Dear Family & Friends,
How can it be December already? Doesn't it seem like we just celebrated the 4th of July? Nonetheless, we are all busy with our endless Christmas lists, aren't we!
This year has been fairly quiet for the Hart family. Matt & I celebrated 25 years in April - we traveled to Arizona in March to enjoy the warm weather and catch a couple of Cubs Spring Training games. Surprisingly, we drove through a snowstorm in Northern Arizona (it was warmer, with no snow, in Illinois!) We had to rearrange our plans for 2 of our days due to the storm. All in all, we had a wonderful time and the Cubs won both games that we attended!
In June, the 5 of us drove out East for vacation. We revisited some places we'd been previously and also saw a lot of new places. We visited some national parks, walked & drove across covered bridges, took pictures of lighthouses and then traveled north into Canada where we spent a lot of time in traffic, ha! It was a wonderful time with the family.
The twins (19 next month) both graduated from Moline High School - Maddie in January and Will in May. Both received Presidential Scholarships for graduating in the top 10% of their class, allowing them to attend the local community college with full tuition paid. What a huge blessing for their hard work! Will took advantage of the scholarship and is finishing up his first semester at Black Hawk College. He is taking General Ed classes at this time but would like to focus on Archeology down the road. This summer, he & Matt headed to Minnesota for his "16 year trip" (better late than never!). They fished, played lots of board games, visited the Mall of America (Lego Store!) and metal detected. He continues to work Full Time hours at Culvers, where he is training to be a manager. Between school and work, we don't see him a lot. If he is home, he is typically doing homework or sleeping.
Maddie headed to Guatemala in January for a "gap year" type of program. She studied Spanish and Theology and also taught English at one of the schools in Tactic. Those 3 months were life changing for her. Once back home in May, she looked into options of going back to Guatemala to continue teaching. She traveled back there in July, coming home in October. We are awaiting word on her heading back for the next school year, which starts early 2025. She loves the Guatemalan people and has made many lifelong friends. We are hopeful that God will open doors for her to head back next year. While she is home, she has been working full time at Hobby Lobby, running 5k races, plugging in at church and staying connected with friends.
Kaitee (22) just started her 3rd year with APK! Daycare and loves it! She does an amazing job, taking care of the babies in her room. She continues to travel to see traveling Broadway musicals (Chicago, Des Moines, Peoria) as well as staying local for a lot of shows. Matt & I surprised her with a trip to the Wisconsin Dells in September to "play" for the weekend. We mini-golfed, took a boat ride, toured Epic Headquarters and (most importantly!), she got to pet some deer! This has been on her bucket list for a long time. She was in heaven! It was a wonderful time to get away with her and enjoy life and the beauty around us.
Matt & I both continue to work at Medilogix and Chick-fil-A, respectively. We are thankful and blessed to have the jobs that we do. We were able to get away for a week in October - we drove to West Virginia and toured the state for 4 days. So much beauty! Having older kids definitely has its benefits!
We hope that this time leading up to the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is a joyous time for you. We pray God's love and peace over you and your family as you reminisce over 2024 and look ahead to 2025.
Merry Christmas & Blessings for 2025!
Love,
Matt & Becki
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