Christmas Letter

I was going to type out a nice Christmas letter to accompany the picture this year (don't worry, they will be in the mail as soon as I stop procrastinating.)  But I decided instead to just do a blog post.  Saving trees or something.  Probably just laziness.  And money saving.  Which reminds me, if you don't receive a Christmas picture from us and you thought you might or should, I apologize.  They are expensive and we are really working on budgeting.  So we are sending out way less.  In fact, I started with 50, and quickly realized we know too many people, so I ordered 25 more.  Which is still less than past years.   You are loved and cared for even if you didn't get a Christmas picture from our frugal family this year.
Anyway, on to the letter.

This fall has flown by so fast, I can hardly believe it.  The mild weather lingered sweetly.  My sweet baby has zipped by milestones.  The cold has officially settled in.  The snow flurries fall.  The radiators are eminating warmth.

Pause.  Asher shut himself in the sunroom for the second time in 1 minute (fascination with closing doors, you see), and is squawking loudly so I must rescue him if I want to concentrate on this.

Unpause.  I have much joy and anticipation for the Christmas season.  I guess technically the season is upon us.  Our season has so many parts to it, sometimes it feels like it just keeps going and going!  Christmas parties, festive baking, yummy fragrant soups, snowfall, twinkly lights, birthday celebrations and the much anticipated trip to California.

It is the first time in 9 years that all of us, our spouses and our kids will be in California for Christmas. Ben and I are going for almost 2 weeks and we are just going to enjoy the downtime, and some family adventures to my most favorite California places.

News...Most noteably, Asher turned 1 in October.  He is such a joy.  And I don't say that tritely.  We have been so blessed to have a funny, loving, cuddly, well-sleeping, super-eating, sociable, healthy boy.  Honestly, I feel guilty when other moms in my mom group have said, "Ugh, my baby sleeps horrible and won't eat a thing!  what about you, Suzy?"  And I have to tell them in a hopefully humble (but a teensy bit proud) way that Asher is actually sleeping 12.5 hours a night and eats anything and everything in sight.  And I'm not sure how to do that, because inevitably it is received with subtle eye-rolls and an unspoken "your day is coming..."  And Ben and I have accepted the fact that the Good Lord has eased us gently into parenting with the possibility of greater challenges in future children or future stages with Asher.

I digress.  Back to Asher and his cuteness.  He is mimicking noises and his favorite (first?) word is,"tchuck" (Truck) followed by a great "Brrrrrrrrummmm" sound effect.  He will tear the bookcase apart looking for his Little Blue Truck book and then proceed to beg you to read it 298173 times, in a row.

He truly does eat everything, and we have to cut him off most mealtimes, because of the shocking amount of food he stuffs in his mouth and barely chews.  He stuffs whole pickles into his mouth, never chews anything remotely round or soft and takes gargantuan bites of anything and sobs dramatically if you try to take some of it out  *sigh*  He is teething majorly, with molars popping up left and right.  Poor buddy has woken up sobbing in the middle of the night, and we assume those pearly whites are the culprits.  On the bright side, more molars mean more chewing (win for mom) and probably more food (win for Asher).

We just realized that a year has past since we found out our rented duplex was sold and we had to move into Ben's parent's house.  We are so grateful to live in our own home again.  It has treated us well, and we are enjoying the adventure that is home ownership.  This includes slowly replacing our drafty original windows with new ones.  I have reluctantly let go of the wooden charm with the weighted rope pulley system and succumbed to something more energy efficient.  Apparently it helps up the value if we want to resell in the future.  It isn't fun to be the first person to change them since 1923.  I kind of feel like I'm betraying the house.  Sorry, enough with the drama.  I'm sure I'll appreciate warmer bedrooms and a lower gas bill.

Ben's job is going well. He and his team are making some really good changes and decisions for the greenhouse and its future.  It is so nice to see him come home from work excited about progress, which is a change from past years around this time.  He has jumped into homeownership eagerly and with lots of vision and thought (like the rest of his life).  It is so great having a husband who has a variety of gifts from budgeting our finances to planting flower and garden beds, from fixing foundation leaks to re-seeding our backyard.  They may seem like simple things, but I am so grateful he does them.

As for me personally...well I really can't complain.  I stay home with Asher, invest in various relationships that I have time for now, work on my pyrography (wood burning) hobby, and generally find other things to fill my time.  Winter is always tough as it gets dark so early and is often overcast.  I am working on staying motivated to get out of the house at least once a day, even if it is just to walk up the block with kid and dog.  Thankfully, I have an entertaining boy who is fantastic company.  When he isn't teething, that is. Then I count down the minutes until Ben comes home (which always drives away the tears and brings smiles...for both of us, lets be honest).  God has been teaching me a lot of lessons this year and has brought some unique opportunities for service and ministry.

Overall, 2016 has been a fantastic year of one adventure after another!  We lay in bed at night and marvel at where God has brought us.  We stand in awe of his faithfulness, despite the unknowns.  We rest in the knowledge that Asher can face uncertain days because He lives.

I will close with the words to one of my favorite Christmas carols, "The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...fall on your knees...In his name all oppression shall cease.  Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, let all within us praise His holy Name."
(O Holy Night)

Love,
Ben, Suzy & Asher