Christmas 2018

 

It doesn't seem possible that another Christmas is behind us already. Time just marches on without stopping for anyone or anything! About a week before Christmas, I started feeling just terrible rotten. I do have gallbladder surgery scheduled for the 28th of January, but we aren't sure it's going to help much. My "gallbladder" pain is not related to eating and seems to be more of an autoimmune flare. Sure enough, my last labs showed very low white counts again. Seems you can count on it....when I'm feeling rough, the counts will be down. I began to feel some better on Christmas Eve, but Rick came down with strep (second time this year) and all of the kids had head colds. Our Sunday worship was sparse and Rick wasn't feeling his best at all, God gave us of his sweet presence though as we opened our hearts to Him. The bright spot in the midst of all the sickness was Rick's parents being here for the holiday. We all enjoyed that so much! Here are a few pictures from our Christmas week. The girls worked hard to get time off and we planned ahead a good bit in order to make it a quiet relaxing time. As it turned out with all the sickness, the quiet and relaxing was necessary more than enjoyed.

 

 

Christmas morning breakfast.

 

 

Rick's parents got here very late, after Kaderick was asleep, so he spent several hours the next morning right here outside their door waiting for them to get up.

 

 

Quiet sleepy evenings spent visiting.

 

 

Christmas Eve breakfast

 

 

We did splurge one night with steak dinner and a sleigh ride.

 

 

 

These girls both worked Christmas evening and there were some very excited residents to have their two favorite girls on duty!

 
 
 

 

Kayla surprised us with some super cute Donald Trump cups.

 

 

Mini snuggling with her Christmas present.

 

 

We started a new tradition this year of reading through the book of Luke as a family. There are 25 chapters so it works out perfectly and by Christmas Day, you know again exactly why he came. Rick would ask a different family member to pray each night and along with their prayers to include a special thanks for something in that nights reading which had stood out to them and made them thankful. It was very interesting to hear what the children came up with. we had some very special times. We also did a lot of singing around the piano, although the voices began falling off one by one as sickness struck.

 

By the time we made it out to Greenleaf for Christmas there, my parents had come down with a virus and we were (and are) still recovering so this was the only picture I got from our celebrations there. Suffice to say, it was a very different Christmas, but sweet non the less and definitely one that will long live in our memories!

 

Joy to the World

Sunday was our church Christmas Program. 

Our theme was Joy to the World.

Each family went away with a globe "Joy to the World" ornament.

Families were also given a magnet and each person a pen with church info.

It was a beautiful little service blessed with the presence of Jesus and visitors.

The next several pictures were taken during practice and Sunday School.

After the service, we gathered downstairs for dinner. The Rudolph cupcake pull-apart was dessert!

Kaderick is Six

Here are a few pictures from Kaderick's birthday party. He chose a black panther theme. His sisters helped him make panther plates and he and Kaite helped mommy make panther donuts for the "cake." He was thrilled with all of his gifts and had a very fun time!

Our Norman Rockwell Day

 

Our little town has become a real Christmas-town gem! Over a million twinkling Christmas lights now adorn the downtown area the and walking paths over and around Indian Creek. For a small town, recovering from recession, we've done it up right! 

 

 

A few afternoons ago, our entire immediate family went to the new ice rink in the heart of it all and skated to our hearts content and our backsides soreness.

 

 

There are numerous little fires to warm at and to recover from the latest fall before taking off again.

 

 

Perhaps best of all, there is plenty of hot cocoa and cookies just a few steps away.

 

On our way out of the downtown area, we visited a favorite little antique shop where Kalli found her dream toy! She absolutely loves logging trucks. I've been warned that this little treasure will leave the house when she does, but for now, it's certainly adding a fun touch to my Christmas décor. Also, it just happened to be made in Lancaster PA, so it also has a connection to Daddy's hometown.

What a fun Norman Rockwell picture perfect time as had!!



Photo Shoot Fun!

 

 

So hard to believe that our Little Boy Blue will be six in just a few days. He adds so much blue fun to our lives! We love him dearly!!

This was his birthday photo shoot, but for some added fun, we let sister join for the hot cocoa fun!

 

I asked him to kiss her cheek, but this is a close as he would get before giggling uproariously and backing away from her.

 

He wasn't impressed with this one as, "Why would here randomly be a stop just out in the snow on top of a bear rug???"

 

I asked him to wear his shepherd costume for a few pictures and he agreed, but muttered under his breath,

"I can't believe I'm doing this..."



Stage Stop Office

 

 

Rick started working from home in March of this year when he accepted a job for Loomis Corporate after 18 years at the local Boise branch. We love having him home, but he was feeling a little cramped in our walk-in closet or as we called it his "cloffice." We had a storage room on the other side of our master bedroom with an entrance from the garage, so we converted it into a new and very adequate closet and changed the entry then made our huge walk-in closet all office/study for him. He has had a study in previous homes, but honestly seems to study the best in his recliner in the middle of all the chaos. Working from home was another story. Quiet is a must for conference calls and online meetings.

 

 

We put in new flooring because carpet is hard for rolling desk chairs. He put in some fake brick paneling from Home Depot and I painted it to make it look more realistic. I think I must have succeeded because Kayla was visiting the office Sunday morning and was careful not to snag her dress on the brick. Haha! Completely impossible since it is entirely smooth.

 

The desk was a craigslist steal, but it's in perfect shape and looks classy and expensive!

 

He put in a new rustic chandelier and I decorated with a Pony Express/old Wells Fargo theme all of which is handmade or thrifted.

 

He even has a gun cabinet in the corner of his office. It was found along side the road out in the country one day. LOL. The model airplanes were purchased at an estate sale when we loved in Colorado. They belonged to WWII's first ace.

 

 

 



The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

 

I just love the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas! I try really hard to have the big stuff done or at least planned out ahead of time so that these days can be a bit more relaxing and time can be spent enjoying family and celebrating the true reason of the season. What a wonder it is that He loved us so much!! There is truly no better story in all time! Here are a whole bunch of pictures from our house. It's all very simple and probably 90% homemade or thrifted, but we love it! It doesn't have to be expensive, just meaningful and I'm happy.

 

 

Rick did the build-ins here of course and the cabinet, chair and ladder are thrifted. I made the quilt on the chair this summer. Hobby Lobby supplied the "HOME" décor for 50% off.

 

 

The huge tree was a Christmas gift from our church family a few years ago. The little gossip bench is thrifted and re-done by yours truly.

 

I'm still loving the ceiling beams which I repainted last year and the plank ceiling Rick added in to cover the old 70's style texture.

 

The recliner here was of course a craigslist find. Kammy drew my beautiful Christmas picture and Rick built an awesome frame for it using wood scraps.

 

The farmhouse table? Handmade. And of course so was the "mercantile" sign and the shutters and wreath.

 

I don't remember where the sled came from, its been in the family a long time. The pinecones are a gift from nature on one of our many camping trips. The skates are from my mother.

 

The kitchen we re-did ourselves. I did the cabinets and Rick and I did the tile. We actually hired the countertops done and we highly recommend "Miracle Method" for an inexpensive but classy looking upgrade.

 

The school desk was from a yard sale, the door used to hang in my parents house and the cabinet is a $40 craigslist find. I love the way it looks and the fact that it holds a ton of school supplies!

 

The hutch I re-finished to match our table.

 

I absolutely adore the woodwork in our master bedroom. I told hubby the vision I had and he totally made it happen! The shutter there on the wall we found in the neighbors trash and of course the deer antlers were another gift of nature.

 

Once again, all that beautiful woodwork I credit to my wonderful hubby. The bench he also made and the spool we picked up from someones trash pile. Haha!

 

The little white vase is thrifted, but those love letters were all painstakingly hand written.

 

I made the antler wreath, we thrifted the chair and the skates. The skis I bought this summer at Savers. They were very modern, so I kinda repainted and distressed them. Rick did all the cedar shakes here in the entryway and I just love the look!!

 

Sign and wreath, yours truly.

 

The mirror Rick gave to me for Christmas the year Kammy was born. The deer are paper mache. I made the wreath. Hobby Lobby 50% off supplied the little church window. The deer is from Amazon. The sign was a gift and Rick made the wooden church. You can barely see the stockings, but I made them from scraps I found 90% at JoAnn's.

 

The old window hanging was given to me by a friend many years ago and I just added the letters and curtain where there was a broken pane. Rick made the wooden tray centerpiece. My talented aunt painted the snowy winter scene.

 

Much of what you see in the cabinet here is thrifted or passed down through the family. Rick made and I painted the monogrammed tray on top.

 

I did the primitive sign for above the piano. It's probably my favorite "Christmas scripture."

 

This summer Rick eyed the old piece of driftwood on a camping trip and knew I'd love to do something with it. I like it for so many reasons not the least of which is that he was thinking of me. It says, "and to all a good night."

 

This is our ornament for this year. It's from our romantic get-away to Seattle this summer. We also visited Bainbridge Island and Gig Harbor where we got the ornament.

 

The scraps balls in this bowl are from making the quilt several pictures above. The dish itself was a wedding gift to my grandmother.