I've decided to begin writing again, mostly to keep track of these days and to remember the happy things therein. I hope to check in once a week or so with a few snippets of my life. For today, I'm finally polishing off and publishing the family newsletter I wrote in early January.
Happy New Year from the Joseph and Rachel Langemann family! Life is flying by with increasing rapidity and I thought that I would take the time to write up some of our highlights from 2015, lest they be lost to posterity in the craziness of life. We are well; loving our life together and our beautiful little ones. Putting up our stockings this year was a fun visual reminder for me that we actually are a family of four! We are blessed to live near both of our families and rarely lack for someone to visit with or watch the kids for us.
Emily Grace joined us early in the morning of July 2, missing Canada Day (July 1) by 5 minutes. We’re actually not disappointed that she chose her own birthday, narrowly avoiding both of our national holidays. We were so grateful for a fairly quick and easy labor and delivery this time around. We’ve adjusted well to two children (busy times!) and love our dark-haired, dark-eyed little princess. Emily is one of the happiest babies we have ever seen and she is a delight to watch; her smiles and laugh are contagious. She’s quite the social child and wants to be where she can see other people. She’s playing with toys--finally got some little girl toys for Christmas--and getting more and more stable at sitting up. She brings us so much joy and it amazes me how quickly she is growing up.
James turned two in November. He’s a sweet, loving, very active little boy. He is talking more and more and has just been starting to string words together! His favorite things are big trucks, trains, doing the dishes, and helping Mommy cook. He’s getting good at coloring and likes to sit and play the piano, moving expressively while he does so. If we’re playing together sometimes he will take both my hands and put them on the keyboard. James loves his little sister, whom he calls “Bebe” or “Ummy”, and will ask to hold her or have her near him. It’s been so special to watch them build a relationship. He’s also a leftie, to the delight of his left-handed mama. He’s such a water boy; loves bathtime, “doing the dishes”, and swimming in the summertime.
Joe has worked at The Deck Superstore for nearly two years now. He’s part of the sales team and loves his job, selling decking products primarily to contractors. It’s a bit of a commute for him but it’s such a good fit and I’m happy that he loves his job. Joe is an awesome dad; I love to watch him care for and interact with our kids. He has a great eye for design and we really enjoy remodeling and decorating together. He still sings with Bold Reflection, a mens’ choral group, and appreciates the opportunity to use his voice and spend time with friends. In April he joined Vision Heirs for their spring Revolutionary War re-enactment. Getting dressed up in period attire and strutting about the battlefield (or discoursing about the disturbing medical practices of the day) gave him an enjoyable change of pace. Joe loves getting out of the city for our family vacations and dreams of living in the country again.
I’m keeping quite busy with two little ones. I love to get outside and usually manage to walk when the weather’s good. My favorite gift when Emily was born was a super-nice BOB double stroller; we get good use out of it! Our condo complex has a pool and we take full advantage of that in the summer. I love to swim and it looks as though James is following in my footsteps. I enjoy my time in the kitchen and have had fun learning more about culinary art since we’ve been married. Good breads and soups are so satisfying to create. I still enjoy reading whenever I can, and I’ve come back to crochet; it’s relaxing to work with my hands and I find joy in creating beautiful things. This fall while we traveled I took the time to teach myself to knit Continental style (with the yarn in my left hand vs. right hand) and I love it! Can’t wait to do more. Music is still deep in my bones and I love to play when I get the chance. I play piano for Bold Reflection and love the opportunity to make music with others, and lately I’ve been pulling my violin out now and again.
Joe and I have been married for just over 3 years now. We love our life together and are amazed at God’s goodness to us. We were able to take a short trip to Breckenridge in May. We missed James but it was good to get away and have some time for the two of us: enjoying the amazing views from our bed and breakfast, walking the streets of Breck, and shopping for tea and books. We share a love of the outdoors and enjoy packing the kids in the stroller or in our handy child carriers and exploring, either nearby or further up into the mountains.
We also greatly enjoy road trips (the open road is so good for the soul!) and some of our favorite memories this year have been of our times on the road. We visited a friend’s cabin in Buena Vista a few times throughout the year and made a whirlwind trip to NE in October for a friend’s wedding, but the most exciting event of our year was our road trip to Michigan. We took nearly two weeks in the fall and traveled, with our two under two, back to where my mom grew up and where I spent most of my growing-up vacations. We had a wonderful time with my grandma, mom and sister (and brother in law, who’s engaged to my sister!) and also spent some time as a family in a cottage on Lake Huron. It was such a relaxing time, though we are realizing that life with two kids is still life with two kids even on vacation. The colors were beautiful, the lakes so refreshing (we love water) and time with each other and with family was a special gift.
After attending the Church at Ellerslie in Windsor since our marriage, we finally decided after Emily’s birth that driving over an hour each Sunday was no longer feasible or wise for us. We are blessed to have found a solidly Biblical local church. We’ve been attending there for a few months now and it has been so good to interact with the local Body of Christ, connect with new friends, and be close to home! Change is often hard but we are grateful for how this transition is working out.
In closing, we are thankful for you, our family and friends. We love you and are so grateful to have you as part of our lives.
Joe, Rachel, James and Emily Langemann
All photo credits except for the lake picture go to Sarah Morgan Photography.
Aww I love it!
ReplyDeleteLove this! :)
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