Snow Days

The anticipated big blizzard was . . . snowy. But not as bad as expected. In fact, our road (astonishingly) got plowed and salted so many times that we were able to order pizza delivered for dinner! Usually, there's no getting out and no getting in with our hills, so this was a good deal. But in the meantime we made a big breakfast (since we have SO many eggs now :) for lunch. Buck and Graysen had a major work day, accomplishing all sorts of tasks, including hanging up my Christmas gift from Caelan. I tried to push through some reading I needed to get accomplished, and we built this super rad puzzle in one afternoon (Graysen was out sledding with the neighbors).

The next day, Caelan, being of responsible age, took the other three to a bounce park (where she'd gone to after-prom, but the others had not yet been). They had a good time, burned off some energy and cabin fever, and now want to do more adventures of the same ilk.

We also had some time for reminiscing, which of course rolled back around to food. In our last town, everyone tried to get to church early to get one of the sweet rolls our church purchased from a local lady who liked to bake. I think she provided these treats only once each month, so you can bet that was a popular hospitality Sunday :) Anyway, I remembered that her recipe was published in one of my many cookbooks, and that I'd never actually tried to make the rolls, myself. Gabby accepted the challenge and turned out a yummy NYE breakfast for us all (well, Buck was at work).

Also, our pastor, who is a big reader, asked last NYE how many books I thought I read in a year. I guessed 100, but truly had no idea. I decided to keep track, and made it to 65 completed books in 2020. Some of them were 700 pages and took me FOREVER, so some months I only read one book. Because I'm "on vacation" and was feeling unmotivated to do any of the useful things waiting on my to-do list to be done, I googled how many pages were in each of those 65 books I read . . . grand page total 16,262! Which is funny, because I feel like I never have time to read :) Most of those pages were for church or for school; several were classics I'd yet to read: Huckleberry Finn, Wuthering Heights, Uncle Tom's Cabin, A Tale of Two Cities. I'm sure I'm much smarter as a result--however my waiting book pile keeps growing, and I still have books the kids got me for Christmas years ago, that I haven't had time to dip my toes into (I don't really dip my toes into books, but you know what I mean :)

I feel like those of you who read every page of my sometimes non-sensical blog posts have also likely logged 16,262 pages of reading. So, well done! I'll try to contain myself in 2021, so you can get to your book piles, too ;)

Pretty Lights

We weren't sure when we could reschedule Caelan's birthday lights drive, given on the only days off Buck has before the end of the year (and of the lights) a biggie blizzard is expected to arrive at our doorstep. But a bit of quick research revealed the lights stayed on til 10 p.m. the weekend after Christmas! Buck gets off of work generally around 9 pm on the weekends and the lights aren't terribly far from there. So, we packed up the van at 8:30 and drove away, drove away, drove away all. The radio revealed that all stations have reverted from their holiday state, bummer, when we (I) were (am) still in the mood for Christmas music! Well, the drive-through lights have their own radio station, so we tuned into that at the gate. I would prove this to you with a video I took, but once again, when I thought I was taking a video, my phone was waiting for me to hit "go." Lol! Maybe next year . . .

Chicken Chores

Between snow squalls we tend to pop up the hill and see how the flock is faring. They are still keeping up with around eight to 10 eggs a day--the challenge is getting to the eggs before they freeze. I have nearly five dozen on the counter right now, after giving four dozen away last weekend. I've also been wanting to get a picture of the real chickens perched behind the Christmas chickens. It was cold (despite Graysen's ensemble), so I snapped few and then flew the coop!

Unique new species in the coop today, flapping his wings and everything! :)

Merry Christmas 2020

Apparently some of our children were under the impression that, although we went to bed well after midnight, we were getting up at 6 a.m. to open gifts. Thus we had a tired and kind of annoyed Brennen when we woke up closer to 9 :) The kids began with their stockings and then opened gifts to each other--they did a great job selecting gifts! Lots of laughing and happy surprises. We soon discovered we'd let the cinnamon rolls over-rise, but they tasted just as good, hot from the oven.

Next we opened a round of golden gifts from Grandma J and Mr. R . . . I'd say the Packers gear, curling iron with multiple curl attachments, headbands, video game, LEGOs, clothes, shoes, etc. etc. were a hit! After that came a round of flowered gifts from CO, tea-infuser/water bottle, light up tracing board and charcoal pencils, more LEGOs, and a starter-level GoPro. Buck had a coffee-themed Christmas, a storage tray, Arbuckles coffee bundle (including t-shirt), a new French press, and a pretty new pipe and pouch.

There are so many things when all the Christmasses are celebrated in one! Buck treasures this time at home with family. You can see other gifts as you scroll through the photos, including a picture Gabby painted into a portrait of Buck and me, and an ankle bracelet my friend made for her. Caelan dove right into her fresh stack of piano music, and even recreated a bit of her recital piece so her great aunt (who doesn't have working sound on her computer) could hear her play over the phone.

While Buck and the kids worked on a new video game he discovered and watched football, I worked on getting the side dishes ready for Christmas dinner. Buck put a ham in and later asparagus, Caelan made sweet potatoes and Artisan bread, and I attempted banana pudding. We knew Christmas was tight for a friend from small group, so when I asked if we could bolster her meal a bit she started listing off things they normally include. One thing was banana pudding--Buck went nuts, apparently, he loves this stuff. It's a good thing to find out after nearly 20 years of marriage--the other person's top-of-the-list dessert. Well, thanks to S, who gave me a tutorial in her kitchen, I made banana pudding for Christmas dinner. The kids said I've made this before, maybe a decade ago? I believe them, but I don't remember clearly this event :) Anyway, it was fun to think we were sharing Christmas dinner with a friend by eating some of the same things, my recipes and hers, on Christmas day with our families--albeit in two different locations.

We had to double plate our meal, because there were so many options. Thus we moved Caelan's birthday roses to make space for the extra plates. It's not a terrible problem to have :)

When the LEGOS were built, the hair was curled, the massive pieces of apple pie were eaten, and I even got to read a bit of a book, we settled in and were thankful again for Christmas. There were good reminders this year that Jesus is not only the reason for this season, but for everything we do. He's the reason we miss the ones we've lost with most of our hearts, but not all of them. We have the hope of reunion in eternity, because Jesus gave up His space in perfection, to be born as a baby in less than ideal conditions. He would never reach His 40th birthday, because He wanted us to know we could be with Him for eternity, back in perfection where He belongs, and He wants us to join Him. That's the best Christmas gift of all!