Christmas with the Riehl's.

Sunday was a busy day!  We started with attending a Christmas church service!  The best Christmas program at church with the children doing all the acting and singing.  The worship team then lead in Christmas Carols!  Christmas is so pretty and special at church!

Austin was a wiseman!  He came and sat with me a little through the program because his head dress was making him be SO WARM.  Also, look at his fingers.  He's constantly twisting his fingers around these days.  It looks complicated.

The girls were the angles and Ashlyn said a narrative script.

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I love that we have a photo opportunity at church!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

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After church we went straight to my parents.  Mom and Dad hosted the Riehls in their rec room on the farm.  Mom always has is nice and cozy!  We ate lunch there.  Exchanged gifts.  Played games and played with the cousins!

Always a feast is prepared and served!

That's a big toy remote control!

We gave Mom and Dad a Brevanda drink dispenser for the cabin!

Mom gave all the older boys funny boxers.

Ashlyn was given a bean bag chair.

Mom and dad picked names out of a basket and when your name was called out, you got to pick a money envelope.  The amounts were not all the same.  Fun!

The guys loved the boxers!

My parents had a piñata for the children.

We came home with our hearts full and bodies tired.  Ashlyn remembered she needed to read for school yet.  She tried to stay awake.

Christmas with the Riehl's was wonderful!!!!  Merry Christmas!

Fun Saturdays in December.

We have had all our Saturdays in December be so fun!  We didn't plan it out really.  We just said to the kids on the first Saturday, "Let's go visit our little town and then get our Christmas tree!"  Hadassah even joined us because Jer was hunting and we had a blast!

The next Saturday, I took the kids to Fashion Cents and then we met Mike at Costco.  There we grabbed auction items for the banquet and gifts for Lacey's family.  

Last Saturday, Mike wanted to make a trip to Cabelas and last minute I thought to invite Hadassah and Jeremiah again!  It only suited Hadassah but Matthew hopped along and we had a full day of shopping at Cabelas, the mall and other random stores.  We got some gifts but mostly I wanted to have Matthew try on and buy winter clothes!  He needed boots, a jacket etc..  I don't buy for him unless he says he likes it and tried it on!  I've returned too many things in the past!  This was the food we grabbed at the mall!

 

Days spent with our children is so much fun!  We drove back home with Hadassah, Matthew and Austin in the back seat.  Ashlyn was at a birthday party and skipped out on the shopping fun.  We laughed and chatted and filled up for gas in DE to save a few dollars!  $3.05 is a good price right night for fuel!

We came home and snuggled on the couch sipping hot drinks and just being together!

This truly is the best time of year!

Lapp Structures Banquet.

Lapps Structures is a family business that Mike's parents started years ago.  Dad and Mom did a great job and now Mike is the CEO of the company.  Mike loves his job!  The banquet is a time for us to show our appreciation and thanks!  They blessed Mike with some gifts too!  One thing that was really fun was the auction that they did!  Mike hired an auctioneer and we bought a bunch of gifts.  Every employee was given Monopoly money and then they could "buy" the gifts that were auctioned!  So fun!

 

Thank you Lapp Structure Family for being a part of our lives!

We are blessed and thank God for you!

December happenings.

 

December is going by so fast that I didn't realize how behind I am on the blog.  It's always fun to catch up so here you go!

I wrote out a Christmas letter the other week and I just let me thoughts and hands think and type!  It ended up being four pages long but with some editing and small print I got it down to two pages!!!!  We've got them printed, stuffed and sent out to family and friends!

We've been busy with basketball games!  We love it!!!!!  The season began and we have only missed one game so far because of a banquet.  Even then we were able to check scores online while the game was played!  It's so fun watching these guys play again!

Christmas programs were performed at both schools!  Elementary Campus was first and Austin was so cute on stage with his second grade friends!

The day after the program, school decided to have a virtual learning day because there are so many sniffles flying around the classrooms.  So, thanks to covid back in 2020, school can offer this way of learning at times.  We stayed home and school around the dining room table.

After doing school, Ashlyn asked to make and decorate gingerbread houses.  They both picked out a house online and printed it out as a guideline.  They hot glued graham crackers together to make a house.  They we used icing for the candies and decorations.  They loved it!

And for recess, Ashlyn helped me blow away the last of the leaves!  

And I hopped on the mower one last time for the year.

The next morning, this is how the houses looked.  Now we know that the icing is not a great way to decorate.  This kind was too wet.

More basketball games!

I did a little bit of baking and I just love it that the blue birds found our feeders again!

I got a call from school saying that while they were practicing for the school play, Austin got all white, sweaty and didn't look good.  I was to pick him up.  I thought of stage freight but I picked him but and he was fine.  A few days later, he did have the headache bug and was home for three days.  It didn't knock him down totally but just didn't feel well!  In between lying on the couch, he helped me stamp cards!

Another fresh batch of biscottis!  I sprinkled some candy canes on some!  AND .... we finished the nativity puzzle!  This was a fun one!  We were missed three pieces at the end but after going through the vac dirt, I found two pieces.  With so many of helping to put this together and it being on the main table for weeks, only one piece missing is ok.

The gifts are wrapped and under the tree!  

The weather outside is really feeling like winter!  It feels so good to be inside and lite some candles.

The Upper School gave their program the following week and I loved the bells the best!

So much is happening all around us but we are good health, enjoying the fun events and seeing the children do the things they love to do is the best!!!!

Stay warm!