Christmas 2023

I think what set this Christmas apart was how much family fun we fit into a few long days! With Christmas on a Monday, we went to school right up to the final days before Christmas. That made it tough to get everything ready, and as the kids said, to get in the Christmas spirit. Mary and Annie also got sick the week before school got out, which threw everything in flux. (Though it also proved useful, since Annie is an excellent gift wrapper and with everyone else at school and work, she was very productive.) But finally, we all made it to break and jumped in with two feet!

As has become a tradition, we spent the first night of break in Kalamazoo for pizza at Bilbos, a walk through Bronson Park, coffee at Water Street, last-minute shopping at Rocket Fizz, and Hallmark movies with Aunt Pam!

Then we headed home (bringing Pam with us) for a long afternoon of baking treats. Just in the nick of time, because the next day was Christmas Eve! I am loving the Sunday Christmas Eve, with church then a Christmas party, then church again. 

Christmas Day was delightful. The kids were so happy and excited, and seemed to love giving their gifts (almost) as much as opening them. We stretched out the gift-opening to two solid hours, which is just how I like it. Then it was time for the Christmas Waffles party, which eventually blended into dinner of Swedish meatballs and homemade pasta. We got to host lots of family and friends, including a few happy surprises - later, we figured out that we'd had 20 people over throughout the day! 

The celebration continued into the next day with the Wacyk party at Erin's. It was so warm that we spent most of the time sitting outside around the campfire! The party included an informal concert with the kids and parents playing piano, flute, guitar, and ukulele. 

The next two days were filled with birthday celebrations and more houseguests! John came to town and we grilled out for Kevin's birthday and to enjoy a last visit with Genny and Jason. Our days of partying came to a close with our semiannual donut party to say goodbye :( to Dave, Laurel, and Roger, then birthday fun with DJ's friends. 

We are so grateful for these fun-filled days, but we are also delighted to have a long stretch of break still ahead of us. I have big plans for reading and reflecting on the year in my new robe and slippers.

Rainy night at Candy Cane Lane

Cookie decorating marathon ft. Ethan

Christmas Eve service

Christmas morning!

Jason and Genny taught the girls how to make pasta

Surprise cousin visits!

DJ, age 12

I don't know why, but having a 12-year-old boy in the house seems like a whole new parenting adventure! Everything's a competition. :) This year, DJ's birthday was filled with family, friends, and sports - some of the things he loves most!

This is a guy who always wants to do the right thing, and wants everyone around him to do the right thing, too. With his love for sports, we think he will make a great referee someday! He's deeply thoughtful, pretty serious (but not always!), and likes to be organized. He plays soccer, basketball, and baseball, he's learning the saxophone, and he's in the middle school math club. Though he's growing fast, some things never change - this time of year, you can most often find him watching football and playing catch in the house with whoever will throw him the ball. 

Lansing Christian Middle School is a great place for DJ to be; he's learning a ton, has had lots of opportunities to try new things, and has great friends. I am thankful every day that he's surrounded by people who know and encourage him. We can't wait to see what this next year holds as he continues in middle school!

Some favorite presents Christmas Eve

Birthday morning

DJ had a crowd to wish him happy birthday in the morning!

Rainy football with friends

What was your favorite memory from the last year?

When we went to Disney - the car ride there and back, and The Guardians of the Galaxy ride.

What is one way God's been working in your life this year?

Helping me not get injured in sports and do well in school by helping me pay attention and listen.

How do you feel about being twelve?

Good. I feel older and I can do more stuff, like say that I'm twelve.

What are you most looking forward to in the next year?

Seeing if the Lions can be in the Super Bowl and trying out my new baseball mitt.

Who are your best friends?

Wesley, Ira, Caleb, William, Otto, Eddie.

What are your strengths?

I'm a good athlete, I'm smart, I'm funny even if it's just in my head, I'm good at including people.

What careers are you considering?

Soccer/basketball/football/baseball player, a pastor, a policeman, a football referee, or a baseball announcer. 

Why are you interested in those fields?
I love sports and mom said I would make a really good ref because I always make the calls when I'm watching football. Policeman because we can always use more policemen.

What’s your favorite song or type of music?

Music by the Beatles.   

What's your favorite food?

Chicken pot pie, green bean casserole, and those really good carrots.

Current favorite movie?

Ooh, The Sandlot or Back to the Future, and Cool Runnings.   

Current book you're reading? Or should I say books?

The Last Kids on Earth, Heat by Mike Lupica, and I just finished reading Operation Do-Over. The best book I read this year was The Unteachables.

Favorite color?   

Forest green.

Favorite place to be?

Home, Taco Bell, and Comerica Park.

What are your favorite things to do? 

Play baseball, play basketball, play soccer, play football, do Legos.

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?

I'm awesome, even more awesome than Eddie, even though he claims to be more awesome.

The marathon of fall 2023

I hope I didn't make it sound like we ran an actual marathon this fall, because we didn't. It just felt like it. 

Fall basically started August 1st when I went back to work after taking July off. We hit the ground running and basically didn't stop until Thanksgiving. For a variety of reasons, it was hard to settle into new routines at school. We allowed the kids to overcommit, which it took awhile to realize. And there were some challenges, shall we say, along the way. I would say it started with the surprise storm that hit while I was in Massachusetts. I was on the phone with scared Annie and Mary trying to tell them that the weather report hadn't predicted any storms when the power went out and the tornado siren went off. We quickly hung up the call and the next 24 hours of waiting and texts and teacher training were some of the longest of my life! I couldn't get home fast enough, though the scene was grim - no power, several trees and big branches down, damage to the house and fence. But everyone was in good spirits and we commenced with the cleanup. We're still working though the aftermath with tree removal and house repairs.

Taken from the front porch - one of the pictures Kevin sent me the night of the storm

There were other storms brewing, too, which revealed themselves shortly after. My (Wacyk) family was thrown into some new situations and difficulties that stretched our capabilities and relationships. But like most challenges, there were many graces and gifts mixed in, and we're continuing to learn and manage things together.

But in that added worry and weight, there were so many fun and lovely events this fall. Watching and supporting the kiddos in their events and activities gave us so much joy through the tough stuff.

Watching Nellie as drum major was awesome!

Annie ran varsity XC

and her team went to states!

The three "littles" played soccer through LCS - it made for very busy but fun Saturdays!

DJ also ran middle school XC

and Annie was in Finding Nemo Jr.!

Mary Cate, age 7

Happy birthday to Mary (about a month and a half late...)! She has had an amazing year - she's learned to do so many new things and grown in so many ways. This was the summer of new skills: a) Riding a 2-wheeler, b) tying her shoes, c) rollerblading, d) swimming, e) started piano lessons, f) played on a soccer team, and g) spent the night at Grandma Linda's. At least those are all the things I remember!

Mary is also becoming increasingly helpful, generous, and thoughtful. We're always getting encouraging notes, kind words, and hugs. Of course, she can also hold her own with her big brothers and sisters. Mary does not like being told what to do...as you'll read in her interview. :) 

I'm so excited to have a front-row view of her next year. We love you so much, Mary Cate! Life would be waaaay more boring without you!

Still loves rainbows and pandas!

Sporting her new helmet and padding

Birthday hike at Woldumar

She was the only kid who wanted to go camping for Labor Day, so we set up the tent in the yard.

First time tying a shoe - Dad's shoe made for good practice at a soccer game

How do you feel about being seven?

Awesome. You get less presents that are more fun and more that are useful.

What kinds of new things do seven-year-olds do?

Well like I said, you can get presents that are more useful - like my locker accessories for writing reminders and notes. Now I'm braver about things, so I can do more things like piano and soccer.

What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
Turning eight, because that's my favorite number to pretend to be when I'm playing games. And I'm excited to get more useful things for Christmas and my birthday. When you're older, useful stuff is more fun. I'm excited to go on vacation and swim now that I learned how to swim.

Who are your best friends?

Hannah, Emma, Lydia, and Abigail.

Who are your favorite people to play with?

I like to play with Anna and other friends at school. I like to play by myself sometimes, and I like to play with my siblings when we can be together all at the same time.

What kinds of things are you good at?

Well, first, climbing. And then piano probably, running, teamwork even when I don't want to play with someone. Definitely reading, writing my name in cursive. Art and science. And that's pretty much it!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A teacher and a doctor. An engineer or a scientist, either one of them. Maybe like a famous artist.

Why are you interested in those careers?

Well like a scientist or engineer, I like to test things and guess what's going to happen. I would like being a teacher because I already have some lessons planned that my teacher does. And now I'm better than when I was four at being kind. I'm good at crafts so even if it's not a fun thing, like in high school, I think I can do a good job teaching art.

What’s your favorite song? 

I don't know because I always hear new songs and then I like those and my favorite song changes to that. [Can you tell us a song you like right now?] I like to listen to soundtracks from any movie and then I find new songs I like. 

What's your favorite food?

Pesto pasta or macaroni and cheese.

Favorite movie?

It depends on what I just watched. It would have to be a numbered movie, like Zombies, Guardians of the Galaxy, Back to the Future.

Favorite book?   

Any of the Ramona series.

Favorite color?   

Blue, teal, or blue and purple mixed together, or a very hot pink.

Favorite place to be? 

Home or someplace really fun, like Defy or a restaurant with a play area or a jukebox.

What are your favorite things to do?   
What I really like to do is run like running a race. Play piano, play Switch, play outside by myself because no one tells me what to do and then I can practice things like soccer, challenging games, races, and no one tells me to stop. I like to play school and go places but not with my siblings so they don't tell us where to go next, I can just go where I want to go.

What is your favorite birthday present that you received this year?

Okay, well, it's a really really really really hard decision. But I liked the fly fishing coloring book, the locker accessories, and getting my ears pierced and going to the arcade.

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?

No!

4th of July Family Vacation

This was a big year for us with our first 4th of July post-Gull Lake. We had new memories to make and new traditions to create. All in all, it was a wonderful week and we certainly had a lot of time to play and relax together.

Seventeen of us - our family, Alex and Sarah and their girls (along with Angela!), Genny and Jason, and Pam - took on Sault Ste. Marie! We split up to sleep among John's condo on the river and two campsites at the campground next door with two tents and a camper, but spent most of our days together. We saw the sights, shopped, visited favorite spots, drank coffee from the best coffee shops, took long walks, and spent hours around the campfire. There was something for everyone!

These are some of our favorite photos and memories - not in order. :)

The kids went to the Valley Camp museum while the adults enjoyed adult time

Around the campfire

Anxiously waiting for Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

Tahquamenon Falls

Family visit to Bark Dock

Picnic time!

Some of the big girls visited Sugar Island.

Fireworks on Canada Day

The LSSU Center for Freshwater Research and Education

We celebrated Nellie's birthday a little early with dinner from Clydes at Rotary Park.

It was windy and very cold

but that didn't stop us from getting ice cream!

We split up for one day for family time - we headed to Tahquamenon Falls.

Yes.

A little work getaway to check AP scores (!) at a favorite coffee shop

Woke up a little too early

We watched fireworks in front of the Soo Gordons

Sue was riding in the parade!

Parade time!

Let's not forget the loading of the log

Bark Dock

Iroquois Point

In reading a photo book from years past, we discovered photos of Nellie in the same dress Mary happened to be wearing!

A silly picture of playing Grandmother's Fruit Stand on the ride home