2022 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas Friends!

Welcome to the second edition of our Sass Family Christmas letter. Proud to say I didn’t give up on this tradition after one year. 

After 2021, the year of months of DIY house renovations, we decided to hire some help to finish our basement. It was definitely the right decision, but biting the bullet and hiring work done that we *could* do ourselves was hard, especially for Josh. When he would get done with work on the farm, he’d run down to the basement measuring tape and flashlight in hand to check the work that had been completed each day.  He grumbled a bit about how he could do a better job, and I believed him, but guess what? Our basement is done and we’ve been able to host our first guests (my parents) more than once already this year!

We started a new adventure and it wasn’t a joke when we picked up 15 two-day-old baby chicks from the post office on April fools day. I learned quickly how fragile baby chicks are, but surprisingly enough all of them survived! All of them besides the rooster who got his ticket to the train station after he attacked Hank multiple times. We got our first egg on August 4th and ever since, we’ve been enjoying daily fresh eggs from our flock. Hank has taken his chicken responsibilities seriously and runs out to check for eggs approximately 7 times a day. 

Hank turned four in August and when asked if he would like to go to school he politely declined and said he’d rather be farming with Dad. His favorite song of the year was “Buy a Boy a Baseball” by Granger Smith. His favorite line from the song is, “Wake him up early, teach him how to work.” He might not know all his letters, but the kid can drive better than most people with a license. 

Following in her brother’s footsteps, Harper is becoming a little farm girl through and through. She literally follows Hank everywhere and wants to do everything he does. Family rides in tractor cabs have become a new challenge with two kids grabbing for the steering wheel. Harp loves music and loves to dance. She’s been bopping to the beat of music since before she could walk. She’s feisty. 

We will be welcoming some new babies to our family, not in human form. Anna the heifer and possibly all three goats are pregnant to have babies this coming spring. When Josh came home to a smelly billy goat in the pen one night, he just looked at me and shook his head. It’s not like he didn’t see it coming. 

Josh still loves to farm, no changes there. 

After lots of pestering, I was finally able to get more involved on the farm and learned to chisel plow this fall. I loved every minute of it, especially the time I got to have the kids in the cab experiencing it with me. They did surprisingly well with endless snacks, toys, and some iPad time. Even though it looked like a bomb went off after a short time in the cab, wonderful memories were made. 

Can’t wait to do it all again next year. We wish you peace and joy this holiday season.  

Love, The Sass Fam. (Josh, MP, Hank & Harper)