Phil and Elsie’s Christmas Letter 2006

Posted on December 20th, 2006 at 02:23pm by Phil

Dear Friends:

Hey! In many ways, this wasn’t “a year of new beginnings!”

Christmas ’05 found us pretty well spread out – with Dave, Maia, and the boys in Atlanta, Chris in Tillamook with his (then) fiancé Anna, and Melodie flying in on Christmas day from Nipawin. Phil’s sister, Marion, had joined us for Christmas and the wedding, and just before Christmas, Marion’s son, Bob, surprised her when he arrived. She thought he was in Mississauga. It was great to have Marion and Bob with us for Christmas!

Dave (who is now 33) and Maia are in their 7th year in Sugar Hill, just north of Atlanta. Dave is doing addiction and substance abuse counseling in Lawrenceville. Maia has continued to work at Egleston Children’s Hospital, in the ER. We really don’t know how they do it! Bren and Jace, the 5½ year-old twins, 3½-year old Joel, and nearly 2-year old Bryce sure keep the house hopping! We look forward to the chats with Bren and Jace, especially as they are learning to tell jokes. Joel usually has a little to say, while Bryce doesn’t have much to contribute – the last time, he said “pumpkin.” Vonage helps keep the cost low!

For Chris (now 30), the big events of the year were (1) getting married to Anna in January, (2) honeymooning in Orlando at Disney World, and (3) becoming a landed immigrant of the United States of America. He’s still waiting for a green card, so he can get hired for a permanent position. In the meantime, he continues to develop his free-lance career in web design, as Sketchboy Productions. We now permanently give refuge to Sushi, his cat. Anna left the position where she was working last year, and was hired by a large, international health care company, which decided in October that her section wasn’t profitable, and laid everyone off. After exploring options in Los Angeles, Texas, and Chicago, she has been hired by a company in the Kirkland, WA area, where they live.

Melodie (29) entered her second year in ministry in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, where she is the pastor of The Salvation Army church and associated ministries. This year, they moved into a new Ministry Centre, which includes the Warrior’s Song Café. Melodie is looking forward to a short-term missions trip to Bangladesh in February, and then to finding out what the Lord has on His agenda for her in the future.

This year seems to have gone by so quickly!

January began with all the final preparations for Chris and Anna’s wedding on the 7^th. Dave and Maia had arrived in Seattle, so it was good to get everyone (except the grandchildren) together again. Phil had the privilege of doing Chris and Anna’s wedding ceremony, and takes full responsibility for addressing Chris as “Christ.” After they returned from their honeymoon, we picked them up in Kent and drove together to Tillamook for a special reception there, for all the Oregonians who couldn’t attend the celebration in Redmond. Of course, January is also the beginning of RRSP season. After a slow start because of the wedding focus, Phil got busier and busier, so that March was his best month ever at Edward Jones. In fact, he doubled his previous best month ever!

At the end of January, we had a dream come true, as we began working with a team of great people to get the Aldergrove Pastorate started. Northview, our church, is very large, with over 3,000 people in it. Since it’s so difficult to get to know people in such a setting, a ministry model has been adopted that was inspired by Nicky Gumble of Alpha fame. We now lead a group of about 35 people who meet every second Tuesday evening for a potluck dinner and conversation, followed by worship, teaching, sharing, and praying. It is fantastic! Everyone in what we prefer to think of as our Neighbourhood Congregation lives in or close to Aldergrove, and was amazed at the first meetings to learn how many other Aldergrove people attended Northview. We instantly became family for one another. In the fall, Phil was asked to coach and work with the leaders of 5 other Pastorates, from the Abbotsford area.

At the beginning of March, Phil went to Tempe, AZ, for the next level of training as an investment advisor. Then, Elsie and Phil were off to Nipawin for Easter, where Phil had the opportunity to preach at Melodie’s church. Elsie stayed for a couple of weeks after Phil left, helping Melodie clean up her yard for spring, even though there was quite a bit of snow on the ground.

Our trailer, which we have been storing and using at the KOA in Lynden, just across the border, developed a couple of pretty extensive leaks during the winter, so in May, we towed it home, so we could work on it in the driveway throughout the summer. Fortunately, a friend from our Pastorate was able to tow it home for us, as our Altima isn’t equipped for such an endeavour, and a couple of more friends from the Pastorate helped with tools, wisdom, and effort! Also, thankfully, the fellow who built it was able to give Phil a lot of guidance in how to go about making the necessary repairs.

At the beginning of July, Elsie flew to Ontario, to spend a day with Phil’s sister at her new place in Sutton West, and then a week with her Dad and the rest of her family in and around Kingston. On the 12^th, Phil flew to Toronto, met Elsie there, and they continued to St. Louis, for their Edward Jones Regional Meeting, at the home office. This included a tour of the Edward Jones Dome, where the Rams play their NFL football games, and a Cardinals baseball game at the new Busch Stadium, in which they beat the Dodgers. Little did we know the Cards would go on to win the World Series! At the closing banquet, Phil received the Partner’s Award for his business. Later that night – actually, 1:30 the next morning – we boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Atlanta, arriving 13 hours later, where we were greeted by our favourite four boys in the universe – and their Mom and Dad.

While in Atlanta, we spent time at a couple of great water parks, and at the American Adventures Theme Park—designed especially for kids. Above all, we had time to spend with Dave, Maia, and the boys. We don’t get nearly enough opportunities to do that! Then, we came home ready for a rest.

Toward the end of August, we were able to return the trailer to Lynden, and had two weekends of camping. On the first Saturday night, much to our surprise, Melodie and her dog, Tornik, showed up. They had driven from Nipawin to spend some holiday time with us.

In September, Elsie began to look after a little guy, Wyatt, who lives a couple of doors from us on our cul-de-sac. Wyatt is nearly 2 years of age, and satisfies Elsie’s need for a kid fix. His mother returned to teaching as a substitute, and eventually a permanent, mornings-only position, so Elsie spends most mornings with him. She loves it!

Thanksgiving weekend was also our 35^th wedding anniversary, and meant a trip to Whistler for a few relaxing days. Chris and Anna joined us for the first night, and then some new friends arrived for a few days.

So, now we’re getting ready to head to Atlanta for Christmas. Anna and Chris actually get there before us, and as usual, Melodie will fly in on Christmas day. We wouldn’t be surprised if this is our last Christmas together for several years. Then, it will be back to BC to get ready for what we know will be an exciting RRSP season, of Phil getting to know more people from our community, and helping them to achieve their financial goals.

So, what’s up for 2007?

It’s hard to tell, really, but they look forward to what the Lord has planned for the new year. We know He will continue to be faithful.

To keep up-to-date on the comings and going of the Routly crew, be sure to check our family website at www.routly.com/v2.

God bless you, have a wonderful Christmas, and a remarkable 2007!

Phil and Elsie Routly

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