Merry Christmas! (Is this cheating?)

Well, it seems pretty obvious that I'm not going to get any Christmas cards out before Christmas, seeing as how tonight is Christmas Eve.  I love getting your Christmas cards in the mail and your holiday greetings on Facebook and the more information about how things are going for you and yours, the better!   But our Christmas family photo (see below) isn't really worth making copies of and I'll be lucky if I even get the tree put away before Valentine's Day, so this is my best effort at wishing you a very merry Christmas and a very happy new year and even providing a little bit of an update for the Taylor family in 2012.

We started the year the same way we're ending it--with C and Boo going to Guatemala to love on about 65 orphans and their caregivers.  Both of them are at their very best when they are at the Fundacion Salvacion in Huehuetenango, Guatemala.  Here is a photo of Boo with one of "her kids:"

Speaking of Boo, she is a sophomore this year at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.  She loves school, loves her friends, loves her two churches, and loves life in general.  (If you know her, you are not surprised!)  She's an early childhood-elementary education major and hasn't wavered on that plan since she was three years old.  We're very proud of the young woman she's turning out to be.

Mowgli graduated from Guilford College last December and came home for the spring to work, work and work, saving money so that he could travel for 3 months in Tibet, Nepal, northeastern India and Kashmir.  His stories of hiking and climbing during that time are a little too harrowing for this mom (one involves tigers) but I'm truly in awe of his adventurous spirit and courage.  Here's Mowgli in the foreground of a photo taken during a climbing trip:

These days, he doesn't have much time for outdoor adventures.  He's living near Boston, MA and attending grad school at Harvard Divinity School, still studying Tibetan culture and religion, and playing on the school ultimate Frisbee team.

As I watched C lead our Christmas Eve service this evening, I was struck again by how good he is at pastoral ministry and how blessed we are to be serving here at MBC with really good people who love us as much as we love them.  He finds great fulfillment in serving at Austin Children's Shelter, keeping up with old friends and passionately following pretty much any sport that involves a ball.  

And me . . . well, I probably devote enough time on this blog to the details of my life.  As a quick summary, I still see clients in my private practice here in Austin, I stay involved with the Faithwalking ministry of Mission Houston, and I travel pretty regularly working with the Ridder Church Renewal process with Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI.  Right now, I'm looking forward to two weeks off  before starting a busy season of travel and work.

So now you're caught up with us . . . if you haven't already, please let us know what's up with you!  We're blessed to know the most wonderful people--and you're one of them!  We send Christmas greetings and hope for blessings in the new year!