Merry Christmas!

     As we prepare to step into a new year I have looked back to the last year---so many changes -losses and gains, tears and laughter, times of rest and times of insanity so intense I wished for just a second to breathe--and even to stop time --especially as I watch my boys grow into young men. I am in a space of missing the babies I held and being so proud and amazed by the young men who surround me.





 We have worked hard on our house this year. We installed a chimney and wood stove on our first floor and the boys ripped off our rotting deck and replaced it with crushed rock. We also got our pool up and running. We finished some yard projects like removing our last patch of juniper and building a dock in the pond.

Thank you Zach & Alan

                                                             

                                                           

 We adventured and explored new places and visited old favorites. Ean and Ben bought kayaks this year and we have loved exploring local lakes and ponds with them.

kayaking in our pond

kayaking in one of our favorite spots

We also said goodbye to some of our most precious fur babies. Tiger, our beautiful fat orange cat, Honey, our sweet mini rex bunny, Pumpkin our pretty girl bunny,  and three of our precious rabbits we raised from birth: Rex, Jake, and Hyzenthlay.  We also welcomed new fur babies  (feather babies) a few chickens, ducks and a guinea pig named  Elliot.

 

Gabe has pursued his interest in horsemanship further and is currently learning how to train horses. He has also become a pretty amazing pyrography artist (wood burning). Wisler loves soccer and had a great year scoring 23 goals in about eleven games. Wisler has been working hard at his dream of riding bareback. Jaden has continues to love video games especially when he gets to play with his favorite people-brothers and cousin Jeremie. Jaden went away to camp for ten days to participate in Christian Youth In Action and loved it.  Ean has spent this year really growing as a fiddler and flower farmer. He loves his fiddle tunes and now plays regularly at a monthly contra- dance. He also successfully grew and sold his own flowers for Youth Enterprise Zone at the Common Ground fair this year and is already planning next years garden. Ben --our fireball of a caboose loves his Halo legos and spends hours making movies and drawing movie scenes for Halo. The rest of the time he spends chasing ducks and chickens, snuggling his guinea pig Elliot and tromping through the woods.

Common Ground 2019

Soccer Awards Banquet

Video game time!

 

Common Ground 2019

Flower Gardener

Contra dance fiddling

hunting season 2019

   

Apple bobbing

Contra dance in costume!

Watching the cutest mouse and most
beautiful angel in the Nutcracker

new friends

  

CYIA 2019

    

Brian and I --well we are just trying to keep up! We celebrated 20 years of marriage this year by going on a date every month and going away to the coast for an overnight--our first in five years.  We hope this post finds you and your family well and we wish you the most Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May 2020 bring you more laughter and joy with your families.