Merry Christmas

"For unto us a child is born, unto us son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Dear Friends and Family,

We haven't sent a card in quite a while, so this is fun to compile pictures and memories that make up the last year to show to you all. It really is a great reminder of what really matters and take an audit of how we spent our year. It was full of really hard moments, but really beautiful fruitful ones as well. Isn't that how it goes? I don't think that we would truly appreciate the really beautiful moments without having the hard ones. So here's to focusing on the beauty, not ingnoring the ashes....but I am going use this letter as a thank you to Jesus and all that he carried us through this year! He is faithful and worthy of our praise.

RECAP: We had moved to Savage in the Summer of 2021, and spent the year hosting friends and family for sleepovers, dinners, campfires, bible studies, and holidays. It was truly a blessing to have our home be a place that we could love on and serve those in our lives. This was something I had longed to use my home for...to set a table for those needing and longing for community. I know lives were changed and community was built, and I am forever grateful for that..but it came with a cost and we felt like it would best for our family to sell our home, buy land, and build a home that we could spread out in a little bit more. So that's what we did...this fall we sold our home and bought land in my home town of Le Sueur. Our plan is to start building an off grid home in the spring and start growing our own food. We are excited and nervous at the same time as we know this will be a big change and lots of learning, but we are ready for it!

We are in the third year of homeschooling our kiddos and love having them home with us! We are so excited to be able to use our home building and life on our little homestead as their class room. There will be so many valuable things to learn that will be applicable to life.

This year Joe and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary by spending a night at the Lora Hotel in Stillwater. It was so fun to visit Stillwater and have some time to dream and reflect on our 15 years together. Can't wait for all that is to come!

This fall we went on our annual sailing trip up in the Apostle Islands with my parents on their sail boat. We never know what the trip will hold as the weather on Lake Superior can change so quickly. We ended up saling to Stockton Island and bringing the boys to shore so that they could tent camp by themselves! It was quite an adventure for them! We also got to go hiking on the island and sail to Madeline Island in some rough waters. I love the thrill it. One day we would love to have our own sail boat to go on adventures in the ocean with :).

When we sold our home we packed up all our belongings, put it all in storage, and moved into our family cabin in Waterville till we finish our house next summer. We have loved the slow paced life that living on the lake has brought us. We knew it was going to be a test to our family unit, but everyone is doing amazing! The kids all share one room and will stay up laughing with each other every night....it's such a blessing!! But we will for sure be ready to spread out when our house is done!!

Here's a little more about each of us...

JACK: Jack is in his 9th grade year...where did the time go!!?? We are still homeschooling him, but he has had some amazing outlets to use his gifts and passions this year as well. He played football this fall on the Prior Lake 9th grade team where he was the quarterback. He really did awesome and it was so fun watching him march his team down the field to get touch downs! He also started playing guitar in our churches youth group. Through playing in that band he was able to lead worship at a youth conference and enter a musical competition. It was a great experience for him and he continues to grow in his guitar skills! He loves to read and write. He finished writing his first book and is working on his second book....it's already 30,000 words and its only half done!! He amazes me!

CORA: Cora started 7th grade this year. She got involved in our churches youth group and made some amazing friends both at church and in our neighborhood. She has really grown in her faith this year and has had some amazing young women leading her in youth group that have poured into her helping her to own her relationship with Jesus. She is confident and wants those in her circle to know Jesus too. So that's why we started a Junior High girls bible study in our home. It was a beautifully chaotic time together...but through that time one of her friends came to know Jesus personally which was SOOOO incredible!!! Praise Jesus! Cora is an amazing artist and has taught herself to sew. She was gifted a really nice sewing machine from a customer at our shop and has been designing and sewing barbie clothes. They are amazing, so if you have little girls needing barbie clothes let us know and she can make some for you!

ALICE: Alice is a 4th grader this year and loves math and drawing. She is a joy to everyone she meets and is determined and consistant with whatever she puts her mind to....she gets it done! She also started a youtube channel where she consistantly posts videos of her playing roblox and creating story lines for her little adventures. She just crossed over 500 subscribers and some of her videos have 17k views!! It's pretty incredible and we are cheering her on! She also loves playing with little critters and just got a sailboat lego set that she loved putting together and playing with.

MAX: Max is in 3rd grade and loves to take what he is learning and apply it to his real life. He is the extrovert of the family and makes friends EVERY where he goes! He has a larger than life personality and had a really great time playing football this fall. He spent much of the time on the field doing the gritty celebrating all his team mates big plays or small plays ;). His coaches told us that if someone got hurt he was right there asking if they were ok and even praying for them! We love this guy and can't wait to include him in our home building process.

MARY: Mary is 2 and loving her life as the baby in the family. She is independent and wants to do everything herself these days...lol. She loves to help me do everything and play with barbies, little critters, and babies. She is such a good little mommy to her baby dolls. She also loves to play outside and be with her grandmas and grandpas.

JOE: Joe has been spending a lot of his time learning about gardening, off grid living, and brushing up on his home building skills. He along with our son Jack will be building our home themselves. Everything from digging the foundation to framing it up. He is so ready to get going!! He has planned to start digging this December, but it just got too cold too fast...so it will have to wait till spring. A highlight from the summer was that he got to fly in a Cerius S22...one day he wants to own one! Along with building our house he has been investing his time in our realestate investment company growing our portfolio!

LAURA: "Always learning" is written on a mug that I found at a thrift store this year...it really summed up what I have put energy to this year! I have put a lot of effort into learning a new profession. Since we have been investing in real estate for so long I felt like it would be a good career shift for me to become a Realtor. So this summer I got my license and have been walking alongside families helping them find their next home. It truly has been such a joy and feels like I have found a way to make a living and love what I do. I started gathering women in my home to pray twice a month, and it was so powerful everytime! God is moving through prayer, and I am so excited to be a part of it and see the revival that comes to hearts, homes, cities and nations! I also held our 6th annual BEGIN Conference this November...and man it's always such a blessing to partner with the holy spirit as we create a space for women to come encounter Jesus and watch him move in their lives supernaturally! I stand in awe every year!

There are so many things I am thankful for as I look back on this last year and so much to be hopeful for in the year to come! Know that we are praying the same for you as you look back and also look forward. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year friends!

Prayerfully,
The Fuhrman Family