December 2021
To Our Dear Family and Friends,
It’s the most wonderful time of the year again! I hope this letter finds you doing as well as can be. Much like everyone, we have walked through trials this past year, but as I flip through the photos on my phone, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for God’s faithfulness and the countless wonders of His love.
In January, Brother-in-law Ben suggested we sign the kiddos up for soccer after he’d noticed some interest. Given that the season was months away, he mentioned that we should practice as a family in the meantime. So, the next weekend we rallied our family members, young and young-at-heart, and met at a vacant field with all of Ben’s soccer coaching equipment and played our hearts out. We did it right and each team had a captain, a name and a cheer. We had so much fun we made plans to meet the next Saturday and the tradition continued each weekend until rec sports robbed us of our field space in March. Needless to say, we were all hooked and come fall we had three new players and a coach on the field; and a big sister superfan and an obnoxiously loud soccer mom on the sidelines! God is SO GOOD!
We started the new year committed to reading a book series together and settled on Harry Potter. I once told people that “I’m not the Harry Potter type” and may it be written in stone that I WAS VERY WRONG! We were hooked after the first chapter. We sometimes read for several hours at a time because good books and self control are hard, and every time we finished a book, we celebrated with a Harry Potter-themed dinner and watched the corresponding movie. We finished the series in mid-July, Daddy even made a special trip home from work in Sacramento just to be present for the final chapter. We are borderline obsessed now, so much so, we rallied/peer-pressured our extended family to join us in dressing up as 12 of our favorite characters for Halloween! Papa’s rendition of Mad-Eye Moody was perfect!
Over spring break, there was rare availability at the company cabin in Tahoe, so we jumped on it! We hiked and sledded and threw snowballs at each other and also embarked on our inaugural family ski day. Nick has been trying to make it happen for years, but now we were all ready-ish. We started strong until the twins arrived at the top of the first slope and literally couldn’t stay upright. Thankfully, 30 minutes later, with the encouragement of their sisters, ski lift operators and strangers alike, they both arrived safely at the bottom; James, gripping Nick’s ski pole as Nick skied backward in front of him, and Julia, holding my hand while singing “the bigger the (pizza) slice the slower you go!” By the end of the day, they were riding the lift by themselves and flying down the runs as Emmy and Hannah confidently led the way! So many prayers were answered that day!
In June, Emmy and I returned to Tennessee for her much-anticipated 11 year old trip. The trip was blessed from the moment we arrived at our gate-E11-at SFO. Our rental car was upgraded and so was our hotel room at the Opryland! I didn’t even ask for it! The memories are too numerous to count, but among them: our sweet girl tasted sweet tea for the first time, practiced her southern accent, basked in the green landscape, bought souvenirs for everyone, recreated old photo favorites, and we spent precious time with our Tennessee family. She missed Daddy, her sibs and Molly something fierce, and learned that absence really does make the heart grow fonder.
One benefit of the kids’ eavesdropping habit is that they learned about the upcoming baptism offering at church this summer. They promptly interrupted my adult conversation to ask if they all could participate, and I welcomed the interruption. So on July 18, 2021, all four kiddos publicly professed their faith in Jesus before our church congregation. My mama’s heart nearly burst with joy witnessing my greatest prayer answered!
This past summer, we adventured at my parents’ cabin with my parents, my brother and his awesome dog, Dakota. We toured a gold mine in Placerville, played in our fort, and explored the river. Uncle Jamie took us to a gorgeous hidden swimming hole filled with snow melt where most of us took an electrifying polar plunge. The journey getting there, offroading in Jamie’s tricked-out van to the tunes of “Ridin’ Dirty,” was just as exciting as the destination! We treasure the memories even more now since the Cal-Dor fire claimed our special getaway home just a month after our visit. Praise the Lord for delivering Jamie, Dakota and all of the neighbors to safety in time. Amidst the grief, we are beginning to see signs of His beauty from ashes.
We returned to Tahoe, this time with the larger Horn family, for some summer fun! We hiked, picnicked, skipped rocks, and went kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding on Donner Lake. We rented a boat for a day and tried our hand at waterskiing, Hannah even stood up for a few seconds which prompted all of her siblings to erupt in cheers, “THAT’S MY SISTER!!!” I like to remember that sweet moment on high-conflict days, it was just so special. We saved tubing for last and it was for sure a fan favorite!
After a prayer and a semi-desperate google search to see what was going on the weekend of James and Julia’s birthday-September 4th-I learned that, due to covid, the beloved Danville 4th of July parade had been rescheduled for the actual day of their birthday! My first thought was wouldn’t it be fun to go watch the parade on their birthday? But then my next thought was: wouldn’t it be EVEN MORE FUN to be IN THE PARADE on their birthday?! It was an ambitious idea considering this search took place just the weekend before. Without time to waste, I sent an email to the organizers who told me that the registration had closed, but they would not only love to have our 8th birthday celebration in the parade, they would sponsor us too! With a boatload of balloons, a giant birthday sign, decorated bikes and scooters, and wagons with bags and bags of candy, we joined forces with all of our cousins and aunties and uncles and grandparents and “marched” between the Monte Vista cheerleaders and an awesome rock band down the parade route. At one point, the twins had 40 cheerleaders sing them “Happy Birthday,” nearly bringing Julia to happy tears. God’s plans are next level!!
In God’s perfect timing, I was blessed with a part time job at the kid’s school as an instructional aide, something I’d been contemplating for the last couple of years. Twice a week we go to school together, and the kids graciously tolerate me as a peace officer on the playground in my fluorescent orange vest, and kindly wave back at me in the hallway. It has been the gentlest reentry to the workforce I could have ever hoped for; a true blessing.
October rolled around and we celebrated Uncle Grant and Megan’s engagement party-turned surprise wedding! It was joy on top of joy witnessing the two of them say their vows in the front yard of Megan’s childhood home. The look of surprise on the guests’ faces when the DJ announced the wedding ceremony was about to begin was GOLD! So many prayers were answered that day.
For Veterans Day this year, Nick and JP were asked to speak about their military service at our all-school chapel. They recounted West Point stories, reminiscing about the hours they walked for their messy room in the barracks, and also pulled out the big guns, sharing videos of explosives and high risk helicopter maneuvers. They closed by leading the entire student body in chanting “Go Army! Beat Navy!” It was such a special opportunity and a proud moment for our family.
When reflecting on the year, God’s loving fingerprints are all over the story. This Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, we are reminded that He is indeed with us every step of the way if we’ll have Him.
May I pray for you?
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his inexplicable peace in all circumstances. May you experience God’s love and joy to the fullest measure today and every day. In Jesus’ Mighty and Precious Name I pray, Amen.
Wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
With Love,
Nick, Ali, Emmy (12), Hannah (almost 10), James (8), Julia (8) & Molly (14.5)
