Dear Family and Friends,
Well, as you can imagine,
2014 brought many amazing changes to our lives again, and we are continually
amazed at God’s plan and provision.
On March 7th,
Josiah Shannon Haas was born! It was quite an exciting day, as Penny was in
labor for about 24 hours before they decided to have an emergency c-section. It
is a good thing they did! He was coming out face first, which the nurse later
told us is the rarest presentation! He was a big baby, and still is. He is nine
months old now, crawling, standing, and trying to walk already! He has been
such a blessing in our lives. He is a very happy and cuddly baby. What a
blessing.
Ezra is now three (will be
four in February) and Evelyn is two. They both call each other “sissy” and can
be found doing a number of things: running, coloring, singing, dancing,
cuddling, and fighting. They of course get into arguments at times, but neither
of them like to be without the other! We are glad they are built-in best
friends.
You are probably sitting
there thinking, “Wait…they have three kids ages three and under?? How do they
manage?” Well, we are glad you asked that question! God made it clear to us
that working as a full-time high school English teacher and being the mom of
three very small children was not going to work. Penny quit her job at
Wisconsin Dells High School after the 2013-2014 year ended. We were
apprehensive, of course, but knew this was God’s calling. Penny was very happy,
however, to be a stay at home mom. The apprehension was “How will we make it
with one less salary?”
God deserves all the glory
for this! We tried to sell our home, knowing that a less expensive one would
help greatly, but we still have not been able to. God has literally provided
for us in ways we would never have imagined! We have been able to pay all the
bills and we continue to enjoy life through the ups and downs!
Our ups have included fun
with our children and family…we enjoyed the summer camping and going to tourist
destinations in our town. One down was when Evelyn crashed our van! Even though
it was off and the keys were not in the van, she pulled it out of park, and it
rolled down the driveway and hit a tree! Thank God she was okay (and so was
Ezra who was running circles around the van!).
Penny is now working as a
stay at home mom, and has done some tutoring, runs a small daycare, and just
started a business with Younique. She loves being with her kids and loves the
fun she gets from running her own business.
Shannon has been working with
Brunner Manufacturing for almost five years now and still enjoys it. He has
continued to amaze Penny and the family with his projects. He built Penny a
beautiful clothesline, a huge sandbox for the kids, a custom kennel for our
dog, Bear, stools for the kids this Christmas, and converted our shed into a
heated workshop! He is an excellent craftsman (like his dad!).
We are wondering if life will
slow down for a bit, or not? We were married about five and a half years ago,
and in that time we have had two job changes each, three kids, bought a house,
and have now outgrown it! Life is very active, but always a blessing. Even
difficult times are a blessing because God teaches us how to trust Him! How
incredible it is to be able to have peace even when things are scary, hard, and
we don’t know what is going to happen. This is why Philippians 4:6-7 has been
in our minds throughout the year: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Love,
Shannon, Penny, Ezra, Evelyn, and Josiah Haas
