The main news for this year is that Sarah Nicole Steffy was born on June 25, 2004 at 11:52 pm, 7 lbs 6 oz, 21 1/2” long. She's an alert five months old already, turning over by herself. Her hair is a light brown and complements her beautiful soft brown eyes. We've now got one boy, three girls, two with blond hair and blue eyes, two with brown hair and brown eyes. They're all very much fun and we look forward to the years ahead to see what God has in store for each one of them.

You might remember that Becky's sister Carla moved to PA last April to live in our condo so that she could try out independent living for awhile. While being on her own was enjoyable for her, it was also stressful and lonely at times. So after 20 months here in PA, Carla decided this month to move back to Georgia. Becky's other sister, Audrey, and her husband John have a house with an in-law suite that they've recently finished remodeling. They've offered it to Carla for the next step in her journey of independence. It's close to where Carla grew up and to where her parents live so it offers a lot more familiarity than PA. Everyone's hoping it won't be as lonely as living by herself in PA, but still separate enough to satisfy her desire for independence.

Daniel started half-day kindergarten this year and he's really enjoying it. The bus picks Daniel up after lunch and brings him back a little before 4:00 pm. Lauren will start kindergarten next year and is already looking forward to it. It's hard to believe, but they'll all be in school before we know it.

Our cute little three-bedroom house isn't quite as new this year, but still very nice. This spring, we cleared a bunch of brush in the area next to our house so we weren't overrun by poison ivy and sumac. It was a very big project but also lots of fun (we got to rent a big chipper and a tractor with a front-end loader and backhoe).

In March this year, we celebrated our 10th anniversary by going on a 7-day cruise to the eastern Caribbean. We traveled a couple months early because Sarah was due right around our actual anniversary. Daniel, Lauren and Natalie spent the week in Lancaster with Grandma Mary and a day in Carlisle with Grandpa Steffy and Grandma Joy. Then in August, Daniel, Lauren and Natalie took a big trip down to Georgia to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa Miller.

The biggest and most exciting change this year was in our work schedules. At the beginning of the year, we looked back over the past seven years of Eric working part-time by himself wasn't going to amount to much in the end. So we decided that when Becky went on maternity leave at the end of June, Eric would grow the business by hiring employees and getting into bigger and bigger projects. God brought two wonderful employees, Scott and Fred, into the business and a big bunch of exciting new projects. We've also hired a part-time administrative assistant and a marketing team. We're outgrowing our basement and are looking into leased office space options. Becky has until February 2006 to make a final decision if she will go back to work at all at Merck. We're leaving our options open, but it seems reasonable that Becky might be officially home full-time by this time next year.

We still attend BranchCreek Community Church in Harleysville. Becky continues helping on the Women's Ministry leadership team and Eric has started teaching 3, 4 and 5 year olds once-per-month during the Saturday night services. And we are now into our fifth year on the Young Marrieds' Ministry core group and still really enjoy it. It's so nice to get together on a regular basis with lots of other couples and families who share our values. Having strong relationships with other Christians is a powerful way to help keep God first in our lives.

God continues to bless us in truly amazing ways. As every day passes, it becomes more and more difficult to understand why so many people reject God. The more He works in our lives, the more real He becomes to us. His existence is undeniable and yet millions don't yet believe. We pray regularly for opportunities to share the light of Christ with others around us.