Christmas Eve

It's already Christmas Eve, we can hardly believe it. I know each year, I write that time flew by but this year, I tell ya, it REALLY flew by. It feels like it was just Thanksgiving a couple weeks ago. While we did skip some of our annual Christmas season traditions, much of the actual holiday was left the same. We began the day with a Christmas Eve service at Grace Church. It was a beautiful way to honor the birth of our Savior. There is nothing that I'd rather be dong than celebrating the one, true, gift...Jesus! The worship music and percussion team was AMAZING, Pastor Ron's message was filled with hope and it was all brought together with a candle lit singing of Silent Night. We are so thankful for this church. 

                                         

Blake had to work so we decided to wait until he got off, to celebrate any further. Billy put together my present and Taylor helped to light it up to make sure it was ready for the evening. Then we spent time making our appetizers and getting ready. We made some fried shrimp, toasted raviolis, spinach artichoke dip, deviled eggs, bacon-wrapped chestnuts and everyone's favorite candied bacon! We did possibly ruin two of my good sheet pans in the process but even burnt, they were a fave! We prepped some food for Christmas dinner and before we knew it, Blake was pulling in!

We tried to grab a quick family photo session but we couldn't quite get it right with the lighting. Oh well, we still got a few shots.

We started with a prayer of thankfulness and some wild pet gift-givings! Millie got a little chewy bone and Kitty got a new scratch pad...Millie took off with hers like a bucking bull, Kitty took a second to realize that it was actually OK to rip of the wrapping paper so Tay had to help. Once that scratch pad was open though, he immediately started ripping on it, laying on it and rolling around on it..he loved it so much. One gift was a combined gift for them both, we opened the play tunnel and called Millie back in, she came bounding in, ran around it and then ran into it but never came out the other end, instead, she started doing tiny circles, around and around, inside the tube! We have never seen her so crazy! 

Then we began our gift exchange. My all time favorite is when Blake and Taylor both held up their new Bibles. This is so awesome because they both have been growing closer to Christ, this was the perfect gift that will last a lifetime.

A couple things that Blake got was a pull-up bar for his bedroom door, an alligator onsie and Link plushie from Tay, a Pokemon DS game, a Buffalo Wild Wings gift certificate and an ear cleaner ( since I won't be in Columbia to help with this..lol!)

Some of Tay's gifts were a murder mystery game, a digital notebook & monitor from Blake, Infinity Train movies, a music stand and a spotify giftcard. 

Billy got some Chiefs Pj's & a hat, a soundbar, some saw horses, and the new Alex Jones book. I got some Ryze mushroom coffee, a sourdough starter with bread bowl kit, and of course the gas firepit table! I'm so excited to sit outside by it! 

After gifts, we settled in the recliners with dessert to finish watching A Christmas Carol and called it a night. It was a wonderful Christmas Eve.

Hello 10th Grade!

I love that Taylor & I can research different curriculums and specific classes, tailoring them to fit exactly what she wants for her school year. Since it is the high school years, we are choosing to stick to a somewhat tradition course load. This year's schedule is:

• Dennison Geometry- video lecture w/super easy to follow guide, plus bookwork/tests
• 101 Series Chemistry- God's Chemical World, lectures & bookwork/tests/labs
• Compass Classroom American History- Dave Raymond teaches via video lessons, workbook
• Transparent Language Spanish 1- complete online lessons with voice recall
• Apologia Health and Nutrition- Exploring God's Creation in text
• Band/Clarinet & Swing Band/Bass Guitar- SCCHE Co-Op
• Literature & Composition 3- Novel Studies w/Total Language Plus/Memoria Press
• EP Bible & Apologetics- Taught by both, Mr & Mrs. Giles

This seems like a rigorous schedule, squeezing in 9 credits this year, but honestly, she gets the lessons done much quicker than sitting in a traditional classroom, so it all pans out with time to spare! She even scheduled in "light" days on Tuesdays and Thursdays because those are my days off and we like to go do hands-on stuff, museums, field trips, picnics, exploring parks, basically just spend some time together (with some learning added in, of course). Plus, on Thursdays, she has 3 hours of band at St. Charles Christian Homeschool Education Co-Op with Mr. Duss. She has done band, playing clarinet but this year she will join the swing band with her bass guitar! She has been taking lessons from her Dad and is ready to play some jazz! 

I am perplexed at how this baby of mine, can possibly be a sophomore...time flies when you're having fun, bring on 10th grade!

Tis' the Season

This holiday season flew by again! Tay and I scheduled the week leading up to Christmas to be as organized as possible. The weather threw us a curve ball, causing us to cram all the errands into Tuesday, my only non-snowy day off. They claimed that a blizzard of the decade was on the way! We knocked out the errands and then planned a day of baking AND BEING SNOWED IN, on Thursday. That part was kind of exciting for us!

We woke up on Thursday and began baking sugar cookies, pecan balls and chocolate crinkle cookies. I made my traditional Coquita concoction, so the drunken raisins could soak a bit. Bubby woke up and helped make chocolate covered pretzels and pb crackers candies. The snow did fall, although definitely no record-breaker, and the doggos got to enjoy some playtime outside...Milo came back in with sparkles! They both turned out to be good taste-testers too! 

We got all the presents wrapped (Tay even wrapped all my tiny gifts in a special way!) and finally felt like I could breath a sigh of relief...bring on Christmas!

I was about to go to bed, when Tay came in, asking to open the gift that Allison and Andrew sent. Blake has just got home from work and she just couldn't wait until Christmas Eve! They are so sweet, they got the kids both a gift card, us a doggy snack phone attachment, to get the doggos to look at us for pics! lol! They also got us a cool board game to try out, and an electronic lighter/fire stick, which drove the kids and dogs ears crazy even though Billy and I couldn't hear it. 

New Year's Eve 2021

It's New Year's Eve and we are so ready to par-tay!! Okay...maybe just fix some food and play a game later..lol. It's just how we roll on NYE, the kids are here, we are happy and chillin' and cannot imagine having to take off our pj's and leave the house. We lame and we are okay with it!

I did have to run to the store, so Tay and I made a little trip through Scooters Coffee to sneak in a bit of energy, to get us through the day. We spent much of the day, snuggling with the pups and relaxing. We had big projects, working in the basement the day before so we deserved a day to relax. We eventually made a couple dips (one was a black-eyed pea dip for good luck) and then ran to grab some chicken for the kids. We were really craving The Chicken Coop but unfortunately, they had to close due to their cook being in a bad accident, that's awful. Anyways, we settled for Lee's Chicken, we love their pickles, even though they were out of them, but Tay got her chicken pot pie and Blake just got tenders, woohooo...fancy dinner tonight! On the way to Lee's, Tay and I saw Grace church all lit up with their Christmas display so we pulled in to take a look. It was on our to-do list for the holiday season and we never made it there, so why not?! It was really cool and quite amazing really! The cutest part was a car pulled out and two little toddlers got out and started dancing around the parking lot..how sweet! 

After dinner, I cuddled on the couch with Millie and Milo, while Billy and I got caught up on YellowStone. Then I read through an herbal remedy book and even took a suggestion from it and made a tea for my scratchy throat. I also used the wooden log piece that Diana gave me for Christmas, as a natural coaster...it really bumped up my nature-loving streak..lol! 

Blake came down, we asked if he wanted to play a game and he said, "Sure"...so UNO it is! Dad and Blake, both, were really agitated by Mine and Taylor's inability to "play right"...so we mess up a bit...big deal, we eventually caught on! We laughed til we almost cried at Bubby's cocky attitude and bossiness and Taylor's gestures as she used her hands in a circle on the table to help her recall the direction the circle was going! lol! Dad kept changing the rules on her too...it was crazy and I'm not even sure who won. After the game, it was almost midnight...Blake got back online with his friends while Tay and I ran out on the back deck to ring in the new year...watch the fireworks and drive the poor pups crazy while we blow a horn and bang a pan! It's tradition! We were pleased to stay awake long enough to usher in a new year! 

Black Friday Tradition with My Girl

Tay and I look forward to our special early morning Black Friday shopping day each year. We planned it out the night before, based on what stores open at what time and mostly, on what time we could get to Chic fila for our breakfast recharge..lol. 

We woke up extra early but it was hard to get moving, so we ended up leaving the house at 6ish. It was starting to get light outside so we were a tad bit disappointed in ourselves but decided to play things by ear, having no time restrictions. We really had nothing in particular that we were shopping for either, so that made us extra chill this year. We got to Walmart, the parking lot was surprisingly full! We looked through all the sale stuff and ended up just buying Dad some jeans and some AA batteries..we are so boring. lol. 

We grabbed bfast and sat in the warm car, eating in the parking lot of Target, our next stop. It looked so crowded, we almost felt like backing out but went on in. We found a couple little gift items but nothing much. The line was down by the time we checked out too so that was awesome! 

We went to Michaels, then the mall. We had never gone to the mall on Black Friday before so that was new...it was bustling with shoppers and pretty awesome to see. Tay got a couple things from Hot Topix and Earthbound. I felt like we barely got anything, but Tay mentioned that she felt like our shopping morning was a win, I'll take it! One thing that her and I agreed upon, is that the mall arcade is not what it used to be...such a let down with the grabber machines, no attendants, no tickets, no prizes. But that's okay, we still had a wonderful morning together and a free day ahead. Happy girls! 

Thanksgiving 2021

I used to menu plan and start cleaning and cooking, days in advance but I feel like we have this down to a science and no longer need the big prepping. I had the ingredients bought the week prior and it worked out great since we had to work on Wednesday. We moved dinner time to 3pm, so there was no big rush that morning, we got up and started cooking and even the kids pitched in...Blake made the green bean casserole and Tay made the cheesy potato bake. We actually got dinner done early and ready to eat by the time Diana & Danny walked in. I do need to remember to bake the desserts the day before, because cheesecake and buttermilk pie DO NOT like to be cooked on a lower rack, below the turkey...oops. The juicy turkey, all the fixins' and fresh baked rolls made up for the dark bottomed desserts..lol.

Billy said grace, we ate to our hearts content, thankful for our blessings. Aunt Sissy brought a bunch of scratchers for us to try our luck at. Turns out, we will have to focus on our blessings because none of us got lucky. We cleaned up the plates and Blake immediately cleared the table and broke out the Aggravation game. We brought up the 6 player version so we could all participate, it sure makes a difference having the extra people constantly plucking you off the board and sending you back home! The added "aggravation" sure gave us lots of memories of Mom and how upset she would get, she was out to get ya! And SO WAS DIANA!! She couldn't reach the board so she would point her finger with vigor and she directed us where to land her marble! She was more worried about taking us off than winning and getting herself to safety..lol! We were laughing and shouting and having the best time ever...it was the longest game of Aggravation ever. It took over 2 hours for Diana to bring in a win! The guys continued playing just to see who came in 2nd, 3rd, etc...Blake was a sore loser, coming in dead last..lol. 

The boys headed over to Aunt Susie's house with a turkey dinner delivery. She was happy to get the Thanksgiving meal without having to come over, possibly driving in the dark. It really was a blessed day to be thankful for. 

A Different New Year's Eve

This New Year's Eve began with Blake at the oral surgeon at 7:30AM for the extraction of 6 molars. He needed his wisdom teeth removed and we tried to have it done before Christmas but it turned out that he had two other molars that weren't in yet and in the way. After speaking with the ortho, we were back for all 6 of them to be removed. It is a bummer that it happened on New Year's Eve, but we are glad to get it over with. Blake did great and hasn't done any fun stuff to video and share! The only silly thing he did was when the nurse asked us which one of us would like to pull the car to the door for him, Blake says, "I could drive." We are all like, "No Way Buddy!". lol. Blake spent the day napping on the couch with Dad keeping an eye on him. I ran to get Blake's pain meds and Tay went to her friend's house.

Once Tay was back home, we eventually figured out a dinner plan...we decided to pick up some dinner from The Chicken Coop. We ordered extra mashed potatoes and gravy for Bubby and I mixed up some bread pudding with vanilla sauce while Billy went to grab the food. It was a great choice, food was great and we didn't have to cook! Win Win! 

The boys were watching Madalorian, so Tay & I decided to try the TACO CAT GOAT CHEESE PIZZA GAME. It was hilarious, we had a blast! The boys kept shushing us and Blake was getting mad because we were having too much fun aka "being loud and annoying" lol. Eventually, we got everyone to join in, we all had fun playing it. Then Dad taught us how to play rummy, which was taxing for him..lol! Blake caught on easy, Tay and I struggled a bit but hung in there. Blake and I ended with a few hands of Uno...which I won! woo hoo! 

Time went by surprisingly quick, especially since we had been up super early for the surgery. Before ya knew it, it was almost midnight! The rain had changed to a solid sheet of ice outside, we had to put the gate up to protect the dogs from falling on the deck and then the clock struck midnight and as Taylor blew her little paper celebratory horn, Milo joined in! Howling like crazy..lol! This was the first year that we didn't have foods, activities and games planned or watch the NYC countdown ball drop, but that's all alright. We got Blake taken care of, spent some time together and said good bye to 2020, hopeful for what 2021 will bring!