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 3rd, 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 4th 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.
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!
