1999 has been an exciting, exciting year. So much has changed since our last Christmas letter that we don't even know where to begin. Oh, no, wait, that's someone else's life.

We (that strange Christmas-letter "we") are still residing in Northwest Indiana, eating a lot of Taco Bell, enjoying our gerbils, and avoiding Box Boy, our nine-year-old "best friend" at our apartment complex. But I--oops, we mean "we"--will update you in a few areas.

Work
Steve is still working for The Bible League from home, doing mostly graphic design. Amanda has been working on several projects for the company (also from home), but she is also working on building up her freelance work in editing and writing. She recently had an article published in the college-guide issue of Campus Life that you should check out if you're a college student wondering what part-time job to get. If you have freelance work for her to do, she would like to know. Also, if you find any errors in this letter that escaped her supposed skills in proofreading, she would like you to keep it to yourself.

Steve also is creating a freelance career. This is actually our big news of the year, so pay attention. (The rest of the letter you can skim.) He is now a writer for www.christianitytoday.com. He has a weekly column where he rounds up Christian reviews of the top ten movies, and he puts in his own full-length reviews in occasional articles. Steve has had two articles published in Campus Life--one on God in the movies (he's branching out) and one on the value of a liberal-arts education (silly Christmas letters is one obvious benefit). If you check out our Campus Life articles on the webiste, you won't have to spring three bucks for a print copy. Isn't that convenient?

Websites
Steve still has his own movie website, www.thefilmforum.com, featuring thoughtful reviews and reader feedback. He's not sure how it will morph in the future if the Christianity Today deal takes off (or takes too much time), but check it out .

And you're already on the brand new www.steveandamanda.com. This was actually created just for you, so have a ball while you revel in us, us, us. Keep in touch in 2000 by visiting every few months to see what's happening and by putting your current email address (and even a picture) on our friends and family page.

Travel
We've taken several trips this year, subsidized in a large part by family and friends. A couple notable ones were to Seattle over Memorial Day weekend to visit with the Lynks--what FUN! Then Amanda's parents treated us to a family fun trip to Nova Scotia in the van in July. We saw lots of lighthouses and swam in a variety of beaches, including one that had baby lobsters swimming along with us. For Thanksgiving week, we went to Michigan to see Steve's brother, Greg, who just returned from China and to take the Lansingh Christmas picture, and then for the actual holiday, we drove to Indianapolis to be with Amanda's dad's side of the family, see her grandmother on her new turf, and take the Caldwell Christmas picture. Amanda's parents and Ethan flew out from Massachusetts, and Erik and Kim drove up from Georgia.

We spent last Christmas in Pembroke with Amanda's family, so this year it's back to Michigan for Steve's parents' turn. All three kidlets (plus the adopted Amanda) will be there. Steve has been a busy elf for months, doing almost all our Christmas shopping online, and way ahead of schedule. We will be prepared. If Amanda wraps everything soon.

Home
On the home front, our big change since this time last year is how very involved we are in church. During our years at Wheaton, we were so wrapped up in school activities that we'd never gotten connected in a local church, so we decided we needed to get involved at Crossroads Community here. We're in planning meetings, we do a lot of the graphic design and advertising for various events, we lay out and edit the newsletter, Amanda's leading one of the praise teams and has been doing frequent solos, Steve the movie guy's on the video team, and we're starting a small group Bible study for people our age without kids. Through all of this involvement--this is worthy of mention--we have made friends! Yea!

The gerbils are doing well. Sheba has been eating a lot of sunflower seeds, and Rando has been chewing cardboard. We wish we could say they said their first word or something, but they're pretty much the same as last year.

Here's the other big home-front news: WE UNPACKED!!!! And we're almost finished decorating, in the very chic style known as the Dumpster-Thrift Shop-Wedding Gift-Parents' Home Movement. We have a real (plastic, folding) dining room table instead of a board balanced on computer boxes. Unpacking took us 15 months, so we're going to stay here a couple more years to enjoy, and then--who knows? Maybe Seattle, maybe Denver, maybe seminary in some place ... the new millennium awaits us.