February Birthday Celebration

 There's a whole lotta cake at our house today! 

It turns out Livie doesn't like Cookies and Cream over Moosetrack ice cream.  Ah well, one can never make too much ice cream cake.  I could swear someone in February requested Cookies and Cream last year. Stacia's cakes were a hit too. We have a bit of the 6-inch cake left - and tomorrow IS Valentine's Day. 

Josiah and Liv (Carrie was working), Bre and kids, CoRielle and Jamin joined us to celebrate February's birthdays.  

Our Birthday Gang - minus Nolan (23) and plus Annie and Gideon

Cy (33), Alex (20), Livie - center (9), Jamin (31)

It was good to sit and visit together. Yes, there was much running around the circle and indoor snowball fighting.... I was sad I didn't get better pictures of the kids, but really this blur of a boy sums it all up quite nicely. 

After everyone but Jamin had headed home we sat around and talked a bit more. Jamin is our real estate pro - he is currently tied for number one spot of pending sales in Keller William (for this quarter maybe?). That is HUGE considering he is one man, and her team has 20 - 30 agents under her. I can't quite fathom how many hours he is putting in finding homes for folks. Anyway, I mentioned maybe we should look for a home with a better set up for the kids during winter gatherings. Jamin told us to sit tight. He's right - summer will come and this is a great place for summer/fall gatherings...just a bit tough that the adults seating area surrounds the kid's racetrack. LOL 

Birthday Week

Here are a few glimpses into this week at home. We are all feeling wonderful this week. We realized we are probably a bit more conscientious than most about staying home until all lingering cold symptoms are gone...and maybe we will evaluate this in the future.  Poor Stacia has missed 4 weeks of youth group due a lingering cough. This week both women's Bible study and youth group were cancelled due to ongoing members' health issues.  The girls sent out a group chat and invited other youth group members to connect on zoom. This was a great solution, we are proud of them. 

We felt quite well enough to go INSIDE for Bible studies this week. The restaurant agreed we should come inside rather than eat in the parking lot as we did last week. ::snort::   For the next 6 weeks (at least) the girls, Bible Babes and our local women's study will all be working through the same material. Bible Babes and the girls and I began working through it this week. 

Thursday with Allie

Friday with Stacia

I have a perpetual box collecting items for donation as we declutter. The girls filled two bags during our self-imposed-stay-at-home period. It felt good to get the boxes and bags delivered to Bishop's Attic.

Millie can always be counted on to entertain.

I have made two ice cream cakes this week. Stacia had baked cakes and today she decorated a cake for the brothers and one for Livie....

Michael and Dad went to their monthly men's breakfast. I took care of outside chores and then.....

The house was magically quiet, and I had no responsibilities to tend to. I set in Michael's recliner,  watched the snow fall outside, while my favorite blend of oil* diffused...the windows, the tree, the aroma...it was magical. I finished Wuthering Heights. 

Some have asked about our indoor snowball fights...This little kit was a gift Mom purchased for me at a thrift store year's ago. It was simply a cute snowman decoration until Benny turned it into a great winter diversion. 

I texted the girls and asked if they were up for an adventure when the men got home. They were. We visited the library and one of our favorite coffee haunts for drinks and sandwiches. Then, it was time to conquer Stacia's shopping reluctance and buy her a couple of pairs of jeans. Allie found some cool boots. 

This guy made our day...just chilling in the neighborhood. 

We spent the remainder of the week watching shows, movies, making dinner....and it will soon be time to begin another week.  This was birthday week. A week we look forward too, but sort of dread. Having outside events cancelled did help. We had four birthdays this week. In the upcoming week we'll have 3 anniversaries and another birthday to celebrate. Februarys are a mad rush in our family. 

*Arctic Heat - a combination of Lavendar, Birch, Peppermint, Rosemary and Ginger oils picked up at our local Kroger chain.  

Alex turns 20!

 Ah, the party pig hat! It can only mean one thing. Another birthday! It's hard to believe Alex turned 20 years old today. 

Alex has been busy working at McDonald's and connecting with gamers. He has recently cut back his hours at McDonald's to focus on studying for an employment test and application process for the next job he would like to hold.  I'll share more when the time is right.  This year he's paid cash for a truck, faithfully paid his rent and saved lots of money.  He's got goals and he's steadily working towards them. 

Yes, we sound pathetic when it's just the four of us to sing Happy Birthday....

Happy 20th Alex! We love you. 

Alex asked for Orange Chicken for his birthday dinner. He thought an ice cream bowl sounded great for his birthday dessert. A word about ice cream...this family LOVES their ice cream. In fact, Alaska is the number one state in ice cream consumption. It's like we were supposed to live here. For YEARS we've had ice cream instead of dinner every Sunday night - just once a week.   Our family continued to grow (12 of us) and ice cream cartons continued to shrink.  We hit on the idea of having our ice cream in a mug, most often with splashes of milk - which creates the blizzard/shake effect.  One year we made ice cream cakes for birthday and the rest is history.....

This year we were on schedule to celebrate Nolan's birthday on the 8th when we discovered he would be working. We needed a cake that NIGHT and it takes a day or two in the freezer for the cakes to set. What to do? Arielle was here and suggested "ice cream bowls." What a great idea - like rice bowls but ice cream.....that's thinking outside of the box. And then I realized ice cream bowls are...um...bowls of ice cream and the way the majority of Americans consume their ice cream. ::snort:: BUT our family thinks they're a wonderful new dessert option. 

We rounded Alex' night out by watching Tim Hawkins. We'd not watched any Tim Hawkins in about a year. Alex chose, "That's the Worst." We laughed until we cried. It was fun to discover Grandpa enjoys Tim Hawkins. If only he'd put out more DVD's. 

Nolan is 23

 Nolan has turned 23 years old.  He will be working on Sunday and will miss the bigger birthday celebration, but we couldn't let the occasion pass without a bit of fun! 

Everyone took a break to play some mario kids. 

Alex, Corey, Danny, Arielle, Benny, Nolan, Stacia, Allie

Nolan requested enchiladas for dinner. We were happy to make this happen.  The girls and I pulled together dinner. CoRielle joined us for dinner and dessert as they knew Nolan wouldn't be able to join us on Sunday. 

Nolan opted for ice cream and toppings over any other dessert. Quick, easy and tasty. 

We are proud of Nolan. He has just finished his first year at Western Governor's. He earned 39 credits. WGU recommended he aim for 24 credits, the VA insisted on 36 to be considered full-time and get his full VA college benefit, and he earned 39. We all worried it would be too much, but he's knocking it out of the park. He's been working 40 - 60 hours a week all year, as well. 

I put a bit of ice cream on the top of Danny's sippy cup. He was skeptical. UNTIL, he tasted it and then he pushed his cup back at me as fast as he could. 

Another fun papa game...

📷via Arielle

📷via Arielle - fuzzy - but such great expressions!

Indoor Snowball Fight

We have missed a couple of respite appointments due to winter crud. It was nice to have Arielle and the boys show up today. Danny has perfected walking and running since he was last at the house. A favorite game with all the younger grands is having an indoor snowball fight with my bucket of snowballs. It was pretty funny that Danny headed right for the bucket.  

Of course, Michael is always willing to oblige the boys with a bit of fun. 

Danny is excited to join the fun. 

Michael and I eventually left for lunch. We had been gifted a visit to The Salt Cave. It was incredibly relaxing. We hit a few grocery stores looking for ingredients for Nolan's birthday dinner. We celebrated early as he had to work on his birthday and will also miss the family celebration on Sunday due to work. 

When the Moose Come to Play

 We've noticed there are moose tracks everywhere as we trudge through the snow in the yard. In fact, our property seems to be a moose highway. This is to be expected with the back acre or so being wooded.  They cut diagonally across the property, with a notable detour to the garden where the current compost bed is cooking.  We've known they were visiting, but we've not seen much of them. 

We began spying them again as we flipped the calendar to February.  They usually arrive in ones or twos....so we weren't terribly surprised to see this gal in the brush. 

Wait! There's TWO moose rumps in the brush...

Or...maybe THREE!

Four? YES...four moose rumps in the yard! 

Now, we've had up to five in the yard at one time, but they aren't usually all in one spot. We have a moose convergence...

This little one is very interested in our sledding run....

This one would rather eat branches. 

I thought I saw a bull in the group. 

We still haven't figured out the hunting around here. It seems best to have a cabin, or an ATV. I would love to have a moose in the freezer this year with prices going sky high for meat - when it's even available. 

Marked by Grace

Michael was patient to wait until dinner to open this box. 

 

About a year ago JaRissa gave Michael a unique gift. They signed him up for StoryWorth.  Each week Michael received a prompt and wrote in response to the prompt. Of course, those who love Michael best will not be surprised to note most weeks he "tweaked" the prompt before writing.  He also spent a considerable amount of time crafting the stories and editing them. 

He wrote through the winter and spring. Things slowed a bit in the summer. The paced picked up again in the fall and he wrote through another winter. 

The result? "Marked by Grace - the wit and wisdom of ..." The girls both write copiously. It was fun for all to see the writing in PRINT. The quality of these books is really nice. We're impressed. We ordered 10 copies, one for each of the kids. 

Perhaps you've noted the problem with our plan earlier than we did? Yep, we neglected to order a copy for ourselves or extras to share.  I've been told the book contains stories about childhood, never before revealed confessions from said childhood, wisdom from parenting, military life....

I've not read it yet... as soon as one of the girls are done, I'll grab a copy. 

We are currently attempting to decide if we should self-publish or order more copies from StoryWorth. Michael has asked me to read it and tell him if I think it has wider-than-family-appeal.  Feedback I've heard so far is that it has a Patrick McManus flare in spots....and is a fun read. 

Note: I have wanted to get a tattoo for some time...."grace" on my wrist...marked by grace....I leant my tattoo to Michael for his book title as there has been resistance to the idea of me getting a tattoo. I'm terrified of pain anyway. LOL