Greetings to all from Cameron, North Carolina! 2011 has been a rather busy year in the Breagy home, so I (Grace) will do my best to recall some major events.
I celebrated my 15th birthday in January, and received my learners permit- which I have positively enjoyed, since I love driving. I keep busy with my goats, now numbering eight- there is always something going on with them (For example, did you know that you give Pepto-Bismal to a goat that ate dog food? I learned that...). I have also taken up harp again, and am very much enjoying myself. January also marked another event- the birth of my youngest sister, Miss Abigail Constance, whom we affectionately call Miss B. She is the first child to be a mama’s girl, and is typically a very sociable baby. As such, Abigail loves walking through the store waving and shouting “Hi” to all. Taking her first steps at 9 months, Abigail is our earliest walker yet and is constantly exploring everything. She also has her Dad and Bubba (Stephen) wrapped around her little finger.
We also decided upon a name for our farm- Plain Truth Hill, from John Bunyan’s “Holy War”. We quickly learned that we should have gone with our gut instinct, which was Pandemonium Plantation, because that’s really what we are. We have had many interesting episodes, ranging from having a goat in the kitchen to a chicken in the car to lighting a fire which ended up slightly out of control... well, only enough to have to call 911 ;), and we are now quite convinced that nothing is “normal” in our house. But that’s what keeps us on our toes, right? We keep the true farmers at our church rolling with our escapades.
In February, Dad, Stephen and I drove up to NH for our great-grandmother Breagy’s funeral. Though saddened because of Nana’s death, we really enjoyed our visit with some other relatives that we don’t get to see very often.
March was Samuel’s 5th birthday. He is growing up so quickly, but has still kept his full head of hair. Quite the gentleman, Sam is always quick to let the ladies go first and eagerly holds the door open for all. He is full of smiles, even when he is not feeling well; and brings joy to everyone around him. We also began to milk our goats in mid-March.
Claire-bear turned 8 in April, and has now expressed an interest in learning the harp. She has just discovered knitting and crocheting and thoroughly enjoys both. She adores anything small, and loves giving to others. Candy is one of her weaknesses, but she also has a penchant for handing it out to all of her friends.
Twenty joyous years of marriage have gone by quickly for my parents, who celebrated their anniversary in May. Dad planned a surprise trip for Mom to the Biltmore in Asheville, NC, but clued me in on it so that I could help him plan. They went away for three days while the children stayed at home with a good friend.
In June, Stephen and I went up to visit some friends in VA to go with them to our (mine and Stephen’s) first goat show. We did not bring any of our goats, but Stephen was given the privilege of showing someone else’s goat, while I was the photographer for the event.
July was Philip’s 3rd birthday and Robin Shea’s 10th. Pip is all boy; he loves being outdoors and will often disappear to go out when we are not looking. He has given us quite a few scares, but now we know right where to look for him. He is very sweet to the ladies, but sometimes gets a little carried away with them, and has actually tackled one of his little lady friends before.
Robin Shea still loves purple and is rather upset that all of my hand-me-downs are pink (My favorite color at her age). She is very kind and absolutely adores Miss B, constantly taking care of her. Her highly developed sense of justice keeps us all straight; you will be in big trouble if you snitch food. She is also the odd-ball in some respects- she doesn’t like farm work (though she will do it), would rather live in the city and doesn’t like sweet tea or hot chocolate.
We also celebrated the two-year anniversary of our church plant here in NC. God has blessed us tremendously and the church has slowly and steadily grown.
In August, Dad and Stephen helped raise a pole-barn. This was their first time doing this, but it is the kind of hands-on work that they both enjoy, and they learned lots from this experience.
In September, our family went on a Civil War Tour, put on by some good friends of ours. It rained almost the entire tour, but we still had loads of fun. We visited many places, including Harper’s Ferry, Antietum, Arlington Cemetery and many other places. I was able to be on the lunch crew for the trip, which I greatly enjoyed, even though it required getting up early, which I don’t enjoy.
October was packed with events as well- first was Dad’s birthday. Dad continues to really love being the teaching elder at our church, Moore Christian Assembly. And no, we are not saying that we are more christian than you; we just have church in Moore County. He continues to floor me with his God-given ability to meet new people everywhere, something that I am trying to master. He enjoys working from home, as he can spend more time with the family.
We celebrated Stephen’s 14th birthday as well- he is growing into quite the young man. He has recently started apprenticing with a film editor, and has taken many filming trips with the Horn family, as they are filming for a history home-school curriculum. Stephen has developed a taste for web-designing, and is considering taking it up more seriously. His passion is Apple everything. He continues to take care of his 60+ chickens, and can not wait until next summer when I will drive him once a week to apprentice with one of our friends, who is a general handy-man.
Next in October came the Marriage Conference, which Dad was speaking at. Stephen and I went with him, taking two of our friends as well. We all had a great time- our entire family loves conferences; we enjoy getting to meet new people and listening to all of the different speakers.
In November, we went up to NY for our great-grandmother Faranda’s birthday party. We all had a really good time, almost the whole of G. G.’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren were there. It was great becoming re-acquainted with all of our cousins and other relatives.
And now, we come to December... Dad and Stephen went to a week-long conference, where Dad spoke and Stephen ran the audio. There were not many children at the conference, so Stephen actually had to *gasp* talk to adults, which just goes to prove that we are un-socialized homeschoolers... Oh wait, I’m supposed to be working on the whole sarcasm thing; oops... Also, Sam and Miss B contracted the chicken pox last week, though they both have a very mild case. We are still waiting to see if anyone else will get them on the second round.
We will also celebrate Mom’s birthday in a few days. Mom has been keeping busy around the house- having seven children and living at Pandemonium Plantation- what do you expect? She also loves to be a blessing to others; her servant’s heart is very humbling for me to see. I love her go-with-the-flow attitude; she is willing to drop what she is doing to help anyone who needs her; be it one of her children, someone from church or anyone else. I love her to pieces :)
Thank you all for sitting through my first attempt at writing our annual Christmas letter. Stay tuned on our family blog at breagybunch.blogspot.com to hear of some of our adventures. I assure you, you will be very amused. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Joyous 2012. Until we meet again, may God hold you in His hand.
Love,
The Breagy Bunch
Steve and Kristina
Grace (15), Stephen (14), Robin Shea (10), Claire (8), Samuel (5), Philip (3) and Abigail (11 mos.)
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