2021 Christmas Card

 Jeremiah 29:11 - ”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Happiest of holidays to you! We hope that you’ve had the opportunity to see friends and family more this year than last.

We were glad to get a lot of everyday life somewhat back to normal this year. We spent some time during school breaks going to and hiking at different state parks around Minnesota. Our road trip this year was to the Pacific Northwest. We hit unvisited state capitol buildings in each state through which we passed (five new ones). We also stopped in to see Ryan’s cousin Luke, and his family, in Spokane. Our first park stop was at Mount Rainier. There was still several feet of snow on the main high elevation trails, so we got to hike right on top of it!  We camped for several days in Olympic National Park. It was very cool to experience mountains, a rainforest area, and hike along the Pacific Ocean in the same park. One of our hikes gave us our closest experience ever with a bear - a mama with three cubs!

Steph and Ryan are still coaching their normal activities and work is mostly the same. Steph is still working from home and hoping to keep it that way. They are leading the Outreach ministry at church, so that has kept them busy this fall, planning out long-term ideas and organizing a couple large scale events. We enjoyed some new outdoor furniture and a firepit this year along with a smoker. We are also starting to turn over some of our original indoor furniture as we prepare for life without Daisy and hoping the kids will no longer destroy it. Daisy gave us a good scare in May, but has continued relatively strong the rest of the year. She will be 16 in January, so we do our best to enjoy each day and give her the best we can.

Elisha is now a high schooler! He graduated from Good Shepherd and was confirmed in the spring. He now attends Lakeville South High School. Over the summer, he was at school or in town most of almost every morning at basketball (7 AM!), cross country, and/or strength training. He ran cross country this fall and did very well. For the first few meets, he ran on the C team and was finishing first on his team and near the top of each race. He then transitioned to running JV and still did really well, usually placing for his team (top seven). We were very impressed with how he quickly adapted to running so many miles every day. He loved it and made some great friends. We also were so thankful for a great coach who shows great interest and care for each of his runners. As soon as that season was over, he started his first season of high school basketball. Not all of his normal buddies tried out, but quite a few are still there. We’re glad because we still get to see many of the friends we’ve made over the years. Elisha self-studied Geometry over the summer to be able to test out to maximize the math offerings he can take during high school. He has started in the STEM Academy, wanting to focus on math and engineering. He loves his engineering class and already has many favorite teachers in his other classes. Last, but not least, Elisha now has his learner’s permit, so has started to drive when we can find the time.

Izzy is in fifth grade this year. She continues to want to try everything she can. Her soccer season that started in August of 2020 went all the way through July of this year! Their team did very well and she had a lot of fun. She started a new season in August, but only played in the fall for this season. She again had a great team and has asked about trying to play next spring/summer, but she was so busy this past spring that we are skipping that for this year. She was busy playing basketball. Her fourth grade travel team finished third in the state for the 2020-2021 season. They even went to play in a regional tournament after that. As soon as that season was over, Izzy started playing for 43 Hoops, an AAU team. Izzy played very well and learned a lot of great leadership skills with that team. She will continue with 43 this coming spring. Her travel team is again doing very well this fall. We are grateful for all the great coaching she receives in all these places. At school, she played soccer and cross country in the fall and is playing basketball and cheerleading this winter. It was great to see Izzy back performing after not doing dance the last couple years. Finally, she continues to play a lot of ukulele around the house. She even played for one song in her school’s Christmas concert.

Zeke is now in fourth grade. We have lost him for the most part to video games when he is home. He follows his brother and plays a lot of Fortnite. He also always seems to be learning new facts about some important event in history (often wars) and surprising us with his knowledge. He and Izzy went to sleep away camp for a week this summer. We thought Zeke in particular could be a bit homesick, but he had a great time! He played flag football this fall, scoring a few touchdowns and started getting a nose for interceptions. He is playing travel basketball this winter. He played soccer and cross country for school this fall and is now playing basketball too. He also was in robotics this fall with Izzy. They did very well for a first year, young team. Zeke has been very outspoken and happy to recently get his COVID vaccination.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope to see you in the coming year!

Love Ryan, Steph, Elisha, Izzy, and Zeke