Before I start posting pictures of what we've been up to I would like to say a few words in regard to yesterdays (12/14/12) elementary school tragedy. I am sickened and saddened by this event. Being the mother of a 5 year old I can't help but picture the events in my mind. The faces of the children (though I have never seen them). The fear that they must have felt in those moments. I just can't stop thinking about it and keep praying for the families of those that were lost. While I am confident that the children were welcomed into heaven and will never have to suffer again the families are left with a void that they can never fill. Especially now during this holiday season. No matter your religious beliefs this is a season of family togetherness and to suffer loss during this time will leave a huge scar that will be tender every year from now on, during this time that is supposed to be joyous. I am so thankful for my children and that God has given them to me to care for. I take that job seriously though I gave my children back to God before they were even conceived. I know that he and he alone can truly protect them and I pray for that protection daily. That being said I don't know how I would go on if I lost one of them. Every day I give thanks to God for allowing me to be in the lives of these wonderful little people that I adore.
And here is what has been going on in our lives. Today it is -50*f so a nice day to be inside typing on the computer, though I did go out and do my morning chores as well as some snow shoveling.
First for those who have donated books to our little church library here are some pictures of the church and the library room which is also the Sunday school room.
Halloween
The kids celebrated Halloween by attending the party at the school in Manley. The boys were pirates, Lisa was a mermaid, September was a puppy and Ian was an eagle. All hats were made by my sister Rebecca. To see more of her amazing hats click the below link to one of her web stores.
If you like to crochet here is another link to a web store were she sells the patterns.
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| The Kids with Grandpa and Nonie Scott |
The month of November brought my mom's first time ever voting. Also some amazing moons and auroras. We had to delay Thanksgiving because of the stomach flu but once we had it, it was nice. So much to be thankful for.
In getting ready for Christmas we are enjoying a month of Christmas traditions. This year each of the kids made their own batch of cookie dough, rolled it out, cut it and then decorated them. We made an entire day of it and it was fun.
The Christmas Tree
We went out into the yard and found our Christmas tree. The kids got to pick the tree and Lisa hauled it in the sled all the way back to the house. Then we set it up and started decorating. Ken's grandmother Rosemary started a tradition with Ken as soon as he was born buying him an ornament a year. When we got married she got them for both of us. When the kids were born she started buying ornaments for them. This is the first year that they really got to put their ornaments up on a tree. They were so excited and had a great time doing it. Then we took the extra branches that we had cut off the bottom to get the tree to go in the stand and we made a wreath.
Just a few words on Christmas
I know that there is so much debate these days surrounding Christmas; should Christians celebrate Christmas?, put Christ back in Christmas!, etc.... etc....
A pastor that I have a lot of respect for explained it in a way that really got me thinking. I wish I could explain it as well as he does but I can't. Here is a link to the video were he explains
Basically this is how we do Christmas. We do the tree, the gifts, and such but we disconnect it from the birth of Christ. We still talk about the birth of Christ but we keep it separate from Christmas and celebrate Christmas as we would any other commercial holiday such as Thanksgiving or Valentines day. As just another day to show love to one another and enjoy good company and fun traditions. It is still confusing to me as to how and what to celebrate and each year though I love giving I consider doing away with the tradition all together. My favorite part of the holiday is spending the time with the kids doing fun things like making cookies and singing carols. Those are things that we could really do whenever we want. I love giving gifts but I hate feeling obligated to give and I hate it when my kids act greedy. So, Ken and I are still in discussion over all this so we will see what we come up with as a plan for next year.
Laundry
Here is a Laundry update. As we expand and improve our situation our laundry system has once again changed. We now have the washer and rinse tubs in the house WOO HOO! The upside is we can actually do laundry during the winter. The down side hauling buckets of dirty water outside to dump them after every couple of loads. As I hope that you can see from the pictures we are using an old Maytag washer that was given to us by the Scotts. Then we have two plastic sinks with make shift drains that we can open and close for draining. I use one for rinse water and rinse using a rapid washer to get the close cleaner and to get more of the soap out. Then I put the clothes into the second tub until I hang them. The ringer on the washer swivels so that you can turn it to use it to ring the clothes after the rinse. Also in this collage is a picture of the new dry sink that we set up in that room for hand washing and teeth brushing. We have all of this set up in what we call the utility room. It is the bathroom/laundry room/pantry/office
I will post more pictures of the interior as we get rooms finished or at least done enough that you can tell what you are looking at. Right now with building supplies all over the place it can be hard to see much. However as we get shelves and cabinets mounted and we are able to get things put away things are really starting to come together. I am very happy about how things are shaping up. We are getting out things from storage that we have't seen since we left Arizona and it has been a lot of fun finding things that we forgot we had. Some of which we find are useless to us now.
Luke 2
Blessings to you all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
