Grubb Christmas Letter
2021 has flown by and we are so thankful, yet again, for all the good gifts the Lord has given this year.
2021 Milestones:
March Ky got her driver’s license
April Sy worked his first job as a
certified referee
April Scott & Tara celebrated 21
years of marriage!
May 2021 J
& K graduated high school/homeschool
July 2021 J
moved to Colorado to attend USAFAPS & graduated from Basic Military
Training
August 2021 K
started college as an OFFICIAL college student
It’s been a few years since our last Christmas post. We are
still living in Anaheim, CA in the home we moved into after our trip. When we
moved in, our kids were in 5th, 7th, 9th &
10th grades. Now we have 2 high schoolers and 2 adults in college!
That happened so fast!
Shortly after our last letter… in early 2018, my father Joe
Thibodo passed away. He had an abdominal aneurysm in late January and though
they were able to fix that, his body was not able to overcome other stresses and
he passed away in early February. We are thankful that what could have been a
sudden death was instead three weeks of time spent together considering the end
of our time together on earth was close. We are so encouraged knowing we will
see him again. When the hospital clergy came by to visit, he wrote, “I am a
child of God.” He was confident of his status and we are so thankful. Still,
the course of our lives was changed after that. Our family spent regular time
with Grandpa Joe and we miss those times together. Several rooms in our home have
a child-chosen photo of Grandpa displayed as we remember.
In early 2020, the Lord led us to a new church home and we
have all thrived there. It is a blessing to follow the Lord’s leading, though
painful at times, and bask in the blessing of being exactly where He would have
you.
Scott is still running his IT business and it has grown
significantly since we returned to California in 2017. Our plan was to be here
for a year or two, but the Lord has made it clear we are to stay longer, so for
now, we “bloom where we are planted”.
Tara is not teaching for our homeschool group this year, but
remains busy teaching the kids at home. Last year, she taught Sy’s class and
had the privilege of guiding the students through a mock trial at the end of
the year that was quite an affair.
J, 19, is currently attending the Air Force Academy
Preparatory School. Since we lived on the road his 9th grade year,
he chose to do an extra year of high school to complete the homeschool program
that we have been part of since 2009. During this time, he also took flying
lessons, soloed for the first time, and has accumulated almost all the hours
required for his private pilot license. The process of applying to the Air
Force Academy was challenging! The most difficult part is getting a nomination
from your Congressman or Senator and J was blessed to be nominated by our
Congressman to both the Air Force and Naval Academies. Then he was accepted to
both Preparatory schools and had to choose. With a goal of becoming a pilot, he
chose Air Force. The AF now requires a 10-year service commitment for those
they train as pilots, so J is looking at 5 years of school, then a year of
pilot training, then 10 years of service. When he left, Sy said, “So, we won’t
see J again until he is 35?” Thankfully, no. During the 5 years of school, he
can come home at Thanksgiving and Christmas and 3 weeks in the summers. It is
quite a commitment that he is taking on, and we are proud to support him in
pursuing his dreams and thankful that the Lord continues to guide him and open
doors.
K, 18, is currently attending Cypress College. He graduated high
school in May after defending his senior thesis asserting the Old Testament is
still necessary. He lives at home and continues to work at Kipe Molds, a
silicon injection machine shop. Because K took college classes alongside his
high school work, he chose to take a large load this semester in order to
graduate. He is excited to finish his A.A. degree in Computer Information
Systems, but will continue taking classes pursuing a B.A. in Communications. He
continues to be successful making extra cash by buying and selling used items
like guitars, cameras, and iPhones. He always has the latest gadgets and
somehow turns a profit when he wants the next fun thing. He spends his (very
little) spare time playing guitar (in a metal band or leading worship???) and
taking photos & video for his growing photography business. Lately, the
Lord seems to keep opening doors in photography. K has always had a good eye
and is using it to shoot weddings, campaigns, family, landscape, and
advertising. We are so thankful for the variety as it offers him the
opportunity to explore and grow.
Ky, 16, is currently a junior in high school, but, like her
brothers is taking a few college classes that interest her. Our Classical
Conversations homeschool group did not have 11th grade this year, so
Ky drives herself 30 minutes to the Corona campus, braving the 91 freeway every
week! In addition to the high school curriculum, she has opted to pursue
Kinesiology at the local community college and this semester added a sign
language class. Her hope is to get into equine-assisted therapy to help people
while working with horses. She continues to work as a ranch-hand down the road,
caring for “her horse” and all the animals. She is down to 3 days a week now,
splitting duties with another gal, but that works out because she is pretty
busy. All three kids at home continue to referee soccer on Saturdays and that
has become quite an experience since all the parents at the field seem to have
forgotten their manners during Covid. Ky has been really blessed by new
friendships and connections at our new church and is truly blossoming in the
youth group.
Sy, 14, is a freshman and is our lone child with the
homeschool group we have done life with for 12 years. Without his siblings
there, Sy is making his own way. He is also very popular in the youth group at
church – people really like his enthusiastic and funny personality. Sy has
followed in J’s footsteps and joined the local Civil Air Patrol squadron.
There, too, with his older brother gone, he is finding his own way, promoting,
and taking on leadership roles and responsibilities. He and Ky volunteer
together every week tutoring elementary students at the local community center.
All of these activities are stretching him and maturing him. He can no longer
fly under the radar - all the time - as the baby of the family, but he still
has a pretty care-free attitude. But he can tenaciously pursue things when he
wants to. He recently decided he wanted a better lawnmower to complete his
chores and he worked hard refereeing to save up and buy a brand new electric
one on his own!
Piper, an 8-month-old Shepard/Lab, joined our family in
August. She requires 4+miles of walking each day if we want her to stay out of
trouble, so she is keeping our family fit!
Scott & I feel like we are definitely in a new stage of
life with 2 adult children to encourage and 2 high schoolers in their final
years of receiving most of their guidance and direction from us. We seek the
Lord’s guidance daily as it can be quite an adventure and are grateful to have
a direct line to the Creator of our universe (and our children) to receive
wisdom. We are encouraged by Hebrews 4:16 which says: “Let us then approach the
throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help us in our time of need.” As parents of teens who frequently reflect our
giftings and our faults, it is a comfort to find mercy at the cross of Christ.
We fully acknowledge that all that has happened in 2021 is by the hand of God
in our lives. May you know Him and His love and His provision and His grace in
your daily life as well!
Blessings to you… from the Grubb family, 2021
