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