We celebrated yesterday evening with some yummy food, awesome decorations, and our favorite people!
Thank you, Addie Mae, for taking charge of this celebration!
Blake and I are pleased with how we have chosen to celebrate Chinese New Year each year – we make it simple, but it still is enjoyed by all – especially Tate and Eliza!
The food was DELICIOUS!!
Chop Chae (with chicken though) Asian cole slaw (SO perfectly spicy!), clementines, and panda cupcakes!
We had a wonderful time with our bests – I just enjoy watching our grand babies no matter what they are doing!
Eating!
Playing!
They are SO fun!
Thankfully we have Grant’s day coming up next month so we have a good reason to indulge in some more Asian food!
Gung hay fat choy!!
春节快乐
Happy Year of the Rat from us and our two Chinese cherubs!!
We were watching the birds at our little bird restaurant while eating our lunch today, and then it had us talking about simple joys – and how a joyful spirit is really just a perspective!
Another simple joy is our salad box.
Another intention I have on my mind is to get outside A LOT this winter.
The snow is starting to accumulate here at Twin Oaks!
Winter does bring more time inside, but my crew is always creative, busy, and enjoying their days!
My kiddos and I have really been enjoying school lately!
As we read through the The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos, we have been watching a preview of each book of the Bible through The Bible Project on You Tube.
One day during school we juiced carrots and apples for our nutrition class!
We still enjoy library day, although we have not been going there weekly like we used to.
Even on non-library days these kiddos always have a book in their hands!
I love to read to them still too, and do so every single day!
There have been a couple of Sundays where we have stolen some grand babies.
Blake and I have not been able to have consistent Friday night date nights lately – but I did text my sweet husband while grocery shopping one Friday over the lunch hour and he came to my rescue and helped me do that ginormous job!
Speaking of grocery shopping – yes, we are still eating.
These three help too, as well as Addie.
Grant is a fun one!
Boys. That’s all I have to say about this photo.
Our personal barista.
We did have one dentist appointment last week.
We are very thankful for the visitors we have had as of late!
Blake’s sister and three of her crew were with us this week.
Well, it has been a quiet couple of hours this afternoon while the children played out in all that fresh snow!
Sledding was the desired activity, of course, of course!
I think Sadie Jo had more fun than any of the rest of us!
I never went down that hill, but I enjoyed watching the kids play and also walking around the land to breathe in that fresh air and soak up that sunshine!
A couple hours later we drug ourselves back inside!
We went to yet another BEAUTIFUL wedding in December!
One of our favorite Christmas time traditions is joining our church to carol at the local nursing homes.
December was busy, but I still did a lot of cuddling and holding our two cherubs – and sometimes naps were needed too!
Addie Mae grabbed a special helper one Friday and got all of the grocery for me!
This guy worked for UPS the whole month of December, but still found time to be at Twin Oaks often – especially around dinner time, ha, ha!
We found time to clean the kitchen at church one Saturday afternoon!
We also traveled to Iowa in mid-December to see The Live Animal Christmas Play that some friends are a part of each year.
Our sweet puppy Sadie Jo was spay and had a hernia repaired right after we got home from our Iowa trip.
As winter set in our neck of the woods more games were played, more things were baked, more coloring and listening to story hour was done, and more hot drinks were consumed.
Of course the Lord provided us with some beautiful skies.
Have I ever mentioned that we have the sweetest friends?
I always love time with my favorites!!
Of course school has been moving along – my all time favorite kind of day!
The guys processed all the deer meat and we filled our freezer with 100 pounds of ground venison!
I was headed on a date with my hubby and Addie was headed to a work meeting and we were kinda in the same outfit so she snapped a photo!
On the very last day of December we got a dusting of snow.
The last day of December I worked on an intention board – where I printed some images off the computer and wrote down some intentions I have for 2020.
One more photo to end this post – of our growing boy Tate Owen.
And now it is half way through January already!