Christmas Letter 2009

...written by my husband John.

Merry Christmas! Don’t be afraid, the Kingdom of God is near!

You could say that things have gone a bit crazy at the Enns-Wind House. If there are any stones here you can be reasonably certain that it doesn’t have any moss growing on it. However, Sisyphus would feel comfortable with us as he constantly pushes his rock up the hill without success. It seems we are doing lots without the appearance of doing lots.

John N is one busy guy! This past spring his sledge hockey team won the national championship in Calgary. It was a great weekend with lots of competitive spirit to go around including a visit with John W’s favourite aunt. Soccer, youth clubs, guitar, school, golf, and yes sledge hockey kept John N active and learning lots. Some of John’s highlights include winning a soccer medal for most sportsmanship. John loves to play goal and wants to be like Oliver Kahn of Germany. Guitar keeps John busy everyday and it is paying off tremendously: he has become very good quickly. Starting next September there will be no one in Kindersley to give him lessons. We have started looking for someone in Saskatoon at the Royal Conservatory of Music to continue teaching him. John has been asked to be part of the youth leadership at a church we attend and has been learning lots about leadership. One of the new things John is learning this year is the flute; yes it was his first choice and he can’t wait till he is old enough to be in the senior band. This past summer saw John not quite able to get out to the golf course and driving range as much as he would have liked but his game still showed substantial improvement over the previous year. Did we mention John is slowly transforming into a dolphin? Lots of swimming lessons in our house; summer mornings are spent at the pool.

Josh is slowly catching up to John in height; this past year he gained almost a half inch on him. If you happen by most evenings you can catch Josh’s piano styling’s including an occasional original melody. His hands aren’t just for tinkling the ivories; through karate he is slowly turning them into weapons. He is one stripe short of his orange belt. AWANA is still a big part of his life and is looking forward to going into Truth and Training next year. Like his older brother he is been earning lots of points and badges. He is also proud of winning a prize for the best designed grand prix car last spring. Dad cut it but the design and painting were completed by Josh; he did a great job! Sean is one of Josh’s best friends and it seems that the only thing that separates them is Sean’s hockey schedule. Needless to say one of Josh’s favourite pastimes is playing road hockey in the driveway; he is becoming a pretty good goalie. Soccer is also one of Josh’s favourite activities.

We are pretty much at the stage where we do not need a diaper bag. Having said that, we feel a little bit better if we bring something extra along for Austin. As you can guess our diaper bill has dropped off dramatically and his vocabulary has increased exponentially. It seems like a lot of our conversations are along the lines of why he can’t do something his brothers are doing such as soccer, hockey, guitar, piano, chess, some Wii games and more. In many respects we can’t wait for him to become a little bigger and mature so we can say yes to stuff rather than no. Austin has lots of energy and is very much like his older brothers as he is very different from them. It is sometimes hard to remember that they are all are our sons given how different they are from one another. However, we know they are ours because we know where they get some of their mannerisms and stuff.

Annette is feeling a lot like a single Mom since May. She has had to shoulder a big load getting the boys out of the door to school, soccer, music, and more. School is a blessing to Annette because she has developed some good relationships there and teaches her ideal course load of only senior level physics and chemistry.

John W, it is hard to believe, is a little more than a third of the way through his MBA (Master of Business Administration) at Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan. Needless to say John does not really have a life. The extent of John’s social life has been to see two movies, The Informant and District 9, both which were good. Golf was nonexistent this past year because he was recuperating from a shoulder injury. One of the summer highlights for John was to see a good performance of La Boheme in Saskatoon. Highlights for the coming year include surviving the MBA which is scheduled to be finished August 21^st, Enns family reunion in Moose Jaw, seeing U2 in concert in Edmonton, and developing a feasibility plan and business plan for a Centre of Creative Excellence in Saskatoon. Other than that John’s life is focused on reading, papers, and case studies.

Though things are busy at our house everyone, mostly the boys and John W’s waist, is getting bigger. This past summer we found a lovely little puppy, cross between a beagle and a terrier, that fit into our family very nicely. Unfortunately, he suddenly got sick without getting better. The boys would like to get another puppy. We also managed to go to Cypress Hills for a day trip. John and Josh did their annual visit to Redberry Bible Camp and came away with a great experience; this is yet one more thing we have to tell Austin no and wait. Another highlight this past summer was Annette’s family reunion with the Strobels where we were able to catch up with some relatives.

We would love to hear from you and do apologize for not being in contact very much recently.

We wish you well and may you know peace and joy this coming year.

Boldly, Paul, and without hindrance Paul preached the Kingdom of God and taught about Jesus Christ.