Christmas Letter 2018

It's December 1st and I am posting our Christmas Letter on time which feels like an accomplishment in itself. We have a lot to celebrate in 2018 as we prepare to ring in the New Year. Like any other year it hasn’t been without it’s challenges but we can even celebrate the hard times when we reflect and see how they allow us to grow. It feels like a huge year of growth for all of us.

One if he biggest changes this year was Jonathan's decision to go back to school to become a Medical Transcriptionist. He started the 1 year program in September and it took a while for us to find a balance. Some weeks are more challenging than others but all in all we are loving the flexibility of schooling from home which will be very similar to working from home when he graduates. When we moved a year and a half ago he was hoping to "do something different"... studying Healthcare Documentation has certainly proven to be different and is allowing his skills to be expanded and used in new and different ways. We are so proud of him.

This year I had the opportunity to attend a Christian Homeschool Conference in Kelowna for the first time. It was such a valuable experience that it left me wondering why I waited into my 7th year of homeschooling to attend. I am looking forward to attending again in the Spring. I have a new found love for indoor plants and am expanding my collection. I’ve also found a new appreciation for art, through teaching art and have started my own drawing sketch book (in my spare time so you can imagine how many pages are filled). 

David continues in his love of reading and has read through the Harry Potter series and is now reading the Lord of the Rings. Spring through Fall he made some extra $$ mowing lawns and now he volunteers as a Library Helper at school. This fall he joined the Jr. Curlers league and has been enjoying learning a new sport. He enjoys reminding us that by his next birthday we will be parents to a TEENAGER, something we are still wrapping our minds around.

Angeline will be turning 10 in the Spring. She is blossoming into a lovely young lady with the occasional bit of pre-teen ATTITUDE. I would get on her case about her eye rolls but she probably learned that from me. We are constantly thankful that she jumps in to help without being asked. She enjoys playing Lego and Shoppies and she loves art, choir, playing "Donkey Kong" and board games.

Samara turns 8 next week. We are proud of her decision to join choir despite the fact that performing is not her "thing." She has a beautiful singing voice and enjoys the weekly rehearsals. Samara is more "behind the scenes" than her older and younger sisters. She is loyal and caring and quite witty when you get a glimpse behind the shyness. She is clever at math and strategy games. She is a good mix of competitive and kind.

Rebekah is our bubbling 6 year old. I love that she frequently jumps up and down when she is happy about something. Her joy is contagious. She is loving homeschooling and has learned a lot in her first few months of Grade 1. She definitely finds herself "stuck in the middle" and can often be heard saying "I don't know if I am big or little!?" She is looking forward to her first choir performance tomorrow night, singing in Wee Glee with her two older sisters at the Capitol Theatre.

Joshua is now 4 going on 8. He is our most helpful four year old so far and can vacuum, sweep, fold laundry, wash dishes and help prepare meals. He can often be found in his Batman shirt and mostly switches between that and his Batman pyjamas. He likes to earn points towards screen time by doing chores but is also motivated just to be a nice guy. He loves to laugh and make others laugh. He lives life to the fullest.

Naomi loves singing, listening to stories and playing with play-dough. She is working towards giving up nap time and hopefully soon will be potty trained. She seemed to transform from baby to toddler over night. She turns 2 in 2 weeks. She's not a big fan of the camera so we haven't yet been able to capture her rendition of "twinkle, twinkle" and she often frowns for pictures or anything else that isn't her idea. She is strong willed and a tease and right now her favourite word is "NO!"

Onyx turned 1 at the end of August. She is a good dog! We are happy that we made the decision to get a puppy last fall. She still gets excited when we have company and will sometimes jump up but is improving as she continues to mature. She is supper good with the kids and I wouldn't get out for my walks without her.

Our highlights are often the same year to year. We LOVE CAMPING and look forward to increasing the time we spend in a tent each year. We also love hiking and spending time at the Lake. We LOVE playing board games, drinking tea and sitting by the fire (indoors and out). We look forward to making new memories and spending time with loved ones. 

One new tradition we started this year was to let the kids pick a family outing rather than give them a birthday gift. I thought it might take some time to win them over to this idea but he kids have all enjoyed choosing an activity and spending time together as a family. We have enjoyed swimming at the Nanaimo Pool, Mini Golf and Bumper Boats and we are looking forward to ice skating, more swimming.... and an ice cream date at our local creamery. Everyone is looking forward to continuing this tradition in the New Year and for many more years to come.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love,

the Neufelds

Melissa, Jonathan, David, Angeline, Samara, Rebekah, Joshua, Naomi & Onyx

PS- I hope to post a family picture soon... that is one things on the never ending to do list that we haven't conquered yet.

Summer 2018

     We were looking forward to starting the month of July off with the Canada Day Parade, a BBQ at our church and Fireworks but our littles were under the weather and so our Canada Day was very uneventful. Thankfully they had a speedy recovery and we squeezed lots of fun in the rest of the month. Here is just a few highlights...
     To start it off we spent a week at Grammy & Grandpa's house in Langley. We enjoyed plenty of time outdoors, in the pool and with the chickens! It was great to visit Bethany Baptist and have lunch with the Kerby's. They introduced us to a new game (new to me, I think Jon had played it once before) called "Dominion" which we will likely add to our own collection soon.
We also had a lovely BBQ dinner at the Schunters. It was so nice catching up!
     When we returned to the Island it was time for "Shipwrecked Kids Camp." This was a whole family event for us. It was a great week. The kids made some awesome crafts (fav's were drawing on t-shirts, a lighthouse and a parrot). My highlight was just hanging out at Blair Park one evening with the Summer Camp crew. The kids highlights were Gaga Ball and the Bouncy Castle. Jonathan braved leading the Pre-School group and everyone made some new friends along the way.
     We also managed to squeeze in some hikes, park time, lake days, dinners with friends and a visit from the cousins in Victoria.
     August was packed with so much fun that it flew by with the warm summer breeze. Rebekah turned 6 (even though I asked her kindly not to)... more on that in a separate post. Jonathan's sister and family visited from England and it was so much fun showing them our new home and some of the rest of Port Alberni too (Harbour Quay, Twin Cities, MountainView Bakery and the Hole on the Wall). We were able to return with them for a second Langley visit, take in a family reunion, catch up and soak up all the time and memories we could. Between the Lake and Grammy's Pool the kids developed amazingly in their swimming skills and water comfort levels. Another summer highlight was Joshua cannon balling down the waterslide. My littlest man never ceases to amaze me and is constantly entertaining at the least. Our littlest littlest Naomi spent the summer doing her best to keep up with her siblings and she always does a good job of that. This was true during a family outing to Parksville Mini Golf (David's Birthday Pick). The big kids and I (you have to be a certain hight) also did Bumper Boats for the first time.... but definitely not the last. Fun, fun and more fun.
     We also attended a Bullhead Derby where the kids had fun catching fish. It was probably an hour before Joshua caught the first 3. Once he hooked one he had it down! Everyone except Samara caught something but she landed the first prize so she was happy about that. Joshua also won a prize.
     Bringing all the fun around full circle we were able to end the summer with a picnic at the Harbour Quay and a spectacular oceanfront view of the Labour Day Fireworks with our good friends the Zvonars. It was cold and windy but truly magical. Thought we didn't quite check everything off our Summer Fun To Do List we did have an amazing few months and we are feeling truly blessed heading into Fall.
     We hope you all enjoyed your summers as well as our summer update and we wish you a Happy Fall.

June 2018

     I am trying something new... monthly blog updates as a response to update requests from family and friends. I do enjoy writing and keeping a record of memorable moments and milestones so I am going to attempt to do this on the last day of each month (even though this is being posted half way through July).

     June was a full month like all the months seem to be at this stage in our journey. Angeline, Samara and Rebekah wrapped up their homeschool year on June 8th so we have already been in summer mode for quite some time. They are now ready to head into grades 4, 3 and 1 and we are looking forward to another year of homeschooling beginning in September. Grade 4 may possibly be Angeline's last year Homeschooling as we are planning to apply for her to enroll in late 

Entry  French Immersion for her Grade 5 year. I will be booking Rebekah's kindergarten Grad pictures soon... a tradition we have enjoyed with her 3 older siblings. I know the day will come all too soon when each of their kindergarten grad pic adorn my wall along with their High School graduation pictures. We are too often reminded how quickly children grow into young adults. I certainly do want them to grow into adults but somewhere amongst the chaos I want to take the time to enjoy these precious years while their laughter fills the walls of our home.

     David's last day of Grade 6 was also his last day being 11. (Happy Birthday!) If you follow us on facebook you may have already read my boastings of his scholarly accomplishments... but as any proud Mama should I will gladly boast again that he is exceeding expectations in most subjects. Most of all I am proud of how well he handles such a transitionary year living in a new town, making new friends, starting public school, learning a new language and all the challenged that come along with being in grade 6.

     Mid month Naomi hit her 1/2 Birthday and is now 18 months. I may post official 18 month pictures at a later date or in my July update but for now I will include a more candid shot. Naomi LOVES her soother and so we are not surprised that her vocabulary seems a bit slow to start. She can say a handful of words and names several of her siblings but as the month progressed she has started to use words more frequently and gets praised for using words rather than grunts and pointing... however cute it may be. Some words include "Dad, Mom, Wow, Mara, Apple, Up, Uh-Huh, Oh-Oh."

     Joshua continues to astound us with his vocabulary. We love the new words he adds weekly and uses in context. He adores his siblings and his special role as big brother to "Nomi." He enjoys our family hikes and playing outdoors. He longs for the day he can ride a petal bike but in the mean time does his best to keep up on his run bike. 

      Our family pet, Onyx is now 10 months old. She is a Blue Healer Cross and weighs about 145 lbs. Just this last month she became even more vocal. She sounds like a big dog when she barks. She likes to while and growl to communicate her wants, likes and dislikes. She has recently begun to realize that she needs to "ask" for people food if it has been left within her grasp by one of the littles. She will sit starring at it until Jon or I notice... and if we don't notice she will likely whine a "please." She is smart, affectionate, obedient (for the most part) and great with the kids. We love her to bits.

      We squeezed a lot of fun... some of the extra special highlights include our 3rd annual camping trip to Rathtrevor with Nana and Papa... this time my cousin Rene joined us with his 2 youngest, Pearl and William. 1st time Mini Golfing ever for our middle 4 in Parksville. A visit from our Sunshine Coast friends, the Poons. Camp Bob Open House (near Campbell River)... and Water Park time at Roger Creek.

   We tried a few new recipes this month that are worth noting. I was able to use the mini cheesecake pans I got for my birthday and made oreo cheesecakes... the best part was the chocolate whipping cream on top! I can't believe I have lived 35 years and never thought to add cocoa powder to my whipping cream. We also made Nanaimo Bar cupcakes which were really tasty!
     Now that it's mid July I need to start working on my July update that I am hoping to Post August first. I hope that your summers are just as filled with adventure and time spent with loved ones.

10 years ago...

I don't write as often as I used to but today I wanted to take a few moments and write down some of my thoughts and reflections. It has been 10 years since the single most difficult day of my life, the day my son died in my arms. The day I handed his small, lifeless body over to a stranger, knowing I would never hold him again.
It's not a day for cake. It's a day for tears. It's a day that I feel very alone no mater how many people surround me.
A lot has changed in the last decade. When Noah died I was almost 25 years old. I had been married for 2 years. I was really just figuring out being a grown up, a wife and a mom. I was trying so hard to get it right. To handle it well. Sometimes it all felt like a bad dream... like it wasn't really happening.
Ten years later I can tell you it really happened. I don't need to be pinched. His pictures hang on my wall and on a day like today I can almost feel his softness, smell his baby smell and hear his little sounds. But more than that I can almost see him standing next to his big brother David. As much as I want my son back for me, sometimes I wish David could have his brother back more.
Even though no good comes from the what if's and if only's, a lot of good has come from the time we shared together and from the ten years that have passed. A lot of grieving, crying, sadness and a lot more love, perspective, and thankfulness.
So even though it goes without saying, I miss my son. I wish he was here. I still grieve my loss and I always will.
And when Naomi is teething and wakes up more times than I can count Noah is here reminding me to be thankful for the middle of the night moments to comfort her. And when Joshua gets away with something in his cute 3 year old way it's because I waited years wondering if I would have another son to love. And it's why as a family when we can chose TIME  with each other over anything else in this world and we MAKE MEMORIES.
So thank you Noah for the memories. The movements and kicks when I was growing you in my tummy. Your first cry, loud and strong as you were born into this world. And the 28 days we held you, fed you and loved you on this earth. And thank you for the last 10 years that even when you couldn't be physically present in our family you are still so much a part of the way we live and the way we love.