Holiday Letter 2011

Hello Friends and Family!

Happy Holidays! We hope your Christmas was filled with good food and people you love. 2011 has been a year full of work, work, and more work – but we are exceedingly grateful. In years past, our holiday letter has included at least two cool trips. Sadly, we did not do much traveling this year, except for a quick trip to Charleston. Here’s a timeline of what kept us here in Hendersonville instead of out and about:

January 2011: We got snowed in, a lot, we all had the flu, and we talked about moving to Hawai’i. However, we had a blast sledding with Anna-Joy and our friends.

February: We joined a new church and Anna-Joy was baptized. We are so thankful for the people we’ve been able to meet, and are so blessed to have shared so many meals and laughs and to have made friends that live near by.

March: Nicole worked, or really sat, at a Thai restaurant until the restaurant closed. John was in school studying horticulture and grafting things in the greenhouse.

April: Nicole was blessed to get a job at a busier restaurant in downtown Hendersonville with no lapse in work between the closing of the Thai place.

May: John finished school and immediately began the back-breaking work of planting a gigantic vegetable garden full of heirloom tomatoes. After hours of research, planting, paper-work, and permits, He set up a lovely looking produce stand to sell his wares. The stand is close to our home and is in the parking lot of a busy tourist stop: Elijah Mountain Gem-Mine.

June: We celebrated being married three years! We were able to enjoy the music of Moses Atwood at a lovely venue in West Asheville. We ate steak and drank wine after months of sticking to a tight budget, and boy was it good! Three years felt very sweet and we are grateful that the Lord has sustained our marriage and used it to teach and change us.

July: We took our one and only family trip of the year to Charleston. We enjoyed the beach, ice-cream, and the company of John’s brother and his wife.

August: Waitressing was a hard gig for our family. Nicole never had stable hours or guaranteed pay. She decided to look for more full-time office work and began the process of applying and interviewing.

September: On September 19^th she began working for a back-ground investigation company a couple miles from our home. We couldn’t be more in awe of how our Father leads, guides, and provides for us. This has been an amazing opportunity with wonderful people.

October - present: John has worked non-stop since planting the vegetable garden back in May. In the fall he transitioned to selling local apples and pumpkins, and now for the Holidays he has sold Christmas trees and hand-made gifts including olive wood sculptures, ceramics, and jewelry. Oh, and he sells the best boiled peanuts in town! It has been a grueling, yet rewarding experience. He has learned a lot, and hopes to use all he’s learned to further future business endeavors.

Anna-Joy has been in day-care since Mom started working. She enjoys her teachers and her friends, and has transitioned really well. We are constantly surprised by the funny things she says, and, every once in a while are blown away by a profound truth that comes out of the “mouth of our babe.” Her favorite things right now include howling with our dog Eastwood, sprinkles, Dora the Explorer, everything princess, tooth-paste, her grandparents, painted toe-nails, spinning in circles to the “Guy on the Buffalo” song, and all forms of sugar.

Thanks for reading about the major events that took place in our lives in 2011. The really major stuff was what went on in our hearts and souls, and how the Lord used those events to teach us about who He is what His love looks like. We’re so thankful to have a Father rich in mercy! He grabs us and takes us out of a miry and miserable pit. With every step we are learning how to trust him, and gaining more glimpses of his beautiful Kingdom. Pray for us in 2011 for continued perseverance as the path is long and narrow. Pray that we’d remember that we are not just stuck on a narrow path, but that we’re being saved from destruction and traveling towards life.

Grace and Peace to you and yours,

John, Nicole, and Anna-joy Mahshie