Claire's Poem of Christmas Cheer

The poem Claire wrote inside a card for me.  Best read aloud!

I hope your Christmas
Is filled with joy and good cheer.
Sounds like I'm just sayin' it,
But I am sincere.
This poem may be the
Least bit queer,
But I'm making it
Very, very clear
That Christmas--
Merry Christmas-- is here!
Allow your day to be
Packed with happiness so sheer.
Don't shed a mere tear, dear,
Have a jolly Christmas this year!

An Out of the Box Christmas

Last Sunday, we did a fantastic Christmas musical-- of all my years doing children's choir (I think this is 17?), this was my favorite musical.  The kids loved the music, and so did I.  The drama was fun and creative.  And the Christmas message of Christ's birth was beautifully portrayed.  

We had a bit of a rough September start with Pastor Dave out of the country to adopt 2 more kids while I had to get the program going with 70 kids.  And it did seem like we were squeezing things in, but it all worked out.  The performance went quite well.  

Claire had a pretty major role as a lead cheerleader!  She did a terrific job!!  Micah was in the choir and sang very well.  Katie and Jenna were both helpers.  I directed music and solos and did crowd control :) while Pastor Dave did choreography and drama.

Besides Chad watching, it was fun to have Don and Anita and Jeremy and Danielle come!

Furniture

A few months ago, we were happy to receive some new hand-me-down furniture to replace the old hand-me-down furniture in our family room.  Chad's parents passed theirs on to us, and we are really enjoying having more seating in the room!

Van Update

A month ago or so, a woman pulled out in front of Chad while he was driving our van.  He was mostly able to avoid her, but there was a nice scrape and small dents on our van.  Her insurance paid the $2500 or so to get it fixed and for our rental van for the 2 weeks or so it took.  The kids enjoyed riding in the rental (left), and we were thankful for how it all worked out.  PTL for safety!

We're also thankful for the mechanic we've had the past year or two.  He is a dad from school-- opened a shop right down the road from Grace-- picks up our vehicles from the Grace parking lot and returns them all while Chad's at work-- and seems to be doing a great job with a helpful attitude.

Quiz Trip

Last weekend, Katie and Jenna and I went with the quiz team to Hammond, Indiana.  It was a very nice trip!  It rained, but didn't snow or ice.  The only problems we had were starting the bus (even tho the battery was brand new).  Once Terry and Mark figured out how to handle that, we were good to go.  None of our teams placed higher than 3rd, but there was some very good quizzing, and the younger ones, esp, learned a lot.  I enjoyed watching, keeping score, sometimes keeping time, and once even doing a little coaching.  (hah! :)

Besides having fun getting to know the teens (great group!) and the adults that were on the trip, the best parts for me were getting read lots on the bus and not having to cook all weekend.  I really do like cooking, but it sure gets old.  Funny-- at one stop, we split up to different restaurants.  I went to Chipotle and missed the excitement at Chick-fil-A.  Jenna was there with several others... when we all got back to the bus, at least 4 of them told me about Jenna and the cow.  You know the Chick-fil-A cow mascot?  I guess the cow was going around shaking hands, etc in the restaurant.  Jenna was laughing too hard to touch the cow, I think.  Most of the other kids thought she was scared of the cow.  Reminded me of a certain time we were at a Golden Corral in Florida on Jenna's birthday...

Weekend

This past weekend, K and J and I went to IN on a quiz trip.  The other 3 had a fun weekend of their own!  Indoor mini golfing (before they started, Chad showed Micah how to stand and hold the club-- Micah hit the ball for the first time, and got a HOLE IN ONE!), sleeping in the living room, making gingerbread houses.

Claire helped Micah dress for church.  Kinda looks like a little usher, huh?

Accident Repair

After the small accident a month ago where Chad had to swerve to avoid a lady who pulled out in front of him, our van had to undergo some healing procedures.  Chad stopped in to see how the work was coming.  We've had a rental van for 2 weeks now.  Should get ours back today.

Thank God, again, for safety.

Chad's Office Door

For the GA door decorating contest.  You can't really see the sledders that well, but he cut out pictures of students' faces for those.

First

Our first artificial tree.  After I was miserable last December, we decided we could no longer do real trees.  We all felt a bit sad about this.  When we put up this tree, at first, we were all feeling depressed about how it looked-- then, when we got the lights and ornaments on, it grew on us.  We're really enjoying it.  Plus, it doesn't drop needles, doesn't need to be watered, and fits much better into our living room.

Thanksgiving!

Our delicious Thanksgiving dinner with Jer and Dani at Middlesex Diner.  Sure was easy to prepare and clean up, too!  We had a great time with them Thur- Fri, playing games and watching Chopped and decorating Don and Anita's house for Christmas.

It was pretty cold in their house when we arrived, so we piled into the waterbed for a bit.

Chad and Micah's amazing marble run!

Number Boy

Micah discovered the joy of Sudoku.  He watched me doing one, asked me about it, I spent about 2 min showing him how it works, and he was off.  Did a whole one himself-- totally correctly-- right away.

Mo

So, I wouldn't exactly say we're getting attached to Mo, but he's been fun to watch once in a while.  He goes thru long periods (like even a week) where he doesn't move and everyone is sure he's dead, tho.  Definitely nothing like owning a dog. :)