Reeve is in Character Council and she got to ring the bell at Hobby Lobby. Mike took her and he said she had a blast! Love that both of our kiddos are outgoing:)
Ugly Sweater party with basically the baseball crew. It was a fun night:)
Spent some time making some fun gifts for some friends! Love having a bit more time to be creative now that I am not coaching.
Had a loose diamond so I got it fixed and they spiffed up my ring-it looks brand new!
Our nephew Grant graduated from his training for the Army I believe. His mom, Heather and Mike's other sister Shannon were able to make it to the graduation:) We are so very proud of him!
December was filled with more festive activities! We cheered on the Husker women (volleyball) as they were runner-up this year. We looked at Christmas lights, watched A Dog's Purpose, which brought some tears/snuggles out, and went to league each Saturday for Joden's Junior Islander basketball team. Love that our kids still love to be with us because we all know that eventually goes away :(
About a year ago we started a Bible Study group through our church where we meet one Sunday each month. The adults do a quick discussion while the kids play. For December we decided it would be fun to get to know each other a tad more by ditching the kids and going out in Hastings. We went to the Odyssey and did Trapped Downtown in Hastings. It was a great time!
More joyous moments-Reeve got a gift from her friend and as the picture says, sometimes the best Friday nights are just snuggling on the couch as a family!
Encouraging him more and more to figure out how to fix his things on his on!
Dinner group without kids as well! We hit up Ed and Nets-woohoo:)
Leah and I decided to go check out Junky Jan, which is a gal we know who takes junk and turns it into things! It was fun and the prices are so affordable.
Joden had a basketball tournament in Columbus and had sat down to watch the game before his. Next thing I knew this older couple sat right next to him and it looked as if he was with them. It was just funny because he had not even realized it:)
Caught this crazily decorated house on our way out of Columbus! Where do they store all of those decorations?
Joden and a friend were enjoying some outdoor time on a particularly warm December day. Next thing you know he has added a spray paint design to our front steps...this may be the least joyous moment of the month. Darn boys!
No one is perfect with eating, but I love pushing myself to balance healthier eating with allowing myself to try tasty foods as well. I knew with the holidays around the corner I would be splurging some, so being mindful prior to that makes me feel less guilty!
Gates holiday program. Reeve is in 2nd grade and Joden is in 4th!
This is the 4th and 5th graders. Joden's group is on the right.
This is a different group-2nd and 3rd. Reeve's group is on the right also.
Next up was the church program. Reeve decided she did not want to be in it this year, which we allowed her to do. Our opinion is that there are so many temptations for them to be in so many activities. Our kids are in a lot, so we were proud of her to realize that she did not want to add another thing. Unfortunately it was church related, but we viewed it as a great learning opportunity and she of course attends Sunday school.
So, at the program they decided to do a fun picture :)
When the days have less sunlight, Mike's eyes want to stay open less ;) He sometimes falls asleep on the couch at 8:30!
Decided to get them some festive shirts this year!
Our 6th grade team at Barr! We have a pretty darn good crew of people that I enjoy working with:)
Since we always travel for Christmas we do our family Christmas together at home the day before we leave. We like how we get that time together and can really enjoy each others company.
The next morning we were off to first stop by my parents to exchange some gifts and take some family pictures. Our time was short, but it went really well!
Then we left there to head to Sidney it time to celebrate Livie's first birthday. The kids were already tired after stop #1 :)
We all had a blast celebrating Livie's first birthday!
The next day was the 23rd so we enjoyed some yummy bagel sandwiches, hanging with Livie, cooking, going to Mary Poppins, and opening a few gifts!
Next was Christmas Eve!
Letters for Santa!
Enjoying our good friends' peg board game that we brought!
Christmas Morning!
Once we returned home we filled our time with Joden going to basketball camp, watching movies, playing board games, going to Skate Island, going to the Y, and sledding.
The month then ended with one last joyous occasion on New Years Eve. For the second year we attended the gala that is put on by the Grace Foundation. It is such a fun event and the proceeds go to supporting families in our community who are battling cancer.
The kids celebrated the next morning with some hats and horns that we brought home:)
