2017 Christmas Letter

A big "Howdy" from the Dykstras!

We have been busy, but busy is good. Gilbert is still keeping bees, and is transitioning from primarily producing honey to producing more queen bees. Donna is keeping the house, garden, and kids in check. Joseph is still working as a programmer for a School Information System vendor. Levi is still working for a landscaper family-friend, and taking horticulture classes. Daniel is still working for David, who is a General Contractor. Nathanael is being homeschooled by Donna, and is currently in Seventh grade.

In mid-March Gilbert and the boys moved Rebecca's baby grand piano from our house to Micah and Rebecca's house.

Our family has a weekly gathering on Saturday nights where all the married children and their families come for pizza or sloppy joes. In mid-March, Michael came in with a shirt that said "Dad-To-Be". What a cute way to announce their pregnancy!

In late April, Gilbert, Donna, Daniel, and Nathanael attended the First LEGO League World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri. Nathanael is on a team called the Data Dragons, created by a family in our church.

In early May, Joseph's company flew his team to Texas for an in-person meetup. Joseph works from his "remote bunker" for the Texas-based company.

In June, Donna's parents moved from their house of 40ish years to a condo across town, and our family helped them move. It's a huge change for them, and it's still a little hard to believe that they are living somewhere else.

August was a busy month. Our church hosted a conference called the Providential History Festival. Levi played the role of a guard for a drama at PHF.

Nathanael joined a local homeschool junior-varsity flag-football team called Lightning. The team won three of five official games.

In late-August, our family drove to North-East Nebraska to view the solar eclipse. Unfortunately clouds covered the sun during totality where we were, but we still got to see a lot of the eclipse clearly.

In September, we had a family "Staycation". All of the married children and their families came over to our house for a week. One day we visited the zoo. One night was "guy's night" where the guys played laser tag. The girls went to an escape room for "girl's night". During the staycation we played tons of board games, and even had some tournaments for ping pong, rook, and giant jenga. (Giant jenga is jenga, but with 2x4s).

On October 22, Michael and Elizabeth's first child was born. She was named Abigail Delores Dykstra. She is Gilbert and Donna's eighth grandchild.

In December, Micah and Rebecca had a baby shower for their (unborn) boy.

2017 has been another great year for the Dykstras, and we sincerely hope that you've had a great year too! Remember that this season is about Christ's incarnation, and our joy in salvation through Him. We thank you all for being our friends throughout this year!

— The Dykstra Family