Dear Friends,
This is the year our two sweet boys became grown men. Lawson is as tall as me and Marshall has almost shot past Sallie (another growth spurt since this picture). By next Christmas the adults in the Hambrick household may be the shortest members of the family. But they’re both still sweet boys.
Lawson is in 8th grade and, as you can see from the picture, he got his braces off. Yeah, he will smile again! Lawson was the starting DT for the Leesville Road Middle School football team that finished the season with a dominant 6-1 record. I was very impressed with how well he learned the entire playbook, knew the role of every player on the field, and was basically a coach on the field as play calls came in. He continues to excel in the classroom and was part of a group from Leesville that took the ACT college entrance exam.
Marshall is in 6th grade and, luckily for me, didn’t want to run any long races this year. He made a showcase travel team with the Rawlings Prospects organization (rawlingsprospectsnc.com) and was the ace LHP for the team in addition to playing a high quality CF. His rec-league basketball team finished 9-1 and tied for City Champs. Middle school didn’t present any challenges academically as his grades improved even from his strong elementary performance. Marshall was baptized this year (video available at instagram.com/bradhambrick; where you can also find pictures from #ManTrip8, a deep sea fishing adventure that netted a 50 lbs black tip shark).
Sallie excelled as football team mom, Rawlings team mom, rec league basketball team mom, rec league baseball team mom… you get the idea. She’s the best sports boy mom ever. The football coaches may petition to have Lawson 8th grade eligible again next year just to get Sallie back. She has also been doing an inordinate amount of proofreading because…
Brad is on pace to finish his doctoral dissertation for May graduation, so Sallie’s requested Christmas present for this year seems to be on a 5 month delay. #ImTrying #DontJudgeMe. Brad worked with the Summit missions team to create a training page for churches looking for a way to train members who are interested in serving overseas (bradhambrick.com/missions) and added a podcast version of all the resources on his site (bradhambrick.com/podcasts). In his free time, Brad continued to coach Lawson’s and Marshall’s ball teams.
Over the next year we would appreciate your prayers that we will (1) fully enjoy the now too few years that both boys will be at home #NotCrying #ContactsAreDry, (2) prioritize marriage and family during a very busy season of life and ministry, and (3) grow in our trust in God’s character and effectiveness at sharing His hope with others.
We want to thank you for your friendship and the unique role you have played in the life of our family. Our prayer is that this Christmas you will experience the power, peace, and joy of Immanuel – God with us (Matthew 1:23) – and have the opportunity to multiply that hope by sharing it with others.
Merry Christmas!
The Hambrick Family