and Merry Christmas to all!!

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were terrified. But the angel said to them "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news
of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has
been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger".
Luke 2: 9-12

Can you believe another year has gone by already!  We've experienced joy, fear, sadness, and love in 2001.  But we know God is in control, and we are clinging to His plan for us.  We are counting our blessings every day, and hope this finds you and yours together, happy and well.

Here's the latest news from the Shealy family:

JIM - Our fearless leader has had a year of travel and excitement.  Well, he hasn't seen anything yet.  As of December 27, he and a group of his men from his Reserve unit at Seymour-Johnson AFB will be leaving home to participate in the War.  He's been on stand-by since Sept. 13, so we knew this was coming, and we're really feeling quite blessed that he's been home this long, and that we will have Christmas together before he leaves.  Please keep him and all our servicemen and women in your prayers.

GRETA - Not much new here.  Except that we finally invested in a laptop last month, and it's making her life a lot easier.  She's still homeschooling David and is active in their support group.  Chasing the four kiddos makes the days go by quickly.  She's not working much because of Jim's status, but hopes to go back to it when he returns.  We had a great trip to Texas in April with Greta's mom to visit and meet her relatives (specifically her Mom's brother and his wife, and 5 of their 8 children!)  They all really loved seeing Texas for the first time.

DAVID - Our young man will be 13 next month, and he is finally taller than Mom! He is busy with 4 high school classes this year, 2 of which he takes with a small group of friends.  He's a First Class Boy scout now, and is testing for his black belt in karate in February.  He still loves video games and the computer more than anything.  But he also enjoys hanging out with his friends and participating in the Youth Group at church.

LAUREN - At 10 years old, Lauren is bright, busy, and always in motion.  She is a blue belt in karate, enjoyed her theatrical debut in Rogers and Hammersteins' "The King and I" at the local community theatre this summer, and is the light of the baby's life.  She still loves school and is getting involved in more activities each week it seems.  She is a Junior Girl scout and keeps busy with church activities and friends.  There are pictures on our family homepage - follow the link below to visit.

ANDREW (the son previously known as A.J.) - the biggest surprise we've had recently is that, at 7 years old, A.J. decided to become "ANDREW" and we've all been trying to adjust ever since.  First grade has been a breeze so far for him; he's reading well and loves math, and has lots of friends.  He is also a blue belt in karate, and tried his hand (well, it was his foot actually) at soccer this fall.  He and David have gotten really close recently, and despite missing a few teeth, his smile still lights the room on fire.

KATHERINE - Our baby turned 18 months old this month!  She's a true toddler, but very good.  She's in to lots of things, but also likes to put them back, and she is talking and listening all the time.  She totally adores her Daddy, and loves to announce his arrival home with "That's Daddy!!" when she hears the garage door go up.  She loves Barney, our bunny Tanner,  and any music that she can dance to.   We've started going to the library for storytime with several other toddlers, and she's really enjoying the interaction.  We can't wait to see her grow!

Our special message to you begins here:

Check out these sites for some holiday fun!

Christmas Time at Kids' Domain - celebrate the holidays with everything from crafts and online games, to coloring pages and eCards.

The MEANING OF CHRISTMAS  -  The folks at Gospelcom ask "Is there more to Christmas than colorfully-wrapped presents, ornament-laden trees, and overweight elves?"

http://www.noradsanta.org/ - The annual Santa watch begins on December 24, but in the mean time, there is a lot of fun Christmas stuff to see and do here!

Christmas Fun and Crafts - There are pictures and cards to print and color, and you can download a 3-D Manger scene to put together.

Visit us at our family webpage to see photos of what we've been up to this year:

That's it for this year - please take a minute and let us know you visited by clicking the email link below.  May God bless you and everyone you love with Peace, Joy and Love in the year to come!

Happy New Year 2002!!!

Jim, Greta, David, Lauren, Andrew and Katherine