christmas greetings 2023

Dear Family, Friends and Readers,

Yet another year has come and gone, and once again here we sit, scrolling through the hundreds of photos and reminiscing over the past year. It seems as though the older we get, the faster time flies.

We spent last Christmas snowed in at home due a blizzard that was reminiscent of one from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter!  Jared’s school friend Jay had come to visit us, and ended up staying for three days because the roads were closed. During the blizzard, our wood stove kept us cozy and the old Dykstra family sjoelbak (Dutch shuffleboard) helped us pass the time.

This was a year of many losses and changes within our family. Over the past 12 months, we experienced the passing of a number of family members, including Jared’s cousin, uncle, and great-aunt, as well as Donna’s mother and uncle. All three of us continue to experience flare-ups of our long covid symptoms, every 3-4 months. For Jared and Donna, that means varying degrees of nausea and brain fog; for Olivia, nerve pain in her ears. Donna also still has tingling in her feet. Jared still struggles with a number of health issues, but through it all, we are deeply grateful for each day that he is able to work and provide for our family. Being able to work remotely from home has been a tremendous blessing. 

Donna had a very busy spring and summer. She took over as Power of Attorney for her mother in May. In addition to moving her mother to a retirement residence, Donna oversaw all financial and medical aspects until her mother’s passing in September. She spent many, many hours sorting through, and cleaning out cupboards and closets.  Donna is now co-executor of the estate, which will likely bring more changes to our family in the upcoming year or two. 

This past spring, Donna was able to convert the front portion of our old roadside garage into her own flea market. Going from a completely online business, to setting up a small patio table on the front lawn, to having an actual store front has been quite a journey. Since her early days as a teen volunteering at the annual Willing Workers for Quinte Christian High School yardsale (in the very same location!), having her own store has been a dream finally realized!  Donna continues to sell her own jam and preserves, as well as our neighbour’s honey, but with the new retail space, she has been able to do many of her consignment sales through the store. For bigger-ticket items, she still sells through Facebook Marketplace. Donna’s flock of chickens continues to grow, as does her base of regular egg customers. There continues to be a high demand for free-range eggs in our area. 

Throughout the winter months, Donna and Olivia went to the local arena for skating. Donna hadn’t been on skates in over 20 years! 

Olivia finished level 4 of gymnastics this spring.

In May, we spent the day at Lang Pioneer Village, and in October, we went to Presquille Provincial Park, both with our homeschool group.

Olivia also participated in her first track and field day along with many other homeschool students.

In September, Donna and Olivia went to Baxter Park for their first annual Movie in the Park night, and watched Disney’s Encanto.

This September was Olivia’s first time exhibiting at the Picton Fair, and for Donna, it was something she had not done since high school. They both did very well in many of the categories entered. Olivia won first prize and best-in-class for her home-baked and decorated rainbow ruffle cake!

This year we enjoyed numerous field trips as part of our homeschool learning. We spent a great deal of time learning about people and places that make up our local community. This included tours of the fire and paramedic station, police station, safety village, grocery store, post office, library, hardware store, a dairy farm, and even a local restaurant. Olivia’s favourite experience was working in the restaurant kitchen and learning about waitressing.

We are blessed to have another homeschool family living nearby. Olivia is friends with Gwen (age 8) and the two girls get along very well. They often have playdates together. We also spend time with another homeschooling family from our church. In February, Donna started teaching a music appreciation class for their daughter (age 6) and Olivia. They explored rhythm instruments while learning new songs and games. They also had a story and craft time afterwards, followed by play time! During our summer break, we went to Sandbanks beach together twice. This fall, Donna started teaching French and Art classes to the girls while Mrs Stickland teaches the girls piano lessons. They are nearly finished their first piano book! 

Olivia turned 7 in June. She enjoyed a backyard party of games and snacks with 5 of her closest friends. Other friends and family members came to visit throughout her birthday week, finishing off with her Broekema cousins coming for a long-awaited sleepover!

Olivia spent two consecutive weeks in June, and another two weeks in July taking swimming lessons with Mrs. Parks. She earned her level 1 and 2 red cross swimming badges, and can officially swim better than Donna! It was wonderful to see Olivia so confident in the water, and to not have to use any floaties in the pool the rest of the summer.

In July, we attended the Waterfront Festival. This year, Olivia was tall enough to go on nearly all the rides without an adult. She enjoys any rides that spin very fast!

Olivia also had her very first sleepover at her Broekema cousins’ house this year. She had such a great time, she stayed for two nights, instead of one!

In October, Donna repaired Jared’s old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume (made by Grandpa Gryce 34 years ago), so Olivia could wear it for Halloween. 

We hope and pray this letter finds you well.  In the midst of all the changes, both at home and in the world, we are thankful that we serve a God who never changes. Despite all the uncertainty of what the future holds, He is in control. We pray this will be a comfort to you all. We wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

With love,

Jared, Donna and Olivia Gryce