merry christmas

a tiny little baker

thanksgiving

proud of these kids... see those turkeys?? those were what they made
to put up on residents' doors @ Oma's nursing home.

my buddy

(the pencils are in the pocket so he can be "just like Grandpa")

grandpa krug's retirement and trick-or-treating

We celebrated with Grandpa Krug this October as St. Paul's

honored him with a retirement banquet.

showing off pumpkins with our cousins and our neighbor

cheerleader Alyssa with her Nana

Mario with his daddy

the kids with Grandma and Grandpa Lorenz

pumpkin farm field trip

there are perks to schooling at home

finally, a garden that yields!

We've tried to grow something in our garden for about four years now.
This year we gave up on our soil and built raised beds. It worked!

a september trip

Take a peek at a few pics from our September trip. We camped a circle... Wisconsin to Ohio to New York, across Ontario to Michigan and back home through Chi-town.

Alan, 10:00 @ night, drying out our sleeping bags... oh, for a tent that stays dry!

Kruglets @ Yoders' Amish Home

Who says a little rain can slow down this crew?!

Our family pic of the trip... Journey Behind the Falls, Niagara Falls, Ontario

Alyssa climbing the dunes... a much larger task than we can show in a photo!

Beautiful sun, an abandoned beach, and no time constraints... Nathanael was in heaven.

the Kruglets, outside our camp cabin @ Warren Dunes State Park in Michigan...






Eva, on the last day in the car... just get me home!

Alyssa and Nathanael, astronauts together@ Adler Planetarium

the experience of interviewing ~ from Alyssa

Hi! This is Alyssa.

This week I did a big Brownie Scout project. It was about women and their three most important issues. I did interviews by e-mail, telephone, and in person. I had to interview women that were teenagers to women over 70 years of age. Some of the issues are similar and some are different. Some are exactly the same! Here are some of the issues that women face today: family, work, faith, health, and making your own decisions.

This has been a wonderful experience to interview people who know about a lot of issues. It was fun. I'm very glad a lot of people helped with this project. I hope I can interview again soon. Sometimes being a Brownie is hard work. (If you've been in Brownie Scouts you know what I mean.) But after you're done you realize it was worth it!

escaping to the lakefront

played hooky from life today...

blue angels never showed up, but fun family time all the way around!

Wishing You a Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2010

Merry Christmas, friends.

Yep, we're squeaking this in just before Valentine's Day, but let's count it as the 2009 Christmas letter, okay?!

In all honesty, we've struggled this year with how best to approach the Krug family Christmas letter. Our past formats of playful poetry, cute drawings by the kids, or the unabridged narrative of the year's events just didn't seem to work. If you want to catch up on the kids or family fun from 2009, please peek back through our blog. If you're willing to indulge our desire to share some rugged heart feelings this time around, continue on.

This summer we traveled to South Dakota and spent three nights camping in Custer State Park. The nights were DARK. One evening we stopped by a clearing alongside a lake to gaze up at the Milky Way, watching as someone seemed to fling one shooting star after another across the black, night sky. We don't have this kind of darkness in our backyard; we don't normally see such brilliance. When Alan and I reflect on this memorable moment, we are provided with an exquisite analogy for our year.

Last February Alan's sister, Carolyn, was suddenly taken to her heavenly home. While we celebrate her Homecoming, there can be no denying that the initial convulsive pain, felt so acutely by the family, lingers on like a smarting wound. Darkness.

Darkness juxtaposed by a brilliant light show. You see, when we were in our darkest times, our Abba Father showed up with brilliant blessings of comfort, strength, and growth. We sought comfort; He offered new life. Graciously, we have been given opportunities for change and time for resting in our Savior. Just how He orchestrated these changes and gave invitation to draw closer to Him takes my breath away.

It's not been an easy year for any number of reasons. Alan and I have agreed numerous times that we're walking the most difficult terrain we've ever faced. But these truths have shown out as rays of light in stark contrast to the darkness:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. ~Isaiah 9:2

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. ~John 8:12

Christ IS our light. He has called us into intimate fellowship with Him. The cost of following Him is not what we had expected, but the freedom He offers is exhilarating. God is so faithful, so much more than we can ever comprehend. His joy is not of this world, and it IS complete. His LOVE covers everything. May we delight in the freedom Love won for us some 2000 years ago.

May everlasting joy crown your head.
May gladness and joy overtake you.
May sorrow and sighing flee away.

Love,
Alan and Lisa