2020 "Christmas Letter"

If I were going to write a Christmas letter [clearly, that ship has sailed], I would jot a few notes about each kid:

Levi is 11.5, a tween through and through (though I won't say more than that, because it would embarrass him). He has a full school schedule and enjoys nearly every academic pursuit set in front of him, but continues to excel (and love) math above all else. He started with a new piano teacher in the fall, after his previous teacher retired in the spring, and we are thrilled to have found a fantastic fit in Mr. Dan. He's becoming a thorough dish-washing expert like his dad and is ready to take over mowing the back yard come summer. You'll find Levi reading a book at every available moment.

Owen is 10, our dreamer/builder/artist. In addition to his challenge-based math program, he took up computer coding and Hebrew this year, thus making sure that his mom is totally unable to help with most of his schoolwork. We've been most impressed with Owen's sermon-note-taking this year, and he's most likely of the kids to make a surprising connection between unrelated topics. He received an old digital camera for Christmas, and has had great fun figuring out videos and animations. While he does enjoy reading, you'll most likely find Owen fiddling: a building set here, a handful of paper airplanes there, some origami just for kicks.

Silas is 8.5, 100% middle child. He loves to get a laugh, and honestly, he's often genuinely funny! He enjoyed using his very own tool set to build a birdhouse this summer (with Grandpa's help). He continues to excel at the violin and loves to read, especially about battles. His main goal in life right now is to live in North Dakota. You'll find Silas drawing most of the time, often creating his own card games.

Toby will be 7 in three days. He is the same wild-weathered kid he's always been, alternating between sweet and loving and mad as a hornet in the blink of an eye. Virtual lessons didn't work out great for him, so Toby switched from violin to piano lessons this fall (with me), and he's been playing his beginner Christmas carols non-stop for the past month! Toby is most interested in anything dangerous, mainly animals with sharp teeth and claws, and weapons. You'll find him drawing those things or reading about them -- or complaining when I won't let him read some of the things Levi reads. 

Calvin is our mischievous imp. I adore four-year-olds, their sense of humor and the sometimes imaginative, sometimes practical way they see the world, and he does not disappoint! He's well on his way to reading independently and loves going to Grandma's for preschool twice a week (when we're not under gathering restrictions). His fine motor skills are pretty impressive. You'll find Calvin doing whatever his brothers are doing -- throwing wadded balls of paper to approximate paper airplanes, making his own card games and drawing toothy animals, building with LEGO or other building sets. 

Tessa is 16 months old, and the joy and delight she brings to our family is indescribable. Also, her toddler switch flipped this week; when she's not a total delight, she's a complete terror. (After the last two, we expect nothing less from our children.) Her language has exploded in the past month: mama, dada, up, down, on, off, bear, more, pants, Grandma, go, car (she always wants to "go"), hi, bye, and always everything followed by the same "yeah" that was her first word. Her passion in life is emptying drawers and cupboards, and as she climbed onto the couch alone for the first time today, basically nothing is safe anywhere anymore. You'll find Tessa trying to get her milk out of the refrigerator, dumping toddler puzzles all over the floor, coloring in books, playing the piano, or maybe -- if we're lucky -- lining up her Little People in their house.

And then after I wrote about the kids, I'd make a list: seems appropriate to do 20 Things I'm Grateful For in 2020, yes? In no particular order:

1. Calvin potty-trained relatively easily. (He still has almost-daily accidents, but he gets his own clean pants, so I don't really care.)

2. With Isaac preaching, me leading music, Owen running the slide projection, and Levi watching the little ones, we're able to put on a church service all in the family. This turned out to be important during a pandemic!

3. Our February trip to Duluth. Eleven months later, Calvin still says it's his favorite place and he talks about journeying to Duluth (after having filled his preschool backpack) regularly.

4. My parents sold their Ohio house and moved here full-time. There are a dozen individual things to be grateful for in that, but topping the list for this year are Calvin's focused preschool time and Tessa getting to stay home and nap while they watched church online.

5. The Marco Polo app, in which I've been able to chat with different long-distance friends regularly even while I didn't see anyone in person.

6. Leading a ladies' Bible study socially-distanced in my backyard.

7. Generally being on the same page about the major issues facing our world/community/church with my husband. 

8. Getting creative in getting Sunday lunch on the table when we lost the ability to go to restaurants. That means healthier and cheaper Sunday lunches, too.

9. The three oldest boys each got independent in something in the kitchen this year, be it baking cookies or scrambling eggs.

10. This meme, which explains why the lockdown in March just didn't affect me all that much (three cheers for being a homeschooling, homebody introvert):

11. Knitting. It's so satisfying to watch a project take shape! And for the two friends who were always on-call when I needed help.

12. In-laws who will make the drive up here when we can't get to Ohio. Levi desperately wanted both sets of grandparents here for his birthday, and he got his wish!

13. After being so very small for so very long, Tessa has thoroughly chunked up. (Also, she loves chocolate more than anything, and I have only myself to blame for that.)

14. Just being in Tessa's second year of life in general. That first year is so hard even when everything goes right. I'm a functional human again, instead of exhausted frazzled newborn mom.

15. My pretty new bathroom (and my dad who did so much of it)!

16. Introducing more hymns at church, especially the less-familiar carols we did as part of our Advent devotions online.

17. Shane and Shane's Psalms Volume II album, and Matt Boswell's Messenger Hymns Volume 1 album.

18. Calvin falling asleep in unexpected places after he stopped napping officially. None of my older kids ever slept anywhere besides their beds (at the appropriate times) and the car. It amused us so much to find him asleep randomly. This kid plays hard!

19. Apples, pears, cucumbers, and pumpkins in abundance from friends and neighbors. 

20. Donut Dates with Daddy. Every Thursday morning a different kid goes (a six-week cycle that doesn't include Tessa yet, but will soon), to hang out (sometimes in the car, given covid) with Daddy, have some intentional conversation, and eat a donut. 

This year we swam at a water park, at a hotel pool, at a lake; we watched caterpillars turn into butterflies; we made great use of our backyard; we went to the zoo twice; we kept at our schoolwork and even had fun doing it; we read hundreds of books, including all of Narnia over lunch; we baked cookies and I made a decent pie crust; some of us climbed trees and learned how to ride bikes; we convinced 60+ people to vote for their favorite Oreo; we learned 12 hymns and too many Bible verses and catechism questions to keep track of; we tried foods from the different countries we studied (with many more to come in 2021); we wrote letters and made cards and played games over Zoom. It may have been all craziness in the world at large, but in our home, it was a very good year!