Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you from the Messick household! I apologize that it has been so long since I've written, but here is a quick update!

This year has been a year of many blessings! Mark has been asked to speak at several events at other churches and God has continued using him in such a wonderful way! He has a unique way of communicating to adults and kids and we are so thankful for how God has opened doors for him to be used inside and outside of our church body. Mark continues to serve as the Education Pastor at First Baptist North Mobile where we are so loved on by the people there. We feel blessed to serve with such a wonderful group of pastors and people. In April of 2010, Mark will celebrate 8 years as a pastor of that church. And, on another note ... Mark will be having a birthday in just a few days! He will turn 38 on December 31st!

For me, this year has truly been one of healing and flourishing. God has given me several opportunities to share my testimony about having a child with special-needs. It is hard to explain, but through sharing your grief and joy with others, God brings about healing. I've so enjoyed speaking and singing at different events and pray that many more opportunities come along in the future. I feel as if that is a new ministry God has given me. I have been blessed to have opportunities to record on several worship albums/projects and I always thoroughly enjoy doing that. I also continue to teach as an adjunct professor at the University of Mobile as a Commercial Voice Instructor.

Elyssa is in 4K this year and is growing up so fast. It is hard to believe that she will be 5 in July of 2010! I have enjoyed seeing her actually behave better! Is that terrible to say? With three little ones, you are thankful for things like this. It definitely makes my life easier as a mom! Elyssa has had opportunities to sing in church for a few different events and has a cute little singing voice. She loves to write and cut. And, she is actually developing a sense of her own style when it comes to clothes.

Natalie will be turning 3 in just a few weeks (January 10th). She has beautiful wavy hair, bright blue eyes and loves to sing. She is always singing around the house and isn't much of a TV watcher (unless Dora is on). She loves to play with cars and I'm finding that she is a bit of an organizational child because she lines every car up as she plays with them. She has such a fun personality and everyone who spends time around her just loves her!

Victoria is continues to grow slowly (physically) and I think I've decided that she is just a petite child. I worried for a while that she wasn't gaining weight fast enough, but I've finally gotten okay with her small size. I have read that children with Downs are small the first part of their lives so I've found comfort in knowing that. Victoria is walking now and spends every day exploring our house. She loves to follow Natalie around when Elyssa is at school. And, if Natalie isn't at home, she follows me around. She loves to push strollers and anything that can be pushed around in the house (including chairs from our kitchen table). She jibber-jabbers a lot and I hear her saying things for me like, "Da Da," "Pa Pa," "La La," and "Ba Ba." She is such a pleasant girl. She always has a smile on her face and a hug for anyone. She is a true joy. Her therapists say she is doing so well. We've been told numerous times that it is so unusual for a child with Downs to be so active, so therefore her therapists think she is a "high-functioning" Downs child. She is a girl on the "go." She does not like being idle at all. So, we are so thankful that she is doing so wonderfully.

As you can see, this year has been a busy and blessed one for us! We thank God so much for all of the blessings He has bestowed on us. We know that it is only through His grace that we survive the "circus" which is our life, but we enjoy every moment of it!

We pray you have a blessed holiday season and know that we love you all!