A New Year! 2025!

We welcomed in the New Year with friends and it's always fun to have that countdown and cheer for the new and leave the old behind us!  I like to reflect back on the past year and I've not done that a whole lot yet but looking ahead and thinking a bit about a "word" for 2025 some come to mind.  "Seek Discomfort" is the first thought.  I saw this on Nata's sweatshirt a while back and it struck me.  I like normal.  Routines.  Daily habits.  So to think of seeking discomfort makes me uncomfortable just typing out these words.  I do believe that God has good in store for me and my family in 2025 and I also know that all the moments that will stretch me as a person or when I try to be more risky or try new things, new patterns, listen to another point of view ... it will bring change!  Good change.  Last year, I did some hard things that I knew were necceasary and challenging!  I sought out a mentor to talk through some thoughts and feelings!  I have really found it helpful and treasured every golden nugget I received!  I also joined a local work out class that involves ladies that want to become stronger inside and out!  My cousin leads this class and I've had so many sore muscles but really have enjoyed the gym time!  Another word that comes to mind is "celebrations!"  I know that 2025 will bring celebrations and much joy as we welcome our first grandbaby in April!  And then in June Matthew and Daisy get married!  Then in August Ritchie and Hannah exchange vows!  Right there are three big celebrations that we will have and they all three will be life changing!  We are excited!

2025 will begin with hauling out the Christmas tree and tucking away the Christmas decorations until the next December.  I love to begin the year with a clean house and as much as I hoped we would stay away from the stomach bug that seems to rage around us, we got hit on Thursday.  Mike and Ashlyn were both throwing up and my stomach was not happy.  I kept the children home from school on Friday just to make sure we would on our way to healthy tummies again!

 

JR and Ruthie invited us over for a fun night of good food and friends!

Reflections ... 

Winter months have been a drag for me for many years!  I hated winter.  I don't like to be cold.  It was a challenge to get out of the house with little children without having to bundle up like crazy each time.  It was after our home remodel that really made a big difference for me!  The extra windows and lighting that streams through is wonderful!  My mind set and stage in life has also helped.  The kids were all in school now and I could get groceries in and out much faster and less stressful.  I now like winter time.  It's still my least favorite season but that's OK!  It's a time to slow down.  Declutter the closets and clear out the things we don't need anymore!  It's a time to do puzzles!  And read.  I do love a good snow storm and heat up hot chocolate!  Watching the blue birds at the feeders is a highlight!  Basketball begins and Austin has is first practice and first game this week!  Mike is on the coaching bench for the High School boys again and enjoys that.

Austins first practice ....

On Friday I kept the children home from school to make sure we are rid of the stomach germs and not spreading them around.  I got them both to go through their cubby drawer and clean house!  The house was gross from throwing ups and it all got cleaned well!  And there's nothing like good ol stewed crackers when the stomach is uneasy!

Window views are wonderful when it snows and the birds are feeding at the feeders!

We got a carpet cleaner to clean up the messes from the stomach bug and from the holiday.  I always like to do this else right before or right after Christmas!  

Austin couldn't wait for his first basketball game to start!  After being home all day from school because of precautions of the stomach bug, I was finally happy to put on his new basketball jersey and go play!  Adrian is on his team again and they play well together!  They finished with a win and we celebrated with McDonald happy meals.  I just knew that when we got home Matthew would have a word to say about that because for many year McDonalds was a restaurant we avoiding at all cost.  It's still a low choice but I guess we are now more interested in making the memories with our littles instead of always the nutritional  facts.  I'm not saying this is a wise concept but it's how it is right now.

He's got a good coach too!  Go BUCKS!!!!

The first week of January is already behind us and we had some snow flurries to make it feel more like winter time!  Snow just adds a ton of fun and excitement and we hope to have many more flurries land on our property!

Happy New Year!

Happy January!!!!!

Second Christmas!

 I grew up calling the day after Christmas, Second Christmas.  After a full, fun day yesterday, the kids slept in once again.  Austin asked Adrian to come over and they had a sleep over that night.  They crack me up with these Grinch shirts.  Austin wears his non stop!

Afternoon, we packed up and headed to the cabin!  Spending the next few days is just what we hoped for!

We grabbed us some festive coffees and hit the highways!

We created gingerbread houses!  The men filled the wood box!

Tyler made some homemade ice cream and the next night we used the rest of the mix!  So yummy!

Lots of games get played at the cabin.  Dice and Four up and four down were popular.

Mel took her paints along and we completed a puzzle.

Us ladies went to the mall as one does right after Christmas!  Such a fun outing!  And Austin captured this window photo of us playing dice.

These kids have so much fun together and they were riding the razor in the snow and the four wheeler in the mud.

We came back home ready to be home and put some dried up greens in the trash!  Life is so fun!

Christmas Day is finally here!

 Merry Christmas friends!  Jesus is born!  Happy birthday, Jesus!!!!!

Christmas morning came and the house was quiet.  The kids slept in and I played Christmas music softly as I began setting the dining room table with our real china dishes!  Mike and I sipped on our coffees as we worked on the puzzle a bit, read our bibles and slowly the kids woke up.  Matthew went with Daisy to her family Christmas brunch and my food preparations began!  I ordered a filet from Keystone Catering and that was heated along with lobster Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, salad, shrimp and desserts!

Arie and Zelta (the puppy) got to come along.

The favorite view!!!!!

We gave each other gifts!  Austin was sure he was getting UGGS and he was right.  Also Crocs and some stocking stuffers!  Ashlyn was with me on Black Friday when I got the UGGS and Crocs so she knew what she was getting but was still excited to open her gift and see a speaker inside.

We gifted the girls a Shark Hair Curler.  The boys got hunting gear and a shop vac!

I was given an Urban Southern Market Tote!  It's a huge beautiful bag!!!!  And Mike gave me this artwork!  I just laughed then moment I saw it!  As we walked through the art gallery in our small town a few weeks ago, I asked the shop owner if he still has that art of a pig jumping off a diving board?  He said he did and I nodded my head and made a comment of how I liked it!  Mike went back later for it and it just makes me laugh!  You don't ever see a pig jumping off of a diving board and into a pond.  They lay around in mud and get fat!  Something Mike and I were asked in a couples Sunday school class this year was, "What is something you would like to see come out of your spouse?"  Mike said he would like me to be more risky!  I'm scared of heights and don't like ledges.  I like normal.  Routine.  The same, same things.  So looking at this art reminds me to be different!  Jump off those diving boards in life and don't take life too serious!  Be free!  Enjoy the moments of laughter and fun!  I love this gift!

Christmas is never complete without and should never be complete without reflecting on the birth of Jesus!  Jesus was born so that we could live!  He was born in a humble stable, miles away from his true home.  Bethlehem was just going to be a place to pay taxes and then head home for a birth.  Instead, Jesus was born in that crowded town where no inn keeper had any room for his parents to rest, give birth in and stay warm.  Later that night, the heavens announced His birth to shepherds and they found baby Jesus and worshipped him!  

At the temple, Jesus was given his name that the angel told Mary to name her son!  Simeon and Anna were blessed to finally see this Messiah that was coming to save the world!!!!  Joseph and Mary stayed in Bethlehem for some time and Wisemen visited them from the East and gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh!  Then they had to flee because the king announced that all the baby boys two years and under must be killed because he heard that a new king was born to the Jews.  An angel spoke to Jospeh in a dream and told them to flee to Egypt so that baby Jesus would be safe!  After this killing king died, the angel of God came again to Jospeh saying it would be safe to go back home!

This is such an incredible true story that changed the world! Jesus grew up in Nazareth and at age 30 began doing miracles and preaching and healing sick people!  He died on the cruel cross for proclaiming he was the Son of God just a few years later.

We are blessed to have a God that really cares for us sinners and sends us His one and only Son to save us from our sins!  Thank you Jesus!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve!

 Well, we tried staying healthy all Christmas season and I'd say we are doing a pretty good job!  However, Ashlyn had a sore throat for a few days and started coughing and I decided to take her down to the doctor to rule out strep.  She doesn't have strep but has a sinus infection and bronchitis.  She was given some meds and cough syrup but was on the couch most of the day.

Our little town is so cute and pretty and Mike and I were out and we swung by Kittle Kettle just to peek at the lights once again!  And the skies are just gorgeous on these cold days!  Austin loves to open all the cards that get sent to us over the holidays!  Thank you friends!

A bottle buddy project is complete!

And I noticed a real snow flake pasted on the outside of our bedroom window and I just stopped and paused and looked at it.  What a cool gift on my window.  I do not ever remember seeing a real snow flake like this before!  So cool!

We haven't baked cookies yet this season so we mixed a batch of gingerbread and decorated them!  These are the best kind of Christmas memories!

The workers gave us an outside patio heater and Matthew and Daisy came over and Matthew put it together for us!  Watching the three men in the house start the campfire on the back porch is wonderful!  We have the best kids!!!!!

Hadassah and Jeremiah are with the Petersheims but will come over tomorrow!

This kid is so excited for Christmas Day, the gifts, the snow ... everything!

Ashlyn is excited too but is trying to get well!

We have another puzzle on the board!

Mike is starting the fireplace outside as the Chiefs get ready for kick off!

After making some pretzel logs to eat and cut up vegetables, we all snuggled on the couch downstairs after dark and watched Klaus!  It's Mike's favorite Christmas movie and even though we dozed off and on through the movie, we love being together!