The Shetler Family: Shetler Family Christmas Letter 2018

IN GENERAL…

Joey has matured to the stage where he starts 90% (and maybe more) of his family conversations with the phrase: “when I was a kid…” Pam has hit the age where she knows, loves and sings along with every “oldies” song (wait-80’s is oldies now!?!) that comes over the Safeway speakers. She celebrated her 20 year class reunion.

Emma-12 will be a teenager at the end of this month. She is obsessed with all things bird she has

quite a flock here at home. She is faithful helper and is growing in responsibility. She passed an official babysitting course and has been babysitting here at home.

Katelyn-7 not only is hilarious, but knows she is super funny. She is, by far, our most ticklish family member. She has developed a love for whatever currently interests Emma. In July, she jumped of her bed and got a buckle fracture in her wrist and wore a soft cast on for two weeks. No water fun in the middle of summer!

Gideon-5 is forever seeking solitude from the chaos and trying to somehow bring his beloved little brother with him. He is pretty sad we are done having babies. He constantly asks good questions and often has insights through his simple faith that amaze me. He is also the one most likely to bring on a very much appreciated and uplifting compliment. He aspires to be a Daddy when he grows up.

Evelyn-4 is busy making up her own songs and dancing to them. She also likes to narrate her own life in third person. She is always willing to increase the noise level of our house, often by eliciting unwilling help from her pestered sibling. Her heart murmur is still being monitored and will be fixed as soon as she is big enough for the procedure.

Benjamin-2 fluctuates between keeping up with the big kids and retaining youngest status. He wants

to do everything they are doing but still demands “nuggles” and frequently declares “I baby.” Benjamin revels in the ridiculous and will laugh so hard he can’t make a sound. All the kids love to make up jokes thus giving dads everywhere a run for their money. They are also really good at

laughing at their own jokes.

Our Chicken-Topia

Painting is fun.

WORK AND SCHOOL AND SUCH…

Joey continues to work hard at Blazer Industries and he has kept busy with projects around the house. Grandma and Grandpa surprised us with some chickens for Emma’s 12th Bird-Day Party. We scrambled to make a quick shelter but later in 2018 Joey built a luxury chicken coop (a Chicken-topia, if you will) and Emma’s chickens are spoiled. He has also been developing his Man Cave. Photography has picked up markedly for Pam this year with tons of family and senior sessions and a temporary break from retirement to do a wedding. It has been a challenge to fit it all in, but all her customers have been gracious with the longer wait time.

Emma is working through her dyslexia curriculum. The first couple of books were brutally boring to her because it was so basic and she had already broken through those barriers in her own mind. The rest are promised to be more of a challenge. She is still doing really well with her math and she has a bent towards sciences and all things bird.

Katelyn and Gideon are going through K/1 together. Katelyn is a social butterfly and knows that if she doesn’t learn all thisstuff she can’t write notes to her friends. Gideon is thirsty for knowledge and I have a hard time getting him to leave the table. He is there most days coloring and working on writing letters and asking how to spell words (and being told to sound most of them out).

Never a dull moment!

Evelyn and Benjamin have been absorbing alongside as they play and know their letters and colors and numbers and shapes. (Benjamin knows all the letters and many of their sounds).

This kid is a super helper!

MINISTRIES AND STUFF WE DO…

On the Stoddard Farm

The kids continue to love our home school co-op, S.A.L.T. (Silverton Area Learning Together). Emma has graduated beyond Canyonview Day Camp and Katelyn went for the first time this summer. Emma has graduated also from AWANA and Benjamin starts it next September. Katelyn has moved up to SPARKS. Joey continues as the AWANA game leader.

(always) Ready to Sing!

Pam jumped into the Women’s Ministries team and loves it!

this window in the Elsinore
looks like a boy band CD cover.

She sings in the choir and on the praise team and pretty much every moment of her day. She had the opportunity to join three other local choirs to perform a beautiful oratorio in the Elsinore Theater backed by a full orchestra! What an amazing experience. Even sitting in the balcony listening to the tuba warm-up was wonderful!

(You can watch the Oratorio Pam participated in on vimeo. It is titled: Saviour: The Story of God’s Passion for His People and can be found at
Saviour: The Story of God's Passion for His People

GOING OUT…

At The St. Louis Arch

Joey, Pam, Katelyn & Gideon spent a week at COVE with their annual high school youth group camp-out.

Camping is hard work.

As a family, we enjoyed our third annual campout at Pine Meadows Campground with our church. Pam was able to take a solo-trip to St. Louis to spend a few days with Sibling-in-law Jonny & Ashley Shetler and their new baby Brody! Snuggling just one at a time made for a truly a wonderful vacation! Emma enjoyed the Middle School Summer Camp and the Fall Growth Getaway at Camp Tadmor. We also sent out a bunch of stuff in a huge garage sale (SO MUCH STUFF-we helped two families move and sold their stuff alongside ours!) Joey was so happy to get his garage back.

Kano liked the S'mores...toasted on the stove!

COMING IN…We hit the one year mark of living in our new house at the end of July!!! It is hard to believe that time can fly so fast. We loved the gatherings of friends and family. We hope to host more in 2019! We welcomed Kano Kando from Fujimi High School in end of July and into August for a 13 day stay. We love her and she is greatly missed!

In the end of September Marina and Hokona from Yono High

Honoka and Marina loved Silver Falls!

School came for a four day stay. We crammed a lot of life into those four days and when it was time to say good-bye, we cried as it if had been a year! We were able to have some extended cousin week/weekends. First for two nephews on Joey’s side (His sister and her husband were able to get away to Europe!) Then Pam’s brother’s two daughters came to stay. (For those of you who have been praying for my brother, he is doing well and we are so thankful he is!!!) There’s more fun to be had here! My kids beg for more cousin time constantly now! Come stay with us! Or at least come try our slide for a day.

(as random in order as in content!)

"I wike you Mommy."

Benjamin: “I wike you Mommy. You beeuh-ful.”

Joey: “What is envy?”

Evelyn: “You don’t share your crackers.”

Joey: “What is Jealousy?”Evelyn: “People don’t share their treasures.”

These two usually get a long.

(Gideon and Katelyn were bickering. )

Pam: “You won’t get to pick a treasure from this dentist office if you don’t knock it off and start being kind!”

Katelyn: “I love you Gideon!” Gideon: “I love YOU Katelyn!”

It's always Candy o'clock.

Evelyn: “Why did the duck cross the road?”

Pam: “I dunno…why did the duck cross the road?”

Evelyn: “No, I was asking you!”

Auntie Em makes great cakes.

Pam: “Oh, um…because he was following the chicken.”

Evelyn: “No! Because he was going to the water.”

Katelyn and Evelyn like to go camping because (E) enjoys the “smarshmallows” and (K) enjoys the “snores”

Evelyn: “🎵Paint nails for Dinner. 🎵Paint Nails for dinner🎵... Paint nails for Dinner…there was God!” 🎵 (In the beginning…there was God🎵)

Katelyn, while carrying a basket of laundry, calls out:

“Benjamin! Come with me if you want to have fun.”

Benjamin: “Fuh-Fuh!” (Evelyn)

Evelyn: “If I have no ice popsicle, I might die…all by myself.”

Gideon: (While coloring his very own alphabet book) “N is for Narwhals. Narwhals are a species of dolphin. They have a large tusk.” (Technically, they are a type of whale, like a dolphin….but I was pretty impressed. He is obsessed with ocean life)

Gideon: “Sometimes I like to call moose-papers, ‘horse-papers.’ ” (moose-papers = newspapers)

Evelyn: “I wish Auntie Julianna was God.”

Pam: “Why would you wish that?”

Evelyn: “ Because I really want her to be a boy.”

Pam: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Evelyn: “A Worm. A humungous worm.”

Joey: “A gummy worm?”

Evelyn: “Yes.”

Benjamin: “I love the ‘go-gurt’ house!” (Gilbert House - a local kids museum)

Katelyn: “What is a gorilla’s favorite snack? Gorilla Bar. Get it? Like granola bars?” (She then laughs at her own joke)

Pam: (noticing Gideon asleep on the couch.) “Hey buddy, you fell asleep… go on up to bed.”

Gideon: (after going upstairs and crying and crying, he lamented to Daddy, “Mommy said I was sleeping, but I wasn’t. I was blind”.

Overheard Katelyn and Emma were playing “Truth or Dare” and Katelyn picked dare . Emma dared her to “pick dare on your next turn.”

(I imagine Emma would also ask the Genie for three more wishes)

While on a field trip at the pumpkin patch the farmer asked the kids to name types of corn. Benjamin yells out “UniCORN!”

Pam (on Oct 31st after walking around town and climbing into a REAL firetruck): “What was the best part of the day? “

Gideon: “Sugar Treating!!!”

Evelyn loves the scene in White Christmas where the guys “lip shrink” (lip sync) “Their lips shrink so they will look smaller like a girl!”

Evelyn: “Emma, what in the road (world) are you doing?”

Katelyn: “Daddy, you know a lot about everything, but I know about bugs.”

Evelyn shivering furiously at the front door after some June sprinkler fun in the front yard)

Evelyn: “I’m SOO cold. Get a towel.”

Pam: “Go get one from Emma.”

E: “They’re all wet. Get another one!”

P: “No, I am not washing more towels.”

E: “Can I have a snack?”

P: “Sure. What do you want?”

E: “A popsicle!”

Pam: “Gideon, Evelyn & Benjamin, you get a play date at the Stoddards’ house today!”

Katelyn: “YAY! Do I get to go?”

Pam: “No, you got a playdate with Sarah yesterday.”

Katelyn: (Grumps)

Gideon: (feeling super kind and helpful) “When we get back, we can tell you all about the fun we have Katelyn!”

Evelyn: (runs in crying) “Gideon hurt my finger! My special finger!!! It’s special because God made it. Gideon hurt it. I need a new finger.” (She ran around with her injured digit high in the air. It was her middle finger and she had no clue)

Pam: “What song is this from?”

Evelyn: “Charlie Brown!”

Benjamin: “Charlie Green!”

Evelyn: “NO! Charlie BROWN!”

Gideon: “Charlie Blue!”

Evelyn: “NO! NO! Charlie BROWN! Evelyn says Charlie Brown! Not Charlie Green! Not Charlie Blue. Charlie Brown!” (They argued through the rest of the song.)