Christmas Letter 2020

Merry Christmas to you and yours,

What a year this has been for us all. Zander is just a few months shy of 2 years old already. He weighed in at 35lbs at his last doctors visit and is wearing size 3T and even some 4T now. He’s quite the chatter box and loves nothing more than spending time with his big brothers in the man cave downstairs or playing just about anything with Jubilee. He started daycare in October and is proving to be just as social as Jubilee. He puts his backpack on and stands at the door saying, “Bye momma, bye dadda.” every morning trying to hurry us along before he’s even had his breakfast.

Jubilee just turned 6 and continues to be her bubbly self. She LOVES school and after school care where she has free reign over the art supplies and spends time each day after school making beautiful creations. Her creativity and real artistic talent blow me away constantly. She started French immersion this year and loves her new school. She has also informed us that she has a boyfriend now. His name is Elliot and he is very kind. He was unaware of the nature of their relationship at first, but has since been informed. His mom and I are good friends so we keep each other up to date on their friendship. She and her BFF Kaylynne are in ballet together each week as well so her social life is pretty full these days.

Joshua is in grade 11 and about to turn 17. He has his beginners license and my dad took on the role of drivers ed teacher. Joshua is dedicated to his pursuit of a professional soccer career. During our many months of lockdown he spent 8 or more hours each day training and working out. He is in great shape and continues to excel on the field, catching the eye of many coaches along the way.

Olivier is now in grade 10 and will be our newest driver in May. Olivier had a real transformation this year with his dedication and commitment to soccer. He trained long and hard with Joshua, hours a day, and when they were able to return to the pitch everyone was astonished to see how much he improved in a short period of time.

With the US border being closed we’ve had to make some decisions regarding the boys soccer and Oliver and Joshua are now playing for the Burlington Bayhawks U17 team here in Canada. Joseph continues to play for the U14 NFSC Regional team. They are all working with an agent now doing additional training with him weekly as well. We hope to send them on a trip to Europe at some point in the future to get some exposure there. They continue to dream and work hard to turn their dreams into a reality. Kenol and I continue to drive them all over the world and finance their pursuits to the best of our ability.

Joseph is in grade 8 this year and recently celebrated his 13th birthday. His transformation into teendom happened pretty much overnight. All of a sudden he was coming up for second supper, third supper and a midnight snack. He weighed himself a few weeks later and had gained a full 10lbs. His clothes overnight were all looking WAY too small so we got out the measuring tape and he had grown a full 4 inches! Hard to believe we’ll have three highschoolers soon. Joseph is our most stylish child and is rocking dip dyed dreadlocks these days, he often shaves simple designs in his fade and always dresses to impress. I enjoy the time we spend together doing his hair and have seen some of his friends trying to imitate his style.

Kenol and I are doing great. We got to spend a TON of time together in the evenings this year while soccer was canceled. We went from 5-7 nights a week of soccer to none and really enjoyed that time together. We continue to work hard at the church. Kenol has done an incredible job throughout the pandemic, he’s really had to think outside the box and learn to minister in new ways. The needs of the world are great and heavy at this time and he has walked alongside many through hard times this year. 2020 marked the beginning of my career as a videographer, video editor, youTuber and social media professional amateur when the church’s doors were closed and everything moved online. Never have I been so thankful for my photography background. I would never have been able to do any of this without it. I had been laid off from my job at the library but was called back in October. It’s wonderful to have a job I look forward to going to in the mornings and can leave in the evenings with a smile on my face (and a giant bag of books to read).

We spend a ton of time with my parents these days, as always. Dad takes part in the soccer driving, keeps the garage fridge well stocked with sports drinks for the boys, and sour keys and Jube Jubes for the littles. It may be part of the reason why Jubilee and Zander both LOVE spending so much time in the garage with him. Mom and I enjoy sipping tea together and we all share meals together quite regularly. I highly recommend living on the same street as your parents if they are as wonderful as mine. I cherish the time we spent together with the extended family in my sister’s backyard this summer. We had a weekly cousin party and it was just wonderful. It’s hard to even think about not spending time with the extended family over the next few months. 

If you made it this far I thank you.  I tried to keep it to one page, but bragging on my family is just so fun and there are so many of us to update you on. Plus I feel deprived of human connection….so here we are, almost two full pages. I MISS YOU ALL!!!!!!! 

We look into 2021 with cautious anticipation. We pray you stay safe and healthy for the remainder of 2020 and beyond.

With love,

Rachel, Kenol, Joshua, Olivier, Joseph, Jubilee, Zander and Lou