Thursday, December 24, 2015

2015 Redfield Family Christmas Letter

Merry, Merry Christmas!!!

Wishing a most blessed day to our loved ones near and far.  A little 2015 summary for those who have the time and/or desire to catch up on the happenings in our little corner of the world...

We started the new year right, flying out to California on January 6 to fill two glorious weeks with sunshine, happy reunions, and wine tasting.  We were blessed to have the chance to introduce Tim's parents to some of the people and places that have grown so dear to us in the three (!!!) years now since Libby's adoption.  We were also blessed to able to storm outside to a beautiful Pacific sunset after the Packers completely tanked in the NFC Championship, which helped a teeny, tiny bit.  With the exception of that atrocity, we enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing trip after the frenzy of Christmas and having closed on our house right at the end of the year.

Once we returned home, it was back to the grind.  Tim got back into the groove of the school schedule after his two extra weeks of Christmas break.  He continues to enjoy his work as pastor at Trinity Lutheran in Belle Plaine, especially preaching and working with the children of our PreK-8 school, as well as the high school youth.  Tim got to coach the Trinity students in bowling last spring, and then cross country in the fall.  He also ran his fifth full marathon in October - just days after tweaking a hamstring in cross country practice with the kids.

Megan is still spending her early mornings in the kitchen of Belle Plaine's Kwik Trip store, Monday through Friday, and finding more bliss sleeping in on Saturday mornings than she ever did as a teenager.  The rest of the day she hauls Miss Libby, aka The BOSS, all over creation, and occasionally finds time to garden, sew, and keep working on updating paint colors throughout the house.  And nap.  She is a Master Napper.  Megan completed her sixth half marathon in October, and it was her favorite one yet, as she trained to walk it instead of running for the first time :)

Libby Joy, still our little Nut Baby, turned four in early November.  Libby made some exciting progress in 2015.  Though she is still not talking, she is closer than ever with a vocabulary of about 20 words that she can repeat very clearly, and some awesome mimicking and imitation.  She sings along to her favorite CD's, and you can really hear that the words are getting closer and closer every day.  She is also much more comfortable walking freely around her play room and her bedroom, and even wandering out into open space in the rest of the house to explore.

Libby started going to preschool three days per week in the fall.  Twice a week, Mom drops her off at Chatfield Elementary for about two hours, where she works with her team of teachers and specialists to become more comfortable in a classroom with other children, and learning the routine and basics of what school is all about.  On Fridays, Mom takes her to preschool at Trinity for about 45 minutes (that's about as long as Mom can handle :) ) and we listen together to devotion, a Bible story, the weather song, and we usually (attempt) to color a picture together.  Libby also has Occupational Therapy twice per week at Capable Kids in Chaska, and will be adding Speech and Physical therapies back to her schedule in January.

Our family grew a bit in June! Megan's brother Michael was married, and we welcomed his bride Téah and 5-year-old Dechlan to the family.  Our other nieces and nephews continue to amaze us as they grow up so quickly in between visits.  Jacob is now 5, Lucas 3, Reagan almost 3, and little Eli is 1.

In July we were heartbroken to say goodbye to our sweet dog Charlie, who was not quite ten years old yet.  Charlie had been losing his appetite and energy throughout 2015, and much more rapidly after Easter.  He was found to have lymphoma in July, and so we bid a tearful farewell to our first baby, who had been with us since 2007.  Meanwhile, our naughty but oh-so-lovable black lab Sam, now 6 (we think) continues to amuse, befuddle, and comfort us.  In the wake of Charlie's loss, Sam enjoyed lots of extra treats, hugs, rides in the car, and miles and miles of walking with his little friend Georgia while Megan and a friend trained for the half marathon.

We did manage to block out a third week of vacation for the year in August.  We enjoyed our first-ever "staycation," which was really so much more relaxing and comfortable for Libby (and also Mom and Dad!).  While grandparents came to help with our sweet girl, we enjoyed trying local wineries, restaurants, ball games, and even the dinner theater - luxuries for which we rarely have time, money, or childcare available.  It was such a refreshing time away from it all, even though we weren't away at all! In 2016, we look forward to celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary with a special vacation to Tennessee in the spring... although we might regret forgoing the now-annual California trip in January when the temps drop below zero for the first time around here :)

We thank you all for your continued prayers and support throughout the year, and we have really enjoyed your cards and updates this holiday season! May you all be filled with wonder and peace as you come to worship the Newborn King. 

Love, the Redfield Family


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