Seventh Annual Christmas Letter

Dear friends, family and people I don't really know, 

In an effort to get my seventh annual Christmas letter out before Christmas, I began writing this the evening after Thanksgiving. I'm finishing three days after the New Year. I walk a path which is paved with 72 gravel and good intentions. I find that the holidays in your thirties are created by toggling between the excitement of smiles by Christmas tree glow and the sheer joy when the tree is down and out the door after December 25. The last thirty days have been somewhere in between.

Days are long, but the years are short. So in an effort to recap our year for this annual letter, I tend to click back through my calendar and see how we spent our year. I click through the first three months of 2017 and see: Denver, Minneapolis, Ft. Worth, South Dakota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas and San Antonio. I didn't go to any of those places January - March, but Cody did. 

Cody's job as beef sire procurement manager with Genex remains extremely fulfilling and keeps the wheels turning on his carry-on luggage. We have a great system of communication for his travel... 

RING!
Me: Hello?
Cody: I need to go check out a bull in Nebraska before Thursday. Any reason why this can't happen?
Me: Nope, go for it. But put it on the calendar so I know what state you're in. Will you be home Friday for supper?

...and it tends to work out well. My meal planning is typically cut in half and Caroline and I stick to our routine to get everyone fed, shirts tucked in and out the door on time. I only made one call to the vet in 2017 while Cody was gone and that is a statistic I am proud of. 
Calls to my Dad? I lost count. 

In February we went to Nashville for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Annual Convention & Trade Show. I was able to catch up with many former NCBA colleagues and Cody was awarded with the Max Deets Leadership Award. We enjoyed the jaunt to Music City tremendously. 

  

Throughout the year, as a family we traveled to and from Kansas a few times, Louisville, a Red's game, the county and State Fairs, three weddings and a funeral, the local Mexican joint, CVS and the pediatric center more than any of us planned on. I'm no longer intimidated by flying with Caroline. In fact, that is how I prefer she and I travel; fewer truck stop bathrooms that way. We enjoy adventure and people watching. 

In July we celebrated Caroline's first birthday. She has been an incredible little girl and a joy, nearly always. She remains my chore buddy, though she's not much for carrying buckets, kitchen helper, though she's not yet good with a paring knife and greatest source of pride. Every day she changes and learns something new. And every day she scares me a little less. It was only last week that she came to me, up to her elbows soaking wet, "Uh oh Mommy. Uh oh!"

I asked her to lead me to where she'd been, already knowing where this was going. She proudly marched into the bathroom and showed me a collection of things she'd dropped into the toilet, but couldn't retrieve by herself. Parenting can be gross. 

Those who warned us that life speeds up dramatically when children came were being quite honest. The nights seem to last seven minutes and our weekends together were tremendously brief, no matter what we were doing. 

That is why I made a huge decision in 2017 and decided to leave Harvest Land full time and focus my precious time on Caroline and our family. Working for Harvest Land for six years has been the most rewarding professional experience I've had since beginning my career. On January 1, 2018 I launched Sankey Creative, which will allow me to still do contract work with the beloved cooperative and take on other freelance creative work, while also raising Caroline. More on this later. When you realize how little time you get, you do more with the time you have. And in 2018 and beyond, I'll be investing more of my time as a mother and (farm) wife. 

Back to 2017:

In October Caroline and I went to a Halloween party. This wouldn't be letter-worthy, except for three reasons: 

1. I don't enjoy Halloween, ever. But attended this to see an old high school friend.
2. I showed up in costume. Unlike the rest of the adults. 
3. Caroline wore a Purdue cheerleading uniform, and in an effort to be a "team" costume, I wore my high school cheerleading warm up. So, not only was I the only adult in costume, I also looked like Lindsay "Glory Days" Bowman who couldn't let go of her high school years. That, or a Texas cheerleader mother, living vicariously through her daughter. It was the longest Halloween party I've ever been to, and we stayed for only an hour. 

I SWEAR she has on a Purdue uniform under that coat!

I'll fondly remember 2017 as the Year of the Pears. We have a small pear tree in our yard that produced more pears than we could handle. I canned pears, made pear applesauce, pear/brie appetizers, pear pie and sliced pears for every lunch. Then had enough left over to fill two wash tubs full and give them away to those passing by. It was amazing! I felt guilty not using every last bit of them, but we were peared-out come November. In 2018 I hope to have a better pan for when they arrive. 

Cody's travel slowed late in the year and he was home the entire month of December, which only reiterated the fact that absence makes the heart grow fonder. As I type this, the suitcase is in the spare room waiting to be filled for 10 days in Denver as we start another year. 

2017 was a good year for our crew and we do hope you can say the same. We look to 2018 with great optimism and grateful hearts for all that God has offered to us. In the last week we've been enduring below zero temperatures, frozen waterers and new calves on the ground. But we have wool socks and a good chili recipe, warm water at our sink and hair dryers to thaw ears on heifer calves. 

What more does family of three need to kick off another year?

We wish you all the best in 2018. 

The Sankeys

I can't commit to reading a 300-hundred page book front to back, but somehow I've stuck to writing this deal for seven years. Click through the years:

Year One

Year Two

Year Three

Year Four 

Year Five

Year Six