We are coming to the close of another year!
This year I typed out a letter to include with our Christmas card. It was sent to friends and family that aren't local. Since my "to do list" this coming break includes the printing of this blog, I thought I'd include it here since it is a good recap of what the Lord is doing in our family right now.
I'll leave you with that letter.......
Dear Friends &
Family from around the world!
This year I thought add to the usual Christmas card and
include a bit of news from the Valks in Canada!
Overall we are enjoying our busy life, rich in many blessings
from the Lord!
Eric has been blessed with a lot of work which include
various construction/maintenance type jobs for a variety of people and
companies, mostly church going folks. He
enjoys the variety, but because he is self-contracting himself he has the
flexibility to make himself “not available” on days or weeks we are doing
things as a family. He has struggled at
times with back issues (crushed disc) and earlier this year, his one knee
causing pain. Minor surgery in June
fixed that up and we are thankful to the Lord for continued strength given for
Eric to work hard in mostly physical work.
Eric is currently enjoying a year (at least) off from consistory work as
well as the rest of the family are happy to have less meetings on the
schedule. We continue to make some money
“on the side” by purchasing young cows in the spring (this year we had 10!),
letting them graze our land over the warmer months and come October they are
off to the family freezers of friends!
In the early summer we also fill our barn with small hay bales, which we
then sell on during the winter months to horse farmers in the area. It is all good physical labour to keep our
small army “occupied.”
I (Christine) am thoroughly enjoying our homeschool year
this year! I do know that I am nearing the top of Mt. Everest in terms of the
age spread of the children. Two high
school, three in the middle, and one new reader! And don’t forget the not quite two year…but we’ll
get to him later! I enjoy the challenge
of and variety for this brain of mine!
There is no doubt that I sleep well at night! God continues to answer my prayers with the
strength needed to accomplish all (or most, or some!) of what is needed to get
done. Mostly I can attest that He is
near me at the times when things don’t go as planned and the “planned” turns
into teachable and sanctifying moments for ALL concerned!
I am enjoying my continued work in the church library, with
the added bonus of being able to preview many wonderful resources for faith and
life! My sister and I enjoy doing a bit
freelance photography here and there as well.
We have done newborns, families and even a few weddings over the last 4
years or so. It is a joy to get the
creative juices flowing and bless families with precious memories in photos.
Our Jacob will be turning 16 next week (Nov 27). He is intense, dedicated, logical, and
creative and it is wonderful seeing him develop into a fine young man! He has left the world of gecko breeding and
is exploring different passions! The
musical instruments in his room include an acoustic guitar, electric guitar
(with amp), and a jimbe (drum). You
will also find various pencil and pen sketches scattered around his room. Eric and I both have one sister each, and each
of them are very talented artists…it would seem that those “aunt” genes are coming
through with Jacob. Actually as I type I
gave him a box of old frames and he is framing some of his sketches to display
at a “teen art show” at the local library.
He might even sell a few! Jacob
has been working for about 1.5 years at the local library which he enjoys far
more than “boring mind numbing” greenhouse work! He filled his summer with work and
volunteering as a leader at the local Bible children’s camp. Jacob takes his school work very seriously,
and while struggling some with physics, he excels at his written work. He is doing a course where he will write a
whole novel over the course of the year and he wanted to take a persuasive writing and speech course which is
being marked by an outside company. It
is hilarious for me to think this is the same child that just about died when he was 6 and had to write a
whole sentence! All good! He is unsure what he wants “to do” in the
years to come, but we do know that the Lord has given him many talents and
gifts. We are seeking to trust Him, and
that He will make it clear. We are happy
that we have an open relationship with Jacob as he often will express his
musings over life and God’s ways; we are able to see the Lord working in His
heart of which it is a delight to witness!
Our dear daughter Macayla is 14 years old. She is quite the social bug and we are very
grateful that the Lord has placed some lovely girls as dear friends in her
life. Macayla has an abundance of
patience for her youngest brother, perhaps not quite as much for the bigger
brothers though! She is always happy to
help in the kitchen and for many months was happy to be the
“baker” for her dad’s deacon meetings.
She has babysitting jobs here and there and has also done some
greenhouse work in the spring. I had
Macayla home for a lot of this past summer, which we a huge blessing to
me. She did volunteer at the same Bible
Camp as Jacob for 3 weeks and does a wonderful job at leading the singing and
working with the children. Macayla
works steady at her schoolwork and although it doesn’t come easy to her, she is
happy to re-work assignments as required. She is also having written work corrected by others,
which has been a blessing to get that critique and encouragement. She loves to shop and is beyond thrilled
when we can carve out time to get to the big mall! God is also working in her heart as she is
quick to serve others in our church community and her home.
Justin and Kadin will be the 13 years old in January! Wow!
Despite VERY different personalities, they have MANY of the same
interests which is why they can be included together. They are both passionate about the cadet
program at church, working hard to complete many badges. They also love the snow derby where many of
the local churches form teams within their club and compete against each other
in the wonderful winter setting of SNOW (or if there isn’t enough- MUD!)! Events include fire building, first aid,
compass work, and overall teamwork.
Justin and Kadin love to quiz each other using the derby manual to gain
maximum points for their team. Their
bedroom is a Lego wonderland! For birthdays
and saving money they have accumulated many different large sets, and will
spend hours creating and recreating. Justin
and Kadin have both gained a “reputation” of two hard-working lads! Unlike their oldest brother they thrive doing
physical labour. They are our number one
“hay” workers. They have been hired here and there for various church people
and although they are still young we can see them working in some sort of
trade. Justin and Kadin also work steady
at their schoolwork and can quite often be found working in the morning before
breakfast, to have more playtime later.
Kadin is our real tender heart.
At times, I could see him working in some sort of “care” job with
seniors and other special people. Justin, although the “louder” twin is also
ready to help others. A man from our
church conducts a “mini” church service at a local seniors’ home, and Justin
and Kadin often go along to help.
Our delightful 9 year is Levi. The first of our Canadian born children! Levi follows close behind his twin brothers
with his love for and collection of Lego.
I can count on at least 30 minutes of absolute silence with four
brothers huddled on the couch each time the Lego magazine arrives at our house! Levi is a very friendly boy and is often
invited to different friend’s houses each Sunday. Levi loves hay season as well, and easily
climbs the full wagon to push bales down to those working below. He has joined cadets this year as well and
looks forward to it each week. He works
steady at his schoolwork and has a particular knack for geography (country
names).
Gideon is one of our 5 out of 9 birthdays in January when he
will turn six! He is also in on the Lego
fun, weapons, and other all other things “boy.” He has a knack for the “random” comments or
questions, and if you have read my blog at all you will find some of his
hilarious conversations there. He is our
new reader in the house! I have picked
an entirely different curriculum to teach him with (a bored mom is not good for
anyone!) and we are both thoroughly enjoying it! He sits in with many of the other subjects
and it is surprising what he picks up.
Malachi, our “baby,” will be TWO is January! Where does the time fly? He was a fast mover, crawling last fall and
walking around his first birthday. AND a
climber! I’m glad I had all the help
around here to catch him conquering various “mountains.” Each day is a delight to see what words he
says and uses that we didn’t even know he knew!
One day he even took our Gideon’s reading book, flipped it open and
started with “eeee,” “t-t-t-t”,”
aaaaaa”! Maybe he’ll be reading by the
time he’s three- that’d be nice and easy for me! This (school) year he actually plays (instead
of destroys!), and when Justin, Kadin, and Levi each have their allotted time
each morning to play with it is easy to fill the time with Thomas trains,
truck, and animals!
Now…if you would all imagine a reality TV show based on the
perfect behaving overachieving children you might think we would be the top
contenders! Let me assure you that is
NOT so! We have days, many days,
actually every day where sin is clearly shown, where attitudes need adjusting,
where selfishness is shown (for all nine of us!) and where sometimes there is
just WAY too much testosterone flowing around this place! Sheesh!
Imagine the window in the pet store with puppies rolling around “playing,”
only the “creatures” around here are A LOT bigger and louder!
As a family, every three weeks, we enjoy serving snacks and
drinks to the local Spanish speaking migrant workers in the area. It is a wonderful way to serve and for our
children to see that there are Christians in the world that look and speak
different from us! Our four oldest are memorizing chapters from
James and Romans, participating in Bible Quizzing. Add to that the “regular”
meetings of church life, powerful preaching from our (new!) pastor each Sunday,
young people’s, Sunday School, catechism, and our life is indeed full! Such blessings!
All of our Canadian family here is also doing well. All of my parents’ four children, with
spouses and children live within the same region. My parents have a total of 19 grandchildren
to enjoy! My mom did have major
colon-rectal surgery in May of this year.
There was a concern of cancer, but we are ever thankful to the Lord that
she was given the “all clear.” She had
one other scheduled surgery related to her case, and possibly one more in the
future, but she is healthy and strong and most of all resting in the Lord’s Sovereign
plan. Over the last 7 years, 3 out of 4
of my grandparents passed away. We fully
realize how special and unique it was to enjoy them for as long as we did!
AND for the last year or so we have been setting aside our
“hay and cow” money for the ultimate field trip! Destination New Zealand and Australia!!! There
are many, many details yet to be determined and we will see where the Lord
leads us and how it all works out!
MOST OF ALL
we see the Lord’s working in our hearts drawing us closer to the cross! As we live this full life in the midst of the
struggles of sin in our lives, messy relationships around us, and the frailty
of the body we can attest to an amazing Heavenly Father that is seeking to draw
us away from the idols of our hearts and closer to HIM.
He is
refining….and often using fire to do so!
Well…..I certainly did not intend for the letter to be so
long! Perhaps it is easy to see where
Jacob gets his love of writing from!
We pray that you all also may attest to the Lord’s direction
and nearness in your lives!
With kindest
greetings and love,
Eric and
Christine, Jacob, Macayla, Justin, Kadin, Levi, Gideon & Malachi
