2024 Newsletter and Christmas card
Since my first guest-post with
of , I’ve gained a few new followers and have yet to put an article out on my own Substack page! First of all, thank you so much for joining me here. I write and send out articles spontaneously and with no set schedule, so it’s possible that you may have already forgotten you’ve subscribed. I get it. For a reminder, here's my guest post with Marcy:
I also record podcast episodes, from time to time. My preferred method of podcasting is free-flow, but for this guest post with Marcy, I wrote it out first and then read from it. I know several of my readers are mothers, so if you didn’t get a chance yet to read my guest post, please go back and take a read-through or listen.
I couldn’t think of a better way for newer readers to get to know me than a Christmas newsletter. I love physical mail and usually I send Christmas cards (or Valentine’s Day cards as it turned out to be one year).
Christmas Card
I had my newsletter printed November 20 and I was ready for Christmas cards ahead of December this year. Then Canada Post was on strike for longer than I could have guessed - oh well. I gathered my cousins’ emails to send a little note and thank you for their love and support this year, and now I’m sharing my newsletter with you. The benefit of digital Christmas cards is more photos!!
Aaron Family 2024 Newsletter
January came with a blur. My dad had a heart attack Dec 19 last year, and passed away Jan 1, 2024. I spent 5 wonderful kid-free days at my mom's place for my dad's funeral. I was so grateful to see so many cousins make it into Edmonton in such terrible weather. It was so consoling to me to spend days with family and have them there supporting my mom.
January 28, Jonathan (my husband) and I celebrated 10 years together.
March held some wonderful visits for us. We celebrated Malcolm's 2nd birthday (Jonathan's grandkid), and welcomed Jonathan's first granddaughter, Makenzie, who was born March 4. At the end of March/beginning of April, my mom came and visited with us for a week over Easter.
In April, we set up Forryst's big kid bed (April 9), his Auntie Melanie (Jonathan's cousin) came out for Forryst's 4th birthday party, and I got a memorial tattoo for my dad at the end of the month.
May felt like it lasted forever as Forryst was sick and slept for a week, then took some time to be back to his regular self. June was off to a great start making our first ever lemon bundt cake as a family, then we had lots of visits with friends and hikes. We got out to the ocean only once this summer, on July 13, then enjoyed a splash park two weekends in a row with friends and neighbours.
August flew by with Grandma's passing on August 5. We cancelled our vacation plans (we were planning to be in Victoria) and Forryst and I enjoyed time out in Manitoba at the end of the month to visit with family and say goodbye to Grandma/Great Grandma. My highlight in September was a date with Forryst and I to a Mexican restaurant. This fall, Forryst made his very own first friend with a neighbourhood kid. Lorenzo lives up the hill from us. Forryst had played soccer all summer with the big boys and Lorenzo, then Forryst asked to go play at his house and the rest is history! I enjoy visiting with Lorenzo's mom, Marcia, when Forryst goes over to play. Their family has only lived here for 1 year, having relocated to Canada from Brazil.
Forryst loves halloween so we worked hard this year to create him a Bumblebee transformer costume.
October also brought to a close a nature club group that I co-lead with my friend, Adell. We had many park dates and hikes with families over the last year and it felt like the right time to transition. November was uneventful. December, Forryst and I flew to Edmonton to have an early Christmas with my mom and sister. I invited my Auntie Audrey and Uncle Tom and they came down from Cold Lake to spend Saturday night and Sunday morning with us. My Uncle Tom reminds me the most of my dad, and he and Audrey raised 3 boys so Forryst feels very comfortable around Tom. It filled my heart to be with family and share memories of my dad.
We have very few plans for Christmas, and I really enjoy taking the time to play with Forryst and not have to rush here and there with social engagements.
Our thoughts for next year include more little road trips. We took such a long road trip summer 2023 and Forryst has been asking when we'll go for a big drive again. Driving does take some extra planning, but our family enjoys road trips more than flying so my goal next year is to not fly at all.
Between my dad's funeral and Grandma's funeral, it was really great to visit with so much family but it gave me more motivation to work to visit family members for happy reasons and not wait until a funeral to see my cousins again.
All our love, Jonathan, Amanda and Forryst.