Dear 2019,
You brought so many gifts. You were a year of family, of togetherness, of being outside, of watercolors and sidewalk chalk, of pizza party movie nights, and an entire summer in the swimming pool.
Dad came to stay at the Braniff Bed and Breakfast for six weeks while working in Montgomery. It was so wonderful to have breakfast with him and then send him off to work, to eat together in the evenings and play or read or talk for hours. He gave us a tour of his recycling plant and kept our blender full of smoothie makings. Mom, Megs, Ash, and Mason joined him at the end of January and we celebrated birthdays with lots of balloons, chocolate bars, ice cream cake, and a very botched angel food cake that never got it's pink buttercream frosting.
Mom and dad came back in April for Liam's baptism, in November for Thanksgiving, and then the day after Christmas for a week because they have a serious Braniff addiction ... and we are nooooot complaining!
Tim and Sandy moved to Alabama! And it took about two seconds to get used to having them down the street. Chris and Andrea came to visit during the summer and then came back to see us at Christmas.
Liam turned eight. After so much thinking and praying and talking, He received an answer to his prayer and decided to be baptized. Liam went underwater for the first time. He started reading chapter books on his own, playing Zelda, and eating eight tacos in one sitting.
Gwyn turned six. Learned how to ride on two wheels. Started reading! Added a million more unicorns to her stuffy family. Became a mermaid, started swimming, and ate all the crusts off our pizza.
Ellie decided to ditch her diapers, quite suddenly one morning just after turning three, and never looked back. She started flying on her balance bike, asked to paint every day, and was always by my side mixing and chopping and toasting and flipping and pouring with me.
Sean turned 37 and started his new job this year. He fell in love with the work, the people, the questions, the lectures and seminars and books. He was published in a major journal. He built guitars, kept all of his fingers, and tripled his tools.
We spent a lot of time this year exploring the creek, the playground, the zoo, and the library. Most mornings were for drawing pictures of or acting out favorite scripture stories, learning to sweep and emptying the dishwasher, playing math games, writing letters, and reading books. This was the year of the garden pots, rainy walks, and bird feeders. This year I learned to throw out everything I thought should be, and turned my heart to what is. We're sticking together and rooting for one another. We're trying new things, sharing what we have, and slowing down to make room for the things that matter most. We read The Wizard of Oz, The Chronicles of Narnia (twice), Harry Potter 4, The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, Mister Poppers Penguins, Wild Robot, The Indian in the Cupboard, The Tale of Despareax, The Curious Journey of Edward Tulane, The Little House books, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and Every Roald Dahl book but Witches (too scary people!) You were the year of bug catching, fireplace crackling, caramel making, the Halloween that Liam as Harry Potter, Gwyn a GI Joe, and Ellie was Repunzal. You were the year we decided to have more people in our home for dinner or treats or games. The year of kite flying, underwater goggle wearing, cursive letter writing, multiplication table learning. It's been a sweet year.
Love,
Stephanie
