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| Lake house, 12-13-2021 |
We pray that you
and your families are enjoying a blessed holiday season. It has been an interesting and unusual year
for many of us. Aren’t you glad that our
awesome God remains constant and steadfast, no matter the circumstances? Nothing surprises Him or causes Him
anxiety. We can experience complete and
perfect peace since He holds us in the palm of His hand. One of His names is Emanuel, which means “God
with us.” Indeed, He is always with us!
Though Jade’s schooling keeps me busy, I steal every chance I can to weave on my floor looms, weave baskets, or make soap. I enjoy keeping ancient traditions alive and demonstrating for my grandchildren that things did not always come from Walmart or Amazon.
In addition to his regular work, Tom has been very busy working on our lake house. As I mentioned in last year’s newsletter, we are building a retirement home on Long Lake in Alpena, MI. Tom is acting as contractor and coordinating all of the subcontractors. Things are coming along well and we should be able to spend next summer there. It will not be completely finished because we plan to do most of the trim work ourselves - in between fishing and boating! I posted photos of the lake house as well as our children and grandchildren on our family website at www.wallenstreetjournal.com. Enjoy the children’s personal letters below.
Have a very Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year,
Lynn and Tom and families
Jade
It feels like my life has changed so much in a year. Currently, I am a junior in high school. Visiting colleges and taking college entrance
tests have become common events in my life.
After obtaining my driver’s license last summer, I started working at
Dunkin Donuts. Ironically, I am neither
a coffee-drinker nor a donut-enthusiast but, thankfully, that’s not essential
to my job. I still enjoy practicing
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and have competed at several tournaments. Helping teach kid’s class at my BJJ gym is
one of the highlights of my year.
Overall, I am extremely grateful for everything I’ve learned this year
and for my awesome family. Glory to God
and a Merry Christmas to you all!
Micah and Christy
This year has been a challenging but rewarding year for us both. Throughout
the early months of 2021, I dedicated my time to studying for the bar exam
while working full time. After months of nervous waiting, we were overjoyed to
find out I passed and am officially an Esquire! I started work directly
afterwards for an international law firm in DC. While it has been truly
satisfying to finally put my years of law school to use on a career path, the
work load has been challenging. Many late nights and long weekends. Christy
received a promotion at work, and also has had an increasingly busy schedule
throughout the year. Last January, we moved across the river from D.C. to
Northern Virginia and are enjoying the change of scenery and additional work
space our new apartment affords. Earlier this summer, we celebrated my graduation
from Georgetown Law School with a commencement ceremony at Nationals Park. Thankfully, Christy and I have been able to
work remotely for most of the year and are able to spend time together despite
the busy schedules. We were blessed to be able to continue to explore America’s
roller coasters and theme parks, including a new tallest coaster for both of
us, Fury 325 at 325 feet tall! We look forward to exploring more of our great
country in 2022, and all that God has planned for us.
Bekah and Kevin
Howdy everyone!!! I hope your year
has been filled with as many joyous memories as ours! We welcomed a new member
into our family this summer, Francesca Lynn. God has blessed us again with His
amazing miracle of life and we couldn’t be happier. She is such a joy! Michael is completely enamored with her and
tries to share all his toys. He takes the role of big brother seriously by
always bringing me fresh diapers and insisting on throwing away the dirty ones.
Patrick thrives in his hockey adventures and his team has been doing quite well,
winning numerous games and tournaments. Stephanie also does well in hockey, but
isn’t as focused as Patrick. She enjoys doing other things, including baking. To be totally honest, I eat most of all the
delicious treats that she makes! We have added a few more animals to our farm
this year. A pair of goats has grown into a herd of 11 at one point, five of
them born on our farm. Witnessing the miracle of life always amazes me. Recently
we brought home a couple of miniature ponies. Michael isn’t too sure about them;
they must seem like giant dogs to him! Kevin planted several new gardens this
summer, including tons of sunflowers which we harvested and fed to the chickens,
and a large variety of squash and melons. The melons did not do so well, but we
ate squash every day for months! He also planted a large pumpkin patch which
did very well. We sold most of the pumpkins on our roadside farm stand and I
spent a week canning pumpkin for future baking. Before Francesca arrived in
early July, I worked pretty hard on my garden. Kevin, I, and the kids, harvested
all the corn and put over 60 pounds in the freezer. Since our apple trees did
so well this year, I spent a few weeks canning apples. We’ll have applesauce
and pie slices all winter! Life on the farm is full of adventure and I thank
God every day for blessing us in so many ways. I hope you have had a wonderful
year and have a very Merry Christmas. Happy trails, till we meet again!
Greetings
from the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina! This has been a year of
adjustments for us, as we have settled into our new lives in Boone as a family
of four. I have been learning a lot in my position as a chemistry professor at
Appalachian State University, and Rebecca has started an adjunct position in a
newly-launched university program for teaching English to non-native speakers,
which she has really enjoyed. Melanie is turning one and is going to start
walking any day now. Kaitlyn is turning three and loves playing with her
friends, especially at our local playgrounds. It has been special to watch them
grow and learn so much this past year and see their own unique personalities
emerge.
It’s hard to believe we are
nearing the end of 2021; for us and I imagine for many of you, it has felt more
like 2020-Part 2. Work continues to bring regular challenges and new
responsibilities. Tony continues to enjoy and gain further experience as the leader
of the Mechanical Engineering team at Link Engineering and Rachel accepted a
supervisory role in Inventory and Receiving. Outside of work, traveling has
again been a highlight for us. This year Tony experienced slot canyons for the
first time and we finally made it to Katie’s favorite national park, Bryce
Canyon. Rachel filled a gap in her national park experience by visiting the
Grand Canyon. We also winter camped at the coldest temperatures we had yet
experienced at a non-electric campsite (16 degrees F). Some neat birding
opportunities presented themselves along the way, including observing several
endangered California Condors in the wild. Hey, you don’t need to finish
on-going house projects if you are never home, right? Merry Christmas and
here’s to new adventures in 2022!
Katie and Roberto
Merry Christmas! It was another busy year for the Diaz branch of the Wallen family. Celeste is 13 and thriving academically. She has really taken ownership of her education and loves school! This makes her homeschool Mom very happy. Her favorite subjects are formal logic and persuasive writing. Robbie is almost 12 and loves everything science. He is constantly taking things apart, fixing stuff around the house, and completing massive puzzles. He is witty and such a sweet brother to his many sisters. Abigail, our kind and joyful 10-year-old, excels in art and gardening. She has successfully started a butterfly garden in our back yard and is one of my best helpers around the house. Eight-year-old Katherine is maturing so quickly. She loves dance and gymnastics and does very well in her school work. She enjoys long scooter rides while looking for wildlife. Leah is five and a spunky, funny, Mommy's girl. She constantly makes us laugh with her practical jokes and silly stories. I love her imagination! Roberto and I feel so blessed with our family and enjoy watching the kids grow. Between family activities and church involvement, we do not have much extra time, but we did manage to travel to visit family members throughout the year! It was truly an enjoyable year.
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