Christmas 2021 Card

And here we are…

Christmas 2021! Are you feeling the excitement? The energy? The pure loveliness thick in the air? As I write this, I am feeling pretty jacked up on life. Did a slow clap. Amped myself up for literally no reason at all. But sometimes, you just need to start a slow clap and work your way up to an applause to really gear up that momentum for the day. That is today for me. As I write our Christmas letter in early November.

In October of this year, we closed on some pretty rad property that we lovingly named, The Red Tree Ranch. It is almost 7 acres of land, also in Dayton and has 6 different buildings on the property + a pool and rests on the Mississippi River. We love it. We have so much work to do (it’s around 100 years old) but we are up for the challenge. We will build a new house on the land so we won’t be officially moving in until spring/summer of 2022. It’s pretty much a dream of ours and we are LIVING OUR DREAMS. We are ridiculously thankful to God and keep believing in His abundance in our lives and are excited to pour so much into our friends + family + community through this property for the glory of God.

The 3 big kids started their 2nd year at Maranatha Christian Academy where Nathan is in his 2nd year working as Assistant Principal. (That’s another change we should address- Seborn is in the process of legally switching his middle name to his first name. He is now Nathan, except family members still call him Seborn. It’s a change he’s been wanting to make for years and finally started.) 

Makkedah is in 7th grade and is a part of the school play. And continues to flourish in her writing, reading and art. She has been teaching herself piano and singing. She is a very talented young lady. She will be playing basketball this year and giving that another try with her siblings.

Samaria is in 5th grade and joined knitting + crocheting + book club and has been learning so many new skills. She is in the accelerated education program for gifted high achieving students at school which helps her excel more in her learning. She runs her macrame business with her sisters as well. (@whimsyandwoven.)

Nehemiah is in 3rd grade and has truly come out of his shell since starting private school. He wants to be in the NBA thus is so excited to be playing travelling basketball this year. He is so athletic and has been growing in his reading skills this past year as well. 

Shiloh is 7 years old (I don’t really do grades in homeschooling) and she is home with me and the two littles. She loves arts and crafts and is finding more of who she is in this new season. She is the biggest sweetheart and so genuine. She makes our home a more peaceful + joyful place.

Zion is 5 years old and still a wildcard. A wildman. A force to be reckoned with. He has been working on some pre-k and kindergarten work at home and doing well with that but also, just wants to play all day. Which we do a lot of. He brings much laughter to our home.

Arrow is 3 years old already and it's hard for us to fathom that we don’t have another baby after her yet. She is a true baby of the family and totally has daddy wrapped around her finger. She plays hard with her big brother every day and keeps up with all her big siblings.

Nathan is in his 2nd consecutive year being back at MCA (his 6th year overall.) He works hard there and also manages all our rental properties, takes care of our house, cars and land all while being a present dad and husband. I don’t know how he does it all. He continues to dream big with me and bring our dreams to reality. He also continues to maintain his realtor license. 

As for myself, I’m just working on living each day to my best ability for the Lord. To do. But also, to just be. To hustle. And also rest. To be present. Truly THERE. Each day. I’m working on unraveling pieces of me and letting the Holy Spirit mold me into more like Jesus. It’s a refining process I am accepting with open arms. Really, I’m just floored every day that I get to be a mom and wife.

All in all, we are enjoying life and embracing the ever-changing seasons. This Christmas is special for us. It’s our 2nd and final year in this current home before we move to the ranch. We are doing Advent and focusing on Jesus every single day of this season and reveling in the love of God to send His Son to earth… FOR US. What a gift. What a pure miracle. 

We pray a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS for you and your family.

All of our love, 

The Yancys

Nathan + Meg + Makkedah + Samaria + Nehemiah + Shiloh + Zion + Arrow