An Update

The first week of January our beloved cat Mookie died. He was just two years old, and it was quite a shock.

But here's our 2018 Christmas letter in case you didn't get to read it. (Our printer actually died before I could print them off. By the time we bought a new printer Mookie died and I didn't have the heart to update it so I didn't send out very many.) If you're interested in more book/author news, you can subscribe to my newsletter here. I try to send out a monthly update.

 Dear Friends and Family,

Somehow, annual updates are hard to write, but I enjoy looking back on the year and sharing with you our highlights. It’s the good stuff; I save the challenging parts of life (like tears and tantrums) for personal conversations.

Esther (age 7) is now in first grade. She’s creative and likes to draw and craft. She also writes stories. Esther still enjoys snuggles and cats. She loves all things cute and pretty like jewelry. But she kept up with her teammates playing baseball and football. Now she’s playing basketball again. Esther is also our resident weather reporter. She’s always checking the forecast and clouds.

We appreciate how Evan plays nicely with both of his sisters (though the three rarely play together). He’s in fourth grade now and really loves roller coasters. (Our first trip to Hershey this year helped!) He draws them on paper and designs models with pipe cleaners. He also loves his K’NEX roller coaster. His LEGOs still get plenty of use, too. This month he built a coin-operated candy vending machine and a working “video” game. Did I mention he’s just ten? Evan doesn’t love school, but he works hard and earns good grades. Evan played basketball, baseball, and flag football this year. Like his dad, he enjoys watching and playing most sports.

I’d like to turn back time and keep Meghan a little girl, but at twelve, she’s growing up fast. Meghan loves all things creative. She’s even begun earning a bit of money knitting dishcloths and weaving potholders though the orders sometimes take a bit of time to fulfill. This summer she made her own jewelry at camp. Through 4-H, Meghan completed an award-winning quilt and just finished her second quilt. She also played basketball and tried volleyball this fall. Meghan has always enjoyed school and earned distinguished honors during her first trimester of sixth grade.

Derek’s been with the Aberdeen Test Center working as a civilian software engineer for the Army for sixteen years. He coached baseball and football this year and then sat back and just watched the three kids play basketball last winter. Derek keeps up a regular exercise routine and completed another Tough Mudder in October.

I’ve devoted a lot of time this year to a book that will be published in 2020. (It will be my first published book that I pitched. The other five were all on assignment.) This book is a companion guide to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books. It’ll provide historical context to help readers to understand the books better in addition to about 70 book-related activities. This fall my dad and I took a spontaneous road trip to Malone, NY to see visit the Almanzo Wilder farm. Such memories! I’ve also been doing some author visits in schools. And keeping up with the family. Somehow, they expect to eat every night! I’m not sure how it takes me by surprise as often as it does.

Derek and I marked fifteen years of marriage in June. Of course, parenting adds a level of difficulty to marriage we never anticipated, but we’re grateful to God for the grace—and mercy—He gives us to get through each day. Derek and I celebrated with a December cruise to the Bahamas. We hadn’t relaxed that much in, oh, about twelve years.

 

Though our tree is decorated and a few gifts purchased, I don’t “feel” quite ready for Christmas. I wonder if Mary ever felt ready for the birth of Jesus. What I don’t wonder about is why Jesus came. The Bible says, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” We pray you’ll have a blessed Christmas and 2019. Be in touch!

Love and blessings,

Derek, Annette, Meghan, Evan, and Esther