Benny's Baachan Date

Papa joined us this year for Benny's date. It was great fun. Arielle came by for our respite care. We grabbed Benny and headed out, while she and Danny played with Dad.  Papa handled getting him in and out of the car seat. He cracked us up with the warnings not to nip certain sensitive spots with the buckle. 

Benny is a conversationalist. He told us a story of an accident, and we processed together how good it is of God to send people to help when others need help.  

Then he told us we could get ice cream in the little shop we were passing...we suggested we do brunch first. We asked him what he'd like to eat. He thought hard and came up with "pancakes, Mickey Mouse Pancakes, with chocolate eyes." He told us if he ate vegetables on his pancake, maybe we could get ice cream later. ::snort:: 

He kept pointing out the pretty lights, wreaths, candy canes, snow and nativities as we drove through town. It began to snow right as we sat down to eat. It was magical. 

A person can't smile all the time 
Check out the pancake

After Brunch we started shopping. We bought a couple of gifts for Cory and Arielle. And, yes, we bought a Baachan shopping gift too. Benny picked out this little snow globe. 

We stopped to check out the new Nativity in town....

Our final stop was the local ice cream store. We all agreed their ice cream is amazing. 

Back at the house Benny and I began wrapping gifts. Michael came in and Benny told him, "Baachan isn't very good at wrapping." LOL   Papa came to his rescue and I went back to taking photos. 

It was a great date. I'm glad Michael joined us. We have a few more Papa/Baachan dates in the upcoming weeks. 

It's a great time of the year to connect with grands. 

A Great Sunday in Advent

 Carrie is a nurse at a local hospital and works nights. What a blessing it is that she was able to come out with Josiah and Livie today. Ellie, Livie's cousin came as well. The girls have been working on the sledding "hill" and this was the perfect day to pack it down. 

Stacia, Allie, Ellie, Livie

Hey, Livie!

Allie

Livie

Stacia

Ah, Jamin arrived with a sled! This was good news. He was able to go further, packing down more of the "run."  I think we need to get out and pack it down tomorrow...then maybe spray it with water so it will be a bit icy. That should help them reach the end of the run. The first year they went into the garden spot...so we know it CAN be done. 

Jamin

Alaska's realtor at play in Alaska

When everyone had had their fill of outside, we moved inside. I brought out a little "gingerbread village" for the young girls, Carrie and I to work on.  It also serves as a bit of practice before the annual gingerbread competition. LOL 

Go Livie! 

Carrie's house

These two came to our rescue when we ran out of frosting. They whipped some shortening/sugar paste up. 

Arielle and the boys showed up as we finished the village. Cory was still busy at the church. 

Danny and Arielle

Benny and Uncle Jamin 

Josiah telling a story

CyRi needed to head back to Anchorage. Jamin also headed up the road. Nolan came home from work. We moved on to the evening's Advent Scavenger Hunt. 

Allie retrieved the clue for today's advent hunt. 

Scavenger Hunt Clue: HP's abode.

First, they all ran down to the study and checked the HP printer boxes in the hallway. 

Then, they all crowded into my nook...because you know, computers. 

At this point I had mercy and gave them another clue...HP doesn't necessarily mean Hewitt Packard.  Nolan proved his quick reasoning when he said, "Harry Potter."  The space under our stairs - Potter's Closet. 

The girls spotted it and waited for Benny to find it. 

Tonight's gift was a family activity. A big tin of popcorn and a movie - Mr Roger's Neighborhood. 

Arielle told Benny they needed to go home. He showed HIS quick reasoning when he asked for a cup without a lid...then he politely asked Allie to fill it with popcorn for the drive home. LOL 

We DID watch the movie and loved it. It's very well done and brought back happy memories, along with a few sad ones. 

Krista sent more photos of their Christmas decorating efforts. She and Kaelyn have been at it....

I think the taxidermy adds a nice Alaskan touch to it all. Don't you? 

Advent Scavenger Hunt

 A quick search through the blog shows us instituting an Advent Scavenger Hunt in 2008. As the kids matured our traditions changed with them. Instead of little toys or candy, we began to hide clues in the Advent Calendar. Each night they'd read the clue, go on the hunt, and find a "prize." Sometimes these are family gifts, or an activity to do together, sometimes individual gifts... We don't remember doing the scavenger hunt the years we lived in the RV.  Grandpa moved in, the boys began working at nights, Stacia was the only one consistently home, the tradition lapsed for a couple of years.  

A couple of weeks ago we talked about the activities we'd like to incorporate into this year's celebration. The Scavenger Hunt has made a comeback... We are a bit slow out of the gate, but we're on it now. 

And the clue is....

Scavenger Hunt Clue: A dream, a list, an idea - I bring them to life. 

It's always fun to watch the kids begin to unravel the clue and think through likely hiding places in the house. 

The girls ran directly to the nook. They looked all around the computer, my desk, and finally focused on the printer.  The bag was under the printer.  Stacia said that Nolan always figured out the clues, so it was fun to see her and Allie figure it out so quickly.

I was looking for ugly sweaters or fun Christmas fashion...these were clearanced, with an extra discount as well. 

 "I'll be doing whatever snow does in SUMMMMER!"

Look like holiday unicorns in this shot

Michael and I are looking forward to the rest of the hunts as much as the girls are. We are spending the rest of the evening watching Season 2 of Lost in Space. Allie has never watched Lost in Space, our memories are a bit rusty, and Season 3 has just released.  Thus Day 4 of December comes to an end. 

Supporting Local Business

I attended my wellness small group zoom. It's held at 0930 EST - that's 0530 AKST.   Stacia joined me at 0700 and we went out for our Bible Study. She and I are working through the New Testament this year. We're in Revelation. 

The boys went out for THEIR study with Michael. The girls finished their school week. When Michael returned, I took the girls to Country Cutts. We like supporting local businesses, this is one that's been in our town for 37 years. The owner hopes to continue for 40 years, but due to COVID his business has decreased by 60%. I don't get it - I would think folks still need to get their hair cut.... a great perk of supporting this business is one can grab warm drinks on their way up the stairs. Thanks, Jacque, for the recommendation. 

The last time the girls had their hair cut they had a bit of difficulty communicating what they wanted with a new hairstylist. Allie didn't get quite what she wanted - she thought she looked a bit like Jim Carey from Dumb and Dumber (which she did).  Stacia decided not to attempt talking and to just take whatever Courtney did. This was a silent agreement that did not result in a pixie cut. 

The girls came armed with photos today. Courtney did a great job bringing the pictures to life.   Stacia has talked about a pixie cut since she had hair below her waist. She cut it to a chin-length bob, then went shaggy...and finally today...she went with a pixie.  As noted above, she hates actually communicating with hairstylists. I'm not 100% sure why - she says they are like clowns. I don't get that either. Courtney is content not to talk if the girls don't want to talk. LOL They love this trait of hers and say she is quite nice. The problem is she can't read their minds. She is almost perfect.  Armed with photos, and me as an interpreter, we tried again. 

Stacia's hair is curly in the back, wavy on the sides, and straight in front....so we weren't sure what it would do when she cut it.  First, the big side swoop is gone...and we can see her lovely face again. It does make her eyes pop.  The front is still straight. Courtney said she can get a perm on the front if she wants to make it wavy like the back. We'll try a few other techniques first. 

She is enjoying playing with the new hair length. I'm liking this well enough I'm considering a perm and a pixie cut. LOL 

One of Allie's coping mechanisms in the past has been to shave her head. This has the added benefit of being low maintenance and causing people to keep their distance if they aren't close to her.  They assume she is either a lesbian, has cancer, or is having a mental breakdown. She says it's like "separating the wheat from the chaff." It's Biblical. ::snort::   Recently, she began talking about shaving her head again, long story. I suggested we try for a style that incorporates what she loves but keeps her poor head from winter frostbite. She found a cute style and Courtney brought it to life today. 

She left the front and top long - yay winter protection. 

Courtney shaved around her ears and the back. I think it's darling. She kept it soft and feminine and shaved it short. 

I have warm winter scarves the girls may want to use now that their necks are bare to the frigid Alaskan air.  It was a fun outing for a Friday afternoon. 

BTW is anyone else shocked it's FRIDAY already? 

Winter Rhythms

The sunlight is getting shorter, though the days feel long.  It was dark this a.m. when Allie and I left for Bible study. A funny thing happened while we talked. Our waitress came to see if everything was o.k. I'd just taken a bit and tried to answer her and somehow got bread down the wrong pipe...or tube...but I was choking. I made quite a scene, but all is well.  It was dark when we got back home to pick up Stacia. Stacia has been approached about being a Mommy's helper one morning a week for a young family. She met with them today. She has already finished many of her 1/2 credit spring classes, she can get her work done in 4 days if need be. This will work. 

While Stacia met and played with George and Adeline, Allie and I ran an errand.  Then it was back home for the girls to hit the books. 

Michael had another appointment today - this one with a chiropractor. We think it's helping with his pain and movement. The nice path I had shoveled from the house to the compost bed in the little greenhouse has disappeared. 

Grandpa took a nap. . .  The sun rose at 9:51 this a.m. and set at 3:41 p.m. We are at 5 hours and 50 minutes of sunlight. We are 20 days out from the shortest day of the year and then we'll begin adding daylight every day. 

I am making a conscious effort this winter to listen to my body and to embrace the rhythm of winter. That rhythm seems to dictate tea at about 3 p.m. This has not been my normal practice, but I love it. Stacia joined me today for tea and apples.  Then she went and took a nap while I started a new book. It's the time of year when I am conscious of reading leadership books in prep of our minister credential renewals. I'm open to suggestions of books which would be beneficial for leadership/ministry/life....

Check out the candle - it's finally MOVING

Allie finished her day's schoolwork and joined me making loads of veggies for dinner. Michael returned home and grilled steak for everyone but me. I'm supposed to limit red meat to once a week...and who knows what I may still want before the week is up...maybe a bacon cheeseburger. ::snort:: 

Izaak bought a new tree for Bre. Isn't it beautiful? Here is anoter Gherkin Christmas Glimpse....this time from BreZaak's home. 

📷 by Bre

📷 by Bre

There old tree is in the kids' room now. Gideon and Bella show it off for us. 

📷 by Bre

I can tell its winter as it's 8:08 PM and everyone is in bed but Michael and I. Go figure.

A Bit of This and That

 

Dad slept in this morning and I savored time with my tea, the Word and a quiet house. It was a gift. 

Michael made an unscheduled drive to Anchorage for a root canal. His tooth pain should let up soon. 

The girls and Nolan kept pushing with school. 

Our contact teacher called to go over the girls' ILPs. Stacia's was pretty straight-forward.  Allie's took a surprising turn. Alaska offers a state scholarship to students who make a certain score on the SAT, and who take an academic path to college, this is known as the APS.  Some months ago Allie discussed her post-secondary prep with our contact teacher. She said the APS was out of Allie's range. As Allie wanted the door to college open, we told our contact teacher we would focus on making the strongest transcript possible for college applications and scholarships. We added classes to Allie's course load last year. She took a full load this summer. We have all worked HARD. Last week, I left a message reporting Allie has already done more than a year's worth of foreign language work and I'd like to add another credit of foreign language for her spring semester. This is all documented through the company offering the classes/credits.   I am sure she can complete another credit by spring. This will give Allie 3 foreign language credits on her transcript.  In the process of confirming coursework, we realized Allie has gotten very close to being able to qualify for the APS. She is only short math credits.  We have gotten everything else done.  We KNOW she can finish the Algebra 1 she is working on. We took a couple days to discuss and to realistically consider options...we'll move one of her AP courses to a typical high school course which will give her more time to focus on math, we're already working on several of her spring courses and can finish them up fairly easily...we're going to PUSH. It still feels a bit out of reach, but we needed a new goal to focus on, and if she doesn't earn the 2 extra math credits, she'll still be ahead of where she was projected to be. ::snort:: If she qualifies for the APS it will be an answer to prayer for scholarships.  

All that brain work took up the rest of our day, in fact our contact teacher called back with more ideas as we sat down to dinner.