Merry Christmas - our Christmas letter via BLOG

Ok, I apologize to those of you hoping for our annual newletter - for several reasons it just never got done this year. I hope that our new blog will keep you all as entertained and even better updated on our family. Please leave us comments we would love to hear from you!

Our Christmas Card




Elle started home school kindergarten this year. She is learning the facinating world of numbers, letters, reading and writing. She colors pictures, matches things that go together, finds things that don't belong and best of all is learning how to follow directions! Her world is very girly with dancing and dolls and horses. Her brothers do a good job of including her and she does pretty well keeping up. She still has an uncanny ablility to frustrate them to tears, and we are still working on her 'gentle and quiet spirit' She managed another unplanned haircut this year thanks to her brother Ben (who's only excuse was, "She told me to do it!"). She thinks it is unfair that she has to have a room all to herself.

Noah is as much a little goofball as ever! He is now in the 2nd grade and doing really well when he isn't distracted by such important and facinating things such as dust particals and daydreams. That is really our biggest challenge to overcome. He played baseball this year as a rookie and hated it. In his defense it was a pretty rotten experience this year - I hated it for him too. I think the only sport this kid is intested in is if it can be played on GameCube. GameCube - yes, we caved this year and bought the kids a GameCube. Noah has a love/hate relationship with it (he has a love/hate relationship with everything lately!). He loves to play it - he is a little obsessive about it, but when things don't go his way - YIKES! That thing has spent a lot of time in 'time-out' due to attitude management issues. Noah started losing teeth and as you can see from the previous photo post, has the lovely single snaggletooth smile! I see our future orthodontist taking a trip to Maui thanks to our family someday... Noah's sweet little rat Christy passed away this year - tragic for all of us...

Ben just celebrated his 10th birthday! It was the 'Birthday Party Year' and he chose to take his brothers and sister and 3 friends to Planet X. Ben is my 4th grader and is at the top of his class! Ok, I know he is in a class by himself, but he really is doing well. We still have days when school can take ALL DAY with this boy, but that isn't because he struggles with the material - he just has an active imagination which takes over if he isn't being closely supervised! Superman is still king in Ben's world. Ben has started publishing his own newspaper (took me a while to put the newspaper/Clark Kent connection together!) and it will be fun to see if that continues! Anything to get my kids writing! He is still playing piano and enjoying it - though we have to work on practicing! Ben was able to be on the same Little League team with Peter this year, and Robb got to coach them. They did fine, but I think Ben wants to try something different this next year, Ben says he wants to try basketball. He really enjoyed learning fencing earlier this year with Pete and the Pille boys.

Peter is in 5th grade - can I really have a 5th grader??? He, like his siblings, is doing well. We are challenged in math, but he manages to overcome and is doing well (his last test he got a 95%!). Robb and I are proud of Pete and the responsibility he shows (and we are enjoying the benefits of it!). Peter continues to excel at piano, winning a rating of excellent and a trophy at the Summer Music Olympics. He did an great job pitching and catching in baseball and really enjoyed it. He is still the king of 20 questions - always having to know what, when, where and why. Peter has had some challenges this year that have given him opportunities to choose between pleasing man or following God's word. It has been good for Robb and I to watch him struggle through this and be able to encourage him even when what is best isn't always what is easy. He is showing some real growth and fruit in his faith in Christ which causes us to praise God. Pete would like to add this (in his own words), "I have a great Mom and Dad and I love them and I am only getting one present this year for Christmas, but I would be happy with none'. Yeah, that is Pete (though I doubt he would be happy without a gift! He is full of it sometimes!).

Robb. I get to brag on my husband now! He has worked really hard this year at work and at home. At work he is an awesome Arson Investigator, and though has been challenged with some hard fires and other issues, he continues to desire to excel still more for the glory of God. At home he keeps a steady list of projects. Lately it has been splitting the numerous cords of wood piled up in our backyard and woodpile. We should be set for the next couple of years. I certainly have no fears of freezing to death should the power go out! Robb finished the boy's barracks this year, building them bunks stacked 3 high and decorating it all things GI Joe! If he could live in there I think he would. He is looking forward to building a loft bed in Elle's room so we can accomodate all her stuff (how much can one girl own???). Robb has been exercising his spiritual gifts and meets weekly to disciple several different men in the church. It is one of his great loves, to encourage other men in the faith and see Christ's work in their lives. He reads constantly and has gotten a couple of opportunities to teach this past year (another love of his!). On top of all this he has devoted himself to loving his wife and kids first and foremost and he takes every opportunity to make them a priority. Robb has taken the primary roll in Pete and Ben's education so that I can focus on the younger ones. Every Wednesday is Mens-day, and Robb takes that day off to teach and disciple his boys. Saturday mornings are his dates with Elle when he takes her to her dance class then out for a muffin and Daddy time afterwards. Wednesday nights he gives to me as we take advantage of the time the kids are at CTA (Children's Truth Academy) to spend some time together and talk and enjoy each others company. Somehow this man manages to fit 25 hours in a 24 hour day!

Angie - that is me. I am committed to my family. This will be my 5th year home schooling and my first year schooling all 4 of the children! Robb has blessed me by taking more of the responsibility for Ben and Pete, though I still have to get them through their daily work, so my days are spent teaching Elle and Noah and keeping Ben and Pete on task. If you ask my children they would tell you I spend too much time on the computer - they are right... My hobby has turned into a small business as a photographer. I spend a little time taking pictures for people and a lot of time making those pictures something special on the computer. I am still working on balencing it all! At church I am still one of the Shower Coordinators and between all the weddings and babies this past year that has kept us 'showering' the women of OBC! I have been doing a bit of graphic art and logo making for the church as well as of late so I am truly developing my Photoshop skills for the glory of God! This summer was my 20 year high school reunion! So I got to reconnect with most of my friends from High School for the first time in 20 years. It was a surreal experience to say the least!

This year was the year for the BIG Gottsch Family Vacation! In June Robb's parents, Janelle's family, Ryan's family and our family (15 of us in all - 16 if you counted yet to be born baby Will!) traveled by car, truck and suburban to Yellowstone National Park. We got to spend a week taking in the splendor of God's creation and marvel at the beauty of it all. In case you are wondering, we did get to see a black bear in the wild which of course makes the trip a total success! Calll me an idiot (but not to my face, please) but I seriously had no idea that the park was on top of a volcano, or that there were spectacular springs and geysers beyond 'Old Faithful'! It was an amazing experience, and a great time with most of Robb's family (Jason, Parvin and James unfortunately were not able to come).
On a more somber note, Robb's grandmother, Norma, passed away in October. She is missed, and the kids still talk about her often. The enjoyed visiting with her when Robb went to balence her checkbook and pay bills. We are so glad that they had that time to get to know her and we praise God that we were able to minister to her in this way. We were definitly blessed by her.

2006 has been a good year and we are praising God for ALL He has done.