Hello Friends and Family,
I don’t know about you, but this year just FLEW by! In January we took an epic trip to the big island of Hawaii with extended family. It was nice to leave the cold and spend two weeks frolicking in the waves, exploring the jungle, swimming and enjoying paradise. We stayed in a lovely home perched on the mountain overlooking the ocean. On any given day we picked oranges, grapefruit, coconut and passion fruit. We saw plenty of turtles and Amelia and I managed to spot a mantra ray while snorkelling together.
We attempted to buy twenty two acres in Port Alberni with my parents this year but had to walk away when the seller had a change of heart. We were heart broken. We still long to buy acreage where we can keep Nate’s bees, expand our garden and possibly keep sheep and chickens, but we are content to remain in Nanaimo until that time comes. In the meantime, we are thrilled that my parents have purchased a home on the island. Nathaniel harvested over 370lbs of honey from his hives this year! Amelia kept her own hive this year and was overjoyed to be able to bottle her own honey under the name “Busy Bee Honey”. We are still gardening at the five acre farm down the road and this year we enjoyed growing watermelon and pumpkins in addition to heaps of cherry tomatoes, beans, kale, potatoes, brussel sprouts and lettuce. We are continuing to lead a connect group on Wednesday evening’s and I am leading a mom’s group on Thursday mornings. I have learned what a joy it is to have a home filled to the brim with people.
This summer we camped on Gabriola Island for a week while our children went to Vacation Bible School in the morning. In the afternoon we went cliff jumping, paddle boarding and swam in the ocean until we were prunes. A week later we headed to Sointula with the Dodds family and enjoyed a week of beach combing, crabbing, cycling, hiking and eating LOTS of good food. Other than that, we stuck close to home and spent our days swimming in the river and picking berries.
Nathaniel is enjoying his work on the bike unit and was happy to have his position extended for another year. He will be taking a short break in January to have ankle surgery. To his delight he was able to shoot a four point buck with his bow this winter and has enjoyed taking the girls duck hunting. I am still working as a Birth Doula, and have supported a few clients this year. In the spring I applied for security clearance with the RCMP and began my training to become a victim service worker. Since I completed my training I have begun working at the detachment two days a week. Amelia is eight now and throughly enjoys playing soccer, drawing and playing with her friends. The highlight of her summer was catching four baby bunnies. Claire is throughly enjoying gymnastics and spends the majority of her day upside doing handstands or swinging around the makeshift uneven bars that Nathaniel constructed for her in the backyard. She is in grade two this year. Levi is three and attending preschool two mornings a week. He has become quite chatty and spends hours playing with his trucks regardless of the weather. I had no idea I could love a little boy so much!
We hope that this letter finds you well. May your heart be filled with love as we celebrate the birth of love itself!
Love the Lord Family! (Nathaniel, Jocelyn, Amelia, Claire, and Levi)
