2015 in Review

Here we are again, coming to the end of another year. We are excitedly counting down to Christmas and looking forward to everything the holidays bring. Here's a quick overview of 2015 in the Letkeman household!

John: This handsome guy rang in the New Year by turning a couple years older then 30...He is one of those weird people that gets excited about getting older and is thrilled to have gained a few grey hairs over the past year (those may or may not be my fault). He is still working at Woodstyles (he makes railings) he's been there for over 10 years and he loves it. He has the best boss EVER and John gets to work all by himself in the shop which couldn't be more perfect for him. Every now and then he gets to go help install on the job site, which he doesn't mind either. He plays bass guitar on both the church worship teams so is away at practice almost every Tuesday evening. He decided to take a break from teaching Sunday School in September of this year. He had been teaching the youth class for many years previous. The church hired a new intern youth pastor who stepped into this role nicely and John has enjoyed the break. He is still the most phenomenal daddy! I often joke that he's a better parent then I am, except I'm not joking. Funny, I dreamed my whole life of being a mom and before the girls, he really couldn't care less if we had kids or not, yet he's definitely got some serious parenting skills that I lack. We balance each other out, it's all good. But if you ever need your baby swaddled, call him. He's the swaddle master and our girls are both too old for that now so I'm sure he'd be happy to lend his talents out! I just fall more and more in love with him all the time, and I know that sounds mushy and cliche but it's so very true. He's always willing to step up and help out with anything I need, or watch the kids so I can have a break. He challenges me in my walk with God and pushes me out of my comfort zone. Love you babe, here's to another great year!

Mandi: (aka me!) January found me still teaching piano and babysitting Levi three days a week. The kids and I pretty much hibernated until winter was over, it was difficult to get out with a baby, a 1 year old and a 3 year old! The girls had their birthdays in March and I planned a joint party with both our families with a PINK theme. I started working out again (I had been on good routine in 2014 until we went to Vegas, then it all came to a stop) and I've been keeping at it since April. I feel so much better when I get 30 minutes of exercise a day in. My sister and I and a group of friends signed up for Foam Fest which we did in July. It's a 5K filled with obstacles involving lots of foam, mud and giant inflatable slides. It was so so so fun and we are already planning to do it this next year. Also in July, my very best friend in the whole wide world got married and I got to be a bridesmaid. The wedding was in Winnipeg and I made two weekend trips out in a row, one for the bachelorette the week before and then for the wedding the next week. My sister came with me for the first weekend, then the whole family traveled out for the wedding. I loved the whole weekend, but my very favorite part was the night before, when just us girls were hanging out at her place after the rehearsal. We live so far apart from each other and we text alot, but hardly ever get to see each other in person for an extended period of time so I so enjoyed spending hours just chatting. Definitely a highlight of my summer. In August I directed VBS at our church for the third year. It was an awesome (and really hot) week with lots of kids out and lots of fun! In September I started the year with 10 piano students and have now worked my way up to 12 (maxed out). I love teaching and love all my students. This has been my best year yet! I went down to watching Levi twice a week, but he still sometimes comes 3 days depending on schedules. We love having him in our home! I play piano on one of the worship teams at church and teach children's church once a month. It's been a fairly low key year, especially after 2014, and I've enjoyed so much getting to spend my days at home with my girls. I can't believe how fast they are growing and soon they'll both be in school so I'm soaking these days up as much as I can!

Cassidy: Cassidy has had an exciting year! She turned 4 in March, which thrilled her to no end! We also registered her for preschool in September. She has been wanting to go to school since she was 2 so needless to say she was very excited! She took swimming lessons in the spring and did so great! She passed and is looking forward to going again next spring. She got to go meet her teacher a week before school started and she goes Monday and Wednesday afternoons for 2 hours. As I figured, she has transitioned beautifully into the school setting. I actually had to force her to hug me goodbye the first day. She knows the routine, she's made some friends and I love all the crafts and stories she brings home! She asks every day if she gets to go to school and is looking forward to her first Christmas concert in 2 weeks, where she will be performing songs they've been working on. We also registered her for Kindergarten at Valley Christian Academy, a private school in the next town over, and found out a few weeks ago that she has a spot there! Her cousins go there and she'll get to ride the bus, both things she is very much looking forward to. Cassidy also goes to Sunday School at church and they are also working on a Christmas program that's coming up soon. She has many good friends and enjoys when they come over to visit or when she goes to their house to play. Cassidy loves playing at the park, her Barbies, making up stories, coloring on walls, tormenting her sister, reading, all her grandparents, and dancing to the Charlie Brown song that she makes her mommy play over and over again. She still talks non-stop and says some of the funniest things I've ever heard. She is seriously strong-willed and some days are a struggle but we are slowly working on how to channel her stubbornness into something good. She makes me want to pull my hair out and smother her in kisses all in the same breath. This has been the best stage so far and I am excited to watch God continue to work in her life!

Aviannah: Our dear tiny little Avi had a rough start to the New Year. She managed to catch RSV (a nasty respiratory virus) which landed her in the hospital for 5 days in isolation. We made it through, she recovered nicely and has gotten a whole lot stronger since! She turned 1 in March and celebrated by learning to crawl. She crawled her way through summer and started walking (finally!) at the end of September. She has a handful of words and is picking up new sounds every day. She is the biggest goofball we know. She has the funniest expressions and uses her cuteness to her full advantage. She is crazy busy, even more so then Cassidy was at that age, which I didn't think was possible! If she's out of sight, she's into trouble. She rewards people she loves with the best hugs and kisses and continues to charm everyone she meets. Aviannah loves books, goldfish crackers, opening cupboards, unrolling the toilet paper roll, emptying Kleenex boxes, snuggles with Mom and Dad, sucking on her two middle fingers, her bottle, tormenting her sister, dancing and shrieking just because. We love everything about her and her determined personality both thrills and terrifies me. She is still tiny for her age, but catching up quicker and quicker all the time. She continues to beat the odds and we are so thankful for her! 

Highlights of 2015 (that I didn't mention above): 
- we (ok, John) made our half bath into an ensuite and redid the back entrance. Still in love with it.
- we welcomed a new pet to our family, Cinnamon the hamster.
- Maya (the other, jealous pet) ate said hamster a month later. Lesson learned. Dogs and hamsters don't mix.
- celebrated birthdays all March long.
- we enjoyed a very early, hot spring with lots of outside time!
- I enjoyed a girls weekend away in Edmonton in May with my mom and sister (Eric and his girlfriend also joined us for one day).
- we visited Wanuskewin park with my family for Father's Day. I had never been, it was a fun afternoon.
- Kinsmen Park re-opened in August and we checked it out, it's fantastic! 
- John and I spent 4 days in Banff at the end of August to celebrate our upcoming anniversary. This was hands down the highlight of the year. We had such a wonderful, relaxing time away getting to re-connect and enjoy things like sleeping in, lingering over a long meal at a restaurant and talking without getting interrupted every 5 seconds. Oh yeah, and exploring a cave, riding up a mountain and hiking- those things were good too!
- enjoyed a visit from my brother and his girlfriend over the Labor day weekend (they both live in Medicine Hat so we don't get to see them that often, but we're going there for Christmas!!)
- celebrated 5 years of marriage in November!

All in all, it's been a great year! As always, we give thanks to God for the many blessings He's given us and we look forward to what 2016 has in store! 
Love the Letkemans!