2018 Christmas Letter


Merry Christmas to you, and our very best wishes for a joy filled New Year!

This year was wonderfully chaotic, but we did it to ourselves! We are overjoyed to share that we will be adding a new member to the family in March. Jubilee is over the moon excited, Joseph has pretty high hopes as well, the teenagers are a little less excited about the prospect of having a crying baby in the house, but I’m confident when our baby boy arrives they will be just as in love as they were when we brought Jubilee home!

We also adopted a GIANT 9 month old, 75lb, Newfoundland/Labrador mix puppy from the humane society in March. His name is Lou and he is well on his way to 100 pounds already. He is a gentle giant though. We were his 5th home in 9 months, we don’t understand why. He is a wonderful dog, and just adores our family, especially Olivier. He is really good with children and loves playing with other dogs. He’s working on being more comfortable with adults, as he still gets quite scared when he meets new people.

Now, on to the most exciting part of the Christmas letter. The part where I get to brag on my rockstar children!

Let me begin with school. Joshua graduated from Grade 8 in June. He earned an honours award, a school letter award and the male athlete award. We were so incredibly proud, especially considering his ESL background and all the changes the kids have experienced the past two years. He is now in Grade 9 at Westlane, and seems to be really enjoying high school so far.

Olivier is in grade 8 this year, Joseph grade 6 and Jubilee is in Junior Kindergarten at Greendale Public School. The boys continue to do really well in school. Jubilee was over the moon excited to start “big school” as she calls it, and walked right on the bus the first day without even looking back to say goodbye.

The boys are well on their way to accomplishing their dreams of becoming professional soccer players. All three boys were incredibly successful this past season on their travel teams. Joshua and Olivier both placed in the top 5 in the league for most goals scored for their age groups. We’re sure Joseph would have done the same if they tracked goals for his age group. Joseph’s team placed first, Olivier’s team placed second and Joshua’s team placed third. Joshua has moved up to the next level and will be playing on the regional soccer team this coming year, he’ll have games as far as Toronto this coming season. We had coaches seeking us out for both Olivier and Joshua with offers for them to try out or join their teams.

Our summer was filled with 5 days a week of soccer practices and games. However, we did somehow manage to squeeze in a week at Camp Kahquah for each of the boys as well as a week away in August, camping all together with the extended family, 22 of us in total! We had a blast. It’s been pure joy to watch the kids develop deep bonds with their cousins, aunts, uncles and of course Grandma and Grandpa who play a major role in their lives. Living on the same street as my parents has been a dream. We eat together often, pop in on each other and really just enjoy the incredible gift it is to be so close. I have loved being able to spend time with my sister, cousins and their families, Aunt and Uncle as well. We are working on Kenol’s mom’s visa and hope to have her with us for a few months soon. We all miss her terribly. We can’t wait to have her here.

Kenol is doing an incredible job at the church, it’s amazing to watch him week after week. We were thrilled to accept a 5 year term beginning this past September. He is still adjusting to life in Canada, figuring out how to make this feel more like home. I’m still loving my job at the library as well as working alongside Kenol at the church. Kenol was able to go back to visit his family in November, and had a wonderful time with him mom and brothers. I had the opportunity to see quite a few amazing bands this year. The highlights for me were Coldplay, Ben Harper and Dave Matthews, of course. We had floor tickets for one of the Dave Matthews shows and were literally just a few feet from the stage. I look forward to more concerts in 2019. I’ll have a baby strapped to my chest this year, which will be a fun new experience as I boogie down to my favourite songs!

All in all, it was an incredible year and we have lots to look forward to in 2019. I pray for health, happiness and many joy filled moments for each of you this coming year. All the very best to you and yours.


Love, The Bernards
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