As you may have noticed, our very favorite holiday tradition is the reading and writing of the Phelps Phamily Christmas Letter. It isn’t the usual letter, this one tends to lean toward the unusual, while still giving you the fairly standard family update. We get that it isn’t normal, but we are quite happy with whatever label you want to put on it.

We don’t think we are Santa’s gift to letter writing, but those of you who got the first of these letters in the actual mail, with actual stamps, asked over and over for re-prints, and some of you that are newbies begged for ‘prior installment’ copies. Well, here you go, have at it, who can deny someone who wants a good read with their cup of coffee.

What you may not know is that we tie our whole christmas theme to these letters – the tree is decorated in the theme, the christmas photo goes with the theme, the card that goes with the letter matches the theme, we have even had dinner in the theme! Someday, we may go hi-tech and show you the pictures, but really, we do have a life the other 11 months of the year…

We lost a little of some of the letters in formatting them like this; things like nifty fonts, or creative paper, but you get the point and the story is still there. Leave us a message if you have a favorite letter or you remember the events of that year, and sign up for the December notification of the next episode. Who knows what the year will bring and how it will show itself in the letter?!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks to the grandkids and the neighbor kids, who we view as pseudo grandkids, we heavily got into metamorphological change this year so of course that will be the theme of our 2025 Phelps Phamily Christmas letter. (I’m going for a Pulitzer Prize with this one, dig in for some deep science….)

Has the Phelps Phamily finally gone off the deep end you might be asking?! Have no fear, not happening yet!  We’re talking Metamorphological in the manner of the fine art of change.  Like caterpillars to butterflies.  We were part of the Monarch Butterfly Life Chain Neighborhood Cartel his summer. The whole summer. This is a commitment like no other, the caterpillars eat all the time. All THE TIME!  We harvested their favorite leaves day and night. We searched out teeny caterpillars on our milkweed plants before storms so we could take them inside where they would be safe.  Why, yes, we do grow several kinds of milkweed in our flower beds and you too can get free milkweed seeds by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Live Monarch Foundation, you can check seed banks at your local library, or purchase from several gardening sources.  We housed many caterpillars in our kitchen, we babysat several others over weekends, and even tried to keep them alive at work. We sought advice from Early Childhood and Elementary teachers, and we released them as all good stewards of butterflies do.  We even drove one chrysalis to South Dakota, but it hatched near Jackson, MN, and we let it out there.  (Fun Fact of The Day: We usually write this letter in the car and we literally just drove by that exit. 8 degrees out, no butterflies in sight today.) We are confident that our monarchs, or their descendants, made it safely to the Fir forests in Central Mexico to continue on flapping their little butterfly wings and creating Hurricanes on the other side of the world according to Chaos Theory.  We did have one rogue caterpillar in the bunch who insisted on breaking out of all kinds of caterpillar containment devices (AKA – Tupperware) and finally we just said, ‘enough is enough, if you want to get outside that badly, we can’t stop you,’ and we trundled him right out the door to stand up for his caterpillar rights and live out his adventurous days, or get eaten by a bird. We reviewed both life options with him ensuring freedom of choice, but we weren’t keen with the poop on the counter. I have to say, for size ratio, I’m glad that caterpillars are not dogs or we would be buried in poop.  Who knew something so cute could poop so much??

Here is another example of the considerable changes we witnessed this year.  Shannon and Ryan had a baby boy in February.  He came into the world a little early. A little scrawny.  A little quiet. But boy oh boy, what a difference a couple months make.  He gives power speeches by way of screeching, he has quadrupled in size, and he sports a puff ball of dandelion fuzz hair.  His name is August.  His older sister Evelyn remains in charge.  No discernable change on that expected in the near future until he can formulate sentences and stand on his own. 

Julie’s car just did a total transformation, thanks to Tri Rivers Chevrolet in Hastings, all because of an ad we read in the actual newspaper while eating pancakes. We are of the dying breed of intellects that still read a newspaper, on paper. She traded in her plain white, sedate, leather seated Volvo, for the bluest Equinox on the planet, mostly because it had cloth seats.  Only medical professionals (or whatever we are called now) who wear scrubs will understand how much different cloth and leather feel at the end of a shift when you sit in a cold car!! If only the car companies understood, and like shoes, made car versions specifically for these professions.  Come on internet influencer comedians Nurse Blake and Nurse John, get some corporate sponsorship so we can have medical car makeovers and give a-ways! 

McDonalds did an interesting transformation on their Happy Meals this month.  We look forward to taking the fam to the Grinch play over Christmas and OF COURSE we will be trying to get the Happy Meal socks to wear. I don’t predict these will be like Beanie Babies and sit in your basement for 20 years, so don’t buy them up, just let us get the 4-piece nuggets with a side of socks, and faith in humanity will be restored. 

Our lawn is looking OK after a couple backyard projects where vehicles with large tires were driven around on the grass in pursuit of happiness, but the final transformation is pleasing to the eye and incorporates a fire pit, some rocks, and a hot tub for the old people who moved those rocks.  It’s weird when you don’t think you are old, but suddenly your muscles and sleep cycles insist that, yes, yes indeed, you are bordering on old. 

Our adult children and their spouses didn’t grow extra heads from their childhood vaccines, or even get taller this year.  Isla, the eldest of the grands and leader of the pack, actually did shoot up a couple inches and her reading choices make us chuckle.  In October, she came to our house with a hefty tome titled, “The Encyclopedia of Salem Witch History.” Her car reading is usually equally as documentarian. Ruthie, next in line, is a fashionista of colors and patterns, who reads the same book over and over (Barn Cat is the current favorite.) She can’t be seen in public without glitter buckle shoes, and insists on full winter gear if the temp falls below 60F.  Evelyn, who has more hair than Rapunzel, has a mind like an elephant. She forgets nothing and she stores it for future use. She sometimes video calls and asks to look at something she remembers in the toy box or in a closet.  It’s like she is checking to see if we are playing with the Barbies without her and changing their outfits. She looks forward to having the Grinch bring Christmas presents, and she told daycare she didn’t have to always be good because she is going to Grandma’s house. (Clearly, she has forgotten that Grandma actually does have rules, except you can have cake for breakfast whenever you want.) Auggie brings up the end of the grand chain, and he already got a paragraph, but he is super cute, so we mention him again. His big flaw of the moment is that he needs more teeth to keep up with his appetite.

Roo is the only grand-dog who routinely changes things up, and when your mom is a dog groomer, owning Artistic Mutt Grooming, you get your hair cut and the color changed at a moment’s notice sometimes.  His neighborhood looks forward to his latest looks when he is out for a stroll. Ollie and Bella do their dog thing and do it well, and their people keep us updated if they step out of line and eat a toy that isn’t theirs! 

I know you thought we were going to say one or both of us was retiring, but we feel that we need to continue to drive our colleagues crazy for just a little bit longer. If we were freed from the clutches of gainful employment, we might end up with a huge butterfly factory in our yard, or 72 volunteer projects, or 8 part time jobs.  You just don’t know what 2026 could bring… 

Keep spreading your wings no matter what color they are or how far you can fly in one encounter, embrace the change that swirls around us, and if you need to break free and poop on a kitchen counter, don’t try doing it at our house. We’ve got rules you know! 

Peace, Love, and Chrysalises 

Julie and Chr’s