Christmas Day

Don't wager any money if you take on Scott in the Andy Griffith trivia game.  I had no clue how this would go, but this boy knows almost every answer to these obscure questions that none of the rest of us know.  It was cracking me up!  He does love Andy Griffith!  Maybe the grandparents would have a better shot against him.

The girls were surprised and excited about getting some new-to-them dolls!  :) 

Scott's ready for some warmer weather now...

Sweet pic with Great Grandma...

As Jon presented the Christmas devotion this year, I was reminded how thankful I am for him.  He leads our family so well, and seeks Jesus daily along the way.  Despite a crazy year, we have so much to be thankful for and have peace and confidence in our Savior. 

 It was a wonderful Christmas!  2021, here we come!

Christmas Eve 2020

For the month of December, we read the Nicene Creed each night.  On Christmas Eve, I recorded each kid saying it all by themselves.  I wish I could memorize as easily as they can now.  Hopefully this will stick with them as it is full of great truth!

Family Pictures...

 

91 year old Grandma Joyce...

Kate was SO excited about getting this cardboard house.  She spotted it in a craft store several weeks ago and talked about her "house" all month long!  Who knew this would bring so much joy?!

Outdoor Christmas Eve Service- brrrr!!

December HIGHS and LOWS

(LOW) The month of December was a whirlwind.  I spent many days in my pajamas.  Was I sick you may ask?  No, I was just completing second grade for the second time in my life.  I learned how to do subtraction regrouping using new techniques, did online word searches, watched several YouTube videos learning how to say Merry Christmas in various languages, and revisited plural possessive nouns (now that was tricky!).  I gave Kate plenty of pep talks and encouragement, and called my mom for plenty of pep talks and encouragement, as well.  I occasionally visited 5th and 6th grade too, which seemed like a breeze compared to 2nd.  Thankfully, that is now behind us, and we hope not to return to that for the remainder of the year.  

 

 

 

  

"Let's all ZOOM in a fun Christmas hat!' says teacher.  Kate was thrilled, can't you tell?!

 

 

 

(HIGH) Scout enjoyed having everyone home more! She quickly caught onto the idea of the nightly advent calendar for dogs. 

 

 

(LOW) Firewood.  Chop, Split, Stack, Repeat.  (Some may not rate this entire process as a low, but they aren't writing this post, and they do not have a thermostat that fails to rise no matter how hard they work.)

(HIGH) Friends, Christmas at the Zoo, Snow fun, Gingerbread houses, and Triple Chocolate Brownies after a day of e-learning.

Let's Play Photographer

Each year, it seems like Christmas cards turn out to be a big chore.  I usually schedule a photo session at a studio, plan outfits, bribe participants (JON!), carefully choose portraits and card style, wait weeks for them to come in...quite a process.  This year, I pretty much talked myself out of doing any.  After all, it's 2020 and that comes with a free pass on Christmas cards.  But then, one afternoon, I had the spontaneous idea to just do it myself.  I quickly selected semi coordinating outfits for the kids and told them to come outside. We walked around the back yard, and I pretended to be a photographer with my phone.  They were good sports and even came up with some poses themselves. I then found an online coupon for Walgreens, slapped some pictures on a card template, and my cards were ready for pick-up in an hour!  WOW!  That was easy. 

 

Not to toot my own horn (TOOT!), but when I picked the cards up, there was a note on the package that said a copyright form was needed! I took that as a compliment!