Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
From the Ruggles

Christmas is a time for patience,
When we try anew to mold
Our lives in the image of Him
Whose birthday we uphold.

Christmas is a time for giving,
The Wise Men brought their best,
But Christ showed that the gift of self,
Will out give all the rest.

This Year our Lucky Number was 12. We moved our 12th time to 12th Avenue. Twelve days after we brought our first home we moved in. And our anniversary was number 12. Wow!!

In 1996, Twelve Things the Ruggles were involved in :

1) School.

Peter and Ruth continue to attend Whittier Grade School. Ruth is now in 3rd Grade and enjoying writing cursive and doing multiplication. Our fourth grader, Peter, is finding out that school work is more challenging and takes more responsibility. Veva, our volunteer, continues to go in once a week into both of the children's classroom. We continue to enjoy school this year.

2) Awana.

We were very proud of our children as they both worked hard to finish their book in Awana by May. Ruth received her Sparkie Award Plaque and Peter his first ribbon and pin in Pals. We are now in a middle of another year with all of us involved. Awana is the program our church uses for our children program on Wednesday nights. To receive the awards, each child has to memorize Bible verses, do service activities and other things. We are really enjoying learning about God this way.

3) Soccer.

This past spring and fall Peter and Ruth once again played soccer. Each season brought many challenges. The Spring season the kids were on separate teams which found us going in different directions. It was nice this Fall they were on the same team. They both improved their skills and had lots of fun.

4) Canoeing.

Last year we bought a canoe and this summer we tried it out on the Arkansas River. We really enjoyed floating down the river and cooking hot dogs along the way when we remembered the matches. If you are interested in sharing this experience with us sometime, let us know. We have access to other canoes to make it a group activity.

5) Reunion in Kentucky.

In August, we traveled back to Ribolt, Kentucky to once again visit Steve's cousins. We all had fun getting to know the cousins. Steve has really gotten involved in genealogy and it was fun for him to share with those around him. If you have access to the World Wide Web, stop by and see his genealogy home page at: http://www.rugglesrelatives.com/stevegen.htm or just send me email at Steve.Ruggles@gmail.com.

6) An Elisha Room.

Veva was told that her Grandmother Scherer always wanted to have a room for a minister or missionary to use. We are fulfilling her dream by being able to open up our home. We have hosted two African girls traveling with Youth for Christ and the Talberts, a family who is heading to Nepal in January 1998 to be a much needed doctor for physical and spiritual needs.

7) Promise Keepers.

Once again Steve was able to attended PK in Kansas City. Steve and two other men went to the conference held in the Arrowhead Stadium. They listened to many speakers encouraging men to be what God intended the men to be: a husband, a father, a church member, and an employee. To continue the encouragement, they started a PK group that meets in our basement on Thursday evenings.

8) Moms in Touch.

This fall Veva started a MIT group that meets at our house on Fridays at noon. She was a part of one in Colby. She felt the need to begin one here since she saw the positive impact it had on the Colby School system. MIT is concerned moms who meet once a week to pray for their children, the school system, and all who work with the children. She started out with two and have grown to five.

9) Southwestern College.

This month Steve will be celebrating his second anniversary working for SC. He really enjoys his job as the computer lab supervisor. This summer the lab was remodeled and Steve received his own office separated from the lab. We look forward to many more years with SC.

10) Celebrations.

We had two big celebration in our families. Veva's Folks celebrated their 50th Anniversary and Steve's Dad retired. At both gatherings all of our families were able to be together. We had lots of fun.

11) Creative Memories.

Veva is undertaking a big job. She is redoing our photo albums with the products from Creative Memories. Creative Memories is a company that encourages their customers to redo their photo albums in a acid free environment to preserve them. Their albums are a combination of photo albums and scrap books. It has been a fun adventure for Veva and one she will be doing for a long time.

12) Our House.

We are experiencing our first ownership of a house. For those who don't know, we purchased our first home on February 14. My family surprised Veva with a big Valentine Card on our new garage door. Our new address is: 1403 E. 12th Ave., Winfield, KS 67156. It has been fun as we are able to do different things without asking our landlord. We have redone some electrical wiring, added an attic fan, built shelves in basement and garage and hung an extended ceiling. We are know as scavengers at the college since a lot of our building supplies was trash to the college. We are really enjoying our house and it is always open to family and friends like you. We hope to see you all in 1997, so drop in and say HI!!!.