun to do it with kids and not just by yourself as an adult!!

haha!!

Our Christmas Letter

Christmas 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

It is inspiring to know that as we enter the Christmas season that God’s grace and love keep us connected throughout the year. This past year has been filled with love, joy, struggles & moments of grace. Starting with the love around us, two of our brothers were married this year! We had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic in June to celebrate Ben and Danelle’s wedding. The week with family away from the daily distractions was amazing and the wedding was breath-taking. We also celebrated with Nathanial and Jodi’s when they were married in October. That weekend, we had the pleasure of staying with family and friends that we had not seen in some time. It was great to get the chance to see everyone for such a joyous occasion. Also, we are really proud of Zach and his accomplishments on the football field this year! The Lancers had an undefeated season and Zach started on special teams for varsity! We loved being there every step of the way! We are continually reminded that “Uncle’s enrich our children’s lives!”

Matthew is quickly approaching his 2^nd birthday and his personality seems to evolve more each day. This June, he tried to get into the water at his baptism and was not too big for the family gown! He is walking, climbing, and destructing those things that prevent him from conquering that which lies ahead. While he has a limited vocabulary (i.e. – “jeep”, “touchdown”, “stinky”), he is talking nonstop! Using only baby babble, he will hold a full conversation with you and has a handful of baby signs he uses to communicate! He is a comforter at heart with a gentle spirit. He will still cuddle with us and give big hugs, but his favorite moments of the day are those that he spends playing with Ellie and Josh. Matthew loves to play with them and strives to imitate them in all things including giving high fives and fist bumps! And if you want to see him move and grove, just turn up the music!

Ellie is 3 going on 13! This year, Ellie enjoyed being Uncle Zach’s “cheerleader” for his high school football games so much that she was a Lancer cheerleader for Halloween! Ellie learned to write her name and loves drawing and coloring. She also has discovered a love for horses this past year and is looking forward to riding on Aunt Danelle’s horses so that she can get her new riding boots during the spring. Probably most exciting for us is the fact that she now is potty trained!

Josh continues to illustrate to us both his perseverance and five year old wisdom. This year he has made many friends in his pre-kindergarten class. He loves to do mental math problems and race through endless pages of mazes. Josh loves a good competition whether it is on the baseball field or a game of tic-tac-toe any time of the day. He can be an incredible helper around the house (his favorite chore is vacuuming the family room) and of course loves helping out by playing with this baby brother.

Jen also had had many changes in her life this year. In keeping with the schedule of our family growth, this letter should announce another pregnancy, however, this letter holds different news…Jen spent much of the winter and spring helping Danelle make plans for the wedding and other celebrations that were involved. Immediately before our trip to the Dominican Republic she was having excruciating back pain that led to a microdisectomy (to remove the herniated disc) in the beginning of July. The surgery and post-surgery physical therapy went extremely well. Seeing that Jen couldn’t lift anything over 25 pounds (including Matt) for 30 days, we would not have made it through this time in our lives without the help of our family and many friends who helped watch the children and cooked meals throughout the summer. Our support system ROCKED! Words don’t do justice to express our gratitude and the graces that were bestowed on our family will forever be remembered. Right now, a pregnancy brings many fears, so we’ll continue to put God’s plan for our family in His hands. In February, Jen became a consultant of Thirty-One Gifts! She has used this opportunity to share the virtues Proverbs 31 brings into a woman’s life; celebrating the blessings in their lives, encouraging others and to be encouraged by others, and to reward others and themselves for serving the Lord. Shop anytime, anywhere at www.mythirtyone.com/jenstickle. God also has called Jen to into two leadership positions this past year. She serves as the secretary for the ZIPPCO School Board (Josh’s preschool) and the publicity director for the Mom’s Ministry at the local church.

This past year I had the chance to travel west with Jen for a long weekend. I was able to see the Red Rocks and Grand Canyon for the first time. It was a jaw dropping experience. I continue to run the operations for PRIMROSE Homes; despite the economic climate this past year we were able to maintain a consistent flow of work for our team of subcontractors. I look forward to returning home each day to spend time with Jen and the kids and each day brings new adventures of fatherhood. I still enjoy going to the Pirates games in the spring and summer despite 17 losing seasons in row. This past year I had the opportunity to take Jen, Josh, and Ellie on their own date nights to the ball park and I can’t wait to include Matt in that tradition this upcoming year.

May God bless you in the upcoming Christmas season and throughout the upcoming year.

Love, the Stickles

Christmas Morning

Ellie got a new home for her ponies!

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Josh got a new football game for the wii!

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Matt got new cars and trucks!

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Before they open presents, we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and they get to have cake first thing in the morning!! funny they didn't want any...

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But then, matt found the cake!

Christmas Eve

After mass at Our Lady of the Lake

then on to grandma and grandpa's christmas party!

Breakfast with Santa

As part of our St. Nick's gift from grandma and grandpa was breakfast with Santa at the Riverside Inn.

It was so nice!

It was a family style breakfast around a round table. Each child got a gift...and they weren't just cheap things that would fall apart right away! There was entertainment and then personal time with santa. They came and got us when it was our turn, no waiting in line! and no pressure to hurry up!

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the tree in the lobby

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Santa reading their letters...

Josh put in his letter

"thanks for telling others about Jesus" (by giving gifts...see the St. Nick post)

So, Santa reads it and says,
"this is great! this is what christmas should be about."

like I said, I was impressed with the whole event!

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then the boys (really really josh) wanted to do a puzzle in the lobby!

St. Nick's Day

St. Nick's Day is a fun way for us to teach the kiddos the history behind Santa and gift giving! St. Nick would share the love of the Lord by leaving candy and money in kids shoes! He passed the tradition of giving on to another who passed it along to another and continues to pass the giving along...to santa! We give gifts as a way to show our love and therefore, Jesus' love for them to others.

One question the kiddos asked this year was "why does he do it at night" and we were able to respond with "st. nick isn't boastful and doesn't want the credit of giving but instead wants the attention pointed toward Jesus."

Putting up the tree

*In the rush to put up the gingerbread post, i missed putting the tree up and St. Nicks day!*

Each kiddo brought such a great contribution to putting the tree up this year!

We headed out late on a Sunday and bought the last tree of the day!

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So Josh helped wrap and unwrap the tree when it got home!

Santa hat and all!

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Ellie got the nativity out and ready!

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Matt helped with the lights!

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and then Matt helped Adam fix the base and water the tree!

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finally, the star!

Happy 25th Birthday Nana!!

singing Happy Birthday!

On the day of mom's birthday, Ben called around 10:30 and asked if he could come and get Josh for a play date! Before going sledding, they headed into town to do some Christmas shopping! At the store, Josh asked Ben if he could get a drink. Ben said sure and Josh picked out a Mt. Dew...His first Mt. Dew. ("only daddy is allowed to drink Mt. Dew). They head out to the truck and climb in when Josh asked Ben to open the bottle. Josh takes a nice big swallow and says, "I've never had a Mt. Dew before." Uh Oh. Ben knows he's in trouble. We didn't hear from Ben and Josh until later that night when we arrived at mom's for her birthday dinner...

We hear of the monumental moment in Josh's life that day and we tell Josh that he'll have to sleep at Ben and Danelle's house! and, he did!! hahahaha!!

Uncle's enrich their lives!
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**Coming Soon: Christmas and Year in Review!**

Gingerbread Houses

Elllie decided this year would be the year of the gingerbread man!

I'm not sure what brought it on, but she has been obsessed with them all season!

She kept saying "I need to make gingerbread people and a gingerbread house to put my gingerbread people in." I think she might have just liked saying "gingerbread."

So, we talked to Nana and decided to wait until closer to Christmas.

THEN, Ms. Tracy, Ellie's Godmother, checked in with me and wanted to send Ellie her gingerbread house without even knowing of Ellie's obsession!

I was so excited, and you should have seen/heard Ellie when she got her box in the mail from her "godmother ms. tracy" (she always says both!! teehee!)

The box arrived on a Saturday, so Sunday night when we got home around 10:30pm, Ellie sat on our bed and we dove into it! She was so excited she wanted to build it right then! We had to get her to wait until the next day...and i'm shocked she made it!

Here are just a few of the many many pictures we got!

with her gingerbread people!

Eating more than building!

Working very hard...covering her house in RED icing!

Really, anything red!

Josh working hard!

and Ellie sharing her goods with Josh!

(I haven't made too many gingerbread houses in my day, and i didn't realize how much cool candies and things they make to decorate your houses!!...Tracy sent it ALL!!! and we had abundance! it was perfect and I was so proud Ellie shared!)