Hello, family and friends!
Apparently I, Cool Mamma, get around to Xerox Christmas cards every two years HA! [The 2019 one was not posted on this blog]. I would like to be more consistent, but you know, #life. We hope everyone survived 2020 and had a good 2021.
2021 was quite the adventure for Team Vaterlaus. On Hannah’s 6th birthday, I received a concussion! After a quick hospital stay, I started my long TBI recovery. My TBI has helped teach me to slow down, communicate needs, and prioritize; it also opened my eyes and heart to the invisible injuries many of us suffer and deal with every day. I'm doing much better with fewer limitations and am grateful for the progress I am continually making.
Starlet finished a mask-wearing second grade like a champ and is now in the “big kid” hall as a third-grader. She has discovered a love of reading and devours books. Starlet loves to play and text with her best friend, run, and write/draw stories in her journal. This October, she enjoyed a very over-due birthday party for her ninth birthday with friends. She helps Mom by playing with her sisters, occasionally browning beef in the Instant Pot for supper, and picking up the house. Her growing sense of humor and wittiness are a joy around the house.
Grace finished kindergarten and loves a face shield-free first grade. She misses her kindergarten teacher and classmates (most are in the other firsts grade class), but loves her first-grade teacher and is excited about learning to read. Her phonetic awareness is accelerating and she surprises me everyday by reading random words around the house or out and about. Grace is beloved by her classmates and freely shares her sweet love for God’s children. She loves playing with her best friend, Starlet’s best friend’s little sister, playing with Starlet, and playing video games with Mom. She lost her first two teeth this year! Grace shows her love for her family every day with great big hugs.
Princess is our blonde firecracker in constant motion who keeps her parents on their toes; her adventures include murals on herself and the walls, overflowing the kitchen sink when “helping” with dishes, dumping any full container, and climbing any and all surfaces. She loves her sisters -adores Starlet and loves to tease Grace - and squeals their names when they arrive home from school. She loves Snoopy, her duckie blankie, playdough, and video calling Grandma on Mom’s phone. Princess loves an audience and charms everyone with her toothy, underbite, double dimples smile. She is a crazy girl who slows down just enough to randomly tell Mom “Love you” and give kisses.
Cool Apa works very hard at ON, now onsemi (on-“semee”), but didn’t travel this year thanks to the pandemic. A great deal of oversea meetings took place in the evening at home, and he conducted several virtual audits. He enjoys woodworking and continually works on home/yard improvements; Cool Apa is very pleased with the healthy grass he grew in the dirt corner of our backyard!
I want to bear my testimony of our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. This year has been very humbling and brought me to desperately ask God frustrated questions. He and His Son have walked beside me while I try my best to raise my babies with love while healing from a brain injury. God instructs how to slow down; His Holy Spirit brings peace to my heart and bolsters my faith; Jesus Christ knows exactly how I physically feel, completely understands all the pain and frustration I experience, which provides solace.
“May God be with you, this day, and always.” We wish you all a happy 2022!
Team Vaterlaus
No comments:
Post a Comment