The O-G 2015 Christmas Newsletter

Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas everyone-

We hope this newsletter finds you all safe and blessed this holiday season.

We write this newsletter from snowy Colorado with hot tea in hand. We had a beautiful snowstorm over the Thanksgiving week and are hoping we get more on Christmas day…although it’s supposed to get to 65 this week! We are enjoying the exciting and variable weather Colorado has to offer.

Our family had a full summer this past year. We enjoyed a one month vacation in June in Oregon (exploring Utah, Nevada, and western Colorado on our way home) and had a chance to camp with amazing friends on the east side of the state (thank you Feldhaus, Shippentower, Tattam and Naylor families for making it special!), in the Willamette Valley (a big thank you to the House’s Funny Farm for hosting our crazy zoo) and the beach where both sides of our family came over and spent several days camping with us. Also, a big thank you to Cat’s parents for putting us up while we made a few trailer repairs and Cat recouped from the flu (yup, she got it while on vacation).

The second half of our summer brought two trips to New Mexico to spend quality time with our Hedges family God-children, then to explore Ghost Ranch during the Mountain States Mennonite Conference (MSMC) general assembly…what a beautiful time listing to our new favorite band The Steel Wheels while enjoying the beauty of the southwest.  Rounding off our adventures we made our final summer family trip to Oklahoma in September where Cat presented some of her Eastern Shawnee history work during the Eastern Shawnee History Summit (PDF program). We also attended the tribal Powwow…it was a wonderful time connecting with our Oklahoma family while watching our kiddos build deeper connections to Oklahoma and our family there.

The Steel Wheels

The kiddos are loving our Colorado adventures and their school here in Boulder. Finn is in the 4th grade this year (I know, brace yourselves…she’s up to my shoulders and we’re entering the scary world of HORMONES!!!) and has really excelled in reading and math. She’s loving her teachers, friends, and has joined leadership group and choir…allowing her to explore her two loves of social justice and music. Our girl is growing fast, easily the tallest in her class, but her beautiful smile and zest for life have only increased. She’s loving our exploration of the area and especially time at home in her tree fort…reading a book and feeling the breeze.

Jeremiah August is growing so fast and keeping us on our toes as always! He’s in the first grade this year and we are so loving his zest for learning. Reading has really taken off for him this year…all of a sudden he sees words everywhere and loves to read them to us.  Jeremiah has changed a lot this year, learning to control his little boy impulses more and more everyday (we’re still a work in progress on that one) but is still his full of life self.  He loves flying planes at the park, riding his bike all over, and exploring the woods! Both kiddos are loving the adventure of living in Colorado, they’ve become fans of deep snow, southwest summer nights, and exploring from the Rockies to New Mexico to Oklahoma.

Cat’s year has been busy with her work taking off more and more while chasing the kiddos and their busy schedules. When we moved the kids said they wanted to see Mummy and Papa often at their school…so that has meant a lot of running back and forth (we live only a block and half from the school) for both Mummy and Papa but it has really been worth it see the kids feel safe and at home in their school.  Cat’s work for her tribe has increased this year and kept her busy. This past winter she wrote and was awarded a large three year grant that will keep the Family Violence Prevention program serving women and children of her tribe for another three years…God is good! Adding to her work for her tribe she was asked this past year to write a book chapter for a book the tribe is writing on Eastern Shawnee history. Her chapter focuses on Eastern Shawnee tribal members moving to the Pacific Northwest and how that’s changed their cultural connection and identity. She is still teaching women and gender studies for Oregon State University and has now added teaching similar classes for Utah State University…both from home, both focusing on minority perspectives.  It’s been wonderful for our family to have Mum working from home especially as everyone has settled into our new life in Boulder. Life can get a wee bit nuts for Cat while she juggles work and home but she loves being available for the kiddos when they need and keeping and tending an inviting home environment.

Eastern Shawnee Tribal Seal

Jeremiah has been enjoying his interdisciplinary, Environmental Studies PhD program here at CU-Boulder.  He finished two years of course work in one year and is now in his second year in the program with a much smaller class load but starting his qualifying exams and dissertation research.  His advisor is a wonderful man who understands family and life commitments and values Jeremiah’s contributions (academic and otherwise) over the past 20+ years.  God is good. While this past year has been a busy one for Jeremiah (and family) he has settled into his niche at CU and is enjoying the journey – this new season in life for him.  It makes his life a bit crazy, trying to be a PhD student, teaching classes (which pays the bills), organizing science communication and policy conferences, writing for science magazines, organizing Mennonite men’s retreats and being the Papa and husband he loves to be. Thankfully he’s been slowly chopping commitments from his list to really focus down on family and his PhD. But as he says…sleep is overrated (wink wink).

Our beloved pups are doing well and loving the dry weather of Colorado. Quinn turned 13 this month (I know…crazy...is that even possible?!) and Sidda will be 11 in February! They are both in great health though starting to slow down and nap in the sun a bit more.  Quinn has fallen in love with stalking and killing any small rodents or squirrels that dare to think about coming into our backyard and Sidda is still her happy go lucky self…though she’s now assumed the role of dog pack leader when hiking….making sure Quinn stays on trail and doesn’t wander off too far. It’s been interesting to watch our pups age.

We feel like when we make our way back to the PNW (yes that’s still our plan) we will have thoroughly turned over every stone imaginable in this area – given Colorado a fair shake. We feel this move has taught us (and is still teaching us) to love the moment we are in. Life is certainly not perfect for the OG’s (did I mention Finn is experiencing hormones, hit us with the sex talk, little man rides his bike like Mario Andretti, and Jeremiah and Cat feel their blood pressure rising each year) but we are learning to find the joy in each moment.

We hope this letter and OG news sees you into a happy and healthy new year.

With much love and prayers for peace,
The Osborne-Gowey Family (Jeremiah, Cat, Finn, not-so-little Jeremiah)

Christmas Newsletter 2013

Happy Kwanzanukkahristmas Everyone! And a Merry Christmas, too!

We hope this newsletter finds you safe and well and wonderfully blessed this holiday season.

It has been another adventurous year for our family, full of summer travels and a number of changes on the horizon. We write this with coffee in hand and dogs at our feet realizing just how fast time is disappearing. Finn is so tall and READING now…wow! Little man is in pre-K and was a Christmas angel in his school pageant. Imagine…our wild man an ANGEL! Wonders truly never cease.

Finn is taking second grade (still at Muddy Creek Charter School) by storm. She’s doing so well! She has learned to read quite well and amazes us every day with how much she’s advanced. She’s discovered a love of math this year after it being her least favorite subject last year. She’s also kept up with her regular horse riding and has learned to work with our friend’s larger horse It has truly been beautiful to watch her confidence blossom. She still enjoys family bike rides to/from her school bus stop a few miles away. Her fascination with art and science is only deepening and she continues to fill our home with her many art and science projects. You can follow along on her classroom blog (a bit dated) at http://missmelissaclassblog.wordpress.com/.

Little man (Jeremiah August) is still at Good Samaritan School but now in Pre-K three mornings a week. He is LOVING school and all the friends he’s made there. He’s had a big year, learning his numbers and letters, how to fish, ride a scoot (bike without the pedals) and fallen in love with Legos and his teacher Ms. Meagan. One day as Cat picked him up from school and they were walking home, he turned around and yelled “goodbye Ms. Meagan” then turned to Mummy and said “she sure is beautiful”. You can find photos of his school year at http://www.goodsamschool.org/media-gallery.php .

Cat’s year has been filled with BUSYNESS. With Finn in school full-time and Jeremiah in Pre-K three mornings a week, work has been a bit less crazy of a juggling act. She’s still works from home to be available for our kiddos but her work has only increased. She loves directing the Family Violence Prevention program (part time) and has had the privilege of advocating for clients who live outside the state of Oklahoma. Additionally, she’s a still teaching women’s studies courses online for Oregon State University. It can be a crazy busy life at times but she loves the diversity and flexibility of being able to volunteer at our kids’ schools while teaching and growing her work for women’s health and safety of her tribe. Check out her program’s website at: http://fvp.estoo-nsn.gov/.

This has been an outstanding year for Jeremiah. After a hectic first year in his second Masters program, this one in the Public Policy program at Oregon State University (he took two years of course work in one year) he’s busy writing his thesis while applying for PhD programs…oh and publishing journal articles, blogs (NotQuiteConvergent) and presenting at and organizing science communication sessions at national meetings. Currently, he’s working on renewable energy policy, public perception/opinion, and potential impacts of renewable energy development on natural resources. He also teaches undergraduate classes. Despite the busy school schedule, he still reserves plentiful time for his family, playing with kiddos, making meals together with his beloved bride, and enjoying the fall harvest and bounty the Pacific Northwest offers.

After school got out last June we all began a summer of adventures. In July, all four of us (and our eldest dog, 10yo Quinn) floated the Grande Ronde River. It was four days on the water…beautiful sunshine, lots of splashing and wonderful fishing. We then spent a few days camping on the Oregon Coast with a large part of our family. In August we spent two weeks in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri and oh what a time we had! We visited family, went to the Eastern Shawnee Children’s Pow-Wow, toured/explored limestone caves, excavated salt crystals, visited where LauraIngalls Wilder lived as a little girl in Kansas and where she lived as an adult and wrote her books in Missouri…we even got to see Pa’s actual fiddle! We caught fireflies with family and had a wonderful time getting to know our cousins better over late evenings of visiting and hot sultry days of junior high school softball games. We came home in September so the kiddos could start school then all four of us took two weeks and went elk hunting in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness area. What an experience that was, cold mornings but warm fall afternoons to explore the woods together and spend quality family time.

For those of you that love updates about our furry children, they are both doing remarkably well. We often forget how old they really are as they are in such good shape. Quinn will be 11 years old this Christmas and Sidda will be 9 in February. We have noticed Quinn slowing down a bit, not so much on hikes or backpacking adventures, but in the evenings after big days of exertion. He tends to sleep a little longer, prefers to sleep by the fire, and sometimes grunts a little bit when getting up, old man that he is. Sidda is still as crazy fast as ever and never seems to find anything but high speed gears. Only occasionally will we be able to fully wear her out…and usually only after she’s worn blisters on her pads. Stinky pinky, our sweet furry girl. They do grace and bless our lives so much. It’s hard to imagine them not being a part of our lives in the relatively near future. Perhaps we can clone them…

Our family has had an amazing adventurous year. God has truly blessed us! And we wish the same blessings on you and your families this coming year and beyond.

Our 2012 Christmas Newsletter

Happy Holidays Everyone….
We hope this newsletter finds you safe and well and wonderfully blessed this holiday season. This has been an eventful year for our family, filled with changes and adventures. We’re writing this with a cup of hot cocoa in Cat’s hands, tea in Jeremiah’s and thinking how the kids are growing and changing before our eyes. Little man is helping Papa put laundry away tonight while sister does her homework. Where did our babies go?! Wow, how fast things change. Speaking of change…
This has been a year of change for Jeremiah. After starting the application process to go back to graduate school – he was starting to apply for PhDs at universities across the nation and abroad – he accepted a surprise offer for a second Masters degree (go figure) with the Public Policy program at Oregon State University. He decided to make a leap of faith out of research science and into science communication and science policy, leveraging his eighteen years of research science experience to help interpret science for legislators, policy-makers and the public at large. He’s not sure where this new path will lead but he’s quite excited about it and confident the path will be revealed to him in due time. At the moment, he’s working on renewable energy policy, public attitudes, and potential impacts on natural resources. He also teaches research methods undergraduate classes, drawing on his statistical background and love of numbers and order. Despite the busy school schedule, he still reserves plentiful time with his family, playing with kiddos, making meals together with his beloved bride, and enjoying the fall harvest and bounty the Pacific Northwest offers.
Finn is enjoying her first grade year at Muddy Creek Charter School. She finished kindergarten at Jefferson Elementary last year and, much to her initial chagrin, transferred to Muddy Creek this fall. Her initial hesitancy in attending a new school soon gave way to excitement and she now fully embraces her new surroundings. She’s doing very well and this school really fits who she is…our nature-loving, artsy girl…as the school emphasizes the sciences and arts. She’s also kept up with her regular horse riding and learned to ride a two wheel bike this summer, enjoying family bike rides to/from her school bus stop a few miles away. Her reading is coming along nicely, too – we can no longer spell things out in front of her we don’t want her to know. You can follow along on her classroom blog at http://missmelissaclassblog.wordpress.com/.
Little man (Jeremiah August) started preschool this fall at Good Samaritan School, two mornings a week for a few hours. We weren’t sure how well he’d like it but we wanted to give him the same experience we gave Finn. He has done really well, made many new friends, and is enjoying learning and having something all his own. It has been such an amazing experience watching him learn and grow into the person he is. We call him William Wallace (the main character portrayed in the movie Braveheart) because he loves his sword and helmet and goes nowhere without them…including his first day of preschool. He walked in with his helmet on, his sword at his side, climbed on the play horse, pointed his sword to the sky and roared. And that’s how he introduced himself to his class. Priceless. Papa was fortunate enough to catch a picture, which he posted on our family blog (http://osbornegowey.blogspot.com/).
Cat’s year has been filled with new beginnings as well. With Finn in school all day now and Little Jeremiah at preschool two mornings a week, she has – for the first time in six years – eight hours a week to herself…woohoo! Still at home with our kiddos, her business has really taken off this past year. She wrote a large domestic violence prevention grant for her tribe, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and found out this spring it was awarded. With this grant she’ll be working part time as the program director from home here in Oregon …thanks to the technological wonders of the internet. The grant will provide advocates, funding for long term needs, and a program office with a 24 hotline. Besides this, she’s still working as a part time grant writer for the tribe and teaching online women’s studies courses for Oregon State University.
After school got out last June we took the kids and spent much of the summer traveling around Oregon camped out in our tent trailer, at one point camping 27 nights in one month! We spent a few weeks on the beach, a few weeks in the Cascades, and some time in the coast range mountains. We built sand castles on the beach, took a trip out to sea, went spelunking in lava tubes in the Cascades, swimming in high country lakes, fishing in small mountain creeks and spent many evenings playing cards and hanging out around a campfire. Our family has had an amazing year, indeed. God has truly blessed us! And we wish the same blessings on you and your families this coming year and beyond.

An Osborne-Gowey Christmas Newsletter: 2011

Jeremiah and Cat, 2011

We hope this newsletter finds you well.  We usually write a family newsletter each Christmas season detailing our past year and how much has changed. This year ended with a bittersweet note of the passing of a dear young friend. Through our grief we had decided not to do a newsletter this year. However, after getting various cards from people with notes about how much you all love our newsletter, we decided to put a quick one together. 

Finn and Little Jeremiah, 2011

Kids are growing like crazy. Our daughter Finn is in kindergarten this year...we know: crazy! We have all officially entered the world of elementary school...wow!  She loves it and her teacher is an amazing man with the patience of Job. Finn is already losing her baby teeth and has enjoyed waiting for the tooth fairy, though she informed us the tooth fairy doesn't bring money but a new toothbrush and toothpaste...which we thought was great. She still loves horses and rides at a friend’s farm every week. She can't get enough of singing and dancing to her "country music" as she calls it, and is the tallest kid in her class (as well as the youngest)...I fear she is going to be taller than her tall mummy. 

Our son Jeremiah is two and half and all boy. We used to say that there is no difference between boys and girls...then we had a son...wow there is a big difference between boy and girl hormones. We think he came out grunting like a cave man and throwing a ball around the house an pumping his fists in the air. We so have enjoyed watching him grow and develop his likes and dislikes. He loves nature, being outside as much as possible, trains, cars, and most of all, his sissy. He and his sister have developed a close relationship...which often involves a lot of fighting. J

We have had a lot of positive changes this past year. For the first half of the year, Jeremiah worked a large amount of hours and was asked to do more than any person should...he was working six to seven days a week 12 to 16 hours a day...too much. He was getting no time with the kids and his sweetie...which he treasures so much. Finally, one day we were sitting down to dinner and our daughter put a picture of Papa at the table and said "see it's almost like he's here"...he had to work late again and wasn't able to get home for supper. Cat took a picture of it and sent it to Jeremiah at work and said “I think we have a problem.” Shortly after that a blessing came to us...with the tight financial times the world is in, his company realized they needed to downsize and he was laid off. It sounds strange but it was such a relief for us...he took with him a few of the projects he was working and started working for himself. We've always lived simply so our finances are small and we don't have a lot to worry about. With his work and Cat’s working off and on for the tribe, we do okay...and Cat’s still able to work from home so the kids have mummy and not a daycare. The Lord provides...just not always how we think He will. 

Cat’s work for the tribe has really picked up. Perfect timing too...previously Jeremiah was working so much she never would have had the time to put into my work like she does now. The tribe has had some changes in the business committee and Cat’s finally getting a lot more support. Five years ago she wrote a grant to start a family violence prevention program...the grant was awarded but many in the business committee were not so happy. She wrote a second grant last year and it was awarded as well, and, coupled with the changes to the business committee, the doors are opening and amazing things are happening. Her program is seeing great progress and they've been able to help quite a few women and their children leave abusive situations. 

We have had our sadness this year at the passing of our dear friend Deanna Kingston (and here, here and here)...but we have had many blessings as well. Our lives are full and rich, we have two amazing children, jobs that we feel really contribute to bettering our world, and we have a safe and loving home...really what else could we ask for!?

We hope this next year finds you safe and well and filled with God’s blessings.

Love,

The Osborne-Goweys