December 27, 2021
To the ones we love,
As we reflect upon this past year, we are very grateful for so much. It has been full of growth as we welcomed Nell Wrenata into our family on the summer solstice. She has such a sweet, light-filled presence, and we are blessed that she chose our family. Other highlights of this year include: witnessing Mirabelle transition into her role as a big sister, making stronger connections to friends (new & old) in our Louisville community, seeing many of our family and friends in person, taking camping trips to the Utah desert to soak in the red rocks, Nell’s first camping trip at Turquoise Lake in Leadville, CO at ten weeks old, and being surrounded by so much natural, mountainous beauty in 300 days of sunshine.
Paul (35) has taken on a new role at Thorne Nature Experience as the director of their summer camp as of May 2021. He became a fatherhood “coach” through FatheringTogether.org and leads a monthly gathering of dads with his buddy Norris. This gives him a chance to reflect on parenting, commiserate about the difficulties, and have a good laugh at himself. This October he and a few other dads took their oldest children for a 4-night camping trip in the Utah desert. It was full of hikes, dirt bikes, and dad jokes. Living in this land of immense beauty has been full of inspiration. Paul also misses his family and community dispersed around the world.
Kelly (33) finished her second year of graduate school and fourth meditation retreat in May 2021 and is taking a year long break. She is grateful for the opportunity to slow down and savor her initial postpartum period with Nell, and she is equally looking forward to beginning her internship at a community mental health center in Boulder come May 2022. When not mom-ing, she loves to spend time hiking or at the lakes near our home, trying new recipes (from-scratch sauces, pastries, and cocktails included), cozying up with a good fiction book and cup of tea, and making crafts.
Mirabelle (3 ½ years) is as vivacious as ever with equal parts free-spirit, strong will, sense of humor, and imagination. Some of her favorite pastimes of this year include having play dates, attending birthday parties and dreaming of her own, playing family, exploring in the woods with the playgroup Paul started, listening to stories on tape, going swimming, and making art. This year she has really come into her own personal style and loves a “creative” outfit (to use her words). We’re learning to balance fashion and utility, particularly in relation to her new preschool program, Thorne Nature Preschool. Here she spends 95% (or more) of her days outdoors exploring Coal Creek. She comes home and says things like, “The Earth is me. I am connected to the Earth.” and “Did you know that nature heals?” This is music to the ears of parents who love the natural world so much. She also recently wrote her first word, fox, and now it is appearing everywhere and in all colors around our home.
Nell (6 months) keeps getting sweeter and chunkier by the day. Her smile is bright, her head is soft, and her demeanor is chill. She recently got her two bottom teeth and tried her first solid food on Christmas morning. She loves milk, cuddling, going on stroller rides, tummy time, blowing bubbles, bath time and baby massage, and playing with strings and tags. She strongly dislikes putting on shirt sleeves and visiting the doctor. Her laugh and playfulness are outrageously heart-melting, and she finds her big sister most entertaining of all. Mirabelle recently said, “It was really fun in our family when it was just me, you, and dad, but now that Nell is here, it’s even more fun.” Watching the two of them bond and create their own relationship is a rare and wild gift. Caring for two young children can be a marathon, but mostly we are exhausted with love and have grateful hearts for this fleeting period of life.
If you are receiving this letter, we want to wish you peace and abundance in the new year. May you be granted good health, lots of ease, and the awareness to see all the divine beauty in the most ordinary of places.
With love,
Kelly, Paul, Mirabelle, and Nell Humes
Top Picks of 2021
Top Books:
Paul: Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff
Kelly: The Vanishing Half: A Novel by Brit Bennett, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Mirabelle: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, What We’ll Build: Plans For Our Together Future by Oliver Jeffers
Nell: Black & White by Tana Hoban
Top Musical Selections:
Family Pick: The Keep Going Song by The Bengsons
(Look it up on YouTube or Spotify- It’s worth it for some pandemic reflection/inspiration.)
Paul: IDLES, Joy as an Act of Resistance
Kelly: Valerie June, The Moon And Stars, Prescriptions For Dreamers
Fruit Bats, The Pet Parade
Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, If I Could Talk To A Younger Me (from Echo in the Valley)
Beautiful Chorus, Please Prepare Me (from Hymns of Spirit)
Mirabelle: Valerie June
Nell: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Angel’s Prayer (Ty Burhoe), Peyote Healing (Robbie Robertson)
Top Podcasts:
Paul: Flow State with Bobby Lyte
Kelly: We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle
Mirabelle: Storytime with Tula Jane and her Mother in the Wild
Top Movie/TV Series:
Paul: Ted Lasso
Kelly: CODA, Ted Lasso, Firefly Lane, Bridgerton, Outerbanks (guilty pleasure)
Mirabelle: Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
If you feel so inspired, please share your top picks with us! We love recommendations.