ddmcclure85: January 2014

Reflections-A letter years in the making and long overdue Christmas letter

January 14, 2014- Update on our family

Monica dares to do what only a few courageous people will, and that is to follow her passion. I remember so vividly after her visit to New York (10 yrs. old) with her grandparents, the sound of her sweet voice saying that someday she was going to live there.

She is living where she knows that she can follow her passion as a poet. She lives courageously as she pursues her dream and when her vision becomes cloudy she examines and waits for the sun to shine again. She inspires us and we still feel like we are being directed in one of her childhood plays in her presence. The courage started with her and we are thankful and love her deeply for it.

Rebekah continues to spread the joy of her nature and the passion of her work ethic in all that she pursues. She has planted many seeds of love, kindness, inspiration and many have, and continue to reap the benefit. She has learned the skills of perseverance and discipline and we all admire her for it. We crave her deep capacity for loving and nurturing and even her wise reprimands when needed. She is a binding thread in our family tapestry and she is loved by many throughout the world.

Kindred continues to be a calm and strong presence in our lives and he holds true to his name Carl (farmer) as he cultivates and brings life to the landscape of every part of the earth he works. He definitely has the gift of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. To be able to grow food in an instinctive way will no doubt be a life-giving skill for us all. We admire that futuristic vision that only a farmer can have. We will depend on it as we continue our pursuit of wellness as a family. We admire and love him and his kindred spirit.

Bryden continues to provoke in us all the inclination to examine ourselves and what we truly say we believe. His strong, kind and witty ways linger even after he is out of our presence. He lives his life boldly, recklessly, passionately, undeterred and fully in the best of ways. He has a heart full of love and he cares for his family deeply. He takes that love a step beyond and is actively engaged in it by truly listening and deciphering what we care about so that he might share in it as well. True love.

Given has discovered at a young age what it is to love and pursue a passion. He is a Potter, and through clay with his hands and mind and beautiful pieces we are all called to take a closer look at art and life. We are privy to the gift of the creator/creation scenario of an artist and the emotional impression it can have on the owner of one of his pieces. He is humbly becoming more aware of his gift and many are better for it. Our family is better for it, and his gift is truly a gift to us all. His knowledge of his craft are as impressive as he.

Noble has forced us this year to recreate the vision we have of her as a four year old little girl playing in the sand and great big ocean as she tries to convince us all that she is half human/ half mermaid. She is indeed the hardest working most diligent 14 year old girl I know. She pursues her interests wholeheartedly and when she discovers on her own that she does not fully enjoy one, she has the wisdom to let it go. She loves her God, her older siblings, her family, her iphone and yes even her little brother. We all love her back tremendously.

Justice, also known by many as ‘The Judge’, is becoming his own person in his own right and is respected by his siblings, teachers and peers. He is kind hearted and sharp minded and always stirs in us a deep smile. He is a book lover and a thinker for many years now. One of my favorite retells is of when he was 2 years old and in an apparent daydream, and I asked him what he was doing, and much to my surprise and delight he answered, “I’m thinking.” He continues to be a deep thinker and he loves all his older siblings and they love him back 6 fold.

Brayde and I find ourselves as always, talking and thinking about each and every one of our children. We are humbled by our failings, humbled by our blessings, humbled by our children, and humbled that we are granted another year or day or hour to pursue this life path.

We humbly pray to our Creator for the courage to continue daily in the small matters of life hoping that they will matter, if even in some small way in the hearts and lives of those who we care about so deeply.

We look ahead with softer eyes and in grateful anticipation to the days ahead.

Much Love to you all,

Deanne