Every year, we email out a digital Christmas card and letter to friends and family! While we now tend to share more of our lives in real time thanks to social media, I still enjoy this practice of sharing a detailed overview of the last year in a dedicated letter.
Plus, as I mentioned in my blog about digital scrapbooking, this letter is what goes at the beginning of each of my books and serves as a written summary of the year!
Here’s our card & letter for 2022 :)
Our regular life looks like daily tv time after dinner, family laundry parties on the floor, and grabbing takeout multiple times per week because meal planning is not my strong suit, but 2022 also had many exciting highlights! Russ and I celebrated 10 wonderful years of marriage, and soon after decided we were ready to expand our family by another little human. I’m just over halfway through my pregnancy with our first baby BOY, so we’ve got a lot of exciting change to look forward to in the coming year! In the meantime, we’re enjoying our two girls, who are equal parts fun and wild. They play incredibly well together and love each other so much, but they also push each other’s buttons like crazy 🤪
Holly (3 this month) has grown up so much this year! It’s hard to believe that she’ll soon be the middle child instead of the baby. She’s been stepping out in true second-child fashion by insisting on growing up too quickly! She has been washing her own hands after eating and sitting in a regular seat rather than a high chair for months now – both changes that came much earlier than they did with Ada! Holly has also learned a few words and behaviors earlier than I’d like 🙃 On the positive side, she is learning earlier to clean up her own dishes, and she’s also picking up skills like how to use scissors! She is obsessed with cutting paper smaller and smaller until it’s gone. She gives the world’s BEST hugs and snuggles, and she sings all the words to so many primary songs. She loved her summer preschool, and we were both sad when it came to an end!
Ada (6) started kindergarten this fall! She’s always loved preschool so I anticipated a smooth transition, but it’s been pretty rocky. She already claims to hate school (says she misses quiet time and hates sitting so long), so we’re all in trouble here 😅 She’s in a Spanish immersion program, and her Spanish accent is so adorable. She’s learning to read, and we’ve finally turned a corner to the point where she’s willing and eager to practice. She loves listening to chapter books, whether on her own, or with me at bedtime. We’ve read so many good books together this year; I love that I can read her books that are way too advanced for her to read herself, but which she comprehends just fine. She loves to play with friends and if she had it her way, she’d have a playdate every single day!
Late last year, I started an online parenting book club in connection with my business. This year, I took things up a notch by hosting an IG Live for each book with a guest expert on the topic. It was both difficult and fulfilling to search out and connect with experts for these book discussions! Halfway through the year, I roped a bunch of strangers from a Facebook mom group into doing an in-person book club with the same parenting books, so that’s been a fun addition. Speaking of books, @everydayreading has reignited my love for reading! I went from reading 10 books last year, to 50 this year! I connected with other sleep consultants at a business conference in Arizona, which was SO FUN; however, I’ve since taken a bit of a step back from my business. I still love helping people with sleep, but I want to focus more of my time on creating better home systems and a more purposeful family life. I’m still hosting Cake & Conversation girls’ nights most months; I enjoy making different flavored cakes (Crème Brûlée and Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Banana were my favorite cakes this year!), and I’ve found that meaningful conversations are definitely my love language. Finally, I’ve really honed my skills in making family home videos this year! I’ve got a good system worked out, and I’m so excited to have my family’s memories preserved in this beautiful way.
Russ is still working as a Team Lead for Duncan Aviation FBO Services, while the girls and I wish for some unicorn form of work where he can just be home with us all the time! He’s had to leave town a few times in recent months for various leadership trainings, and I don’t know how anyone survives a spouse who is gone regularly! I ordered a ukulele online earlier this year with the intention of learning to play, but Russ immediately took it over and began learning songs. I don’t mind, though – I just wanted more music in our home! Russ must want that, too, since he also recently bought a keyboard. Russ has been fixing cars like usual – he replaced my car’s transmission earlier this year, and he’s currently rebuilding his car’s engine. Thank goodness wonderful family members have loaned their cars while ours have been out of commission this year! Russ remains the best (and only) breadmaker in our house – he makes amazing sourdough, banana bread, rolls, and sandwich bread. He’s had farm life on his mind ever since my cousin’s family started a homestead earlier this year, but for now we’re both only half-in on that idea.
This year we took two BIG trips – neither one with our kids 🤣 First, to Paris to celebrate our anniversary! We enjoyed our time there, but we also learned a lot about how we like to travel – shorter flights with less jet-lag, and shorter trips overall. Second, we went to Alaska with all the adults in my family. Russ LOVED it and was completely in his element there, especially on our fishing day. I liked it, but the trip was a bit tainted by the fact that I was 6 weeks pregnant and didn’t feel well basically the entire time, especially on our fishing day 🤪 As far as family trips go, we made plenty of memories in our closer-to-home travels to Capitol Reef and Bear Lake.
We hope this letter finds you well, and we wish you the merriest Christmas and a wonderful new year!
With love,
Russ, Ashley, Ada, Holly, & Baby Boy Holmes