Merry Christmas

 

from our family to yours

 



 

Where Oh Where Did November Go?

 

Now that December is winding down, I finally have time to deal with last month.

 

Every time we leave home we admire our new roof.

When we drive around we look at other roofs and rate them on how

hard or expensive they would be to redo.

We are very glad to have that job behind us.

 

We celebrated a 17th Birthday

with Tiana providing eclectic decorations.

 

Rudy and I took an extended weekend trip to Quinter, KS.

This was a town we passed going to and from Denver

but I had to think about how much the towns look alike on the prairie. 

 

 

 

 

We packed shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

We always pack boxes for older children because most people find it

more fun to pack for young children and the older ones get overlooked.

 

The roofing Oops! in our living room ceiling was repaired...eventually.

It took awhile for each coat of mud and texture to dry.

 

The older three spent Thanksgiving break in Washington with

a few of their friends.  They had a great time.

 

Wagon Ride-- I think they had 30 people crammed in the wagon.

 

One day they took a chartered bus to Seattle.

Some of them rode this giant Ferris Wheel that had

enclosed and heated cars. 

 

 

 

Volleyball is always a hit...literally and figuratively.

 

Tiana found a new way to keep Daisy warm and

 carry her around at the same time.

 

Daisy even has her own blanket. 

 

We attempted to take pictures for our Christmas card.

There are so many rejects for every passable picture.

 

We appreciated it finally feeling like fall.

 

With the rain, came the new crop of oats.

We are really enjoying the beautiful green fields after such a dry year.

 

That seems to be the highlights of the month while ignoring quite a bit of the

mundane sections that seem to make up the bulk of our days.

 

*******************************

One day I put on some socks and asked the boys

 if their color looked okay with my dress.

Answer #1:  Why would you ask ME that question?

Answer #2:  I don't know.  If people laugh at you as you pass them

then you will know they don't match.

 

I picked Bethany up at school and asked her.

Her instant reply:  "No!"

That's why you should always have a girl around.

 (Or in our case, my husband,

who has an excellent sense of color and design.)

 

 



 

Vacationing

 

About every other year my family decides that it's high time

to spend some laid back time together.

That means we rent a house somewhere between

southern and central California.

 

The winner this time was a log house on 22 acres

in the mountains between Los Angeles and Bakersfield.

 

 

 

 

 

The view across the canyon.

 

 

Directly behind the house was the indoor pool.

 

Many happy and invigorating hours were spent in the water.

 

 

 

 

There was also a spa on the back deck that many of us piled into for evening relaxation.

 

Speaking of relaxation, quite a bit of laziness was going on Sat. afternoon.

 

Rudy's naps became legendary.

He would wake up, move to another spot, then fall asleep again.

We never knew where we would find him napping.

 

We went to the visitor's center at Pyramid Lake.

With the drought,

 

I thought the lake would lack water

but it looks like it is at normal height.

This is where water from northern CA is held before it goes

down the mountain into thirsty southern CA.

 

 

 

 

 

There were lots of hands-on activities for the kids

and water education features throughout the building.

 

 

 

Each family takes a turn making a meal.

For such a spacious house, the kitchen was pretty compact

so it took a little finagling to make it all work.

Nevertheless, there was plenty of food and

there was certainly no danger of anyone going hungry.

 

These three would sit on the couch each morning and play a game on the iPad

while waiting for breakfast.

 

They will celebrate their first anniversary next month.

 

 

 

All too soon the weekend was over and we were headed home.

As expected, our back seat passengers were conked out.

 

 

 Days after we returned home, many areas in southern CA experienced

heavy rain and hail which resulted in flash flooding and mud slides.

It would have been impossible for those coming from the south

to get to this area because of mud slides on all of the possible routes.

Crazy!!

We prayed for rain but forgot to pray for the soft gentle rains

that soak into the dry and barren ground.