I feel as though we are still finding our groove as a family
of five. In many ways we are in survival mode, learning how to juggle the needs
of a loud, feisty, six year old; an appearance preoccupied four year old and a
curious but destructive sixteen month old. Our house is perpetually a disaster and
generally quite loud. From time to time Nathaniel gently shoves me out the door
so I don't completely loose my mind.
That being said, we are thankful, satisfied and rich in the things that really
matter.
One of the highlights
of our year, was going to Esperanza's spring family camp. Amelia learned how to
kayak and we saw a pod of orcas swim through the channel. I loved watching the girls help out in the
kitchen the way Nate and I did more than a decade ago as camp counselors. This summer we took a few epic camping trips with friends to
Tofino, Malcolm island and Hornby island. We also thoroughly enjoyed spending many sundrenched hours on our
finished deck. The pergola, combined
with second hand furniture, a tepee, and a hammock, made it feel like an
extension of our home.
The owner of the property where Nathaniel keeps his hives,
gave a us a small plot of land to plant a garden and the girls and I have
enjoyed harvesting green beans, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and piles
of kale. Nathaniel has seven bee hives now
and managed to harvest and sell over 100 pounds of honey this spring. He
just created a business called Honey Badger Bee-keeping and is importing a semi
commercial honey spinner from China.
When it arrives, he will spin out the 300lbs he harvested in August. That is a
whole lotta honey!!! In September he
went on another caribou hunt with a friend. They both got a caribou! Nathaniel
applied to the mountain bike unit this fall and found out that he will be
starting in January. The change in
schedule and pace will be good for our family.
I am finally a DONA certified doula and looking forward to
supporting women in labor in the new year. I also got a chance to take a course
at my church called "from creation to the cross" and finally turned
the blog that we kept when we traveled around the world into a photo book. I
went to Whistler with some girlfriends and competed in a fun event called
Mudderella. It was the first time I had left Levi for more than an hour and it
was WONDERFUL! Nate did a good job of keeping all three children alive.
While Nate was on paternity leave, we huffed and puffed
through Gillian Michaels DVD workouts after we put the children to bed. Once
and awhile we attempted to run with two jogging strollers, but it almost always
resulted in a great deal of crying. Needless to say, neither of us saw any
significant weight loss until Nathaniel
returned to work in April. Go figure. I recently started weight lifting
and I am enjoying it immensely. I love feeling strong and being able to do
push-ups and hopefully soon -chin ups.
Amelia's highlights this year include catching a wild bunny and
becoming a spark. She still spends every available minute outdoors and
continues to amaze us with her creativity. Claire took her first ballet class this
year and performed at the port theatre this spring. It was pretty darn cute.
She continues to have strong opinions about her apparel and loves all things
sparkly and beautiful. Levi is running,
climbing and currently, wiping his nose on the couch. We adore him and the
completeness he has brought our family. We pray that this letter finds you
happy and healthy! Have a great Christmas!
Love,
(Nathaniel, Jocelyn, Amelia, Claire & Levi)
No comments:
Post a Comment