Dear Family, Friends, and Blog Readers,
Another Christmas is quickly approaching and once again, we find ourselves reflecting on the past year. 2021 was a very busy and challenging year in a variety of ways. We eagerly look forward to a quiet time of rest and relaxation as we contemplate the true meaning of Christmas this season.
At the beginning of 2021, our family decided to make some lifestyle changes and establish some healthier eating habits. We began by focusing on a Mediterranean diet, however, by May, Daddy decided to switch to a Keto diet (very low carb, high fat), with intermittent fasting. He is now in his 8th month of Keto, and both his bloodwork and blood pressure have come back excellent. Mommy was a bit more reluctant to do a full Keto, however, she has been able to significantly reduce her carb intake to a modified Keto diet with great results. Together, Daddy and Mommy have now lost a combined weight of over 55lbs! Even Chester the cat has reaped the benefits of a new strictly carnivore diet. He too has lost weight and has a lot more energy.
A little more about our year:
In January, we were able to go sledding with friend Deegan on his homemade luge course. We continued to meet up for other outdoor play dates throughout the year, whether it was in his backyard, at the pool, the apple orchard, the corn maze, or the park.
From January through August, Mommy taught kindergarten to both Olivia and friend Lydia one day a week. In this way, we are able to do small-group activities for math, language, and music, and have some much-needed social time.
In the spring, we were also able to visit several small local farms to see the variety of farm animals for our homeschool farm unit. This summer, Olivia was able to spend lots of time with cousins Molly and Lola. We took several trips to the beach, swam in the pool, and spent a day at Wesley Acres together. Olivia loves her big girl cousins so much!
In June, we purchased our own little flock of laying hens, and Mommy enjoys selling the extra eggs on her roadside stand along with her homemade preserves and neighbour Ron’s honey. This fall, we received some more hens from farmer friend Jesse. Our veggie garden was a disappointment as we were infested with earwigs for several months. Daddy’s tomato plants, however, were a huge success, and Mommy was able to make lots of tomato and chili sauce. Mommy and Olivia were able to pick strawberries at our friends’ farm again this summer. Mommy also did a fair bit of online consignment sales again this year, and gained some more new clients.
In June, our house severance process was officially completed. We spent the spring picking rocks, moving dirt, grading, and planting grass seed to fill in the old driveway. When he wasn't busy creating new software for work, Jared was making repairs to the roof, killing earwigs, and loading firewoood.
During his holidays, we built a cedar rail fence around the back portion of the property, pulled weeds, and planted more grass seed. This fall, we had the silo and barn roof painted. Slowly but surely, our little parcel is taking shape and we hope that one day it will reach its former glory.
We celebrated Olivia’s 5th birthday in June with a small party at home. Friends and family visited throughout the week. On August 20, Daddy and Mommy celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. We were able to briefly visit with our longtime friends the Ryttersgaards who were able to travel here from Barbados. This month, we also quietly celebrated Jared’s 40th birthday.
In September, we began our third year of homeschooling. Unfortunately, we are unable to join any other families for school, however Olivia is attending Sunday school and a morning playgroup at church and we also meet for regular playdates with another local homeschooling family. We are thankful for Olivia’s new friends Aubrey and Gwen. 
This has been another year of learning new things for Olivia. Over the past year, she made excellent progress in speech therapy with her articulation; her fluency continues to improve as well. In the summer, she was able to shed her puddle jumpers and just use a ring for swimming in the pool. This fall, she learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels. Over the past few months, she has even learned to read!
Much to Mommy’s delight, Olivia is now at the age where she enjoys having chapter books read aloud to her. Mommy was thrilled to be able to read several of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books! Olivia and Mommy were even able to take a field trip to the Ameliasburgh Museum in September and Macaulay House in October to see up close how the pioneers and early settlers lived. We even watched the first episode of Mommy’s beloved TV show, Little House on the Prairie together!
We are grateful for another year of learning, growing, and doing life together. Regardless of the many challenges that came our way, we press on! May you find this Christmas season meaningful and may you experience many blessings in the New Year.
With much love,
The Gryce Family.
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