This past December was different in so many ways as always I'm thankful for the snapshots that remind me of the life we live. We get busy doing that I forget to actually think about the life we are living. One unknown side effect of having missionaries is how much I appreciate people loving them and caring for them. This sparked a new desire in me to reach out to our missionaries and make sure they are ok. So I invited them to our house to make cookies. It was a sweet experience.
They started up at Sue's she of course just welcomed them in and fed them some hot tapioca pudding. They of course were treated family style given a spoon and invited to take a test bite from the pan. The new sister missionary later related this was exactly how they eat tapioca pudding at home and that this day was her parents birthday. A tender mercy that God is indeed aware of her and knows her heart. I never have or probably won't make tapioca pudding and none of us knew this was a thing at her home, but God knew and so she went to a place that it was happening so she could know he notices her. Love it! They came later to our house she whipped up chocolate chip cookies which they took to other people. We enjoyed getting to know them just as many people in California and Ohio are doing with my children.
One reason the month passed quickly was the daily attention to these lovely ladies. Afton continues to show great possibility of being a major cow handler. She helped Reed feed thse cows. It was nerve wracking driving maongst them as they mindlessly cross right in front of me and completely surrounded the tractor and wagon a see of black mooing cows is quite the sight.
Most of the time cow work leaves these in the house playing to their hearts content. Who knows what they will do, but Millie runs a pretty tight ship and rarely do I come home to chaos. However on cow moving day everyone likes to come watch the cowboys and dogs work their magic. They bundled up and came out to watch the show.
Another present to myself was an upgrade to LED lights. Uncle Ben taught Mark some basics and he was able to complete the installations with help from Addie, Reed, and myself. I like having more light.
In years past home depot has had some impressive Christmas decorations this year there were few to be found but the kids enjoyed a day away from home and the many possibilities are showcased in the store. Aliza is my secret weapon to managing so many little curious helpers. She is so competent, strong, patient, and creative when dealing with children.
Reed is an eager willing cook. Here he is making sour dough waffles. Addie was gone somewhere and he did a great job. He is good at most anything he puts his hand to.
In addition to life at home, this year there was major effort and preparation put into celebrating at school. We are so very thankful for the vision of our teachers at the grade school my children attend.
ornaments, gingerbread houses, games, dancing, etc it was a very fun day
As activity day leader we always try to do something spiritual along with the fun. This project had to be modified but I wanted the kids to have a craft experience. I was surprised how much they really enjoyed sanding wood blocks. Truly, many of them could have sanded a lot longer if they weather wouldn't have been so cold. They then painted the wood and let it dry in preparation for a vinyl sticker to be placed to create the following Nativity scene.
The boys making bird feeders. Our bird feeder was picked clean in a day. We have a lot of kids and so we split into boy group and girl group and just rotate who does what at any given activity. It works. The kids are sweet, I've learned to plan extra the kids are fast and to roll with however the projects progress. The kids brought good ideas a few months ago and we've been inspired as we worked to make their ideas come to life.
I'm always cooking or cleaning up it seems.
A picture of Anna at a members house. I love getting these surprise pictures on my phone.
So that's what we did in December we worked, we cooked, we celebrated. Life is good and we are blessed with energy and health - even though we were sick for several weeks it made us more aware when we were well. Now onto finding good things and ways to spend January and February as we patiently and nervously wait and wonder about the arrival of our next baby.
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