Merry Christmas 2021!

Christmas blessings from our family to yours this December!  As our card says and as Dave raises his hands to say every Sunday, we truly pray, "The Lord bless you and keep you.  The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you!"

It's been a fun season!  On December 5, Sinterklaas made his annual visit!

We attended a fantastic local light parade with our best friends.  (I've been wanting this picture for years now-- Ella with her Ben, and me with his mom, my dear Donna.) 

We no longer have our own little ones to watch in the annual Sunday School program, but that does not make it any less delightful!  Dave continues his tradition of reading a Christmas story, instead of preaching a sermon, when the kids are done singing.   Here are 92 Pre-K- 5th graders listening sweetly!  Only 5 of these kids will move on next year, with many more upcoming preschoolers joining the crowd.  Our church is definitely blessed!

School went super long this year, just letting us off on December 22!  So, during exam week, as a study break, we took trip out to the famous light street.  

My preschool staff got together for a delicious lunch and gift exchange.

I've been teaching preschool for 9 years now.  With the long December this year, though, it's the most days of Christmas I've ever to had to teach (and I even taught double, for my co-worker too).  I wrote several days of new lessons and they were a major hit!  Above, we learn how to draw people with the help of Mat Man, a stick man comprised of the big and little lines and curves my students are able to put together.  This Christmas we made him an ugly sweater!  Below, inspired by my own STEM-loving daughter, I did a whole day of Science, Engineering, and Math activities, including this "Reindeer Toothpaste" chemistry experiment which left my kids amazed.  Having to freshen up my lesson plans with some fun new ideas ended up being one of my favorite parts of Christmas this year!

We were once again the recipients of many generous gifts from church friends and students' families.  On our first night of break, the four of us sat down to a gourmet meal at a fancy restaurant.  This time to converse, laugh, and enjoy some spectacular food together was a true gift.  Delia discovered Zeppoli, fancy donut holes you can dip in fancy sauces.  A new favorite dessert!

On these plates you see Dave's salmon and truffle cake, my short ribs and polenta, Ella's seafood risotto, and Delia's roast chicken and bacon mac and cheese.  We all sampled one another's and enjoyed lots of left overs.

Here Delia is crafting her infamous, hilarious and personalized cards for each of us.  Her special cards are a highlight of Christmases and birthdays!  I love how she weaves together her distinct art, inside jokes, and a heartfelt message.  She's a gem!

As mentioned, the kids are a part of a school Culinary Club now, so we thought it would be fun to work together to create a more ambitious Christmas Eve dinner and dessert.  We spent a good part of the day in the kitchen and were rewarded with delicious eats!  On the menu: Filet Mignon (from church friends) smoked on the Traeger, twice-baked potatoes, balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts, cranberry salad, and mocha mini Bundt cakes, with dark chocolate ganache, peppermint whipped cream, and candy cane bits for dessert.

Presents were super fun this year!  The big items were tickets to see Wicked and a kayak from Mom and Dad that our whole family will really enjoy using this summer.  Chris and Karen treated us to generous hotel gift cards to use for a family vacation-- maybe down south as we start touring colleges for Ella this spring!

My big gift was a Roomba...and a daughter who effortlessly programmed it and set it up!  I'm so excited about the free vacuuming (and rather shocked at how much stuff it already has picked up off floors I thought were pretty clean); Ella is thrilled to have a real robot pet.  He's been named Puck and Ivy is still deciding if he's a friend.  Delia kills me, putting googly eyes on Puck.  We love this new addition to the family. ;)

Christmas Joy has been abundant this season as we celebrate Christ's birth, another year of good health and blessings, teenagers who are thriving, and the simple gift of time together, which is my favorite thing in the world.

Pumpkins, Rock Climbing, Culinary Club, Debate, SATs, and Coffee Dates-- a Little Bit of Everything this Fall!

It's my first day of Christmas Break and on the to-do list: give the blog a much needed update (Hi, Mom/Grandma! ;)  It's been a rich and full season, here is a peek at some of the memorable moments from Fall 2021.

Delia and I matched for school one day. 

We had friends over to carve pumpkins.  A "Best Design" contest ensued on Instagram.  I think Delia's tiny face won?  I actually don't remember!

Our church secretary is a legit professional dancer, so one night Delia and Dave went on a date to watch her company perform a fun Halloween show.

Did you see my cute front porch in the background of that last pic?  We lost a congregation member this fall who was part of the family that owns the pumpkin farm we used to frequent when the girls were little.  The patriarch of the family, as a thank you to Dave for his ministry during their time of loss, dropped off a load of of their famous fancy pumpkins and these gorgeous mums for us!

Ella used her monthly guest pass to literally teach her sister the ropes at her gym.  Delia did great!  The rock climbing membership is proving to be valuable as Ella takes guests, hangs out to climb after school every week with friends, and has even been attending a regular Thursday night yoga class with her 2 best girlfriends!  In high school, my girlfriends and I used to hang out at Oakbrook Mall every weekend, not yoga classes at the rock climbing gym!!

Also at the climbing gym this season, Ella and Ben attempted to win a contest by climbing in costume on Halloween.  They didn't win-- but I did because I now have hilarious pictures of a milk and a hot dog on the bouldering walls!  Haha!

It's been an AWESOME school year!  This is such a fun stage of life!  Both girls love their teachers and classes.  Both just finished exams feeling positive and encouraged.  Both have been finding the joy in school projects and fun new extra curriculars.  Above, Ella had to make a model of the creepy Edgar Allan Poe House of Usher.  Below, both girls are enjoying our school's latest after school offering-- Culinary Club!   After break, we add Robotics and a new play to the list of wonderful things that keep us at school! :)  (Cast list just went out and both girls got the comedic parts they wanted and auditioned for in the Winter Comedy "The Imaginary Invalid".)

Ella's first pass at the SAT and she killed it.  Bring on those scholarships!

One weekend, Ella's good friend Kacy was without her Debate partner, so she agreed to stand in, being a confident and proficient public speaker.  Kacy slept over and the girls spent lots of time prepping their case.  Debate is hardcore, I learned!  You have to come up with thoughtful and researched speeches and responses on the fly and be strategic about timing and which partner does what.  At the all day tournament with other schools, Ella and Kacy actually placed 4th and won a medal!  Ella was delighted!

Thanksgiving was a lovely time to all be together, something that's becoming rarer and rarer these days!  Dave's been busy at church as our second pastor took a call to another church in August.  He has felt supported and been able to find a decent balance, but his workload remains pretty intense, especially around holidays.

Ella and I did some small business shopping on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

On January 8, our high school looks forward to Formal, so it's been great fun getting ready for that this month!  Ella's "Will you go to Formal with me?" story is so cute!  It happened at a big friend game night over a game of Telestrations.  It started with The Ask and, after traveling around the whole group, ended as Avocado Toast!  Everyone clapped as it was all hilariously revealed.  Delia was sweetly asked to go by a good guy friend she's had since kindergarten!  Stay tuned!

Delia's darling girlfriends have my heart too.  There have been lots of opportunities to connect this fall with sleepovers and coffee shop dates.  Delia tells me she's such a regular at the coffee shop, they even know her name and order now! :)

I continue to love my students and my co-teachers and my job!  December has been busy, as the teacher I partner with has been out the whole month, her vaccinated family each taking a turn with Covid, so break is feeling realllllly good to me right now!  I can't believe Christmas is just a day away!  We'll get Dave through this busy weekend and then hopefully post soon with some fun Christmas updates and outings!

Dolly, the Bonus Features

Here are the extras from Hello Dolly.  Pretend it's the DVD Bonus Material!

A fun announcement from our director celebrating all the siblings on this production.

An excited Delia the day the tuxedos finally came!

A special sunset moment shared by the whole cast on Opening Night.

Wasn't it nice of our costume mom to color coordinate my girls?!  She even matched them to the sky! ;)

Pictures with dear friends after various performances.  Above, Ben; and below, a bunch of Ella's best friends who were also in the cast-- including Ruth and Ansley, who were the 2 principle characters, Minnie and Irene, and who were fantastic!  I love rooting for not just my kids on the stage, but for all their friends too.  Theater truly is a family.

Two of Delia's best friends and fellow waiter/dancers.  Above, Lilly; below, Kate.

There may have only been one senior on the cast, but the juniors sure represented!  This is their group of TEN (plus one sound guy)!  Next year's Senior Night will be a long one!  This group includes the amazing Jake (Horace) and Emma (Dolly) who both killed it in their lead parts and who Ella has been privileged to share a stage with since 5th grade.  Our drama program is blessed by the leadership and talent in this class!

And the future is bright!  Here are the fabulous freshman!

I was able to see all 4 performances and loved having different dates for each one.  Dave joined in a few, but I also got to sit with church friends, preschool co-workers, and even one of my students and her family on closing night!  She was adorable, sitting in my lap to see all the dancing better and pointing out my daughters for me. :)

This amazing cast earned 2 standing ovations!  Their very last show was incredible, the audience going absolutely nuts, cheering them through every song and even singing along.  What a thrill to leap to our feet and give these talented, hardworking kids the recognition they deserve.  Goodbye, Dolly!