Day 11- Manoa Falls Trail

 

We started the day with a hike on the Manoa Falls Trail. It was a bit anticlimactic when we finally reached the 150-foot falls, and it was more of a trickle, but it was still a sight to behold. The Manoa waterfall was featured in Jurassic Park. Every time we drive somewhere we see the dense Hawaii forests so it was really neat to be in it. The first thing we noticed were all the sounds. I think it was mostly birds… we did spot a cockatoo way up high in a tree. The photos do not do it justice but I will share some anyway. The yellow flowers and the photos of Bekah and David are from later today. We didn’t get into the ocean but we did go for a walk on the beach and the kids had lots of pool time.

Day 10 Church & Market

 This morning we went to a farmers market before heading to church at Kailua Baptist. The market was neat but like all things in Hawaii it was expensive. It would have been fun to get breakfast there but we had already eaten so we opted for some german pretzels (I can't resist a bread pretzel).

The church service was nice and the people were very welcoming. It is always interesting to see what other churches are doing. There was a corporate confession which I would add to every worship gathering if I was in the position to do so. The service was all outlined in a printed booklet with helpful hints that I appreciated as a visitor. They noted that most people received the benediction with open palms... just things you wouldn't know if you didn't regularly attend.

After church we made some lunch and then headed to the beach for some more body surfing. I didn't last long... (my abs have been sore, I think it might be from the beach walking/running but I could really feel it in the waves).

Next we visited "Book Ends" which we thought might be similar to a chapters but it turned out to be a used book store. I have a confession... I don't like used book stores. I'm sorry... I hope we can still be friends. It's just messy and smelly and hard to find things. I know many people who would love to spend hours getting lost in a used book store... to me the thought just evokes panic.

There was a Donut King right next door so we picked up a dozen donuts for dessert and played the donut game (everyone is assigned a card number... in this case Ace through Jack and when your card comes up you pick a donut... we go youngest to oldest so Naomi is usually the ace unless we are playing with my niece or nephews).

Everyone has gone to bed early because we are waking up early to do a hike.

Day 9 Makapu'u Lighthouse Walk

 

This morning started with a 3.6 km beach run before sunrise. The rest of the crew was out of the house early too so we could take in the sights of the lighthouse walk. We did get to see some whales surfacing and spouting in the distance.

After lunch it was back to the beach. The boys had a red crested cardinal visit them in their room. We did some shopping at Target. After dinner we watched Moana (Naomi's pick). And somehow everyone managed to be in bed around 8:30pm. I think we were all exhausted from the morning walk and another day at the beach.

Day 8- More Snorkelling in Lanikai

 This morning Jonathan and I went back to Lanikai Beach to do some more snorkeling with Samara and Rebekah. This beach is close by but you can't park near it so Jonathan had to drop us off and then walk. I would love to squeeze another morning in here if we can. I like snorkeling where it is not very deep and this beach is perfect. I saw some beautiful yellow fish but I accidentally switched off video and it didn't turn out. The collage is screenshots from the underwater video I was taking because that seems to work better than taking underwater photos. I just use a waterproof cell phone bag which works pretty good.

After lunch we had some beach time and everyone just had some quiet time in the afternoon. I finished my audiobook "Where the Crawdads Sing." Since we hit the half way mark yesterday I am feeling a bit of pressure to try to see as much as we can see, also we might not be able to be in the ocean for the last few days here because of potential jelly fish. Definitely slowing down on the picture taking. We did feed some birds this morning and I will share a picture of one of the wild roosters that has been hanging around (there are wild roosters and chickens EVERYWHERE).

(*Turns out the Jelly Fish issue wasn't an issue on the side of the Island we were staying on).

Day 7 Hawaii Half Way

 

The sunrise was exceptional this morning. There was almost no wind compared to other mornings. Jonathan and I, David and Joshua went out in the kayaks. We just had to get over the first few waves and then it was smoother sailing. The sensation of the swells wasn't for everyone. David decided once was enough. Coming back in was challenging. We laughed when the boys capsized thinking we were going to do so much better but we also were tossed into the sea on the first big wave near the shore. It was fun before we went overboard.

Other than the kayak adventure it was a typical relaxing day of pool and ocean... ocean and pool. Other than the sunrise I didn't take many pictures today. Sometimes its nice to have a vacation from picture taking too. 😁

As of today we have had seven days in Hawaii and we have seven more days to go. I feel like we are going to blink and it will be over. The first week has certainly gone by fast. So thankful for the time we have had so far to relax, explore, and soak up some sun. 

Day 6 Shave Ice & Hula

 

This morning was a relaxing one. In the afternoon we headed back into Wikiki for some Hawaiian Shave Ice and a Hula Show at the Shopping Centre. Joshua seems to have swimmers ear so amidst the business and fun we are trying to get him feeling better. Hoping he feels better in the morning or we will be navigating a trip to the clinic. Poor guy!

Day 5 Snorkeling at Lanikai Beach

 

This morning was the best sunrise so far. It was a beautiful start to another beautiful day. For todays adventure we drove to a nearby beach to snorkle. It was the perfect spot. I took some photos of the fish but they didn't turn out. We will definitely make plans to spend another morning swimming with the fish. We also got to soak up some sun, watch some birds and spend some time by the pool. It was warmer today so hopefully none of us are too pink in the morning. I think we are staying on BC time which means we are up early and to bed early Hawaii time. It is nice for enjoying the sunrises and we are all pretty tired by the end of the day. 

Day 4- Beach Bums

Today we were planning to go snorkelling but we ended up needing to run some errands and have a relax day. Everyone was tired from yesterdays adventures and it was showing in attitudes. Thankfully after lunch was much better. 

I did manage a slow 3km sunrise run barefoot on the beach. We went to Target and Safeway and picked up some souvenir mugs from starbucks. Otherwise it was alternating beach and pool time and playing Exploding Kittens and Art Society which is fast becoming a new favourite.

We finished off the evening with the olders watching Dune Part 2.... and I blogged and listened to my audiobook (Where the Crawdads Sing). Looking forward to finishing off the night in the hot tub.

Day 3- Church on the beach

Today we woke up early again to watch the sun rise. We walked towards it for about 15 minutes. We got caught in some tropical rain on the way back. It has been so nice starting the day this way. It's not something we would think to do or make time for at home during our regular schedules.

After breakfast we headed out to Wikiki for Church on the beach. As we were waiting for the service to start, we saw a beautiful rainbow. There were some shells sounded to signify the start of the service. There was a hula dance to the Lord and we sang God Bless America... otherwise it was pretty similar to our church service back home.

After church, we walked towards the cheesecake factory... yum! I had a mac n' cheese burger and tiramisu cheese cake to go. Stopped at ABC on the way back, and the kids had fun picking out some souvenirs.

We got back around 2:30 and had some pool and beach time and everyone is pretty tired but we all had a lovely day. Tomorrow, we are going to attempt some snorkelling.

Day 2- Down Time

This morning some of us woke up early to watch the sun rise on the beach. It was nice to sit in the sand with a cup of tea. Day 2 was similar to yesterday but a few of us went to Costco.  It was neat to see the different things including chocolate covered pineapple gummi bears. Jonathan and David got Hawaiian shirts and I found a shirt, long sleeve bathing suit and flip flops. 

Angeline had a bit of fun with taking pictures underwater. She is getting the hang of surfing and Joshua just started to pick it up as well but I don't have any pictures yet. For a bit of inside time we watched the Barbie Movie which we have divided options on but I like it. It was nice to have another relaxing beach day but we are looking forward to an adventure tomorrow.

Day 1- New Place, New Board Game

                                       

Today was our first day, and we just took it easy, alternating between beach time and pool time. The waves were big, and we had a lot of fun riding them on bodyboards. Even David, who isn't normally a "beach guy," enjoyed spending some time in the ocean. Samara and Angeline attempted surfing. Naomi is getting pretty good at snorkelling (in the pool) and had fun playing in the sand. Everyone got a bit sun-kissed, so hopefully, by tomorrow, it will be fading to a tan. No Neufeld vacation is complete without board games, and we were super pleased to try "Art Society." It's a fun art-collecting game where you bid for art for your gallery and get points based on where you place different pieces of art. I had fun, but then again, I usually have fun when I win. 😁

Today was fun, relaxing and just overall a great first day.

                                          

Day 0- Travelling to Oahu, Hawaiii

We made it!

 It took us approximately 16 hours to make it to the place we are staying at in Oahu, Hawaii. Our journey started around 8:15am when we left to catch the 10:15 sailing to Tsawwassen. Once on the mainland we stopped at Tsawwassen Mills for a quick lunch and then headed for Vancouver Airport. There was no line getting our bag checked in and only a small line going through security and boarder control… though it did take a while to have all eight of us photographed. There was some confusion over Angeline and Samara and he asked if they were twins. We used to get that all the time when they were younger. Once we were through we waited for a bit at our gate and then took turns picking up some dinner at Tim Hortons (it never usually goes well ordering fast food for 8 people so we just divided up into 2 groups of 4). Once we finished an early dinner there wasn’t much longer until boarding so all in all the waiting of the day didn’t seem too bad considering that it was a whole day of waiting. It was a “hurry up and wait” sort of day. Waiting on the plane was probably the hardest and seemed the longest… about a six and a half hour flight. I don’t love flying (who does?) and it had been ten years since Jonathan and I were on a plane. Rebekah and David had both flown as toddlers, but it was a first flight experience for all the kids. It was neat to watch their excitement at take-off and landing. Landing was more challenging with three of them feeling unwell. Grammy and Grandpa met us at the Airport, which was super helpful because they got the luggage and took it to their rental car with the kids while we picked up the vehicle we rented for the week. At this point it was close to midnight “out time” and we were all beyond exhausted. Thankfully we only had about a 30 minute drive to our home for the next 2 weeks. Once beds were assigned, everyone settled in for the night, and I would say travel day was accomplished without a hitch, which feels like a pretty big accomplishment. So grateful for this opportunity to spend 2 weeks in the sun and sand of Hawaii. 

Christmas Letter 2024

Happy New Year! I hope that you had a lovely Christmas! I am going to back date this Christmas letter (it won't be the first time) as I had started a draft but am just getting around to completing and posting it and it is already January 4th, 2025!

I love reflecting on our last year and making plans for the new year but I always struggle with what exactly to share and how to fit a whole year into one letter. It is not my attempt to give the impression that the year went without a hitch... there are always ups and downs but I suppose it is only natural to want to highlight the milestones and special moments over the struggles and difficulties.

The biggest highlight for us this year was having our oldest son, David, graduate high school. As homeschoolers I often wondered about what the actual celebration would look like for us and I am so pleased with how it turned out. I hope to write about this in a separate post with all the individual details. For now I will just say he worked hard, succeeded and was celebrated. 

Another big highlight was David's Graduation Trip to Seattle where we took in some sights as well as a Twenty-One Pilots concert. I am so glad we started this tradition and I look forward to planning graduation trips with all of our kids as their turns come.

Summer highlights are usually the same for us year to year and this year was no exception. We did less camping than usual but we did enjoy Englishman River, Selah and Rathtrevor Beach. Selah was a first for us, a church camping trip and we look forward to adding this annually. We floated down the river in tubes, cooled off in the swimming hole, swung on the rope swing, played beach volleyball, had campfire time and so much more! Another summer favourite is spending time at Sproat Lake and it was so nice to do that again this summer. This year we got to see the Mars Bomber taxi on the lake and in flight but my favourite was when it taxied past us at Taylor Arm and we got to play in the huge waves it made.

Angeline and Samara are working quite independently with their online courses and are aiming to graduate in 2027. Rebekah, Joshua and Naomi are enjoying learning together with family unit studies by Gather Round. Next year we might just have the two littles doing unit studies together... its so strange having 2 in and approaching Grad Program. I have to say it wasn't easy when they were all "little" and needing me constantly. As much as I enjoy their independence I want to soak up all the little moments before they are all grown up. David is 18 and Naomi is 8!

In 2025 we are looking forward to a family vacation in Oahu, Angeline turning 16 and getting her learners licence, David turning 19, Rebekah will be a teenager, Joshua hit double digits last year, Samara has almost 2 years until her sweet sixteen, and Naomi will celebrate turning 9. Jonathan and I are not at milestone birthdays but we are celebrating 20 year of Marriage in October!

In the day to day (and week to week) there is badminton, curling, swimming lessons, ballet, running, Church, Bible Study, Jr. Youth and Youth Group. Before we know it another 52 weeks will have gone by and we will be anticipating plans for 2026!

Thank you to all our friends and family who walk with us and stick by us in both our struggles and our celebrations. Thank you for those who also share their moments with us.

Merry Christmas

           and

Happy New Year!

Love,

the Neufelds

Opa, this was the year we said our goodbyes (this side of heaven). We gathered for the celebration of your life with so many whose lives you touched. It was a special day as we celebrated the warmth your love brought to this world. We will cherish your love and your life well lived as we remember you always.

Christmas Letter 2023

     I missed last years Christmas Letter which has been my only annual update on this blog for too long! Before I miss this years I wanted to sit down and reflect on this past year as well as some of what we are looking forward to in 2024.

    The start of each year we tend to focus on school knowing that Spring brings warmer weather and more opportunities to be outdoors and adventuring. We continued with Gather Round Unit Studies and we are loving learning together. David has been doing his courses online and in September Angeline and Samara started their Science courses online as they get closer to grades 10 & 9. 

    I feel like our biggest news is that David is scheduled to graduate this June! I was trying to convince him to take his time and postpone grad a year but he is very motivated to finish "on time" and has been doing amazing with his heavy course load. Other big news for David is that he passed his Learners Drivers test and now has an "N." We were so proud that he passed first try but I'm not sure I was ready for him to take another step towards independence. He has spent the last 2 summers volunteering at Camp Bob and I believe that is his plan for this coming summer as well. Just like when he was a baby learning to roll over, crawl and then walk... I am feeling each progression to adulthood with a mixture of joy and sadness.

    Angeline, Samara and Rebekah worked on swimming lessons leading up to and through summer passing swimmer 6 with Rebekah and Angeline going on to pass Swimmer 7. They are currently waiting for Swimmer 8 to come up as an option at our local pool. Joshua made a lot of progress in swimming this year as well and was able to recently pass Swimmer 4. He is looking forward to Swimmer 5 in January. BIG news for Naomi is that she is finally actually tall enough to take Swimmer 1 (you have to be 3'9"... she is signed up for January. She only just managed to get out of her 5 point harness shortly before turning 7! I've used this line for her before but she continues to prove the saying that "good things come in small packages." The oldest 5 (and Jonathan) are all playing Badminton twice a week as well.

    I started working part-time in September as the Student Ministries Coordinator at our church. It has been a fun and challenging change. So thankful that Jon has been able to help more and more with homeschooling, especially MATH!

    Our summer highlights are the same things we look forward to every summer... mostly camping and time together at the lake. So thankful that we can spend so much time at the lake (my last swim was October 7th) ... can't wait to jump in again (but I will wait until May).

    I haven't sent cards out in years but we are thankful for those who have sent cards our way and we want to wish all our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2024.

Much Love,

the Neufelds

  

DRAFT- Christmas Letter 2021

*This is my Christmas Letter Draft for December 2021. I think it was the first year that I didn't blog a Christmas letter since I started when David was a baby. It's something I enjoy doing, even just as a way to summarize the year. I also didn't get 1 single Christmas Card out, which is something I also enjoy. I can say that I am busier than ever but I don't think that was it. Regardless I wanted to share my draft and wish you and yours a Happy 2022 and a Merry Christmas that lasts all year long. 

Much love, the Neufelds

     It's Christmas time! We are very happy to be heading into a more normal feeling Christmas, after experiencing quite a different, lonelier Covid Christmas last year. True, Covid is still part of our new reality but are heading into the season without restrictions and impending fines for gathering with loved ones during the holidays. 

    This year we have extra reasons to celebrate family as my brother, sister (in-law) and nephew moved to Port Alberni in the Spring. We have all been so happy to be able to get together with them on a more regular basis. It seems to have started a trend because Jonathan's parents and brother bought the house right next to us and moved in September so we now have parents/grandparents and a brother/uncle for neighbours! We count the blessing of family very high on our list and so just this news news alone has made 2021 a very blessed year.

    We continue to Homeschool our six children, Naomi started kindergarten in the fall so this is the first time officially educating 6 kids. For Grades 2-7 we are continuing to use the Gather Round Curriculum with the approach of learning the same unit study topics together and completing separate grade appropriate notebooks. In the new year we studied Oceans, Africa, Earth Science. Starting this school year we have learned about North America and we are just wrapping up a unit Study on the Human Body. In the New year we will be learning about South America... David is completing Grade 10 as online synchronous courses, most that have weekly class times on zoom. Naomi is working her way through Reading Eggs, completing fun phonetic learning games on an app and working on corresponding work pages.

    In other news David has just managed to grow taller than both Jonathan and I, that combined with my baby turning 5 has really hit me this season of life. They are all growing so much.

New Years Eve... Party of 8!

 

It has been many years since it has been “just us” on New Years Eve. We probably would have opted to countdown at 10pm and call it a night but the kids insisted that we stay up until midnight and have a party like we usually do even though we couldn’t have friends over to celebrate with us this year.

I would say the party portion of our New Years Eve started with our homemade pizza dinner. Josh and Rebekah decided to do a “cheese dance” and dance for cheese. This made David smile and even though he refused to dance for cheese he did say he would dance for pop... they then made a “pop dance”... when I asked if they would dance for video games they decided the video game dance would be the chicken dance and it was in that moment that I realized we didn’t need to have friends over to have a party.

After pizza we played some charades and then a few different board games broke out. After board games we watched “Soul” which took us almost all the way up to midnight. The movie had a lot of good reflections on life and we found it a good way to both say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021. We had just enough time to poor some bubbly into our glasses and count down. Then we shared toasts and took this fun family picture.

We certainly have missed gathering with family and friends over the holidays. When it’s just us it always feels quiet (though truthfully it isn’t without noise). This New Years Eve’s memories will be treasured in my heart as our “quiet” New Years with our Party of Eight.

Double Digits!

Samara turned 10! When I was pregnant with Samara we were wondering if she was going to be our last baby. We originally planned for 4 and Samara is number 4 but we hadn't factored in saying goodbye to our second born. So, while she is our 4th baby she would grow up as our 3rd. We also considered that she might be our last biological child, factoring in that our heart towards adoption was growing and before she was born we attended an adoption seminar. All this is being recounted to explain what I felt when she arrived. She was our fasted named child... moments after someone declared "It's a GIRL!" I announced... "her name is Samara Anne Marie Neufeld"... and Jonathan was not going to argue with me. I think the next thing I said was "I want 2 more." My heart just grew as I held my new baby girl.

Samara makes being a Mom easy. She is even tempered, helpful, studious, loves to read and in general is just easy to get along with. She also enjoys a lot of the same things I enjoy including Overcooked, board games, cooking and trail walks. This girl is beautiful on the inside! She is faithful and loving.

This year she hit double digits which is a little mind boggling even though I have had practice with this milestone already with David and Angeline. I really wanted her birthday to be special since we couldn't have people over for a celebration in light of the current pandemic restrictions. We set our table with china and had a special tea. It was a nice way to celebrate her special day (even though my french macaroons didn't turn out). Thank you to everyone who made her day special by sending cards, gifts, flowers, pictures and video's to let her know you were thinking about her.

To end her special day with a bang she wanted to play Lords of Waterdeep and she won! 

Love you Samara! You will forever make me want 2 more.

Keep being you, you are awesome!

 

Christmas Letter 2020

 

Stepping into 2020 we knew it was going to be a year of change which usually means adjustments and challenges but we had no idea what we were really in for and I haven't even got to the part about Covid yet.

For starters Jonathan had just began working from home as a Medical Transcriptionist. This has been a really good fit for him and for our family but it certainly presents a unique set of challenges. When David transitioned from Highschool back to Homeshcool in February I was especially thankful to have Jonathan working from home. With five school aged children to teach I had my hands full and he was a big help taking on the older three for Science and helping Angeline and Samara with their online Social Studies class. When our province shut down mid March we thought we had it made. The kids were all homeschooling anyway so nothing much changed there and Jonathan was working from home. However, Jonathan's contract was suspended for about 6 weeks due to a lack of work because of cancelled elective reports. It ended up being a blessing in disguise because we had all hands on deck to finish another successful school year and his contract was reinstated just in time to see us into summer break.

We were thankful to have more or less a typical summer. We were able to visit grandparents and go camping as a family at Rathtrevor Beach twice and Jonathan and I snuck in a few camping trip just the two of us as well. We had hoped to go on a road trip to Alberta but that was postponed. In September we geared up for a new adventure... switching our homeschool approach to a Unit Study based learning and a new curriculum called Gather Round.

So far this year we have completed units on North American Birds, Asia and Space. We have started a mini Unit on Christmas and will begin learning about Europe this month. The awesome thing about this is that we are all learning together as a family. Jonathan even takes a break from work to read through our lesson and watch video's with us. I love this aspect of it. I have learned a lot this year! After lesson time each kid had a workbook that is designed for their grade level. Math we do separately and David is doing an online Science course but the bulk of our learning we do together. David has had the opportunity to do a Highschool Coop in Parksville once a month, and we have a local homeschool group that we meet with (though currently that has had to switch to online). We have also started to do book clubs this year, and I personally LOVED reading Around the World in 80 days by Jules Verne. There is a satisfaction with each Unit we complete and we are always looking forward to the next one.

Our oldest 4 are enjoying curling and Jonathan is coaching, though we aren't curling as a couple this year. We have scaled back a lot on activities but we hope to be able to be able to get back to a more regular routine once this second wave settles down. David is now 14, Angeline 11, Samara 9 (for another week), Rebekah 8, Joshua 6 and Naomi 3 (for a few more weeks). They are all growing too fast. We are so thankful for each of them. Some memorable family moments include 8km bike ride to Cold Creek with our oldest 5, nature walks, favourite video games (Minecraft Dungeons & Overcooked 2), lots of board games with Wingspan being a new favourite, watching the Mandalorian with the oldest 3, an epic float race with pool noodle paddles and water polo.

This years milestone for us was celebrating our 15 year Wedding Anniversary. Though we weren't able to have a wine and cheese like we had planned we did have a lovely celebration and dinner out. Another accomplishment for us this year was reading through the Bible in 4 months which we just completed yesterday. It meant we set an alarm most mornings to start reading before the kids woke up but what started out as a struggle developed into a disciple and routine. It has been invaluable to start our day in God's word and we look forward to beginning a 1 year reading plan in January.

It has not been a perfect year and it has not been an easy year but it has been a good year. Christmas this year may not be what we planned. We may have to do without certain traditions. We may have to make some adjustments and new traditions but our reason for celebrating remains. 

May Hope, Peace, Love and Joy fill your hearts this Christmas and in the New Year.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Melissa & Jonathan

David, Angeline, Samara, Rebekha, Joshua, Naomi (& Onyx too)

Covid Christmas

Oh Covid 19! Regardless of how we feel about it, life has changed and Christmas is going to be different this year. We might fear it, loath it, or deny it but whatever our feelings are on the matter this virus is just not convenient.

As our province began shutting down this month I started to get anxious. Feelings and memories of my experience during the spring lock down began to overwhelm me. Frustration took over. That was my first response “oh no, here we go again.” I was thinking about Christmas and worrying over the very real possibility that for the first time ever Christmas would consist solely of me, my other half and our six children. Don't get me wrong... these are some of my favourite people but Christmas has always meant visiting extended family, cherished friends and celebrating with others who know the true meaning of Emmanuel.

As I reflected on what we wouldn't be able to do and how much it wouldn't be the same this year, the Christmas story started to scroll through my thoughts and I began to realize there are some similarities to the inconveniences of Covid Christmas that parallel with the very first Christmas.

Though Mary recognized the honour of being chosen to be the mother of God's son it wasn't easy for her. Unwed teen pregnancy and having to travel long distances for a census while 9 months pregnant would have definitely had its challenges. Not having a clean place to deliver the Messiah and being far from the comforts of home was certainly less than ideal. The challenges didn't stop after Jesus was born.

Perspective and thankfulness can both go a long way at helping us remember how blessed we are even when circumstances are challenging. I have good days where I can wrap my mind around this and bad days where I shed a few tears as I am waiting in a lineup. What comes to my mind when a friend shares similar struggles is “you are not alone” but it just feels wrong to say that because the reality is we are all alone, or are we?

This Christmas whether we end up being able to celebrate with family and friends or not let's remember to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, Emmanuel... “God with us.” We are never alone.

(This was a reflection I wrote for our Homeschool Paper, the AVEC Gazette, November issue)