Snow Day!

Safely through another week...oh, what a week it has been! With two snow days to top it all off! But we are safe, alive, and healthy and God has yet been faithful. We continue to enjoy the approach of Christmas and the blessings that come along the way. Sometimes it gets a bit crazy, but it truly is a wonderful time of year!

[12/24: I've moved the recording from the bottom of this post to the top for your convenience...] 
Troublesome Times from Tuesday evening's quartet singing.

Another one of Jonathan's photos...he hasn't named this one yet.  

To start things off, Dad was able to wear his wedding suit to church on Sunday. We got a nice picture of our parents before church. What a nice looking pair!

After church on Sunday, we went to the Vespers Choir Concert at school. Billy, Jonathan, and Justin all sang and it was beautiful!

Justin

Jonathan

Billy

Hallelujah Chorus (Billy & Jonathan)

From Vespers, we went Christmas caroling with the Massners to all the Massner aunts and uncles in the area. Everyone came back to our place for pizza and games afterward.

Bo & Travis

Monday, the boys went back to school, but not me! I went to town with Mom. Uncle Hartzell came over for supper so we rushed home to get the food in the oven before he arrived. It was a little late, but we made it and had another great evening of Skip-Bo! Girls won with the help of Henrietta!

Tuesday I worked at Cafe Olde World, just like the olde days. Afterward, I came home and did some baking with the boys. Dad also found some dry ice and put it in water to make it look like he was cooking. Travis and Jesse kept thoroughly entertained by that for the ten minutes it took to melt.

Peanut Butter Bon-Bons!

Oreo Balls! (TCOB=Tippie College of Business!) 

Those one pretzel-things...

Jesse made himself an Ipad, a cell phone, and a laptop computer. He's gonna have the best Christmas of any of us! 

The singers: Billy, Josh, Jared, Jaydon.

Wednesday Mom once again went to town, the boys went to school, and I went to town later for lunch and to finish Christmas shopping. Then that evening we had a special visitor show up for church and spend the night: our long-lost cousin, Alyssa! She is home from Haiti for a couple weeks and made the trek down here to see us and go over to Illinois.

Then it started to snow. And snow and blow. And grow. Yes, the first blizzard of the season came upon us and took the kids out of school for the day. Nobody really went anywhere, aside from Dad going to work and me attempting to go to the post office with the van. I made it...didn't think I would. 

And then Alyssa decided to leave for Illinois at 1:30, in the middle of it all. She made it almost to Monmouth, where she ended up getting stuck for the night in traffic on Highway 34 and stayed in a shelter house for the night. Traffic finally started moving again Friday afternoon...we haven't heard anything since, so I'm hoping everything turned out.

We cleaned Thursday and Friday. School was cancelled again Friday, so the boys had started their Christmas break two days early without even knowing it! They spent their morning scooping snow and the afternoon playing in it with two of our new next-door neighbors. Justin and the younger boys made a pretty impressive fort. In the picture it isn't even near completion.

The beginning of Justin's fort

Mom and her chili-keeping busy!

The entire family recorded Joy to the World Thursday night. This was Jonathan's amazing singing position. What enthusiasm! 

Friday night was both the single group Christmas caroling at our place and the Olde World Christmas. Mom and Dad went over to Olde World for a bit before coming back to prepare for the our return. We went to four places and then the hungry forty of us showed up after nine for a chili supper. It was a very nice evening and wonderful to have everyone over one last time before the end of the year!

The world didn't end. I guessed that it wouldn't, because I figured my guess was fairly low-risk. If I'm wrong, nobody will be around to know it...right? However, we need to remember that Christ's coming can happen any day, so we must keep our lamps trimmed and burning at all times!

And now I sit here on the couch, exhausted. I told my brother I must have been thinking too hard today because my head sure hurts a lot. On that note, I haven't much else to say. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!