CHRISTMAS CATCHUP.

another year, another visit to santa.

 another year, another visit to the nutcracker ballet! this time we went with our friends, the dichsens.

christmas had the potential to really suck this year, but it really was fine. mom and red came to us this year, which was a huge help. we got to do our Christmas with them at our house, and they got to see hallie in henry in the church christmas program - it was such a great weekend.

 

 

 

and i was soooo glad that Christmas program was over. i was stressed beyond belief, but it turned out so cute. the kids in our church are hilarious, and there were some spectacular performances. king herod's death scene was pretty incredible. hallie was superb as a narrator and henry was a fabulous chicken.

 

we went to church on christmas eve and then to Lucille's for dinner and gifts. it was hard, but manageable, and i think there was only one, tiny breakdown. gifts at barb's afterward was harder, but i think it will get easier over time. just being together is so important.

 

christmas morning was spent at home with my little family. normal breakfast of biscuits and gravy, eggs and...was that it? barb and lucille stopped by to check out the loot and then we headed for st. Louis for christmas with the chronister fam.

 

this was the first year at phil and kath's and i have to say...i missed being at dad's! they were wonderful hosts, and it was nice to not have to drive as far, but it just isn't the same as doing it at the farm.

 

we had tickets to see the trans siberian orchestra while we were in st. louis, so dave and i had a nice date the day after christmas while dad watched the kiddos at bev's house.

 

then it was off to home, and we had the rest of the weekend to hang out and get the house cleaned up before work.

 

it was such a nice, long break.



MMMMMORE ONE DIRECTION.

just posting old pictures to make up for lost time!

 

i took the girlies to see the 1D movie that was in theatres, aka: they filmed the concert and put it in theatres for all the suckers that didn't see a live performance, or wanted to relive the experience.

 

in our case, it was nice to see what we missed...since we left the actual event halfway through.

 

IT WAS AWESOME.

 

ugh. i am a fan.

 

 

 

(secret sidenote: i can't wait for melissa and i to give the girlz their presents this year...!!!!)

THANKSGIVING 2014.

A LONG PAUSE.

unintentional!

 

life has been crazy. the last few weeks were harvest, harvest, class, work, harvest. we went straight from work to lucille's and then home in time for bath and bed.

 

we had a "free" day on sunday that i spent mowing the lawn (better be for the last time this year!!!!!!!!!!), cleaning out my car and doing mounds of laundry.

 

 

 

 

we also threw in a quick trip to denver to (finally) meet baby kate, who is beyond precious, and a little bit of volunteerism at the pumpkin festival this weekend with hallie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

so now things feel more manageable. i mean, laundry is still out of control, but the yard looks good and my car is clean. and i've finally  met my niece.

 

 

 

 

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY.

we were going strong! harvesting and whatnot! we had help (shout to luke & betsy brass! friends for LIFE, I tell you what), and nothing was breaking down. and then the corn was too moist (sarah loves that word) and then it rained. boo.

 

 

 

that's okay. it's time for a break, right?

 

in the meantime my mom is coming up tomorrow(!) and we are beyond excited. a visit from mom means donuts and candy, a clean house and she does my laundry and loves on my kids. it's basically the best thing ever.

 

happy thursday!

HARVEST 2014.

started off bad, bad, bad. ended up good, good, good.

 

it was really, really sad without mike. like, a big crappy reminder of his death. as if we could forget, but man this really shoved it back in our faces.

 

 

and then the combine broke down and the semi got stuck and dave was getting really frustrated and i almost broke the tractor. it was so awesome. but we had this great, mature moment where we gave each other lots of grace, accepted apologies and moved on.

 

 

 

it took eight hours to get one load of corn. it was a long day.

 

 

 

but then (!) yesterday went without a hitch. so that's good. and they are in the fields now, so please everyone say earnest prayers that nothing breaks down or gets stuck. please and thank you. your prayers mean so much, you have no idea.

 

 

harvest is always my favorite time of year, and definitely henry's. his dedication to the combine is second to none, and my dedication to his dedication is very...dedicated. case in point: it was hot, hot, hot yesterday and the ac is out in the combine. it felt like the pits of hell had opened and were fanning the flames in our direction. i don't know how chad sat in that inferno all day long. IT WAS HOT.

 

 

but henry was happy to sit in the heat, occasionally saying, "uncle chad! corn!" and pointing.

 

 

i am grateful for this harvest time. it brings us all together. it's hard to miss mike, but it's bearable when we are together.

 

 

 

 

SIX FLAGS 2014.

we took our annual trip to six flags. we shook things up this year by taking henry. i wasn't sure how it was all going to go down, but it ended up being great. we split up - me & henry, dave & hallie. they rode the coasters and we stayed close to the bathrooms (potty training).

 

he did great, btw. i took his little potty ring and he went every time i put him on. now he just needs to tell us when he has to go! and poop. we have yet to have a successful poop on the potty.

 

he took a nap on the train. it was pretty cute. he was 100% sacked out.

 

hallie loves the rides, but needed some time to recoup in between. they took lots of breaks for nachos, slushies, etc. we met back up with them and followed them around. it really was fun to be there with just our little family. we have a pretty good thing going.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we stayed at phil and kath's and henry was obsessed with their dog, Charlie. i bet he said her name a thousand times while we were there. "charlie! charlie! you need a hug, charlie? you need to go outside, charlie? charlie? charlie!" it was really cute.