It’s natural to reflect one’s past as the New Year approaches, and with so much having transpired in the short 1 1/2 years of our marriage, we thought a Christmas letter was appropriate to commemorate all our adventures and thank you for your part in them.
So what has happened in that time?
It all started June 6th, 2015 when we vowed before God and our many witnesses to have and hold each other for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness or in health. Our adventures commenced immediately with our surprise honeymoon to Hawaii and Southern California, which truly was a surprise to me (Sarah), since I found out our destination when the blindfold came off at the airport and I was handed my plane ticket. :)
In late July we found out that we were expecting a baby, and how joyous that news was! In early September, we bought a beautiful home in central Coeur d’Alene and immersed ourselves, Sarah’s family, and all available friends in giving it {a lot of} TLC.
October came and with it brought a late night scare with the police and the SWAT team calling us out with our hands up, thinking that the previous owners still lived there…fortunately, it ended peaceably with a good night sleep, until the next day…when the {wanted} previous resident appeared at the door and tried to get in the house. For the next couple months, we learned to ‘be wary but not weary’ and trust in the Lord even more. The former occupant, who was wanted for several felon charges in the State of Idaho and Montana has since been arrested, jailed, and released one year later, as of October 2016.
My pregnancy brought some craziness too, with threatened miscarriage early on, extreme weight restrictions, and a torn abdominal muscle—not desirable ever, but even more so when you’re trying to renovate a house, move in and organize it, and prepare for a baby coming!
In November, our sweet little niece Ivy was born, and Sarah was there a bit helping, while Alex continued working long 6 day weeks between his USPS Rural Carrier and Delivery jobs. December was crazy as usual at the Post Office with the package scurry, and we well remember that night we {elves} took our suburban crammed full of outgoing packages to the Spokane plant and came home past 11pm. [Don’t forget to thank your mailman this year!!] Special memories!!!
January came, and we finally got the last of our boxes moved into their appropriate rooms. Then…..we hit a moose late one dark night…or rather, unbeknownst to us, the car 1/4 mile ahead of us hit its neck with their roof rack. We, being good citizens, saw their flashers and moved over to the other lane…where we promptly hit the moose and pushed it 30 feet before flying through the air and sliding on our our side for 100 yards. We landed on my passenger side which sent the side mirror through the window and in the process broke my arm.
Praise God, baby was okay, and I got my elbow-to-fingertip cast off 3 1/2 weeks later…1 day before I woke up in premature labor. Turns out, I sustained a seatbelt injury (it was either that or being beheaded if I hadn’t worn one), which caused a delayed placental abruption (which is when the placenta starts detaching from the uterine wall), and 5 hours later, on February 3rd 2016, our tiny 4 lb 2 oz, 17 3/4” long, 8 week premature son was born. Perfect, whole, alive.
After 2 days, we finally got to see his face and named him - Alexander David - “Beloved Defender of Mankind”. A fighter he was: against his lungs which didn’t have enough surfactant to open, against bacteria, against jaundice, against bleeding, and against the tubes in his mouth. :) We transported him on Day 3 to Deaconess Hospital (best Level 3 NICU in Spokane!), where he remained for 6 weeks, and I with him at the Ronald McDonald House. All through this, Alex was the exemplary husband—cooking, cleaning, helping in every way he could when I couldn’t even crack an egg because of my arm. He was the perfect support through labor, and the best dad a preemie could want. With his rigorous work schedule, we didn’t get to see each other as often as he still lived in Cd’A for the most part. That was REALLY tough, but it almost felt like we were courting again with those late night phone calls. :)
Baby Alexander came home on St. Patrick’s Day, at 6 lbs. 8 oz. and we became a united family. It was amazing. That same day, Alex ended his time at his one delivery job, which left us time to figure out our new routine and bond as a family. God has perfect timing!
Since then, Alex has been working USPS, doing graphic design and other projects on the side, dabbling in cars, doing house projects, teaching Alexander to say ‘Da-Da’, and changing diapers.
This summer, I became a consultant with L’BRI—the natural, nontoxic Aloe Vera-based skincare and makeup line that I’ve been using for 5 years which cleared up my rosacea and Alex’s bad acne. God truly did make plants for our healing! If you’re curious, you can find out more here: www.facebook.com/GotHopeWithLBRI
Alexander is now 10 months old, 20 lbs, 1/2 my length, is crawling, has been wearing 9-12 month clothing since he was 8 months old, says Dada, climbs up or over everything, walks along furniture, loves food (loves Mama more), is almost always happy and laughing, knows ‘No’, and is our miracle baby.
We want to thank each and everyone of you for your prayers, encouragement, support, food, gifts, help, and love during the many transition periods since our wedding. As some of you know, we haven’t finished getting our wedding thank you cards mailed, and I apologize for that. In my defense, the document I had it all compiled on disappeared when my computer hard drive failed a year ago, and miraculously appeared late this Spring amongst other files on my backup drive. Please know that you each have our deepest heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your wedding gifts and each has been put to good use in our home. Please accept this note in lieu of a separate card.
Looking forward to 2017, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but we know that God has everything in control, and we’re really enjoying living life day by day, trusting God, and asking for Him to continue enlarging our borders and blessing us how He sees fit (1 Chronicles 4:10).
May God bless you as you seek to know and serve Him more in this coming year!
Alex, Sarah, and Alexander Henkoski
"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing."
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 -
