Dear Friends and Family,
I hope that this year has been filled with much joy for all of you. 2021 has gone so fast for me, but there is still so much to write about that I feel squished for room! As always, I want to give you all a glimpse at the family, but I can only hope that I get everyone’s name spelled right and their ages correct!
Dad: If you catch him at the right time, you might find him with a milk bucket clamped between his knees because Star the milk cow kicks. She’s just one of the three milk cows he (and sometimes Mom) milks twice a day. And if you don’t catch him there, you might find him building something, planning something, or … fixing something. Recently he left his job at ADM so that we can focus more on our farm and business. Sure, it’s a step of faith, but we’re excited to see what God has for us in the future.
Mom: I asked Mom for a list of what she does, and I recommend you take a breath halfway through the list or you might just pass out. Here it is: Wife, mother, chef, gardener, teacher, blogger, business owner, herbalist, bookkeeper, milkmaid, butcher, cheesemaker, product distributor, and tree tapper (think “maple syrup”). And there’s, like, a jillion other things she does.
Alena (20): Last year I wouldn’t have dreamed that I would be writing this, but my computer-hating, tech-shunning sister is now a website expert (or close enough to an expert). She talks about “SEO and plugins and coding” and I get lost at S. She has finished writing two books this year (plus the one she got published!) and her writing just gets better and better. Almost as if she is an author. Hmm.
Me (17): I’m Kailey, but you probably already figured that out. Every year I say the same thing. That I like You-Tubing, horses, and tractors. But what you might not know yet is that I also like crocheting, tanning hides (though not skilled – yet), and (drumroll, please), reading books (too many books, probably).
Caleb (15): We’re speaking of a blacksmith here. This young man spends hours and hours and hours in the garage making knives. Some turn out really cool. Some, not as much (sorry, Caleb). He carries, like, twenty knives on him all the time (alright, actually it’s six, but – really). Since he turned fifteen this summer, he got his learner’s permit. Watch out pedestrians.
Aiden (13): Finally a teenager. What happened to my little brother? He still has his train set down in the basement (I’ll admit, I touched it the other day, “Is this real grass? Nope. I guess not.”) He’s also been getting into woodworking. While lots of other boys his age are blowing their money on video gaming stuff (sorry, not skilled in the lingo), he buys tools. Yeah. Tools. Give this guy a hand.
Annika (7): This girl is such a miniature me, it almost gives a person goosebumps. She hops on Ace (our horse) and clucks to him and is off. And she doesn’t just ride him; she helps put stuff away after riding, which makes it all the sweeter. She has a fort back in the trees (co-owner Asher) that she has spent a lot of time building on and “preserving” Mom’s garden leftovers.
Asher (6): Asher still loves tractors. He still loves being in tractors. And he is excited for the day that he can drive a tractor. Also, he often acts as Caleb’sfighting partner. Kicking, head-butts, punches – he practices everything a young boy loves, and Mom usually lets him because it’s defense training. Usually (quote: “NOT BY THE STOVE!”). But don’t think he’s all tacks and nails. He gives the best hugs.
Abigail (4): Abby is a generous hug giver as well. She loves riding Ace, eating ice cream, having books read to her, and leading Ducky the goat around. She is quite the big sister to Lillian, but even though she stands a head taller, if you look at the back of their heads, they almost look like twins!
Lillian (almost 2): What a busy girl. And very capable too. Climbing step stools, sneaking up the stairs, and out-yelling her siblings – yeah, she can do it all. A couple weeks ago, I walked into the kitchen where she was standing on a step stool filling her bowl with whipped cream all by herself. “Ooh, you’re lucky, lucky.” I told her. She shook her head, “No, naw lucky, lucky. Bless, bless!” “Oh!” I said, “You are blessed, blessed. Sorry, I guess that’s a better way of saying it… Now maybe we should get you off that step stool?”
Hopefully this note was an encouragement to all of you. Sometimes it’s just good to focus on something other than all the world’s troubles. And can I encourage you to count your blessings this season instead of dwelling on the troubles? It’s been said that gratitude is good not only for the soul, but also for the body. So what can we find to be grateful for this season? We can start with the reason of Christmas, Jesus Himself, Who came down into this sinful world to save those who believe. Truly that is the greatest Christmas gift ever given.
Wishing you the merriest Christmas!
Kailey, representing the Mentink family