2010 in Review

It's the final day of 2010. 

How'd you do?  Do you consider this year a success? or a failure?

On what do you base your success or failure?  more money?  less money?

I would hope that I can judge any year a success by simply the knowledge that I am closer to God today that I was at this time last year.

I consider this year a success.

This has been a good year, in most ways.  I finished writing my first novel.  To me, that is a great accomplishment.  I have not been able to secure literary representation, which is very disappointing to me.  I optimistically assumed that I would have an agent and have either just sold or would be about to sell my novel to a publishing company.  Yet, I did have my manuscript requested by an agent; I just haven't heard back from her about it yet.

Sally was able to attain her alternative certification for teaching secondary math!  It didn't work out as expected, however, when she was offered a teaching position a few weeks after school had begun this fall.  The school created classes out of already established classes and were, unfortunately for Sally, filled with students that the other teachers found to be problem students.    Since she had no classroom experience, she was promised all the support she needed from the principal to be able to teach.  She received none.  She reluctantly resigned her position, and began to search for a different position.  To make a long story shorter, the principal was fired and an interim was appointed from the Board of Education whom Sally had work with previously.  He hired her as a secretary and she is working back in the same school.  She is once again ready to find a teaching position.

The children are exceeding expectations back in school in Wagoner.  They both play in the school band and both play in our church praise band.  Audrey is taking all the pre-AP classes that are available to her and Emily is doing great, as well.  The most important thing is that both children are both godly girls and are great witnesses for the Lord among their classmates.

Our church continues to flourish.  I feel better about our church today than I have felt at anytime since I have been pastor!  I am excited to see what God will do in 2011.

God has been very, very good to us this year.  His faithfulness is overwhelming!

We praise God for 2010!

Trouble in the Ivory Coast

Golf Hotel, Abidjan

From HOTSPOTS:

Côte d’Ivoire (Country threat level - 4): On 30 December 2010 the leader of the radical pro-Laurent Gbagbo group Young Patriots urged fellow supporters to storm the hotel headquarters of opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara on 1 January 2011. The opposition candidate has been running a shadow government from the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, protected by an 800-strong U.N. task force, since the 28 November run-off election.

Meanwhile, on 29 December the U.S. State Department announced that a team of eight military officials had arrived in Abidjan to plan for the possible evacuation of the Cote d’Ivoire Embassy staff. Pentagon officials are concerned that the post-election violence could escalate into a full-blown conflict and are preparing for every contingency.

(We lived in Abidjan from 2000-2002 and Emily was born there.  We have been to the Golf Hotel on numerous occasions.)

Christmas Day 2010

We drove to Vinita to spend Christmas Day with Sally's family:

Grandma & Pawpaw

Landon was the star of the show

Tommy and Audrey

Sally and "Kah-lai-jah"

Mary with "heart of my heart"

Landon

Sally's mother has said for several years that all she wanted for Christmas was for all her kids' feet to be under the table at the same time.

 It wasn't quite exactly what she meant.

Turkey.  Yum, yum!

Christmas Morning 2010

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas Morning 2010 in Wagoner, OK:

Barely awake, but giddy with anticipation

Candy; good.

Yea for Christmas!

Sporting their new coats.

Christmas in Hong Kong

Here are some pics from our Christmas in Hong Kong:

Christmas Morning - 2006 - Homantin, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Gingerbread house

Christmas 14 stories up

Deboning the bird

Trip to HK Disneyland at Christmastime

Rick & Sally in Mong Kok

Audrey at International Christian School Christmas Program

Emily at ICS Christmas Program

The Christmas lights in our flat's windows 14 stories up

Skyscrapers properly decorated for Christmas on HK Island

The girls in Shekou, Shenzhen, China

Christmases in Thailand

Here are some Christmas pictures from our time in Thailand:

Chiang Mai - 2004

Grace International School Christmas Play - Chaing Mai 2004

GIS Christmas play - 2004

Sharon Barber and Emily - Chiang Mai 2004

Friends in Chiang Mai 2004

Thai Staff Caroling our house - Chiang Mai 2004

Something was funny, I guess - 2003

American Dolls 2004

Reading the Christmas Story (Luke 2) in Thai

"The Christmas House"

More Christmases Past

Emily, Tulsa 2002

Mom, Meme, Dad, Muskogee 2002

Kids' 1st White Christmas - Vinita 2002

Audrey in FBC, Vinita Christmas Pagent 1997

Audrey, Meme, Natalie, Muskogee - 2002

Audrey & Emily, Tulsa - 2002

The Boyne Family - Muskogee - 2002

Emily, Vinita - 2002

Grandma reading to the girls - Vinita 2002

Christmas in West Africa

Here are a few Christmas pictures from our time in West Africa:

Audrey in Mamou Guinea in 1998 (hoping we'd get our crate with our tree)

Boyne Family, Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire 2001

Emily as Mary - Abidjan, 2001

Staff Christmas Party - Abidjan, 2001

Pretending to be precious in Abidjan - 2001

Mission Christmas Party - Abidjan 2001

Julie, Karis, Kristen, and Bill Johnson - Abidjan 2000

Stephanie, Jenny & Chad - Abidjan 2000