Merry Christmas

"I am the Light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but swill have the light of life." John 8: 12

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Our homes, our families, our world are touched by darkness in ways big and small, but celebrating Jesus' birth is a reminder that His light washes all darkness away.

It is hard to believe another year has come and gone. Seems as though we should have a laundry list of memories, experiences, funny stories, etc., and we do, except if we shared them all, this letter would be a book! So we'll just hit the highlights:

• Grace (Therese) and Gianna (Anne) were confirmed on April 5 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
• Tobias played his first season of "Coach Pitch" baseball over the summer
• The 5 oldest kiddos took swim lessons

• Grace, Gianna, Toby, and Josh all got to attend Totus Tuus - a fantastic Catholic, very meaty VBS program
• Christopher passed his state of Illinois EMT certification exam
• We made a mini vacation out of our trip here to the St. John's Catholic Newman Center Summer Homecoming

• The 2014-15 school year is about halfway through with a school room chock full of learning from our 6th, 4th, 2nd, and 1st graders, plus our preschooler and 2 tag-a-longs!

• Tobias had his First Reconciliation in early November
• In October, Christopher accepted a new job with Alexis Fire Equipment as a Merchandise Sales Representative.
• We celebrated the birth of our first Goddaughter, Mary Agnes, who is a precious, sweet angel.
• Rounding out the year, WE MOVED!!!

The last highlight deserves a little more attention and is a pretty big deal for our family. Moving back to the Champaign-Urbana area is something we've been praying about and discerning for over 2 years. Even writing this letter from our new home seems surreal. We kept waiting for God's plan to play out and now looking back in hindsight it was all just as it should be! Many thanks to all of you for your prayers, support, and encouragement along the way.

Christopher started his new job on October 13, we closed on our house November 20, and we moved November 22. We celebrated Thanksgiving in our new home - just us - with a flaming green bean casserole and spewing sewer pipe. Nothing like fun stories for many Thanksgivings to come! 

So here at Domus Mariae Regina Sanctorum (House of Mary, Queen of All Saints), we will begin 2015 with a new job, new home, new experiences, and making new memories, but NEVER forgetting each of you who has touched us on our journey.

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Our new address and phone number:
The Kreps
1701 Briarcliff Dr.
Urbana, IL
(217) 607-1274

New house, new normal, new memories!

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We moved! Yes, it finally happened after all the prayer requests for a new job and then for a new home. Just 2 weeks ago we made the big haul with a moving truck, our van, hubby's car, and my in-law's vehicle.  We were graciously received at our new home by friends and family who helped us unload.

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Our new home is in Urbana, IL nestled in a nice little neighborhood. We have lots of neighbors, some fun (and big) dogs, big buses that drive by, and many conveniences very close by.

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Normal. What does that really mean?  Well, for us, we're trying to get back to it, whatever that might mean. We started back to school this week, which is part of what seems normal to us. The 3 oldest are doing the Children's Choir at Church. We're exploring the local gyms for a good fit for our budding gymnast. I was invited to a Bible study. There's a Catholic homeschool group that gets together to play and celebrate feast days. It's all a little overwhelming right at the moment, but we are finding our new "normal."
 
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Change is a good thing - most of the time. Everyone adjusts to change differently, though, and for kids it can be really difficult when they don't understand how to deal with the stress. One of our kiddos, is showing off his stress in some not so fun tantrums and what not, but I think we're making progress. It's only been 2 weeks, so I just keep praying for him and for my own patience.

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I thought I might share a funny store from our first Thanksgiving in our new home. We have an electric stove, which is new for us as we've been cooking with gas forever. So long story short, we managed to set the green bean casserole on fire - flames were showing and everything!!  Then, we were looking out one of the big living room windows and noticed our sewer tile was spewing water like a fountain.  Ah, the joys of a new home. Thankfully, Mr. Roto Rooter fixed us right up the next day and things are moving the right direction now.

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Advent is upon us and as much as I hope and pray it doesn't escape us, I still find that it goes by way too fast. We are doing our best to keep the spirit of Advent - with a Jesse Tree and our wreath.  The house will gradually become more festive and we'll starting baking more goodies.  I just don't want this amazing time to go unnoticed, getting lost in the shuffle of our new "normal."

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Happy Feast of St. Nicholas - a day early!  We have 2 in our family that share this feast day. Always a good time to reflect on what it means to really give.

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