Here we go again! Since our last Christmas letter, seemingly countless numbers of precious memories have been added to our family’s bank of legacy. Eric and I continue to be blown away by how blessed by God we are to have been given the opportunity to live in His grace and provision. With each passing year, new challenges, increased schedule and activity complexity, and an ever present expediting of our lives’ pace can at times feel a bit wild and crazy; I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I shared last year that Eric and I were walking through completing prerequisite work to become licensed in Washington State as foster parents. I think my hand is still sore from all that paperwork! In June, Eric and I along with Calvin-8, Georgia-5, and Hazel, who is now 4 were invited to start our journey as foster parents and begin to care for an 18-month old boy; he had just been removed from his previous living arrangement days before. The last six months with our little guy has been nothing short of amazing. Watching him learn to thrive in a home where he is loved, protected, cared for, and part of a family that hopes and prays for his future has been very rewarding. As is understood by those familiar with the process of foster care, there are a lot of unknowns. Eric and I do not have all of the answers related to our future of caring for kiddo #4. That said, we love him so much and if given the opportunity would welcome him permanently with no hesitation.
Adding a fourth kid into the mix has definitely created some additional strain on an already full schedule with parental visitations, and occupational & speech therapy. Despite our increasing schedule fullness, prior to our starting fostering and even more so after, we have been blessed to share in some pretty awesome experiences in 2018. I could write forever about how proud I am of each of my kids and share forever of all of the wonderful stories we’ve shared together in 2018. The following are a couple highlights. In early 2018, our family spent several days escaping to central Washington for a snow packed adventure in a quiet cabin. The kids got so worn out sledding that Hazel actually fell asleep in the sled while walking back. Then she fell out and was so preciously confused. Later in May, we spent a week in Loreto, MX. The wildlife there and weather was unbelievable. We saw a pod of pilot whales and rode in a boat next to dolphins playing in the waves, saw tons of sting rays, crabs, seals, and all forms of birds. All of our kids absolutely loved the nightly performances put on by the resort staff. During the summer, the crew and I went camping several times and solidified that Calvin can quite possibly eat more s’mores than most could ever dream of. We especially liked Jarrell Cove State Park. The Group Site there was so cool. To cap off the summer, the fam spent a week in Lincoln City and made the most of the beautiful Oregon cost. While Georgia, danced in the ocean like the water was not 45 degrees, we flew kites, dug castles, and raced around the tide pools.
Eric is just shy of spending his sixth year at the amazon corporate office. 2018 was like each of the previous years: very busy, challenging however rewarding. Eric tells me that each year is going to be better than the last. Even though the demands of amazon can at times be very high, we were blessed to have him home every night save a couple weeks of travel in 2018 to India, and Denver. In 2019, Eric is continuing to grow his team in Hyderabad India and will travel there in early February to meet some of the newest members of his group.
I am loving the rhythm of life as a mom and home school teacher to all of our kids. Creating memories at home while living in the day to day is priceless to me. I am so impressed with Calvin and how inquisitive and passionate about learning he is. Calvin is in his second year as a cub scout and loves it. Eric and Calvin will be spending a weekend at winter camp in a couple weeks up by Crystal Mountain. Georgia is so excited to be learning how to read, practice art, dance, loves to ride her bike with no training wheels and do everything that makes up 5-year-old sweetness. Hazel is immeasurably cute. She’s currently working on earning a master’s degree in melting hearts. The girls started ballet in the fall and are currently loving it. Hazel “pony gallops” all over the house now. Recently the three of us girls got all “dolled up” and went to the nutcracker together. What a special memory. I and the kids love our co-op community and the once per week gathering is a really fun way to add variety to the week and make great friends. Plus we have great field trips!
We parted ways with our Bonney Lake home purchased in 2007 and rented out for the last five years. After buying our first home in April ’07 the housing market crashed two months later. It’s been an 11 year journey that included at one point our home having lost ½ of its volume. Finally in 2018, we were able to recover our losses and a little more. That said, it was not the investment we had hoped for! We considered renting for longer as the demand was very high and we were making some money but opted to sell as several major expenses related to the homes age were not far in the future (roof, furnace, paint etc.).
Our family continues to be actively involved with the Mission Church in Renton. Sharing life with such wonderful people has truly been such an immense blessing during these last few years. As I write this message, we’re eagerly anticipating the Christmas Nativity Performance upcoming on the 23rd in which Georgia and Hazel are angels and Calvin a shepherd.
Merry Christmas to you and a happy new year. Looking forward to living life together in 2019!
Shana
