A fun night with a sweet family

 We invited Ted's co-worker and family over for some American Christmas fun.  It is their first Christmas in the United States.  We had a ham dinner and then made sugar cookies...something they have never done or eaten.  It was such a fun time sharing a special treat with them.

 There can never be too many sprinkles and giggles!

Our evening was late due to slow travel on the wintry roads.  In the middle of our fun came the text about a snow day! 

 No rushing necessary!  We had a cozy, warm Christmasy evening...looking at things from a different perspective and seeing the joy of new experiences.

We made a batch of play dough for the kiddos to play with on their second snow day of the season!

A snow day...an unexpected gift

December 2017

 We are all enjoying the pretty Christmas decorations again this year.  We have had fun decorating in our new home.  We have pulled out things that were in storage for five years.

 Our schedule is full of many activities...basketball keeps Teddy busy...until he went down in a game with a sprained ankle.  A day of rest, ice, crutches, no practice for a couple days, pain meds, and new ankle braces and he is back to running down the courts.

 Our church is putting on a big Christmas play as an outreach to our community..."It's A Wonderful Life".  So many hours have gone into learning lines, stage and props, costumes and makeup...Dec. 16 and 17 we see it all come together!  I get to play Ma Bailey and Teddy is young George.

My class is working hard on their cute poem, verse, and song for the Christmas program.

We hosted the teen Christmas party last Saturday night.  We made fresh salsa for chips and tacos.  It was fun to watch and listen to all the fun!

When cousins team up...it is funny!

"Give me that (container of vaseline) I want to win!"

 And the winner is...

 What a fun, loud, crazy night with the teenagers!  It was tiring for our little fuzzy dog!

Happy Thanksgiving 2017

 I stood in the kitchen on Monday night and just had to stop and say "Thank you, Lord, for such a nice place to bake and cook!".  I made cupcakes and cookies for our Thanksgiving Feast at school and had lots of space...a change from the previous years.

                                      My little friends were excited for our last day of school.

The Forgiven Trio sang at our Pie and Praise Service and it was a blessing!

 Funny looking rolls...Alisa has mastered the fluffy crescent roll!  MMMM!

 Our privilege to host this year in the home that God gave us.  It is always fun to have the Stille family over!  We talked and laughed and vegged out and watched the Lions lose again.

 Thankful for these teenagers.  They sure know how to entertain their parents and each other!

                          Thankful to be able to gather together around our table with family.

 The dogs had fun together and kept up the tradition of being naughty during prayer!

 A special treat...that they swapped over and over.  And sadly...I didn't take anymore pictures of our day.  It was cozy and restful.  I am thankful for time to just be still!  We all know when the calendar page flips...we hit the ground running till Christmas.

Fun and full fall days!

Soccer season is over just in time!  The weather is now full on Michigan fall!

A cute little fan!

One Sunday morning...we had a visitor in our yard!  A huge snapping turtle was a little too leisurely taking a stroll through our backyard.  Ted and Teddy went out and made it mad as they tried to hurry him along...out of Velle's protected range.

Lots of fall fun in K5 with tasting parties and activities to go with our letters, numbers, and seasons!

Teddy has been elected to be a student representative for the School Advisory Council.  My class loved having the big kids come in and meet them.  The little kiddos look up to the big kiddos...friends for life.

We had the opportunity to host a Pumpkin Party at our house for the K5 students and their parents.  It was a fun time that wrapped up the last week of October.

Our pumpkins that were carved in order to show the light of Jesus in our neighborhood.

For Sweetest Day...I tried a new recipe for my sweetheart...baked bacon with brown sugar...some with pecans.  Oh my yummy!

A water main break caused quite a stir around here.  We had a boil order for church and school.  Our house didn't have a problem because we are on a well, but several towns had little to no water for a week.  I knew many places weren't able to serve coffee and extras...I just wanted to buy coffee to make at home...and had to drive to two different places due to restaurants being closed.

A fun woodland baby shower!  MMMM!

Superhero Day for one of our little K3 students who was seriously injured in a car accident.

My new interior decorators...make me spend money!  "But Mom, you need to replace that broken lamp from three years ago.  It's about time!  And you know you like this!"

Beautiful, cold and fall days!

 Our Teacher's Retreat to the thumb of Michigan was a wonderful time!  The Stilles know how to make things special for a time away.  Time with co-workers to encourage and challenge us in our role as teachers.

                                                      Laughter and sharing is a blessing.

                                                 A trip to the lake and to the coffee shop.

                          A pretty intense tournament of Farkle! Lots of laughter and hollering!

Hunting rocks!

Catching the first snowflakes of the season!