Despite the passage of time, some of the more adventuresome activities of the youthful members of our household, and the increasing age of the rest (They don’t know that I’m writing this, please don’t tell them ;-) ) the end of this year finds all the Hartstrom family alive and well.

The patriarchs of our household continue to do well. Dad, (Keith) is thinking of retiring here sometime in the near future. I guess I would too after working for the county for more than thirty-one years. He continues to enjoy woodworking projects, and is also having fun with a new black powder rifle he just bought. Mom (Beth) is still mother to our little (but quickly growing) Nathan and that is a full time job in itself. Both Mom and Dad continue to be involved in selling health supplements, and promoting wellness stuff.

Erik (27) continues to live in Sacramento with Beth’s parents Rod & Eleanor and practice family law. As a rabbit trail, both Rod and Eleanor are grateful for Erik’s presence as their age is increasingly telling their bodies to slow down. Erik is starting to get into estate planning, and is enjoying that part of his profession very much. He also continues in his efforts to bring the firm where he works into the current century with computer technology.

Kirk (24) happens to be the know-it-all who is writing this letter. He is close to finishing his first year working for Mono County in their Information Technology Department. He has also found time to climb to the top of the 12,264 foot local Matterhorn Peak, and hike to the top of Half Dome with Carissa. It’s been a bit of an adjustment for him living at home with his family again, but he’s managed to do his share of dishes, vacuuming, and firewood cutting.

Melissa (22) spent her summer working at Bodie State Historic Park this year. It was lot of fun for her talking with the people who came through and learning about the history of Bodie. She also announced one day that she had discovered that work was “work”! No one has talked her into marrying them yet, so she continues to live at home and be involved in our community. She also traveled this spring to Michigan with her sister to learn chalk art and to spend some time with some of her friends who are back in the states that she met in Taiwan.

Carissa (19) did a lot of stuff this year. She traveled around and did Vacation Bible Schools, worked a few months with her sister at Bodie, and traveled to Michigan with her sister to learn chalk art. She also traveled to Texas for a six week class called STEP on outdoor skills and emergency preparedness.

Nathan (8) keeps growing, and some people think he is an angel. Some of us who spend more time with him know better. He is talking a lot, and loves to go on hikes. He will get a road map, study it intently, and then point to some out of the way place and say, “Go hike!” He enjoyed getting to play T-ball this spring, and still loves his therapy riding. Mom is looking for a dog with herding instincts to help keep him out of trouble.

Our whole family (minus Melissa, she had to work) had the grand opportunity of spending several weeks on the road as we traveled back to North Dakota to visit Dad’s relatives there. It was fun to see how the old people didn’t change much, and all the young people grew up since last time we were there some eleven years ago.

In closing, we are doing great, and we hope you are too. No, none of us kids are married yet, and if you have any big ideas, please save them, we have enough trouble sorting out the ideas of our own. :-) God is still the faithful Lord who mercifully looks down on our little family. We pray that you would learn to love Him as much as He loves us.

The Hartstrom Family

Last night Kirk’s boss and his wife came over for dinner. Nathan was upstairs in his room when they got here. Mom was introducing all of us when Nathan comes down stairs with his robe on and my glasses. (Just like he was a gentleman who had just come out of his personal library.) His nose was stuck way up in the air trying to keep my glasses from falling off. When he saw that we had company he said “Oh, Hi!” whipped of my glasses and bowed very deeply. It was a riot. That kid is amazing. You truly never know what he is going to do next.

Nathan had fun in the snow too. He traversed the hill quite a few times, and then started working on a snow man with a red plastic sand shovel.

Over the last several years there have been a lot of changes. The Lord has truly been gracious to our family.

Erik graduated with his Juris Doctorate in the spring of 2003. We were all able to drive back to his graduation in Oklahoma City, OK. We also spent a week with Kirk in Arkansas and visited the Grand Canyon. Erik is now working with an attorney in the Sacramento area and living with Beth’s folks. This year his summer projects included trimming the eucalyptus grove and working on a local Sacramento County candidate voter guide.

Kirk, for the last three years has been working in Little Rock, Arkansas, as an office manager for Institute in Basic Life Principles Prison Ministry. This December he had the interesting experience spending time at a prison in the country of Trinidad. He has also been active in a program called Integrity Construction Institute which teaches character and construction skills to young men. This November, however, Kirk accepted a Computer job with Mono County and will begin his duties back here in Bridgeport in January. We are looking forward to the changes this will bring.

Melissa has done some traveling over the last several years. In 2002, she attended a two month class in Texas for young women. In July of this year, she returned from Taiwan were she spent 6 months teaching English in elementary schools. This was a fascinating experience for her. She loved the food, the people, and is no good at Chinese. But for Melissa, the best part of all was teaching summer English camps. She made some very good friends and got to see how God can use her everyday life to change someone else’s life.

Carissa still enjoys playing the flute. Her spring and summer were very busy as she had the opportunity to go to a chalk art class, a girl’s retreat, a Child Evangelism Fellowship training camp, and teach several vacation Bible Schools. She is working very hard at finishing high school this year and is looking at going into nursing.

Nathan is a ball of energy, and loves to watch “Pooh Bear.” He is beginning to speak in 2 or 3 word sentences. His favorite foods are cookies, meat, cake, and cheese sandwiches which he calls “cheezz which”. When Nathan is hungry he will probably come up to you and say “Eat cheezz which!” which is an improvement over last year’s “Eat Cake!” He is also going to a horse riding therapy program. The first time we went, he would not even look at a horse and now he is helping groom his horse.

Keith and Beth celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this July. Dad is still working for the county but is hoping to retire in a year or two. He spent a lot of time this summer getting the back yard ready to seed for grass with the roto-tiller that Mom gave him for his birthday. He was pleasantly surprised by Kirk showing up for the 4th of July. Kirk spent the week putting in a sprinkler system. Mom has been working hard at our home business selling nutritional products. (If you are interested in improving your health, please call us at 760-932-7708 or check out http://health2u.myglycostore.com) She also continues to work with Nathan and occasionally helps the girls with their sewing. She has enjoyed telling the missionary story for the girls’ Bible clubs.

We all enjoy the outdoors, so if you are ever up our way and want to enjoy a little fresh air and fellowship, drop by or give us a call. We really do live right next to Yosemite. (Hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

May the Lord be with you all throughout this upcoming year.

The Hartstrom’s
Keith & Beth, Erik (26), Kirk (23), Melissa (21), Carissa (18), and Nathan (7)
beehive@hartstrom.com