2015 Shetler Family Christmas Letter

Steens Trip

JOEY was able to get away for a few extended weekends. He headed down with his cousins to the Steens (Southeast Oregon) and helped pack out an animal each day. He went to Men’s Round-Up with our Church. He and Emma joined some family at Baldy Creek in Northeast Oregon. He works so hard and so seldom gets away. It was a special treat this year to have so much “Man” time. (And Emma really enjoyed having some “only child” time)
PAM continues to serve at MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers.) If you are reading this, live in our area, and like kids we could REALLY use more volunteers in our Moppets Program as we are finally implementing a waiting list for the children’s program. It is such an amazing chance to love to moms of young children and the commitment is only a few hours, once a month, during the school year! Pam also enjoys singing occasionally with the worship team at church. Her photography is slow most of the year long. It picks up in the fall when people want senior pictures and family Christmas pictures and it is nice to keep up with the craft, but not be busy with it all year long.
EMMA jumped into 4th grade this fall. She loves AWANA. She memorized enough verses in Sunday School to completely earn her way to Canyonview Day Camp. She is an amazing helper around the house and has a fairly cheerful spirit about it. Heads up to all our friends with young children: in 4-5 years she will be a fantastic babysitter. Emma just acquired two new kitties for her 10th Birthday/Christmas present. They are darling little black critters. She named them Andy and Oliver.



KATELYN turned four in October. She started AWANA Cubbies this fall. She talks incessantly which provides for much entertainment and time-outs. She is becoming more and more independent which occasionally leads to fireworks as Emma can be prone to “helpfulness”. We made a trip into ER with Katelyn. She ate a dime. Based on advice from poison control to see a doctor immediately if she started vomiting we headed in at 9:30 p.m. after she showered Pam with vomit from the top bunk. It was a miserable night of waiting and puking in the ER. The x-ray clearly showed the dime in her intestines. We headed home. That was the last it was seen. Who knew a dime could be worth $500+ dollars ? L She made a trip earlier in the year to the doctor for stitches, but the doctor thought it looked good enough with the butterfly bandages. As you can tell from the report and the quotes on the back of this page…she’s a busy girl!GIDEON turned two in June and looks like a little football player. He’s got beefy man hands and a strong stocky physique. He also has a very loud unmanly scream. It is currently his main defense against his big sisters. He has a devastatingly handsome little smile. Gideon gashed his forehead open and we made a trip into Urgent Care for four stitches. He had two of them pulled out by morning so we headed into the doctor who added some butterfly bandages, superglue, band-aids and wrapped Gideon’s head in  

Gideon happily awaiting stitches!

gauze. Those items were gone by the end of naptime. Pam just worked at keeping it clean (ha! A two year old staying away from dirt?!?) Now he has a roguish scar to complement his ruggedly manly handsomeness. His hair grows faster than we can cut it and it covers the scar nicely.EVELYN turned one in August. She loves to give High Five and lip-smacky kisses. Evelyn began walking at 14 months and she loves to climb. She LOVES bath time. Woe to the person starting bath water if they do not plan to put her in it. She likes to make silly faces. She’s got her molars. She is a very easy going little girl. She is addicted to phones and remotes. She does NOT like to have things taken away from her. In July she got to go with Joey and Pam to the High School summer retreat of COVE. She wowed everyone with her clapping skills during worship. She loves groove to the music and when she sings she even hits some notes. If you whistle at her she might try to purse her lips and copy you.


Other Highlights for the Shetler Family: Last few years we were able to announce a pregnancy or birth. This year will be no exception as we are expecting little #5 -and final- in February. Next year, you’ll find out the birth details (Pam can’t wait to find out the name…this not knowing in advance is a first for her). In January we cut down three gigantic trees next to our house. One was leaning over our house so we hired out a team. For the other two, our Brother-in-Law,
  Tim Faulkner joined Joey in a fun manly bonding day with no other destruction beyond the tree and an ugly arborvitae. August was busy. It started off with VBS in full swing. In the middle of August, Joey’s was a groomsman for the wedding of his brother, Jonny, to the lovely Ashley. It was an all-around beautiful day. All of their Shetler side cousins (ages 10 down to 11 months) were in the wedding processional. Even our #5 baby made it down the aisle as Gideon wouldn’t go without mommy. So that made 17, plus baby #5, plus Ashley’s niece in one wedding!!! Overall, they did really well with no melt downs. Gideon managed to stay clean until we were lining up to go down the aisle. He found a nice smooth patch of concrete and decided to be a snake. It brushed off (mostly). Also in August, Emma also enjoyed her week at Canyonview Day Camp, but this year we skipped family night to drive up for a weekend stay with some family. We so thoroughly enjoy Joey’s second cousin Forest and his lovely wife, Marett. All of our children (ten combined) play amazingly well! Every visit with the Teele family goes much too fast!!!
In September we hosted two fantastic young ladies from Japan for a long weekend.Yuki and Erina got a whirlwind tour and handled the craziness of a house full of toddlers remarkably well! (We get powerful loud around here.) This December will find us celebrating the birth of Jesus with friends and family and enjoying another Christmas Program. The three older children will participate. Sometime in the next two years, we plan to move (more details next year--or ask us by phone if the suspense is just killing you.) After next year, our newsletters are likely to be unexciting as we will have nothing big to announce until Emma gets married which should hopefully be a good decade+ away. But they will not be short for a few years out if the rest of this letter is any indication. 



EmmaismsGot Gideon dressed in camo pants and buttoned an orange onesie over the pants. I (Pam) asked her to fix it and she replied, “No way! He looks so cool--just like a superhero.”
Pam: Ew, there is some possum road kill. Emma: It’s like the Sunday school song.
Pam: (thinking: Huh? Do I need to look over that curriculum???) What do you mean Emma?
Emma: You know the one, “I am a possum. I am a possibility…” Pam: I think you mean “promise.”
Emma: Yeah, that one.
According to Katelyn: “Gideon is a baby toddler and I am a big Daddy Toddler.”
“I’m like a mommy, mom. You’re a mom, and I’m a mommy.”
Dogs say: Barf! Barf! Barf!!!
“I’m taking pictures with my Cramma” (Pam: Your ca-mer-a?) “Yes, my cram-ra.”
Katelyn freely advises: “Don’t swallow pennies.”
“Look Mommy! A water snake! (garden hose)
“Mayonnaise, it makes me so….so….sad. I can’t like it.”
“God said no hitting on Katelyn.”
Octpotato (Avocado)
“My eyeball (did she mean Bible?) said: I not thirsty.”
“Mommy, I like the yellow trash.” (squash)
If you hear us call Evelyn “El-oh-wyn” blame it on Katelyn. She’s got us all saying it.
You might have thought that your sneeze went “ah-choo” but according to Katelyn you’re really saying “Hot Cheddar”
Katelyn enters the room wearing a superman costume. “Mommy! I a cripple!” (Um do you mean incredible?) “Yes, I a super.”
Katelyn got into potty humor. After repeatedly reminding her to not use bad words she quit cold turkey. “Mommy! I’ve got to go potty…bad words are coming out.”
K: “Cows don’t jump on beds.”
P: They don’t?
K: “No (pause) Cows jump on moons.”
Pam: Katelyn are you shy?
Katelyn: No, I not shy. I pretty.
Katelyn: “Jesus died.” (Pam: Yup)
Katelyn: “He died on a mountain. “ (Pam: OK)
Katelyn: “Mary didn’t die.” (Pam: well, actually…)
“No, Mary didn’t die. Mary had a little lamb.”
Pam: What does a platypus say?
Katelyn: Pooooooooooooooooooooooop
Emma: Katelyn, help me clean up this mess.
Katelyn: No Emma! I’m trying to eat this cheese stick.
Q: What is a Wee-oh Truck?
A: According to Katelyn, that is the real word for Ambulance.
Weeeeee-Oh! Weeeeee-Oh! Weeeeee-Oh! Weeeeee-Oh!
Giggles with GideonDawbees=Strawberries
Geen=Gideon
Geek You = Thank you
Gideon enjoys “Hips and Elsa” (chips and salsa)
Head-oh= Pillow. We’ve tried to correct this one but he is so emphatic about it (it makes sense if you think about it) that we are almost convinced.Earful of EvelynEveryone heard her say “mine” pretty emphatically while grabbing a toy on her first birthday. But her first word was “hi” accompanied by a very cute finger wave. As of yet, not much more than adorable babble to report. She is more likely to say “Dada” than “Mama.” She can say “daw” (dog). She might growl back at you if you growl at her. At the end of dinner prayer she will echo Gideon’s loud “EEEEmen.” But she just says “EEEE” so she might just be saying “eat.” She might be small but she can pack in the food better than most!!!
Random Dinner Conversation between Pam Gideon and Katelyn K: Mommy…what is this dessert?
P: Tiramisu.
K: Tira-me-daddy-soup?
P: No. Tiramisu.
G:Taco-Me-Soup?
P: No. Tee-rah-mee-su.
K: Tira-me-Jesus-moo?
G: Tira-me-Geen- Soup?
P: Tiramisu. TEE-rah-MEE-su.
(Blank stares)
P:  Never mind.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for sticking with us and may God bless your endurance with a fantastic 2016!
Have a VERY Merry Christmas!
Love | Joey & Pam | Emma, Katelyn, Gideon, Evelyn & Baby Shetler