Monday, December 31, 2018

Christmas 2018

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Here is our annual Christmas post! I'll try to touch on everything we did throughout the month along with my thoughts (mostly for me). 

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We did our annual visit to Santa one early Sunday after church. It is such a fun outing, one I hope we never get too old for. Scott did have to wait for about an hour in line while we played, plus a bit more waiting once we were inside Santa's village. Our Santa is so good, we just love him! 

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The girls just loved having the tree up and playing around it while it was lit up each evening. Every year I get so stressed out by comparing myself to others who have their trees up before Thanksgiving. My goal is to have it up by the first weekend in December, but even then it takes a while for me to get it all settled. This is a note to myself: even if the tree is not up right away, there is still plenty of time to enjoy it the whole month! 

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I made my own planters with greenery from a local greenhouse. I enjoyed the fresh greens and not having to have two extra pots to deal with after winter but I'm not sure the extra work in arranging was worth the savings of doing it myself. I still feel like we need to have something green up on the front porch! 


My parents came the weekend before Christmas to watch the kids program at church. It was a special weekend and although the girls were a little naughty during the program, it went fairly well. Next year I'll know not to have the girls stand next to each other--yikes! 


We celebrated afterward with lunch at Smokey D's along with Denise and her boyfriend. We also visited the cemetery and that was nice, too. 

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We hosted friends from Chicago a few days before Christmas. I'm glad Scott made it happen because it was really nice to spend time catching up and getting to know their families. Harry was a big hit with the kids! 

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We had Scott's family for Christmas. Dave and Margie arrived a day earlier which gave the kids some nice time with them, and we enjoyed swimming in their hotel pool. 

On Christmas Eve day, we had an easy lunch of chili and cinnamon rolls before getting ready for church at 5pm. Scott and his parents left the house early to get a good seat and we joined them closer to 5. This worked out well and the church did fill up close to 5. 

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All was going so well at church until Brynn came to me and said she needed to barf. I hustled her out of the sanctuary to the bathroom where she informed she had already thrown up all over my boot and in the aisle- I totally missed it. I grabbed our stuff and we headed out to the car to rest for the rest of the service. Scott told me to watch the service on my phone and I did just that. I wondered how engaging it would be, watching on my tiny phone screen but it actually ended up giving the Christmas message a very personal meaning, with me staring out in the dark night. One of these years we will get through the holidays with no sickness!

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After church we had snacks for dinner (meatballs, vegetable pizza, meat and cheese tray, garlic pull apart bread, little smokies in bacon, cookies, chex mix) and had fun socializing. We opened presents from the family that evening. 


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The kids gifts from each other were a hit and it was pretty special taking the kids out to buy for each other. I will have to remember that tradition for next year, as in theory it seemed very stressful for me but in actuality, it was very easy and I loved it. 

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Christmas morning Santa had arrived and the kids waited until after breakfast to open their gifts. Anna got her horse farm, Brynn got her dollhouse, and Michael got the Harry Potter Lego hogwarts great hall. I think they were all pleased with their gifts, plus their special little things in their stockings. 

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Grammy also got everyone $100 bills- wow! 

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It was really nice seeing all our family over the month and especially hosting everyone at our home. I am happy we have the means, energy, and time to do it and I hope everyone had a great time.  

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Merry Christmas!

Here is our Christmas video: 


Thursday, December 27, 2018

Christmas Letter 2018



Merry Christmas!

It has been a whirlwind year and it is sad to have another year almost in the books for our family. Everyone is happy and healthy and we have much to be thankful for. 


Brynn, 4

Anna, 4



The girls turned FOUR this year. We can hardly believe it and they remind us daily that they are definitely no longer babies but big girls. They are enjoying school; learning to write and say their letters and they love to listen to stories. Making up songs and dances are a favorite and they love to play with each other and big brother (the game master). They just started sleeping in twin beds and we officially moved their cribs to storage. It feels pretty official that their baby chapter is now closed. They are looking forward to their Christmas program at church and Santa visiting. We are so thankful to have them in our lives!

Brynn
Anna


Michael turned nine this year and is loving third grade. He often comes home telling us he had "the best day ever!". He is learning lots, reading well, and having fun with friends. We finally finished reading the Harry Potter series this fall and watched all the movies. It was great fun and we are looking forward to our next series to dive into. Michael still loves all things LEGO, making up his own games, playing minecraft, and watching his favorite youtubers on the ipad. Piano lessons began for Michael this fall and we found a wonderful teacher who lives right down the street. She is so impressed with his fast start and we have fun practicing his music together. He also started playing real hockey this year with practices and games each week. He is turning into a good skater and is getting close to being able to stop on the ice. :) His happy spirit is always contagious and he brings lots of fun and imagination into our life. 


Work is going well for both Scott and I. I'm in year fourteen of teaching and it seems like it is the busiest year yet. I am thankful for the large number of students I get to teach and it is fun to hear them improve daily. I'm still working on my masters in music education through the University of Northern Iowa through online classes and I'm on schedule to graduate next December. I was not entirely sure what I was getting into when I signed up last fall but we are doing it as a whole family, especially thanks to Scott who takes over for me on class nights and homework nights. Going back to school has helped me realize how much I truly love learning and it has been invigorating in my personal and professional life. 

I am still playing in the Central Iowa Wind Ensemble (also going on 14 years!) and the Boone Municipal Band in the summer. I'm enjoying helping Michael with his piano and Scott and I are trying to work our way through a learn to play guitar series on fender.com. I'm trying to learn but I appreciate Scott's help! :) 

Scott is still at State Farm in Johnston and recently achieved some big goals of his. I am excited for him to keep helping his customers protect their life. He is still playing hockey on Wednesday nights in his adult league and is having fun helping Michael as well. 


In terms of family fun, we enjoyed a trip to Memphis last December for the Cyclone bowl game. It was a quick trip down but we enjoyed the visit with Scott's aunt and especially enjoyed the Cyclone victory. It was the most fun I had in a long time in a game and I was happy those feelings translated into this fall's seasons....what a great time to be a Cyclone! :) 

We also traveled to South Dakota in the summer for Scott's 20th high school class reunion and out to the Black Hills. It was a fun time catching up with friends and spending time with nature. I enjoyed a trip back to Moville to visit my parent's new house in town (!!) and spend time at the Woodbury County Fair. We enjoyed having Scott's sisters family down for a day at the state fair in August. 

We celebrated Christmas early with my family, attending the kids' Christmas program at church. It was the girls' first time performing and they did great (just a little bit naughty). Michael did well, too and I'm glad we could share the day with our family. 




Scott's family was here for Christmas Eve and Day and had a lovely time with all of us under one roof. We are thankful for everyone and glad we all got together. 




We have visited the cemetery several times this season and wish with all our hearts that Trace could be here celebrating with us. We miss him every day but he is still a part of our family and our lives. I can't wait to see what our heavenly future holds. 



I pray that you enjoy your family this season! Merry Christmas!

photo credit: Kylie Newhard Photography



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