Merry Christmas

Well here it is, 2 weeks until Christmas, and once again I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards. So...this new blog will have to suffice.

2007 was a busy, but exciting year for the Goebel family! We had the opportunity to do quite a bit of traveling. As a family we went to Washington DC and Colorado. The girls spent two weeks with their grandparents this summer. One week in California and one week on a cruise. (They are just a little bit spoiled!) Ryan took his 3rd trip to Haiti, did some work for NAMB and spoke to youth groups around the country. This summer I had the incredible opportunity to go to Moldova, a country in Eastern Europe, on a mission trip. It was an amazing experience. I had no luggage the entire time, but managed to do well.

The girls still play competitive soccer and it has turned into a real family event. Ryan is the assistant coach and I am the team manager. Anna continues to excel and is the leading scorer for our team. Kayla plays up 2 levels to play with her sister and despite her size she runs the mid field. It is amazing to see her go up against girls twice her size and come out on top. She has no fear.

Anna is in 6th grade, her last year at our school. She is in the gifted and talented program and plays the trumpet in the band. She is also on the yearbook committee and the Student Council President. Kayla is in the 5th grade, a straight A student, on the yearbook committee and in student council. She plays the flute in band and is also in chorus.

Ryan has been the student pastor at Mountain Ridge for 3 1/2 years and the group continues to grow. He is on the state student evangelism team and was just elected 1st Vice President of the AZ Southern Baptist Convention.

This is my 10th year of teaching and my 7th at Bellair. In the spring I won a national essay contest for teachers sponsored by Honeywell and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. I got a $10,000 classroom makeover and a trip to DC for the whole family. Check out the video of the room makeover on youtube.com. Just type in my name.

Hopefully we will be able to catch up with some of you at Christmas. We will be in Indiana Dec. 26- January 4 and in Nashville Jan. 4-5.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!