Merry Christmas to You and Yours, 2025 edition

Dear Ones,                                                                                                                                                           

Well, hello there!  If you are anything like me, you’ve probably already scoured the enclosed Christmas picture (we all know that ALWAYS takes precedence to any letters…) and what, pray tell, did you notice?!  Anything new?  Perhaps different?  Surprising?  Most definitely adorable?!

Why yes!  We have A NEW BABY to snuggle and squeeze!!!!!!   Meet Naomi Elisheva Laudermilch, Corynn and Kemuel’s precious gift and sweet delight, born on November 2nd.  From her head full of fluffy brown troll hair, to that tiny “Pipsqueak” turning out to be over 9 pounds at birth, to the fact that ‘she’ is a ‘she’ at all, instead of the boy that nearly everyone expected; Naomi has exceeded our expectations in every way.  

 It is a surreal thing to witness a piece of you, your legacy, entering into and shaping a future that you will not see.   As a young mother, you work tirelessly to be everything to everyone and it is often a very thankless job.  But when those children that you mothered, that you prayed for, worried over; that you served, that you fed, clothed, nursed, read to, bathed, answered (a million times each day), disciplined, encouraged, protected… when they grow up and get married and have children of their own- only then do you truly understand how momentous that work was.  How profoundly impactful those efforts are to the world.   And how exponential the yield your fruitfulness will become.  You are world-changers.

And if you start that good work early- get married, have babies, raise them in the Lord- if you do that early enough, you might just get spry and youthful grandparents (like myself, for example 😉) and great-grandparents to enjoy and dote on your children for many years to come, Lord willing!   What a gift!  Go make some babies, y’all!  It’s the best.   

(Who would have thunk a Christmas letter might have THAT bit of encouragement in it?!  Only ours, my friends.  Only ours. 😊)

As you can imagine, Corynn and Kemuel are having the best year ever and loving every minute of this new and cuddly (and exhausting and sleep-deprived) season that they are in.   It has been (and will be) so fun and wonderful to watch them grow and flourish as parents.  I see Corynn blossoming into motherhood with grace and excitement and patience and my heart swells with pride.  I am supremely grateful for them living close enough to be able to witness it up close; I do not take this gift for granted.  Beyond the baby and the booming business, Kemuel and the Avoda crew finished building the Laudermilch home this year, a formidable project and you should see how beautiful it is!  The quality workmanship, the artistry and the selflessness behind that project astounds me even still.

Andrew (19) has had a challenging year in many ways and yet he continues to rise up and meet those challenges head-on, with a certain fervor and verve.  Through them, he is learning valuable lessons about himself and the world around him.  He has worked for the Avoda company this year and he has proven himself to be an asset to the company.  He just finished a 6-week intensive in which he logged nearly 170 hours just of overtime!  He, too, worked with the Avoda company on building the Laudermilch home and in doing so, gained valuable skills that will bless his own homeowning in the future.  With the company, he was able to travel to several roofing/business conferences throughout the country, which doubled as work AND pleasure trips.  He bought himself a suit and sure looks dapper in it when he wears it!  At one point this spring, he and a friend hosted a community dance party- lots of food, lots of dancing, lots of people!  I guess that means it was a success!   But mostly this year, Andrew was on a roof.  He roofed in blazing heat this summer, drenching his shirt so much that salt ripples had dried within the cotton of his shirt and likewise, in the negative wind-chill frigid temps of winter, when I wondered if he might come home without the tip of his nose.  He does it all without complaint and with incredible tenacity.  He works from dark to dark, throughout the year, but still finds time to shovel out a neighbor’s driveway, prune fruit trees or bring in some firewood.  He needs to work less and play more, frankly, and that is not the advice most young men need to hear these days.  I realize this makes him extraordinary.  (But I do still hope he plays more in the coming year!)

Adele’ (17) is so precariously close to adulthood it frightens me.  She is wise and sweet and generous.  Just as wonderful are the things she is not… she is not boy crazy or self-absorbed or superficial.  She works as a house cleaner for several neighbors and enjoys her job, especially when she can listen to audiobooks while cleaning.  (I don’t even want to know how many books she has read/listened to this year… my paltry list will pale in comparison.)  The highlight of her year was being asked to be Maid of Honor at her friends’ wedding and what a grown-up responsibility and honor that was~ one that she fulfilled with grace, sacrifice and skill.  She was most nervous about giving her speech…but she NAILED it.  She has pushed herself out of her comfort zone so much this year and has become less introverted, more considerate, more brave and more resilient.  Adele’ is my own little Pied Piper because a thing she has taken to doing the past few years is walking children to the nearby community park.  It began with brothers and sisters but as time passed, she began picking up children along her route and taking them along with her.  She is the Pied Piper of Warren Center, with the exception being that she returns the children to their families’ after their romp.  (A far kinder ending than Brownings’ version, if you ask me!)

Judah (15) is now so manly that sometimes, if I catch him out of the corner of my eye, I can’t tell if it is Judah or Andrew standing there.  He and Andrew are neck and neck, standing at about 6’4 (maybe more?!).  Maybe Judah is just a tad bit taller by now… but only by his perfectly chic, sleek hairdo.  With Papa and Andrew working so much, the brunt of the manual labor falls on him… bringing in wood, milking cows, mowing, burning papers and so forth.  I appreciate his strength and abilities so much, especially when he uses them for good.  Other people appreciate them too, as his help is in high demand with friends and neighbors throughout the year.  The highlights of his year were attending a junior Game Warden camp, snowboarding, archery season, camping, shooting his first buck AND his first doe, and trapping muskrats for the first time ever.  Despite all the camouflage clothing and the hunting talk, Judah still enjoys tickling the ivories of the piano, which he does at home and at church (one of my greatest pleasures!) and can belt out Phantom of the Opera with the best of them.  I hope for my birthday this year, both of my boys let me record them singing together The Music of the Night.  (It is show-stopping.)  (Hint, hint boys!)

Ineke (10 in less than a week!) has a smile that lights up her whole face.  She still has those beautiful crescent moon eyes that make even the worst day turn happy.  She is dramatic and loves acting (she had fun memorizing her lines to play Squanto in a skit this Thanksgiving).  She has the enviable (to me) talent of making herself into all sorts of people and personalities with impressive accents and voices.  Ineke as a story-telling Brit, is a wonder.  She enjoyed roller-skating this summer and doing gymnastics all year long- in the yard, and living room, and on the trampoline, and on the porch… you get the idea.  She is strong and athletic and loves to dance.  She loved reading Anne of Green Gables this year.  Twice.  She also loves holding babies and can’t seem to get enough of holding any and all that she can find, most especially her Naomi-love.  She got to go on a ‘girls’ trip to North Carolina which was a high honor for her to be included and just a hoot; it was the best fun a girl can have, sharing a backseat with two giggly friends, eating snacks all the live-long day and with a chunkie baby to snuggle with at the end of the road.  We survived flash flooding on a highway and swam in a flooded boat launch surrounded by wading trees and floating log ‘alligators’ (and possibly, flooded sewage- I don’t want to think about it) and picnicked on the side of the road and sweated in the North Carolina humidity.  In her mind, it was a DREAM!

Moses (6) is an avid naturalist and loves exploring outside.  He has an uncanny ability of catching insects mid-jump and butterflies mid-flight- and with just his pincher fingers!  He caught more flies with his fingertips than I can count.  He wanted to pin his captures onto a specimen board but the girls couldn’t bear the thought of him killing them in cold blood, so they convinced him to take pictures of them and make his very own nature book instead.  He enjoyed going on a caterpillar hunt and then watching as they went through their magical monarch morphing.   The highlight of Moses’ year was going to see NOAH at Sight and Sound Theatre- thanks to Grandpa and Grandma- and that happens to be a highlight of my year as well. (Most of ours, really!)  It was so amazing!  Moses loves to listen to stories and I love to read them because I get some snuggles in at the same time.  One night when I was lamenting how quickly everyone is growing up, Moses assured me that “even when I am 65, I’m still going to want to snuggle with you” so I plan on holding him to that.  He also enjoys being with Papa and “inventing things” and working in the barns.  He helped Papa split wood this year and he helps me unload the dishwasher and do animal chores and he even made a mighty-tasting-looking omelet all by himself.  All this to say, he is growing up fast and growing more independent and helpful by the day!  Moses’ most favorite adjective to describe good things is AMAZING and he uses it all the time.  When he tells me my cooking is amazing, I swell with pride.  At least, I did until he recently described Judah’s socks as smelling amazing.  That word has since lost its’ luster.   Though, Matt tells me that Moses asked him what superb meant the other day… so maybe an upgrade is coming. 

Matt did not build any building this year and he didn’t remodel anything or upgrade anything.  All of these are easy markers of a productive life. Look at that building!  Look at what you’ve accomplished!  When it is done, it’s easy to notice.  It is easy to pinpoint.  But often the most productive and powerful things one can accomplish in their lives can’t be measured easily because it is comprised of a million little moments of faithfulness that are overlooked and unnoticed and no matter how hard you work at it, the job is never complete.  But that faithfulness, planted and watered and fed and not noticed even a little bit, is more powerful than any grand building could ever be.  And this husband of mine is faithfully planting, watering, leading and feeding souls not just within this house but in relationships wherever he finds himself.  Work, church, neighbors, family, friends.  Matt is doing powerful, productive work and accomplishing great things and what humble, quiet but bountiful fruit it yields.

While no buildings are being built, Matt did have to put some battens on Andrew’s cabin with the boys last week.  And as he did so, we were reminded how precious and precarious life can be when Matt fell over 15 feet off of a roof and landed squarely on his back.  Praise the Lord, though stiff and sore and banged up and bruised, he somehow miraculously didn’t do any serious damage to himself!   But that incident was a stark reminder to us that each moment given to us is precious and finite.  How quickly can life change!  Might we use the time the Lord gives us wisely. 

This Christmas, it is my hope that we may not grow weary in doing good.  That we might do so, not for accolades or recognition or praise but simply because we are becoming more Christ-like.  Because we, too, can be world-changers.  May we have eyes wide open to see the gifts that are so abundant, they are redundant.  So obvious they are overlooked.  So powerful and yet so inconspicuous.

Merry Christmas to you all and might the joy and truth of a Savior born, a King enthroned, a God in His heaven stay with you all the year long.

With love,

Rebecca et al.

 

PS.  Why do I wait until the frigid 15 degree weather to snap a picture?  I've gotta stop doing that.....

This was the other option for the family photo:

Merry Christmas, 2024

             

      Dear Ones~                              

The more observant of you may notice that this Christmas newsletter must cover TWO years instead of one, as I was never able to get Christmas cards out last year.  Was I being a slouch?!  Perhaps.  But more so, it was due to my putting on a DIY wedding for Corynn and her now-husband Kemuel less than a week after Christmas, 2023.  Rather than Christmas card mailing, the month of December was filled with addressing wedding invitations.  Rather than Christmas letter-writing, I was making hundreds of pounds of beef barbacoa, chicken and beans for a Chipotle-inspired taco bar to serve our 260+ guests!   

So let this letter be a doubly hearty HULLO and a twice-as-jovial MERRY CHRISTMAS, to make up for lost time!

Corynn and Kemuel had a beautiful wedding, despite most of our family (and indeed, the bride herself!) being down with a severe flu/illness during that week.   Loving one another in sickness and in health began early in their marriage!  😊  The blessings and beauty of that day have extended throughout their first year of marriage… and what a pleasure it has been to watch them both be knit together.  Whatever Kemuel sets his mind to seems to succeed and whatever Corynn sets her hands to is made more beautiful.  What a dynamic duo.  Would you believe, not even one year later,  the Lord in His kindness provided them with an opportunity to purchase a home for themselves with an attached shop for Kemuel’s roofing business?!  It is a little house tucked in the woods and has regular bear visitors (much to Corynn’s chagrin… the first few nights they were welcomed by three bears right outside the bedroom window!)  It has a pond, more bathrooms than we have (though, in truth, that doesn’t take much), beautiful kitchen cabinets (that don’t slam!), an island that can be sprawled out on without feet dangling (I tested that theory) and an absolute DREAM of a shop out back.  Best part?   It is only 12 minutes away from us!  Praise the Lord! 

Since my last letter, Corynn flew the coop, and Andrew has found his wings…

  Andrew, 18, recently graduated, concluding his homeschooling requirements for the state but I have no doubt that it is just the beginning of a lifetime of continued learning and growth.  He is and always will be a ‘learner’, that’s just his style.   Andrew saved money for years and, this spring, was able to buy a really amazing truck as his first vehicle.  Boy, the months leading up to purchasing it were exhausting as he scoured Facebook marketplace for what he wanted and got stressed when things never worked out just right.  And then POOF!  The Lord provided the perfect truck at the perfect time.  (Just like his Mama had assured him.)  That truck has taken him to work roofing for the Avoda Company (Kemuel’s company),  to EMT training at a local hospital and on road trips to Virginia and Tennessee.  For a week or so this year, he ditched his truck and took a PLANE to Moscow, Idaho to attend the Called Conference, a conference for young adults put on by New St. Andrews College.  I feel those wings a-flapping and when the worry and stress of that starts to creep in, I am left trying to assure myself that the Lord’s timing/plans for Andrew’s life will be just right too.   I cannot see into the future, but I can see clearly this moment… and I see a guy who is dedicated to doing a job well AND wisely, who shows initiative, who is dependable, gets his hands dirty but washes them before supper; who is at the top of his EMT training class and is known as ‘the natural’, who respects his parents, shows restraint and calm in times of conflict, who sings loudly during church and is the first to clean up the pew books afterwards.

Adele’ turned sweet 16 this year and celebrated by road-tripping to Myrtle Beach with the Newman grandparents, Uncle Nathan and Aunt Leia.  Her first airplane ride!  Her first boardwalk!  Her first toe-dip in the ocean!  She came home and her feet barely touched the ground for a week!  She has developed an affinity for Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse and Agatha Christie and is now 43+ pages into writing a novel of her own.   When she isn’t writing novels, she is writing her pen pals.  Mail is one of her great joys.  She was over the moon with all the sweet messages and advice she received for her birthday this year (many thanks to all of you wonderful people who sent her cards!) Adele’ is greatly anticipating getting her license this year and the freedom that will afford her.  (I wonder how long I can put that off?!)   She loves children and is great with them and desperately wants babysitting jobs, so here’s your notice if you happen to have young children and need a sitter! 😉  She has discovered that she may not hate math as much as she thought she did, that outings with friends are the BEST FUN (road trips to VA are the best of the best), and that she CAN, in fact, belt out music (as long as it is with the piano).  She is patient and helpful and sweet.  Adele’ does not need to be the center of attention, but even when she tucks herself in the background, she shines.  She is quick to allow me to share in her joys and sorrows and those joys and sorrows are taking on a much more grown-up patina these days. 

In the last Christmas letter, Judah was still singing soprano.  Now at 14, he has sloughed off most of his boyishness and unlike Peter Pan, has officially begun to grow up.  Literally.   He grew over 8 inches since that letter and this one; he now stands taller than his Mama.  Size 13 shoes makes finding shoes to fit his ever-growing feet a struggle.  But he is not just growing up physically.  In the absence of Matt and Andrew at their respective jobs, I lean heavily upon Judah to help me out with all the manly tasks that need to be done around here.  (There are many.)  He is the full-time milker of our jersey milk cow during the week (Matt gives him a day off on the weekend) and that chore comes twice a day, rain or snow or shine.  He was the full-time mower this summer, not only around here, but also for a neighbor with a mowing business.  He is called upon to do firewood, carpentry, construction work, clean up… and not just by us but by many others needing a strong, strappin’, hard-working boy (turns out that kind of boy is a hot commodity). One of the lessons Judah has had to learn this year is how to accommodate his calendar/time/commitments to help all the people who are calling upon him for employment without sacrificing his homeschooling.  It can be challenging!  He worked so hard and so often this summer that he was able to save up and purchase a nice hunting bow set as well as finally fulfilling his dream (of many years) to have a dirt bike of his own.    Last year, in addition to all the rest, a rigorous challenge was put out in his local Trail Life chapter that the three highest badgework completers would win a ride on a private airplane to Maine, for a trip of camping, hiking and fresh lobster tasting.  When Judah sets his mind to something, he is all in… he worked incredibly hard and he won a spot on that plane!  That was an adventure of a lifetime and would have shown up on last Christmas’ newsletter had there been one.  (PS. He discovered he loves lobster. And planes.)  Judah is the one Newman less drawn to books.  Instead, in those rare, relaxed moments at home, he is at the piano, tickling the ivories.   He graces our church services with his playing too.  Oh, what a gift his musical talents are to this house. 

Ineke, (9), this very moment, is on her way to New York City with Grandma and Grandpa Newman, to see the Rockettes perform a Christmas show with her cousin CC.  My, what well-travelled children we have!  (I thought homeschoolers didn’t get out much?!)  She is over the moon excited because she has a real love for dance, theater and gymnastics.  Not a day goes by without her stretching into gymnastics splits or spinning off on one-handed cartwheels.  Papa has built her a bar and a balance beam to keep her busy and she steals my exercise mat on a daily basis.  She is almost able to do a perfect split!  Since the last Christmas letter, Ineke has become wonderful at reading and participates in reading aloud the Bible in the mornings, right alongside her older siblings.  She may have even corrected her older siblings in their reading a time or two.  😊  Thankfully, while she is old enough to read on her own, she is not too old to snuggle into my side and listen to stories.  She has been learning to play songs on the piano, has been added to the dishwashing rotation and is in charge of caring for our new pup Sadie.  OR Sadiekins, as we like to call her.  (Faithful Ruby is no more but a bit of her courses through Sadies’ veins). 

Moses Matthew is still larger than life both in his stature and his character.  He is 5 years old but wears size 10/12 in clothes.  I tell him that it was no accident that God made him to be a mountain of a man and to use that gift well.  Someday, he may just be a mighty man of valor.  He loves drawing and draws so many pictures in a day that sometimes I have to do a bit of artwork excavation just to get into the fridge. (At peak, the fridge had 18 drawings on it…)  Since then, I have encouraged him to pass his plethora of pictures out to people, so he often has a wad of drawings to hand out wherever he goes.  One of my favorite times is when it is his turn to pray aloud… just tonight he prayed “Lord, thank you for being with us and protecting us.  Help us not to lie.  Give us courage and strength to be your strong people.  Thank you for flushing our sins away from us and help us to be good. And give us lots more days to live.  Thank you for this nourishing food.  And be with Papa on his way home, keep him safe.  In Jesus’ name.”  His prayers are 1 Timothy 4:12 lived out across the dinner table.  Moses loves books and insists on hearing at least a pile of them a day.  (He could sit for dozens.)  He is generous with his compliments and recently learned to whistle!  His favorite animal is a marmoset “because the babies are as small as my thumb”.  He recently told me out of the blue “Mama, I think growing up is the most fun thing to do.” 

My other Matthew, the O.G. Matthew, my love, their Papa, the M.A.N… is currently at work.  It is 9:27pm.  He left at 6:30 this morning.  Dairy One has made some changes that have required Matt and others to temporarily step up and step in to fill up some voids.  It has been a hard few months!  But it has been astounding and inspiring to see the tenacity, determination, commitment, sacrifice and hard work that they have willingly and cheerfully shown through it.  Matt is strong, he is faithful, he is tireless and good.  He does what is right, whether it is comfortable or not.  He constantly gives of himself; he leads by example… I admire him so.    As everyone knows by now… when Matt isn’t working, He is still working- just differently.  His “relaxation work” almost always involves wood.  For Corynn’s wedding, he built a timber-framed arbor for the bride and groom to be wed under.  It felt to me like a Fathers’ beautiful blessing over their heads and their marriage.  This summer, he took on a much larger project and began to rebuild our old chicken coop.  Instead of replacing the small remnant of the chicken coop that was here when we moved in, he decided to timber frame a building the size of the original coop- which happens to be three times the size!  (We do not need THAT many chickens!)  The rest of the space will be used as a “garden shed’ but, truly, a more apt name would be a garden mansion.  (That’s his handiwork in our Christmas photo.) 

                As for me… I am learning (not so gracefully, most times) that time is fleeting, nothing is permanent, gifts are all around us (and often not noticed) and that hard providences are blessings too.  The Lord uses trials, difficulties and afflictions to draw us closer to him, to strengthen our faith, to tear down our idols, to shine light into darkness, to refine, purify and GROW us, and to declare to us, over and over, that we are wholly dependent upon his mercy but to rejoice, because He is merciful.  Trials may not be pleasant, but they are always good for us.  As hard providences seem to have come to me for several years in a row now, I suspect I am a slow learner.  😉  But the Lord continues to bring me through the valleys, brings light to the dark, comfort to me in my afflictions, graces me with His goodness and love; And promises to work all things together for good.  This is the God we serve.  And THIS is why Christmas is so palpable to the world.  This is the very thing He did so long ago… when The God of the Universe graced the world with His goodness, wrapped in baby flesh.  He slashed through the darkness with His illuminating Light and the heavens broke out in song.  He tore down idols and tyrant Kings, He gave mercy and goodness to a people, utterly incapable.  He brought strength to the weak, power to the lowly, JOY to the world.  He brought Glory from despair.  It’s easy to forget that darkness and despair have always been part of that story too.  A necessary part.  Without it, we cannot be blinded by His light. 

May you all be positively blinded by His goodness and mercies this Christmas Season and throughout the coming year.  May God’s light fill you all with joy and hope… and then, may we radiate it to the world.  Merry Christmas! 

Love,    Rebecca  (for the whole family)

Merry Christmas! (The Christmas Letter)

Dear Ones,

Merry Christmas!  

Before I continue with the traditional letter, can we all just pause a moment and reflect on how early I got our Christmas cards and letter out this year?!  Wonder of wonders…

This has been a big year for us in many ways.   For one thing, we took several vacations in a single year.  (A single vacation for us is BIG, more than one is… astounding.)   We went to Massachusetts and toured a beautiful Shaker village, saw Plymouth Rock, toured Plymouth Plantation, and hopped aboard a replica of the Mayflower.  Later in the summer, we went on a camping/ boating trip on the Cayuga-Seneca canal with the rest of the Newman clan.  (Vacationing with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents is super fun.  You should try it.)  As proper homeschoolers, we made sure to learn about the Erie Canal, its’ locks, and its’ history before we went.  The same is true of pilgrims, Indians and sea voyages.  Science, geography and history…check, check, check! 

This year, too, marked Matt’s and my 20th year of marriage.  To celebrate, we headed to Watkin’s Glen for an overnight trip, just the two of us.  We spent the day reminiscing and reflecting on the gift of these years and the fruit that has been produced out of it.  As a nod to our honeymoon in Mexico, we ate at the El Rancho Mexican restaurant.  The high point of our trip was to ride on a romantic sunset cruise aboard the schooner True Love. The True Love was featured in the film High Society with some of my favorite people: Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly…oh, it was going to be so romantic.  And it would have been except that a massive lightning storm rolled in mere minutes before we were to set sail.  And that, my friends, was very analogous to our marriage.  We drove home through rumbles of thunder, flashes of lightning, bending, bowing trees and a barrage of raindrops…yet hand in hand, as we weather all storms.  

There has been much fruit from these last 20 years but the plumpest, juiciest, and most beautiful of all are the six amazing children whom the Lord has given us.  They add so much goodness to this world and so much pleasure to our lives.   

 

Corynn (19) has gone through a stretching season this year… with some introspection, some doubts, some floundering and maybe a little bit of heartbreak mixed into the sweet pleasures and freedoms of (almost) adulthood.  Just as fire purifies and dead, buried seeds bloom, Corynn has used those hard things to refine and blossom.   When some might become discouraged or disgruntled, she has grown in grace and knowledge and goodness.  One of my hopes for all of my children (and one of the motivations of home education) is that our children develop a deep love of learning… and Corynn has exceeded my expectations in this and many other things.  She is a self-motivated autodidact who, though not going to college, is spending much of her free time studying and pursuing knowledge on her own- without shackling herself to thousands of dollars of debt to do so.   She is well read, well rounded and can produce such beauty in mere moments with just a flick of a pen or swish of a paintbrush.  I am so thankful for who she is and the exemplary example she is to the other children and to the world, revealing what teenagers could and should be like.

Andrew (16) has been stretching this year too.  He now towers over even his excessively tall Mama.  I know he likes it though because he rounds UP when people ask him how tall he is.  6’3-6’5, depending on the day.  We’ll know for sure when we take him to get his physical for his driver’s permit.  Either way, my little Andrew is not so little anymore.   He has grown in other ways too this year- I have seen him mature into (almost) manhood right before my eyes.  He is the guy who will cheerfully start fires for me without me having to ask, who carries heavy loads without a grumble, splits and brings in wood without a word, who sees a need and fills it.  I am proud of how hard a worker he is and how considerate he is of other peoples’ needs.  Sometimes he sits next to me in church, and I love to hear his deep voice singing along beside me; those are my favorite Sundays.  Along with schoolwork and his mowing job, Andrew’s big project this year has been building himself a timber frame cabin in the woods.  He is doing it alongside his Papa and with the help of Grandpa, Uncle John and Judah.  The work will continue into next year but it is already looking mighty nice!

 

Adele’ (14) just had her birthday yesterday.  She spent the day reading, playing games, going out on a sister date with Corynn and answering letters (she had received EIGHT things in the mail the day before… best birthday present ever!)  That little snapshot perfectly describes who she is and what makes her tick.   Games, letters, books, individual time… these are a few of her favorite things.  Ever the introvert, she stretched herself this year by attending a book club with several other girls and has grown to love that time spent with friends.  They recently attended a production of The Secret Garden together and, though it was nearing midnight when she arrived home, she was bouncing with happiness as she related the evening to me.  Adele’ was able to go on her first road trip without our family this year too... accompanying our Pastor’s family to Southern PA to visit with friends.  I’d say that she missed our family terribly but that would be a total lie.  She loved every minute of that trip.  She is a compassionate big sister to the Littles- I often find her reading stories to them or jumping with them on the trampoline.  She wears her heart on her sleeve and feels deeply, whether joy or sadness… she and I have shared many tears as we had to say goodbye to our dog Ruby this year.  I am glad to have her gentle heart in my life.

Judah (12) is enthusiastic, boisterous, energetic, and helpful.  He is easily pleased with small things like camping in the woods or a trip to Hiram’s (a local army surplus store).  Before his birthday this year, we could no longer say “Act your age, not your shoe size” because… both were 11!  He recently joined a Trail Life division in our community and their meetings make every Wednesday seem like a fresh dream come true for him.  He loves farming and longs for the time when we can again have a milk cow and pigs.  (Unfortunately, our “farm” now consists of cats and a few barren cows.)  He learned to drive the tractor this year and he became our chief mower of grass.  One of my greatest joys in life is hearing music in our home and Judah is often the one making it.  He still sings a beautiful soprano (but I bet this will be the last year I will be able to say that) and he sings out, loud and proud.  Judah also loves to play the piano, and not only does he bring music to our home but he even occasionally plays a song or two in church.   Judah can be found wearing grungy camo or muck boots during the week but come Sunday, he turns himself into quite the dapper fellow, often wearing a suit, vest, and tie to church.   His Christmas wishlist this year included cufflinks. 

 

Ineke (6) is such a loveable girl, we have to fight off even the wildlife from loving her.  This spring, after the Littles were put to bed, a bat was caught flying about in our house.  We caught the bat, released it and thought nothing more about it until the morning, when Ineke had two perfect little bite marks and pools of dried blood on her upper lip.  To be bit by a bat is an unusual thing…to be “kissed” by a bat, quite extraordinary!  She had to go through a series of painful rabies shots over the next few weeks but she took it like a champ and with her usual dose of good humor.  She spent the hours at the hospital awaiting shots by listening to storybooks I had brought along, practicing reading and taking funny faced selfies on my phone.   This is her first year of “formal” homeschooling, her most favorite past time these days is to roller skate on our porch and she draws at least a handful of pictures each and every day.   She positively sparkles when she talks; she prays for poor, cold, sick or lonely people; and she loves to make people laugh, though the most funny things she says are often unintentional.   Ineke had a cough recently and after being frustrated by coughing so much in bed, climbed out of her bunk saying, “I am going to sleep on the floor…there is too much coughing going on in my bed.”  What am I going to do with her?!  What would I do without her?

Moses (3) is my sweet, big Hoss of a boy.  At only three years old, he wears size 6/7 clothes and size 13 shoes.  He continues wandering into my room in the early morning for snuggles and as much as I hate abrupt awakenings at 3 or 4am, I love that fat little hand that cradles my head and that little voice that asks “Will you snuggle with me, Mama?” even more.  It’s a conundrum.  This year, Moses has developed a deep love of stories. Indeed, it is only for stories and books that he will keep still.  He tells me about his “dreams” every morning, which are always suspiciously the same as every other dream (and usually involve coyotes, deer or bears) but his wide-eyed, suspenseful storytelling makes me look forward to it anyway. He will often come to me throughout the day, holding up an invisible peacock or deer for me to admire, saying he shot it for supper.  Moses continues to teach me that God’s provision, mercies and watch care are constant.  I remember singing with my Mother when I was young, a song about how God has time for sparrows who fall and time for the wandering child who calls.  That song was made manifest as we visited friends this summer- when two-year-old Moses wandered away from the other playing children, toddled through the woods and neighboring fields and was found over a mile away at the bend of an intersection on a road.  Flashing police cars were at the scene when he was eventually found, a lifetime later, and when he was found unharmed, it was only then that I fell to my knees and breathed air again.  God was so good to us that day, reminding us that Moses is His child first and foremost and too, by mercifully giving him back to us for a bit.  

And that brings me to another baby Boy, mercifully given to this lost and despairing world.   A boy with fat little hands and wide-eyed stories, just like any other little boy yet- also, magically, mysteriously, most excellently not just a boy, not only a boy, but GOD, made flesh.  A Boy who dreamed and prepared for snake crushing as a child- and grew up to do just that.  A joy to His mother and Joy to the world.  

May this Christmas we remember well and rejoice in the good gift of Jesus, the conquering Babe.  May we see with clear eyes what He has done for us in His coming and might that knowledge change who we are, as His people.   Not just this Christmas but throughout the year.  

May we see Jesus in the faces of all people, knowing we are made in His image.  May we, like Him, be protectors of the lowly. May we use our strength wisely and well, may we bring down the exalted and lift up the humble, may we fill the hungry with good things, may we extend mercy and perform good deeds… all because Jesus has shown us how.

His kingdom come, His will be done here on earth, as it is in heaven.  Might He use us, and all of our days, to that end.

Merry Christmas and thanks be to God!

Love, 

Rebecca

(And Matt, Corynn, Andrew, Adele’, Judah, Ineke and Moses!!)

Merry Christmas!

 For those who don't get one in the mail... here is a {virtual} Christmas card.

Have a WONDERFUL Christmas tomorrow!  💖

Dear Ones~                                                                                                                         December 2020

Merry Christmas!

What a surreal year it has been, wouldn’t you say?  I mean…Covid19, a shutdown economy, farmers dumping milk and slaughtering pigs while food pantry lines are miles long, toilet paper hoarding, mask-wearing, never seeing smiles, displaced children, school closings, churches shut down, abortion clinics not, riots, looting, death, destruction of property, election mayhem…even Aunt Jemima was cancelled.  We have had a good solid 9 months of humbug.  2020 stink, stank, stunk.

This isn’t going to be a very uplifting Christmas letter…. or is it?  😉

1 Thes. 5:16-18 tells us that we are to “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

No time to be grinchy- there is too much to be thankful for. Once you start the counting of blessings, it is hard to stop!  Here is just a sampling of things to be thankful for from each of us from this past year.

Moses is still alive though he is a magnet for trouble, is fearless and a Sneaky Pete! (an exhausting combination.) We watch him every second and I still had to call poison control twice in one week for this dude.  Ingesting gross things is not the only thing this boy does in his free time.  He also enjoys sneaking out of doors and windows and is abnormally attracted to shiny, sharp objects.  I am thankful that the Lord has even the itty-bitty babies in His Hands- because Moses needs that (and I need to KNOW it!).  He is almost 15 months old and still only really says the word “Mama”, so he wins the award for slowest talker in the Newman house.  He knows plenty of signs to help him communicate though, which helps.   Imagine! A quiet Newman!  😉  He walks backward when feeling defiant (Whaaat?), dances to any tune he hears and still has delightfully squeezable thighs. 

Ineke is turning five a few days before Christmas and I do not wonder at the gifts she will get- she is all about unicorns, mermaids and princesses…the little girl trifecta.  She asks every day to “do a hard thing” which inevitably involves my oversight and lots of messes to clean up.  She is creative and clever and rambunctious and feisty- and she has the twinkly eyes to prove it.  She has a sharp mind; she asks deep questions and makes observations that I wouldn’t normally associate with a four-year-old.  I love watching her face as she watches movies- because she feels very deeply and wears openly her joy or sorrow. 

Judah is 10 and is most often seen around the house wearing soldier-sized military clothes that are a tad too big for him.  He loves to play with the G.I. Joes that Matt played with when HE was a boy. Judah draws wonderfully intricate pictures- mostly of soldiers- and loves to read and write- mostly about wars and weaponry.  I am thankful for this interest and passion while being simultaneously thankful that he has been shielded from the destruction and pain real wartime brings.  Judah also enjoys helping Matt on his building projects- just last weekend he helped Matt bury electrical cable to the Timber Shed.  Matt couldn’t have done it without him.

Adele just turned 12 on Thanksgiving Day and you wouldn’t believe the difference a year has made!  Last year she looked like such a little girl in pictures and this year she is quite the young lady.   She likes being curled up with a good book (Favorite book of the year : The Winter King by C. Cohen Current read : Heidi by J. Spyri ).  She also enjoys drawing at the table, going for walks, wearing pretty dresses, writing letters to penpals, and knitting on the couch (she just finished knitting a beautiful cowl in just a few days! I try not to be jealous of her skills).   She joins Moses in the ‘quiet’ department and is perfectly at ease, even by herself.  This is a wonderful quality to have- contentment comes easily to those lucky sorts!

Andrew is my 14 year old naturalist~ he is most at home in the woods.  He enjoys taking my camera out with him to ‘shoot’ things- as is evidenced by the sheer volume of photos on our computer of sunsets, trees, geese, beaver dams and deer.  Of course, he enjoys the other sort of shooting too - he continues with his record to score a buck on the second day of hunting season for the fourth year in a row now.  Andrew also traps- in fact, he got two muskrats a couple days ago.  I look forward to seeing him tan those hides instead of storing them in my freezer. 😉  He decided to take on the maple syrupping endeavor this spring (almost) single-handedly and wound up with a gallon or so of delicious maple syrup for his efforts.  Of course, he continues to be a huge help with the farm chores and cow milking and is such a hard worker that even neighbors have asked for his help on projects like pruning orchards and picking potatoes.

Corynn is now 17 (gulp!) and brings such exuberance to this house that I have forbade her to leave it until she is at least 35.  (She thinks I am kidding- but she is wrong.)  She got her drivers’ permit, a bit late due to Covid and a Mama who wants her little girl staying little- and wound up getting a little blue ‘Smurfmobile’ to drive around in even before getting her license.  Corynn continues to find (and bring) joy in and through her art.  This year, she collaborated with someone to illustrate a privately published picture book which was a new and exciting (and sometimes stretching) opportunity for her.  She enjoys running (particularly with friends), playing guitar (particularly FOR friends) and writing letters (to -you guessed it!- her friends).  I love watching the mail because even her envelopes and those of some of her penpals are works of art! (I try not to be jealous of her mail.)  She makes me feel better by feeding me warm cookies from the oven and giving huuuuge hugs.

Matt still has a job- unlike many people at the end of 2020- and that is something we do not take for granted!   “Business Matt” is capable, intelligent, professional, handsome (is that sexual harassment?) and as busy as ever.  “Farmer Matt” is reliable, strong, talented, industrious and… as busy as ever.   Matt and the boys spent many a weekend working on his parents’ Lake Cottage project together this year.  He sided his Timberframe shed this year and ran electricity to it.  Matt built bunkbeds for the girls’ room, built a pig pen and ran fencing, built a deer blind with Andrew and many other projects, both necessary and superfluous- he just can’t stop himself!  That he has the strength, talent, motivation, and means to do such projects are also gifts we do not take for granted!

As for me, I am thankful that we have been relatively unaffected by all the Covid craziness.  I am thankful that my children have been homeschooled for so long that it just seems natural to stay home and learn that way, that we don’t enforce masks OR social-distancing in our home, that the children have space to roam free instead of being cooped up indoors, that Matt is still working, that we are all healthy, that we have like-minded friends who share in our struggles and joy, that we are able to worship each Sunday, that we have food on the table, clothes on our backs and even presents under the tree. 

I know that there are many who are not as insulated from the shockwaves of all that 2020 has brought with it- whether trying to readjust to new work, new schedules, homeschooling, having children home, financial struggles, family struggles, health problems or fear, isolation, depression, worry or stress… these people weigh heavy on my heart.  Please know that I truly am praying for this nation and for all of those who are struggling right now.  We all need a bit of saving, that is for sure- but the wonderful news is… we were given a SAVIOUR! 

Whatever the Lord has in store for us in 2021, we know that He will work it together for our good and His glory.  May we all remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength!  So give thanks, we do. Pray continually, we shall.  Rejoice always, we will!    I hope that you will do the same and that the Lord will bless you all abundantly in this new year.  A very MERRY Christmas to you all!

                     With lots of love to you and yours… from me and mine!   Rebecca et al.

The Christmas Letter 2019

Dear Ones ~                                                                                                                                                                                      December 2019

            

                     Another year has gone by and my goodness, where did the time go?  (I HAD to do it-- a Christmas letter really can’t seem to start any other way, amIright?!)  Well, I’ll tell you where!  It went toward the making, care and keeping of the precious souls in this house, my earthly treasures. 1,095 meals (but let’s be real- there were plenty of snacking and desserts too).  Multiply that number exponentially for the amount of dishes washed.  It disappeared in thousands of miles driving down the road and hours of audiobooks.  It was spent on hundreds of diaper changes (and that has only been since September!)  On the reading of good books.  On the scattering, sorting, playing and tidying up of toys countless times a day.  On hours upon hours of music playing and singing and movie watching.  On planting, weeding and then woefully neglecting a swamp garden.  To the creating, growing and then birthing of a womb baby. To the kissing of boo-boo’s and the mediating of arguments.  To sin, forgiveness and growing in grace.  To the milking of cows and keeping of chickens and hunting of deer and making of cheese ( and copious amounts of ice cream).  It has disappeared while educating our masses and entertaining friends and family.  Guess what was gloriously NOT a part of 2019?  Broken bones.  Considering the last two Christmas letters have been lamenting bones broken, I consider that is a major accomplishment.  That fact alone made 2019 a good year! 

Before we step over the threshold into a brand spankin’ new decade, let me get you caught up on the more interesting tidbits of 2019…the people!

First~ we have a new Newman!  Moses Matthew was born on September 3^rd, just 5 hours shy of sharing Corynn and Judah’s birthday!  What are the chances?!  He really screwed up the birthday dates as the childrens’ birthdays are 2, 2 , 2, 26, 22 and now…3.  But with a squishy face like his, he is easy to forgive.   He looks like Judah’s baby twin and I’d swear it WAS Judah if there weren’t 9 years between them.  It took two days to name the poor child because we weren’t sure we were brave enough to use such an awesome name- but I am so glad we did.  Not only does the name suit him but it is remarkably fun to say and easy to include in little songs- which we have a penchant for making.  This is a good thing because Moses loves songs and we love singing to him.   He is the most serious baby I have ever known, you really have to work hard to get a grin out of him…but when he does, oh boy, is it worth the wait!  While he may not smile very often, he was born with his eyes wide open and has been busily observing ever since.   I feel certain he must be an absolute genius.  😉 Moses is so good to me- he lets me snuggle and kiss and sniff him WHENEVER I want, which happens pretty often since they just happen to be some of my most favorite things to do in the world.  He is very generous, self-sacrificially giving of himself, allowing himself to be smooched and hauled around by his doting siblings and Papa too.  It must surely be exhausting to be kissed as much as he is, but he takes it like a champ.

Ineke celebrates her 4^th birthday next week but she’s been asking every day if it is her birthday ever since the first snow (and that was before Thanksgiving).    She told me it MUST be her birthday because it SNOWS on her birthday.  (duh, Mama!)  Of all the children, I think she resembles most who I was as a child.  She’s sweet with a whole lot of firecracker.  Her half-moon squinty-eyed grin can break down the highest walls of even the grumpiest curmudgeon and she gives it freely to anyone and everyone who makes eye contact.  If she is perturbed, though, everyone will know exactly how she feels about THAT.  She’ll snuggle into laps with stories or speed across the yard in races.  She loves to wear frilly dresses and sparkly jewelry (she got her ears pierced this year!) but heads to the barn with Papa every chance she can get and can hold her own with her brothers. She has the best bed head in the world and looks like one of the trolls in Jan Brett’s books. She astounds me all the time by telling me things she remembers when she was two.   She is very articulate and speaks like a little grown up for the most part but still charms us with those endearing little childisms that are so common with four year olds.  The most recent one came a few days ago when she complained ‘Mama, I have a headache in my belly” .  I would strongly recommend, if it can at all be managed, that EVERYONE have an almost-four year old in their lives. 

Judah is 9 years old this year and is always in the middle of all the action.  He loves pretty much anything Andrew or Papa love, so he can often be found tagging along with one of them or talking about what they find interesting.  Though quite a few years younger than Andrew, he fits into all Andrew’s hand-me-downs without me needing to pack it away for a year or two.  I just slide in on down to Judah’s shelf.  He is all boy and loves fighting, wrestling, hunting, camping, tools, weapons and military stuff.  He wears camo any chance he can.  He loves to build things and tinker around in the barn and often comes rushing in to proudly display one of his latest wood projects.  Despite the obvious country boy, Judah has some gentry in him as well.  He loves to get dressed up for church in suitcoat and vest, he loves to top his look with a nice hat and he sings like a Tabernacle Choir boy.  I don’t think he knows just how happy it makes me to watch and hear him sing.  One of his favorite cd’s to listen and sing along to is Jamie Soles- who we had the privilege to host at our house last year!  Judah, too, was a help on Papa’s Timberframe project - but after his broken arm last year, I have to say, I was pleased to see his feet planted mostly on the GROUND while doing so! 

Adele’ is 11 this year.  She is in that wonderful stage of childhood where she can flutter between ‘big kid’ and ‘little kid’ on a whim, which is a rare and fleeting treasure.  I have discovered with baby Moses just how much of a natural mother she can be- one time Moses exploded in THE MOST DISGUSTING diaper explosion I have ever seen and she just cheerfully cooed at him while she pulled his slimy body from the wreckage.   (Yep.  A poo story in a Christmas letter.  I did just do that.)  His crying doesn’t put her off either and she can make him calm when others become frazzled.  She isn’t too old or too proud to play with Ineke and littler cousins and friends (which makes her one of TheCoolPeople) but she really doesn’t need a soul to be happy as a lark.  She gets spoiled by a particular neighbor (you know who you are!) and has even gone on lunch dates with her.  None of my other children have ever been given LUNCH DATES by neighbors, so Adele is a particularly lucky one!  She hasn’t outgrown wearing pretty dresses every day, she enjoys reading books and writing letters and I just discovered that she can knit faster than I do! 

Andrew, 13, must have nibbled on some of Alice’s magic Wonderland ‘shrooms, because this year he grew and changed so much that it is getting harder and harder to find any ‘boy’ left in him.  Until, of course, he starts wrestling with Judah or goofing off with Corynn.  Then I think, “Yep- there’s the little guy!”   He is stretching and growing, not just in limb, but in strength and maturity too.   He is a reliable help, especially when Matt is out of town (and even when he isn’t sometimes!), in milking the cow, mucking manure or getting her in the pasture when she’s being ornery.  This is a HUGE burden lifted off of my shoulders and I am so thankful to have his help!  He helped with Papa’s Timberframe shed and built his own deer blind in the off moments.  Speaking of deer- (and if you are ever around him for any length of time, you know you WILL be) Andrew is just as interested in deer as ever.   One of his favorite things to do is grab my camera and head for the hills after his schoolwork is done to see what wildlife he can find.  He has captured so much wildlife on camera!  He waited anxiously for deer season to come and shot an 8 point the second time he went out.  He butchered the deer himself and in fact, we just had venison stew last night for supper!   He is already talking about shed hunting (that is, finding antlers that fall off in winter) though I don’t know where we will put more- he has quite a collection already.  He started writing articles about wildlife in his own widely circulated Game Report News- and by widely circulated, I mean, to family and friends. 😊 It’s a great newsletter though and very well done!  He’s had many compliments on it (and not just from me.) ha!

Corynn may have just turned 16 this year, but she’s always been sweet. I can now officially say, in all confidence, that raising teenagers doesn’t have to evoke feelings of terror and dread in the hearts of parents.  In fact, I think a lot of teenagers get a bad rap these days!  She is pure delight to have around and the only feelings of dread I have toward her is that each passing day is one day sooner to her becoming an adult and leaving us.  She is an avid reader and is just a few books shy of her goal of reading 200 books this year- she will have undoubtedly reached that goal before the year is up.   Her favorite books from this year:  Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (non-fiction) and The Count of Monte Cristo (fiction).   Even more impressive~ she has challenged herself to participate in a Bible Reading Challenge that will get her through the entire Bible in a year.  It’s a big chunk of reading (six chapters a day?! Whaaaat?) but she hasn’t missed a day!  When she isn’t reading, she is often doing artsy things like sketching or painting.  Every year she gets better and better at her art and it amazes me to see her creations.  She’s even made some money at it.  Corynn is incredibly helpful to me in so many ways, not the least of which being taking care of children when I have needed to go to countless doctors’ appointments.  She is thoughtful and considerate of my needs and feelings, in particular, and she can read my face and body language like a book (even when I’d rather her not.)   She is anxious to get her permit so she can get behind the wheel, which I am dreading for the aforementioned reason, but I can’t avoid it forever.  Or CAN I?!?

Matt now has more clothing with a DAIRYONE logo on them than any other clothing on his shelves which is a testament to how many years he has been working there and what most of his year is spent doing!   His work sends him away from home quite often- travelling hours by car or by plane to get the job done- and we pretty much hate having him gone.  But every time he gets back home we rejoice at another gift the Lord has given us in his safe return…and those are gifts I do not take for granted.  Matt made the girls so happy this year by gutting and renovating their bedroom... a much needed endeavor.  New insulation to keep warm, new floors that don’t hide treasures in their cracks (or stub toes) , more than a single outlet to plug into, an overhead light to brighten the nights and bookshelves that line the ceiling full of books that brighten their lives.  PURE LUXURY.  He is a talented Mister and he blesses our lives with the fruit of his hands.  If you want to know what he is REALLY proud of though, it is not the girls’ room!  This year, Matt began to realize a longtime dream of his to build a Timberframe structure just behind where the old Middle Barn once stood.   He’s like a kid in a candy store, that man, when he has a chisel in his hand.  It has been so fun watching him work alongside his Dad, brothers and sons on this project- when I look at the Timberframe shed years from now, I will remember the sight of those three generations of Newmans all working alongside one another. The fun will continue for a bit longer too~ the frame and roof were completed *almost* before the first snow fell in 2019 and the sides will go up in 2020.  His skillful hands faithfully build businesses and barns, but his truest and most lasting achievement is the faithful building up of the souls here.  Matt is a good man and God was GOOD in giving him to us.     

As for me- I’ve been struggling with some mysterious and painful health issues for several months that are making me feel (and walk) more like a Grandma than the youthful sprite I really am. 😉  I am grateful that I have a nursing baby who gives me a great excuse to sit down and snuggle as much as possible since I often don’t feel like doing much else-even though there is always plenty to do!  It’s been a great trial for me but isn’t it funny that it takes having poor health to realize the wonderful blessing of good health- and how much it is overlooked and underappreciated when one has it?   It’s nice to have eyes that see once again.

And that’s a wrap on us!  As always, you can keep up to date more often than once a year by visiting the blog:  www.zeahrenaissance.blogspot.com 

May we all celebrate the good and perfect gift of the Christ Child this Christmas.  He didn’t stay in the heavens but put on flesh and swam in womb water in order to save the world.  JOY!!!  Our King came not in order to be served but to serve, to pour himself out  and give Himself up.   May we all be cheerful imitators of Him in this, as we step into 2020!    

A very Merry Christmas to you all!  

                                                                                                                     Love, Us Newmans

PS. You lucky folks get the corrected message.   In the *actual* letter, I wrote The Count of Monte CRISCO.  It must have been all the baking I was doing.  ;-)  It was also dated December 2020.  Apparently, being older and fatter is on my mind.  ha!