Christmas Letter 2013

In 2013, we

cuddled baby Kate; read "Ralph" (Moody) books aloud; waited for spring to come; spent time at the lake in January for Grandma Elvi and Grandpa Curt and Aunt Amy to meet baby Kate; prayed for endurance and patience, wisdom and strength to parent three little blessings; prayed for spring to come; worked on house plan details; wrestled; thanked God as He provided a new job for Peter; danced to music in the living room; jumped for joy eternal when David prayed to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior; tapped box elder trees on our land for sap and made our own maple syrup; waited for spring to come; sledded down hills; ordered seeds for our garden; wondered if spring would come; planted garden; worked on the house; romped in the sun at Grammie and Grandpa's lake; watched the boys play and become best friends; learned to rely on God more; worked on the house; ordered 150 baby chicks and 16 turkeys; weeded the garden once or twice; made chokecherry jelly and grape jelly from berries on our land; delighted in hearing Kate's laugh; built chicken coops; enjoyed visits with friends; pushed kids in big swing over the coulee on our land; were blessed by so many family and friends lending a hand in house building; praised God for answered prayers of protection and multiplying Peter's time in house building; learned to paddleboard; worked on the house; went to the Bismark zoo and Medora musical with Grama Barb and whole family; forgave each other and asked God's forgiveness and were grateful ever-more for His grace; thrilled in the little daily noises of boys driving trucks and baby girl's pitter-patter crawling and cooing; played baseball in the backyard; rode bikes plenty and fell off plenty too; butchered chickens and turkeys; experimented making chicken stock using chicken feet; smiled at silly things the boys said; worked on the house; harvested garden; (if you've know us for a long time, you may want to sit down for this next one): started drinking coffee!;  taught boys how to work hard in garden picking and then selling to make money to buy Legos; learned how much the boys love hiking when we took them to Theodore Roosevelt National Park; baked and cooked with the boys; made seasoned meat out of Peter's deer; enjoyed visit from Great Grandma Theresa and Grandma and Grandpa from Texas; kiddos got to meet their Uncle Phil when he came for a visit to ND; snuggled a new nephew (Josiah William Letvin); looked forward to marking 9 years of marriage on Dec. 30; spent our first night in our house on Nov. 1 (camping style:); reveled in God's continued provision, grace, and unconditional love for us as He pours good gifts on us daily, 

while...

David: 

  
turned 5 years old, enjoyed his second year of Cubbies (a Bible club at church), suffered a concussion from a fall off his Strider bike, took swimming lessons twice and got really good at holding his breath under water for a long time, loved his first summer going to Vacation Bible School, nuzzled baby Kate's head and nicknamed her "sugar factory"...because "she's so sweet", explored our land and climbed trees, fell in love with hiking, played with friends, helped Daddy build the house, picked beans and helped harvest our garden, was genuinely a joy and help as he is our steady, content-in-every circumstance boy.

and Jonah:

learned to ride a Strider bike, used his "banger" at the house to help Daddy build, chased chickens, played "dead bear" with Daddy, potty trained (himself, mostly...blessed mama, I know:), did whatever David did, showed concern about where Kate was at all times, enjoyed baking with mama, fell of the Strider bike and scraped up his face the day after David got his concussion, drove trucks, learned how to also be helpful and do chores, snuggled mama,  loved playing at Grammie and Grandpa's lake, was so cute we could hardly stand it, turned 3 years old, and was genuinely a gift as he began talking more and we learned about his bold, affectionate, sensitive, expressive character.

and Kate:

was adored by all; began to roll, crawl and walk; stole our heart with her laugh; was content to crawl around and amuse herself...as long as at least one person is in the room with her; adopted a pink teddy/blankey as her special snuggle bedtime toy; learned some sign language; grew REALLY fast; played with trucks and soft stuffed animals; ate dirt, bugs, grass and whatever crumbs she could find on the floor; did "baby chores"...our term for emptying out cabinets, drawers and baskets; turned 1 year; and was genuinely a blessing as our baby girl delighted us while witnessing all her "firsts".

Merry Christmas to all!

Love, The Letvins