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)

Christmas Letter 2019

Christmasing began earlier than usual this year at the Neufelds. We put up our tree on November 1st and read through our advent devotional together. Every few days we would unpack another box and set up our village, lights, and Nativity. Decorating in smaller chunks brought us more joy, and I can see it becoming an annual tradition. It also takes us more than 25 days to make it though our advent devotional so it's nice to feel less rushed during this busy time of year.

Our fall highlights mostly relate to activities and education, which I will attempt to squeeze in to the following two paragraphs:

David is in his first year of Highschool and has been excelling in Band, playing the trumpet.  Joshua is rocking kindergarten like we knew he would. He learned to read over summer break and recently discovered a new super power (colour blindness). Angeline is enjoying online classes for the first time. Samara is progressing in her independence, and Rebekah is now reading chapter books. It has been an adjustment homeschooling 4 for the first time, but we are proud of all that they have learned and accomplished. I am really looking forward to setting up a proper homeschool space for term 2, in efforts to negate spreading our learning "mess" all over the dinning room. Jonathan is about to graduate from his schooling. We are all proud of the balancing he does between his education and being an amazing Dad and husband. His accomplishments this year include being a member of a Virtual Conference Strategy Task Force and being featured in a magazine. He is looking forward to starting to work before the month is up.

Curling is quickly becoming a family sport. Jonathan continues to help coach the juniors which David and Angeline are both taking part in. He is also skip now to team Neufeld with my Mom and I. It should be noted that having to curl with your wife AND mother in law at the same time is no small feat. Samara has plans to start curling as well, hopefully in January if her gymnastics schedule permits. She started gymnastics in September and has really been enjoying it. That brings us to our second major sport of the year. Rebekah and Joshua are also enjoying gymnastics. When we asked Naomi if she wanted to do curling or gymnastics next year she replied "BALLET!" Ever since Angeline started a ballet class this fall Naomi has been wanting nothing more then her own ballet slippers. I'm just wanting her to potty train, hopefully this Christmas break.
We are all looking forward to more camping, as well as an Alberta family vacation and reunion in the summer.

2019 has brought with it many new adventures, blessings, and challenges and 2020 promises more change. Through it all we move forward with grateful hearts. Thankful for each other, for family, and friends who help out and add warmth, love, and meaningfulness to our everyday lives.

We wish you a simplified year with less distractions and more purpose.
Merry Christmas and Happy 2020.
From our Family to Yours,
the Neufelds

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.

Naomi is 9 months!

Naomi is 9 months old! She weighs 15 lbs. She  has started standing on her own. She cruises. She eats solid foods. She drinks from a straw. She waves hello and bye-bye. She crawls up stairs.
She LOVES and is LOVED by her family.

The last 3 months have been a little bit busier than normal with our move to Vancouver Island but it has been good. I'm thankful to have taken a few moments to capture these "official" 9 month pictures. I know that next time I blink we are going to be celebrating 1 year.

Naomi's 3 month pictures

flickr.com

flickr.com

I am late posting Naomi's 3 month pictures and I was a little late taking them too. I did manage to squeeze in a photo shoot before her third month turned into her fourth. Soon enough she will be 5 months old. You can see from these pictures that she was happily smiling.