I love reading other people's family newsletters around Christmas time, and unfortunately not many people send them anymore. I guess I'm bucking the trend away from newsletters, because I decided to send one with our Christmas card for the first time this year. I thought I would share our family newsletter on here as well!
As I type this letter I am sitting with my laptop at corner table, listening to a veteran two tables down telling startling stories from his time in service, and it’s setting into sharp relief our blessings of peace and a relatively quiet year. Our days have been filled with family movie nights and homeschool lessons, craft projects and soccer games, mountain hikes and afternoon snacks. We’ve enjoyed birthday parties, park days, field trips, visits with family, sleepovers at Grandma’s, and game nights with friends. I am thankful for these full and happy days, and for this delightful season with our kids.
In leiu of a regular vacation this year, we opted for a long weekend trips to save Derek's time off work. Over Memorial Day weekend we went to see several National Parks in Utah (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef). The landscape is so different in that part of the country, and while it was very beautiful, Derek and I found ourselves appreciating our gorgeous mountains anew. We are lucky to live in such a beautiful area! We also did a couple family camping trips, and an extra-long weekend trip with our friends over Labor Day to see the Ark Encounter and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.
When we returned, we got right into the school year. This year we have four homeschool students instead of three, and while it's always an adjustment adding another child's work to the mix, it has gone surprisingly smoothly. Derek has helped alot in keeping the big kids on task, and we have developed a daily routine, as well as our own traditions and habits to mark the passing seasons. We especially enjoy reading books aloud more and more, and I've noticed how much the kids have grown in appreciating good books. Currently we are working our way through the Chronicles Of Narnia, and it makes me grin every time they beg to read "just one more chapter".
What's new with everyone?
Derek got a new job in May this year, as the head finance guy for a para-state agency (it's very impressive but hard to explain). He enjoys the type of work he's doing, and it's been a perk that he's been able to continue working from home so far! He had a successful deer hunt this year, and has been spending alot of his free time on teaching the kids sports (homeschool PE, you know), and working on projects around the house. His current project is setting up an elaborate outdoor Christmas lights display (before it's time to take them down again).
Our oldest, Wyatt, turned 10 years old in February, and Derek and I kept our word and allowed him to get his first pet - a beta fish. He has taken full responsibility for the care of Boaz, and I have to say, Wyatt is an excellent pet owner. When he’s not scheming about how to get us to let him get a rabbit, we frequently find him tucked away in a corner with a book. He is always surprising us with his recall ability, like when we drove past the St. Louis arch and he reminded us that Lewis and Clark started their expedition there. If he has a question, he reads until he finds the answer.
Gwendolyn, who will turn 9 years old two days after Christmas, also enjoys reading, but she spends even more time drawing pictures and practicing on the piano. She has not taken lessons yet, but her drawings always impress me, and she has been able to puzzle out the notes for several songs on the piano, in between being the first to jump up to help around the house when I call. She is our social butterfly, with a soft heart, always ready to welcome a new girl into her Sunday school or Awana class at church.
Clyde has grown into a bouncy and cheerful 7 year old, and his interest in cars has not diminished. I often find him building elaborate car tracks, and his face lights up as he watches Derek repair our vehicles. He is determined to learn how a car drives, and pours over pictures of anything mechanical. He joined his older siblings in soccer this year, and Clyde enjoyed playing goalie. I will never forget his determined face as he threw the soccer ball out of his goalie box, and his grin as he bounced around, waiting for the ball to come his way.
Clarice, 6 years old at the end of September, started kindergarten this fall. She is so imaginative, and it’s fun to get a peek into her story-telling as we work through reading lessons together. She is also very interested in drawing, and her mermaid pictures are quite good. When she’s not drawing, I often find her in some adventurous game with Georgie. Lately, I have noticed them playing superhero, Cinderella, queen and servant (guess who’s the queen), house, and Paw Patrol. The two of them are great pals.
Georgiana, our youngest at 4 years old, is a character, always making us laugh with her antics. Her facial expressions are quirky and adorable. Her full-time occupation is serious play, and together with Clarice she is also developing a good imagination - her favorite game lately is imagining her hands are two black ants that have adventures. Once, I warned her to be careful not to fall in as we neared a drain in the street, and she declared “Yeah, then you’d have to get a new Georgie!” Of course I exclaimed that we couldn’t get another Georgie because she is one of a kind. She knows she is adorable, and we are loving this stage with her.
Harvey, our old hound, is also doing well, aside from a little arthritis.
As for me, I got off Facebook and Instagram in January of this year, and I found myself with alot more time. I spent alot of it investing more into homeschool planning, reading more books (I think I'll break my record this year), and catching up on my never-ending photo album project (currently a mere five years behind). I've also started organizing regular park days and field trips with a group of homeschool friends, and I'm helping to lead a homeschool support group at my church, which has been a great way to connect with and encourage fellow homeschool families.
This year has been especially rich with time spent with family and friends, something we will never take for granted after the ups and downs of the last couple of years. A settled year, focused on simple joys, was badly needed. We are thankful for each day the Lord allows us to draw breath here, and thankful for the goodness He has shown to us in all the quiet blessings of life that we've appreciated more than ever in 2021. Most of all, we are thankful for the gift of God in sending Jesus to be born, so He could bear our sins and die in our place, so we can have eternal life when we trust in Christ alone for our salvation. That's the greatest joy of all, this year and always.
Wishing you all a merry and blessed New Year! See you back here in 2022!
What a great Christmas letter! I actually got one in the mail from a friend this year, and it made my day. I might just send one out next year.
Thanks for your blog, and for posting a Christmas letter. It was so much fun to read!!
I guess people don't always write newsletters now because they chronicle everything they do on social media! But I still find them interesting to read, and I personally don't record everything on social media. I liked your end of the year post, also! Your homeschooling posts are really helpful for me going forward!
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