M-I-C-A-H...this was the year that Micah started preschool! Finally! He'd been waiting FOREVER to join the ranks of school kids. He wore out his rain boots, as they were the best brakes for his Strider bike, bearing holes in each of the soles. He was big enough to sleep over at other houses--mainly G'ma and Papa's and the Van Sickles. This was his first year of swimming lessons at Miss Cindy and Leslie's and he had no fear and quickly started swimming under water, no problem! His loves this year have been making crafts at preschool, helping with any adult task (planting the garden, making the coffee, mowing the lawn), and swinging any weapon he can (mainly the Maui hook and the pink recorder that whips around ninja-style). And this year he also created a high-pitched "whistle" to let us know he's entered the room.
J-O-S-H-U-A...this was the year that Josh entered 2nd grade. He loves school, and is very friendly, calling out to friends as he enters the building. This year Josh found a love for riding his bike over jumps out at Riverside State Park. He could do this for hours! We also got into Star Wars, watching all of the episodes starting last winter. This was the year that reading clicked for Josh--Dogman was a highlight and HP #1 was read at first with Mom and then on his own. He played soccer with Kai again and insisted on wearing shorts all the way to November and athletic pants on the less fortunate days.
G-R-A-C-E...this was the year that Grace entered 4th grade. Harry Potter has been her highlight (err, obsession?) and her preferred reading pastime. The online assessment assured her that she is a Hufflepuff, through-and-through. She loved any time she could have with the Van Sickle girls, and started playing soccer on a new team that included some church friends. This year Grace grew in her responsibility, as she worked so hard to have 5 piano practices each week--she did it! She also started Quest this year and Math is Cool. She loves to pester her parents, teasing her dad about being old and asking her mom constantly if she's crying.
2017 was the year that Pappy passed away. On an early January day, school was called off and we sledded down the Lochhead hill at Drew's as Pappy slipped on into the next. And even though we knew he was in pain and was better off with Jesus, we felt a stinging loss. His funeral in January and his burial in the fall were treasured time with family. Micah and I started seeing Granny regularly this year--Mondays were filled with cookie time with this lady.
This was the year that Linnea left for LA and Kaitlyn left for world travel, Salem, and eventually Austria. We didn't like either of these goodbyes, but got better at sending packages and using FaceTime. This was also the year that we traveled to Denver with Julie to experience Rocky Mountain National Park, and got to see Christina while we were there.
This was the year that Jeff lost and then found his ring on top of Mt. Spokane, the year that our basement bedroom got flooded from the kitchen drain, and the year that we started creating the bathroom in the basement. We also got a new roof, and felt so grateful for our home-owner's insurance!
We got to see Elton John with my family over my birthday weekend, and Jeff surprised me with a Staycation in lovely downtown Spokane. Men in Blazers came to Seattle and Jeff got to go see them, and this was the year that our Zags were in the final game of the NCAA tournament! A Dispatch concert in November checked a concert off our bucket-list, and we sang along to the Something's Rotten and La La Land soundtracks for much of the year.
This year Dad fully recuperated from his neck surgery and Colleen had a knee procedure in the fall. Katie's family had their first full year here and we got used to seeing each other more often. Jeff had therapy for his frozen shoulder earlier in the year, and was lucky enough to get a couple of cysts removed as the year ended.
It has been a good year for our family--celebrations of growth and change mixed in with bittersweet moments of loss. We are so grateful for all that we were given! Now--off to print our next installment of memories!
