Jim's catch of the day
Making rolls with Grandpa, we sure love his visits!
Before the feast!
We hosted a Christmas singalong
All three kids at Moncure got the same moral trait award. I remember when Marian, Joe and I did the same.
Sun rays coming through the trees. Being surrounded by this beauty every day has been healing.
John saw all of these does taking a trip through the yard
We are clearing any brush that could hide snakes on our land. This has made for some epic bonfires!
Jacob often has Mike drop him off around the corner with his kayak to fish
We hosted the YM and YW stake presidency and their families for a Thanksgiving dinner after their big yearly planning meeting. About 40 people. Wonderful to spend time with these faithful people and their families.
Nicole sharing during a weekly call how she has been marking her scriptures
Thanksgiving was at the Koffords and we had fun playing volleyball
Nicole got to see Jon Schmidt in a Thanksgiving Day concert
And meet him after
Setup for the Christmas singalong
We had fun songs like Rudolf and everyone wore red blinking noses
We had the kids play bells and Marian helped them find the notes
We ended with Silent Night a capella and it was wonderful. Just a great way to welcome the season with love and joy.
Nicole's visa for Peru hadn't arrived when her MTC was done, so she spent a month in the Tampa Florida mission
I had some one-on-one time with Katy! At my favorite gardening center (yes I have a favorite haha) they had a random pony ride and craft day and it was all free yay! There was this little pony for toddlers to ride, and larger one for older kids.
We made a fun ornament craft
And Katy got a huge cotton candy. She felt on top of the world to spend time with me in this adventure. It's hard to believe she is in middle school and these times together set an important foundation for our individual love and connection as she will go through the crazy of it all.
One random picture of Diana getting a steal. Diana and Katy are on the same middle school basketball team. There are 6 players so they get plenty of time! Diana's knee brace has protected her knee and she has been able to play for school and rec league with no issues, what a blessing. She is point guard for rec and the funniest thing to me is that she is the most aggressive on the middle school team so she is the center there. Quite different positions. But she is a rebound machine and steals a ton so I can't blame them. Katy is slightly overwhelmed by facing other teams with mostly 8th graders, but she has come a long way and when I was at their most recent game she scored and it was so rewarding to see her smile!
Mike went hunting and got his first deer. So grateful for the healthy venison.
Jim makes delicious venison recipes on Sundays, it is so fun to see what he comes up with.
Diana and Nicole on p-day calls can get a little goofy. It's good for Nicole to speak to her siblings and I've seen their individual relationships really increase.
One morning I found John with his eggs in a hot dog! He thought we were out of tortillas and this was his next best plan.
Diana and I went to a Chinese lantern festival for some one-on-one time. It was SO cold but really fun.
Jacob and I went to an NC State game for- you guessed it- some one-on-one time. I really felt we needed this time and it was so fun to experience a buzzer beating overtime thriller with the crowd going crazy. I also brought his favorite treats and that made it that much more fun.
For halftime, we got to see Red Panda who is the GOAT of halftime shows in basketball. Pretty cool.
NC State has an awesome band section all dressed like where's waldo
Katy and I went to see the Nutcracker ballet!
Got a picture with Clara and the Prince who were so talented. I'm not a huge ballet connoisseur, but both of us enjoyed the story, the live orchestra, costumes and skills.
Katy slid this sweet note under my door when Jim was gone on a trip.
John's turn! Our favorite orchard had a Christmas event with Scottish Highland cows, cookie decorating, fake snow, etc. So it was time for fun with John!
John had fun feeding the cows. What thrilled him most, though, was when they both pooped and stepped in it and their owners had to clean it up. Glad I was there for the memories.
Fake snowball fight!
Playing in the fake snow
Letter to Santa
Making reindeer food
Apple cider donuts and slushies for a perfect ending to time together. As you can see, I spent November and December working on those individual relationships. With our move, this year has had a lot more work and stress for selling, moving, etc. It was good to have these times.
Mike took this pic for this drone business. He has done work for realty companies and recently did terrain mapping for over 150 acres. He has made good money and learned a lot. He has really dived into it, making a website and linkedin profile (where he got his work). He also works partime as a cashier at a grocery story which has also been great for him. Next time you see him, test him on what the codes are for different fruits and vegetables haha.
Starting the chicken coop. We want to have a pressurized wood base, so it took a lot of work to make it level.
I guess with all the planting and digging, we finally broke one of the shovels.
Heated up the pool for the first time to enjoy a break from the hard work.
Driving home is always beautiful.
Christmas Eve fish chowder in sourdough bowls. Best tradition ever.
Nativity reenactment after
The kid are ALL old enough that it's not mass chaos (never thought we'd get there). We actually sang all the verses of the hymns!
Christmas morning was green eggs, red frosting on cinnamon rolls, and very excited kids. We had all the presents on the back porch (the kids tree is out there) with the drapes closed, so we could eat and clean up before opening presents.
Laundry basket procession to open presents
We had Nicole on video where she could watch us and we could watch her open presents. Sweet to have her there in a sense.
We have increased the arsenal
Playroom setup
Christmas Day dessert is always baked Alaska. Absolutely delicious!
More yard clearing while digging for chicken coop base
Break time with some bucket golf.
We ended up going four planks deep. Quite the project.
Jim and Michael gave talks the same day. Jim actually had his full time to speak (not sure if that's ever happened, seriously)
Lake fishing!
Nicole got Jacob a scale for Christmas (picked them out before she left) and he loves it
Katy and Diana made dinner!
For New Years we had lots of fireworks
Mike, Jake and I picked up the chicken coop materials with our trailer. It was quite the load!
Nicole's visa arrived and she flew to Atlanta, Lima, then Cusco in one long trip.
Her companions are native Spanish speakers. Nicole loves being a missionary, it's incredible to see how she has blossomed with love for the work, the people, and working through hard things with positive attitudes.
Katy's first baptisms! I scheduled them to come during my temple shift and I also scheduled myself in the baptistry so I could be the one to help them with clothes and towels and just be there. It was so special, my heart is so full of joy when I see how faithful and good these kids are choosing to be.
We had a sleet storm but it was exciting to just have some white stuff!
The pool has slowly frozen on top. The freeze protect on the pump keeps the hot tub and lower area of pool above 40.
We found a dead mouse in the filter. Ugh! Slightly frozen.
We had Michael fly his drone out to see if Jim could get to the hospital for a patient with a broken back. He could!
A few days after the New Year, I got a herniated disk in my neck that is severely pinching the C6 nerve and mildly flattening the spinal cord. Numb and weak left arm combined with muscle spasms that feel like I've torn everything all down the neck and arm. The pain was insane at first. It's been almost four weeks now. We got the MRI after a five day steroid treatment didn't fix it on week 2. It was nice to get the results and realize I'm not a wimp. But it has been hard to constantly be in pain. I'm learning several lessons from this. I feel much more understanding of what chronic pain is like. I feel blessed that the symptoms have gotten better and better, even if it still hurts. My arm strength is better, and I am not as numb. I need less pain medicine as well. This pillow allowed me to get sleep for the first time in 3 days (I was SO tired because I only had relief standing up!)
Dad came for a visit and got to do baptisms with the kids. These are the best days! What's a little neck pain when the eternal things are rolling forward?
