2011 Family Christmas Letter

It's Christmas Eve and here we are sitting down to write about our year... as per usual, we are a bit behind- still wrapping gifts, making cookies...  it's funny when people ask (prior to this) if we're ready for Christmas. They're really asking if decorations are up, if gifts are bought and wrapped, etc.  And, though neither parents in this house like shopping (thank you, kijiji and online shopping), we really do enjoy thinking of gifts to give people... this year, we were also busy making some of our gifts... BUT does that make us ready for Christmas? When thinking  of true prep for Christmas, we're reminded of John the Baptist who came to prepare the way for Jesus.  If we prepare to welcome and celebrate the Christ Child in our lives, perhaps that means repenting (as was the message of John) of all the distractions we've allowed to take His place.  It's a great challenge to lead our family through this - but it's been very clear that we need to repeatedly focus on the Truth, as we've had Jordan at every turn saying, "I want...!" and "What about me?!" (Funny how the human condition seems magnified in the character of children, probably as a clearer reflection of our own selfishness).  And we in turn say, "Is it YOUR birthday?!" and "What do you know about St. Nick? He loved Jesus and gave to the poor.  We should do the same."

As the year draws to a close, we realize how very blessed we are.  We are doing what we love: serving God in our community, and raising our family of six kids.  We are constantly being challenged... in some ways, this has been a challenging year of ministry that had left us with more questions than answers , but we are in a place to grow.  We are anticipating God moving and working mightily in our church and community.

Our family is, of course, a great source of joy and laughter, and of challenge, at the same time.

Caleb is 10! Can't believe we got to be so old! He is enjoying his academic subjects, reading... and robotics club this year.  He is learning the value of hard work and has been our main man to take responsibility for our new dog (golden retriever), Kolbi (she is four years old - no puppy behaviour... yay! She is beautiful, loves the snow, and we love her).  Back to Caleb, he is very creative and innovative - we enjoy the new discoveries and "inventions" he comes up with!

Katie is 8 - she's been busy with sewing projects, making gifts for everyone in anticipation of Christmas. She is a hard worker and very determined (usually in a positive way) .  She is our little mama and takes on quite a few of the responsibilities of her younger sisters - she and Molly are the best of friends.

Reuben (6) just got "the plate" for reading his first chapter book and is quite proud of his accomplishment.  He is very imaginative (plotting, sometimes) and loves to make forts and "mouse houses" - architect?

Jordan (4) is a self learner.  This year, we tried to teach him to ride a 2 wheeler, but he refused to even really try.  A month or two ago, he came in the house and declared that he knew how to ride his bike... sure enough, he had taught himself how to do it! (He still has quite a few crashes but he's got his balance - just have to work on the steering!)

Molly is 2 and was potty trained in the summer.  She is a little imp - her smiles are contagious... but she is as determined as her older sister, perhaps more so.  We've had our battles, for sure.. But as with Katie, she is a good little helper and loves her sisters.  She loves the boys, too, though we've had to work through her "just girls, no boys!" motto.

Emily (15 months) is on the move! As a result, you can find Christmas ornaments (from the lower branches of the tree) from one end of the house to the other.  She is a joy (with a bit of a temper and sensitivity issues and came with her red hair we believe!)… and though the most jealous of our children, she loves her brothers and sisters, and is a Daddy's girl.

We are looking forward to the ways that God will grow us in the year to come, in our ministry to church and community, and in our ministry to our own family.  He can do mighty things with our feeble resources and efforts if we are faithful to put them in His hands.

"May the Lord bless and keep you.  May his face shine upon you, and be gracious, and give you peace."  May He also challenge, convict, and grow you in this year to come.

Merry Christmas!

Love,
the Dixons

P.S. Next year, we will be hanging one more stocking!

Top News Stories

Some of the TOP (the good, bad, and ugly... not necessarily in that order) from the summer:

Disasters:

The kids have loved having a hose at their disposal to cool off. They spray just about everything, love using it on the trampoline... I looked out one day to see the hose trailing into the tent in the backyard. I shouted out for Reuben to get it out of there! Too late! Jon had to go shop-vac it out... (I think he said he filled the vac at least three times).

My brother and his family were due to arrive to spend a few days with us so I was trying to get the house to a manageable state. Reuben and Jordan had been playing with water in the back but managed to get themselves pretty dirty (also tracked on my clean floor) so I threw them into the bathtub. I checked back, after awhile, to discover the floor flooded (nothing new- happens almost every bath that the younger boys have together) and Reuben standing in the toilet! I, angrily, started to get them bathed but was distracted by Molly who had taken diaper cream and smeared it over the face of the boys' bureau. As I cleaned that up, I returned to the bathroom and sent Jordan to go get dressed, as I cleaned the room up a bit... I checked on him to find that he had taken the diaper cream and smeared it all over himself... back to the bathroom!

We went to visit our friends in Sussex last week. The first night, as we were getting the kids ready for bed, I left Molly in the bathroom to brush her teeth and went out to the van to retrieve something that had been forgotten. I came back in, sent Katie in to check on Molly; she quickly came back out, quite excited... Molly had put the plug in the sink, had the taps full on, and water was running all over the counters, and flooding the floor! Thankfully, our friends are the picture of grace and forgiveness (and he is a plumber who has seen his fair share of messes).


Power Plays:

As one of our challenges (we picked one for most of the days we were home this summer), we celebrated Christmas. We read the Christmas story from Luke 2, the kids made decorations and hung them from the fake tree in the living room, we sang carols, the kids wished people they met a "Merry Christmas," we picked names and went Dollar store shopping for each other, and I made snowman cupcakes that we decorated together.

The gift Katie got was finger flashlights... she lent each of them out and the kids ran around, chasing each other, yelling about "chasing the light" (the VBC theme this year). Later, Katie was looking at her lights and covered one up, explaining that when we sin, our light is covered so people can't see it, but when we ask God for forgiveness, He takes the sin away and then we can shine the light of Jesus around so people can see it. Well, the kids played some more and then went to bed. A little while later, Caleb called, "Mom! Dad! Jordan wants to become a Christian... I've already prayed with him." Jon went to investigate... he asked Jordan what he wanted ("Jesus' light to be in him") and made sure he knew what that meant, and prayed with him. Now, Jordan's been telling everyone that he's a Christian. What made a great thing even greater is the confidence that Caleb and Katie showed in speaking their faith to their brother.


Victories:

We have been in diapers for almost ten years now... and usually more than one kid at a time. Even when we'd get a kid day trained, for the boys, we'd usually have at least a year (usually more) before they'd get night trained. Now, after a year of having to change two beds almost every morning (we tried pull-ups but they soaked the beds anyway), the younger boys are now dry in the mornings! And, Molly has also been trained this summer (with the occasional accident) and can get through the night dry! Believe me, for a house of six kids, cutting the diaper expense by at least half and shaving off two loads of laundry each day, is BIG!

"Do not worry..."

My oldest brother used to have a poster of Einstein with this quotation: "Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater." What Einstein said about math, I say to moms everywhere, "Do not worry about your difficulties in messes. I can assure you mine are still greater." I said to Jon earlier today, "It's weird. Things around here always happen all at once." That was after Molly peed on the floor while I was trying to make soup and had grilled cheese burning in the oven. This afternoon, I was trying to make muffins and finally getting them into the oven, while the kids spread snack (popcorn and juice packs) from one end of the dining room to the other... I got distracted as I was putting them into the oven, and the whole pan landed face down on to the bottom of the oven, muffin mix everywhere!... all over the bottom of the oven, dripping to the drawer below! And as I was trying to deal with that mess, Katie runs into the kitchen, "Jordan's into the flour bag... he's eating it and it's all over the hallway!" So, I assure you, my messes are still greater. Feel free to comment if you can beat this story... the sad thing is, Jon always asks me why I don't blog about every incident that happens in our house, and it's because, at this point, it's become normative. ;)

Dixon Family Summer Challenges

So, we've created daily challenges for our family so that we are intentional about doing things together- mostly fun (we hope)- there's a variety of educational, creative, skill or character developing, active ideas... we're into creating memories and we hope that these things lead to some good ones for our kids.... anyone can feel free to browse them and steal as you wish- we would encourage families to think and do whatever it is that helps you to bring your families closer together and closer to God.

Find 10 different bugs and identify them.

Go to the park, try to find 10 different leaves and then research to find out what types of plants they are from.

Measure the windows in the house.

Make a grocery list; make an educated guess as to how much each item costs, and then find out the actual cost. Compare your guess with reality.

Do a nature scavenger hunt (check out abcteach).

Make a family newspaper. Have each person contribute by writing an article, taking pictures, or creating a comic strip.

Read a combination of 100 pages, together as a family, in one day.

Make a rock collection; discover the differences between rocks.

Find Kenya on the map. Research this country to find out about the land, the people, and traditions.

Tell a story; have one person start, then stop at a certain point, where the next person will continue… and so on.

Have a family soccer blitz.

Play a game of catch, or a full fledged game of baseball.

Walk every street in the subdivision.

Have a water fight.

Create your own game/sport and play it.

Make an obstacle course and have each person try to get through it.

Play a family game of hide and seek.

Walk around the neighbourhood, armed with gloves and garbage bag. Pick up any litter that you see.

Walk/run the stairs 10 times.

Boys vs. girls: Each team hide a treasure; make a map or clues that the other team must follow to find the treasure.

Clean the car, inside and out, in 1 hour.

Make a fort, big enough to fit the whole family.

Make a chalk drawing that takes up the whole driveway.

Have a skipping competition.

Choose, and play, either Burning Bridges or Capture the Flag.

Have a potato sack race.

Have a Turn the Turtle competition.

Go on a family hike.

Make a meal together…. You can work in teams to make the main dish, a side dish, and dessert.

Try a new recipe.

Make a picnic and go to a park to eat it.

Make a meal plan for a week and follow it.

Create a menu for Restaurant Chez Dixon.

Make cookies to give away to a recipient of your choice.

Think of a way to thank some people in your community that may not receive a thank you for the jobs they do (ex. Garbage collectors); each person may pick a different person to thank.

Write a song together.

Tell a story by drawing it as it progresses.

Make puppets and perform a puppet show.

Create a picture together; have one person start it (keeping it secret), then make a fold to hide it, leaving only the very edge for the next person to add on to it, and continue in the same way, from person to person.

Pick an origami craft to learn and create it.

Get out the paints and paper; make a finger painting.

Make a miniature town, using recyclables.

Go on a prayer walk around the neighbourhood.,

Put the names of all family members in a hat. Have each person pick a name (different than their own)… each member will pray for, and write/draw encouraging notes for that person whose name they have drawn, for a week.

Have each family member do another family member’s chore for the day.

Turn on some music and have a dance party.

Have each person scavenge bits of nature to make a collage, all together.

Write a letter to Matayo, our sponsor child.

Have each person matched up with a name(s) of a cousin(s) or aunt(s) or uncle(s); write an e-mail to that/those person(s).

Build a Lego tower… how high can it go?

Have a paper airplane contest… the farthest flying plane wins.

Celebrate Christmas in the summer! Find a tree to decorate, sing carols, make gifts for each other, and read the true Christmas story!

Create a photo scavenger hunt. Boys vs. Girls Each group creates a list of 10 items.

Create a video of an Old Testament Story.

Watch a black and white comedy show.

Each person writes a letter to their best friend.

Make homemade playdoh.

Create a space ship from large cardboard boxes.

Go to the beach.

Stay up late and look for stars.

Flashlight tag.

Everyone gets their faces painted. The family decides together what to paint on each person that represents who they are,

Things That Make You Go, "Hmmm..."

Random statements, all from Jordan this time:

"Mommy, Daddy is big like a giant and you're small... like Caleb."

We visited a couple, Ed and Paula James, at the hospital, having just had their third child. Asked to pray for Baby Chelsea, he started, "Dear God, Thank you for this food...."

I found him in the bathroom, where Reuben was having a bath, having just jumped into the bathtub with his pajamas on. Angrily, I got him out of the tub, stripped him down, and started putting new pjs on him. Ever so innocently, he asked me, "Mom, why can't I wear my other pajamas?"

2010 Family Christmas Letter

Welcome to the 2010 Dixon Family Christmas letter,

Proceed at your own risk. Entering this zone is much like traveling to the “place where the wild things are: and sometimes we (parents) wish that we, like Max, had a boat and could “sail away through night and day, and in and out of weeks...” but, truthfully, we do love our wild things and our crazy life.

Hmmm... to bring you up to speed on the past year... perhaps we will start by sharing some things we did NOT do:

1. We did NOT burn the house down- Katie did, however, bake cookies 200 degrees hotter than intended and set off the smoke alarm a couple of times. She was trying to increase the time on the timer but, instead, mistakenly, increased the temperature.
2. We did NOT go to the zoo this year; we had our own instead. In fact, we even added to the zoo this year. Emily Ann Dixon joined the team on Sept. 27 and is a sweet little thing but can yell with the best of them. Her nickname is “Mouse” because she squeaks. Past history of nicknames: each of the kids, as babies, received nicknames (Caleb = Moose / Dino Boy, Katie = Little Bear, Reuben = Rooster, Jordan = Silly Monkey, Molly = Tiger or Duckie.
3. We did NOT get around to getting Reuben's Christmas (2009) kitten fixed so we had five kittens in the middle of August... and, after finding homes for three, we are now a zoo of six kids and four cats.

Things that we DID this year:

1. Jordan DID get potty trained: HALLELUJAH! As a result, he got to add to his “CARS” collection. One of his best friends is Lightning McQueen and many of his car friends have often been found parked in bed with him.
2. Reuben DID go to school this year. His favorite subject is recess. In spite of our misgivings about sending Reuben to school earlier than the other children (he didn't turn 5 until November), he has earned many “Bravos” and has traded them in for various prizes.
3. Katie DID lose several teeth this year, mostly by tugging on them until they became loose and fell out (though she got started on the first by a kick in the mouth from Reuben). She actually pulled one out, interrupting a speaking session while she was away at a retreat with her Dad (who was the speaker). She has been very forgiving of the Tooth Fairy, who seems to always be a night behind the times.
4. Caleb DID have his first paying job this year, collecting flyers for the neighbors while they were away in the summer. Consequently, he learned about tithing and added to his Lego collection. Perhaps, in the future, he will learn about saving.
5. Molly DID learn about being a big sister - she's loving it and doing a great job. She moved to a big bed, and she is eager to go to the potty (full training to happen in the new year). She has also developed a sense of humor.
6. Emily DID finally find her thumb. When we had the ultrasound about halfway through the pregnancy, she was very clearly sucking her thumb. Outside, was an entirely different matter, however, and she spent a lot of time sucking on Mommy's finger but has recently discovered that she has her own.

God has been good and has blessed us over this year. He is daily teaching us patience and humility; sometimes we are poor students but He has given us a great example in Jesus. We are looking forward to celebrating the hope He has given us in Jesus as we near Christmas; we have searched for ways to make it meaningful for our children so that we can give them more than what the world has defined as Christmas... we still have much to learn. We wish you a very Merry Christmas, filled with hope and joy.

The Lord bless you, and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine on you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.

Sharalyn and Jon Dixon

And, in their own words:

Dear Family and Friends,

My year was good. This year, my report card said all A's. My teacher is Ms. Carr; student teacher, Ms. Nunn. This year, I went to camp. I had a top bunk. I had a Lego birthday. I got Lego books and board games.

Farewell, friends.

Caleb

To Family and Friends,

I had a birthday in June. My name is Katie and my nickname is Little Bear. I love my sisters. We have a big house and we go to 2 camps. My mom had 9 kids in her family and I have 6, and Daddy had 2. Our Christmas tree is 7 feet. At one of the camps, I was in a cabin. My dad is a pastor and I go to New Minas Elementary School.

Katie

Reuben: I went to school and met a lot of new friends. I went to Camp Peniel and Orchard Camp.

Jordan: I got Lightning McQueen cars and played with Brock and put up a tree.

Molly (as printed verbatim by Katie): At home. Meet friends. Camps. Played games. Got a Christmas tree. Make gingerbread houses.

Merry Christmas!

Never safe from surprise...

Well, we had a first in the Dixon household when it comes to disasters.... every day, we have some sort of calamity but usually it's nothing we haven't seen before with another child (or the same child and a repeat offense)... but this, this I hadn't seen before. Jordan and Molly were playing with their cousin, Ewan... and I thought they were in the playroom. I heard some noises that made me wonder about what was going on... and then discovered that the kids were not in the playroom, which meant they were in our bedroom. I ran up- Ewan has a liking for getting into things like Tylenol- and saw a water trail from the door to the bathroom. I went into the bathroom to discover water on the floor, Q-tips and shampoo bottles littering the floor, and the shower on, with Molly and Jordan, fully clothed, entirely drenched inside the tub. Ewan was outside the tub, pants soaked (but shirt dry?)... fun times ensued.