A South Dakota Christmas

On December 19 my daily flip calendar read, "An exhausted mother, unexpected guests-God often interupts our routine with His plan." I didn't realize how accurate this pearl of wisdom would become over the next week. Due to some circumstances at church/school out of our control we decided on December 23 that we wouldn't be making the trip to MN/WI over Christmas vacation. Instead we are spending the week here taking care of some church/school things. (If you have a spare prayer our congregation could use some extras.) It was disappointing to all of us not to be seeing our familes after weeks of planning just that but it was the right decision. The kids got over it quickly once they found out that even though Christmas Day was passing by we could make "family Christmas" happen anytime. We also have made plans to do a few fun things here as a family.

These pictures are from our family Christmas . The kids all got different "Go Fish" CDs since they have wore out two in the last six months. (If you haven't heard of Go Fish check out www.gofishguys.com for some cool kid music.) That is what the boys are gleefully opening. Lydia has suddenly decided to be a girly-girl and is in love with babies. Member's of our congregation gave her "tiny baby" complete with bottles and accessories. Lydia is also sporting chocolate on the face because all holidays seem to include "tandy" as Lyd calls it. The top picture is my favorite because our kids always gravitate to reading and together they got a book that was the immediately read and is quickly becoming a favorite.

Hopefully you all had a blessed Christmas and are enjoying a few days at a slower pace. Hugs to all.

Simple Serenity

Nathan took this picture of the moonrise at his parents house over Thanksgiving. It's not his parents' farm but a neighboring one you see beyond their front yard. I just think it's beautiful and wanted to share.

Bring on the Cheer

Picture 1: The tree at it's current home, the living room.

Picture 2: This is what I ususally get when trying to take pictures of the three kids together. :)

Picture 3: Attempt #9 or so of trying to take a nice picture of the three kids. It's not perfect but not bad either.

Picture 4: Those I love most.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Last Saturday we took our annual treck to the Hills in search of the "perfect" Christmas tree. We were near Silver City which isn't really a city anymore but an old logging town that probably qualifies as "in the middle of nowhere." After taking several forest service roads we found ourselves in a peaceful canyon where the gently falling snow was accumulating. The kids eagerly started the search with laughter and snowflake tasting. We found a tree to take home and one to decorate for the animals. Last year we began this family tradition. (It's inspired by Night Tree written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Ted Rand.) We had cranberry strings, popcorn strings, pinecones covered with peanut butter and birdseed, and old bread to create nature's feast. The top picture is of us gathered around the decorated tree.

The next three pictures are of the kids enjoying the snow in their own way. Hans was running all over trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue "like on Charlie Brown Christmas." Lydia had a hard time trudging along in her winter gear but she certainly tried to keep up with the boys. Evan is our biggest outdoor/nature lover and he found a stick for writing in the snow "like in Snowy Day" and wrote his name.

Advent by Candlelight

I know I wrote about this last year but it's both a wonderful event and odd for me to get to write about something I did without the kids.

This is the second year our Ladies Aid has hosted Advent by Candlelight for the ladies of the congregation. It consists of a simple service with Bible readings, explainations of the Advent wreath, a small choir, singing Christmas carols, beautiful decorations in the fellowship hall and on tables, and delicious desserts. I co-hosted a table with my good friend Denise and we were surrounded by so many sisters-in-Christ. In the hustle and bustle that the world forces onto the Christmas season this was a night that focused on bringing our best to Jesus and reminded us of the reason for the season.

1: Our table of lovely ladies.

2: Some ladies enjoying each other's company before the service began.

3: My friend Cindy with her good friend Kris. :)

Surf's Up

A little background on this picture, my brother-in-law Michael is engaged to a darling girl named Tammy. From the first time we met her Hans has taken special interest in her. When we look at pictures of family, when we talk about upcoming visits, when Smith family memories come up, Hans is quick to remember Aunt Tammy.

We had seen the movie Surf's Up in the theater a few weeks before going home for Thanksgiving and that same day talked about seeing family soon. Hans was quick to suggest that we could watch Surf's Up with Aunt Tammy. So (ever the indulgent godfather:) Michael and Tammy rented it and we had a movie night. Lydia cuddled with Jo while the boys shared their blankets along with the couch with Michael and Tammy.

You can't beat cudding up with the one(s) you love and sharing a good time. Thanks for being so great to my kids. :)

The Smith Swingset

While we visited the Smith side of the family the kids spent some quality time outside there as well. They visited pigs in the barns, 'helped' cut down a tree, explored the field, and took full advantage of the recently refurbished swingset/playground. I'm not sure how long this has been at the Smith house but with grandkids around Kevin and Mary chose to move it and repair some of the well-used parts. This trip was the first time it has had a slide. Evan says it's a "really, really fast slide" which is "totally awesome." That's how we'd describe the entire visit. :) See you soon Smiths!

Down at the Tree Farm

As mentioned earlier we went with most of my family to pick out my parents Christmas tree. We have been going to St. Croix Valley Trees north of Somerset, WI for nearly 20 years. They have beautiful trees and have expanded so much it would be easy to make a day out of your visit.

1: Getting the grandkiddos in my parents suburban for the quick trip.

2: ATTACK UNCLE JAMES!!!

3: "We wanna help! Can we help cut the tree?? Can we? Can we? Huh?"

4: Hauling the tree out of there.

Visiting Grandma & Grandpa Davis

It was cold while we visited but that didn't stop the kids from enjoying all the great outside things to do at my parents house.

1: Saying "hi" to the chickens.

2: Lydia's at the wheel. Yee-haw.

3: Enjoying the sand volleyball court turned giant sand box.

Cousins

For Thanksgiving we took a little jaunt to MN/WI to visit our families over the four-day holiday weekend. Between the five of us over the four days we managed to eat dinner on Thanksgiving twice, see the majority of our families, laugh a lot, cut my parents Christmas tree, watch a movie, cuddle with aunts and uncles, go to church just Nathan and I (we heard an entire sermon!!), play with chickens, check out the pig barn, slide on a new slide, explore a fort made of haybales, ride a tractor, visit a farm, have a cousins slumber party, and have an entirely wonderful time. We're just glad that from the day we left till the day we go back is only a month's time. Yeah for family!

This picture is of our kids with their cousins, Joey and Jesse, my sisiter's boys. Cousins are much cool. :)

Making Turkey Projects

All three of our kids love "projects." Almost anything qualifies as a project if it's slightly creative and involves any art supplies. This week we made a project that took three separate work times on three separate days. Here are the pictures of day one. The painting was done in the heated garage, with the kids in as little clothes as possible, and was followed immediately by a trip to the bathtub. I'm relatively certain only crazy parents attempt these things. It was an adventure to say the least. :)

Hiking in the Skyline Wilderness Area

Right through the middle of Rapid City there is a huge hill that splits the city. It has been developed in some places along the sides but the top of it is Skyline Wilderness Area. It's amazing. Living in the Black Hills we're spoiled with hiking everywhere and this is one of the major spoilers. Two weekends back we had a Saturday in the low 70s and sun-filled skies. We headed up to the Skyline Wilderness Area for some hiking and geocaching. To get there you don't even have to leave Rapid but are actually right in the middle of town. We did meet some other hikers with boys who played with our kids. There are also often mountain bikers in the area as we saw lots of tracks. It might not be as remote as most of the Black Hills but for being in the middle of a town of 62,000, it's pretty great. :)

pic #1: Nate and the kids hiking down with Rapid City's east side in the distance.

pic #2: Evan and Hans climbing on what some local kids call "Castle Rock." (Notice shorts in November! Yeah!)

WWII Memorial in Pierre

The first weekend in November we took a road trip east to Watertown, SD. Nathan is on the Board for Great Plains LHS and needed to attend a meeting there. The kids and I tagged along to visit the Maertzes. It was a busy, fast, and fun weekend. Like most visits with friends, it passed too quickly. We look forward to making another trip over sometime in the spring.

On the way back home we came through Pierre and took the opportunity to stop at the WWII Memorial. It is a relativly recent addition and one of interest to both Nathan and I. The kids were just happy to get out of the van and have the chance to throw rocks in the water. It's a neat memorial to some real heros. If you're ever in the neighborhood take a few minutes to stop.

1: The kids overlooking the fountain It is supposed to flame because some flamable liquid is mixed with the water but it wasn't "on" that day.

2: A man or woman dressed in their battle uniforms represents each branch of the military. They are slightly larger than life because, in the words of our governor, "those men and women were larger than life."

3: The flags and wall which bears the names of those from SD who fought in WWII.

Rodeo Harvest Fest

As long as we've been a family we have had a family theme for our Harvest Fest costumes. This years theme was inspired by our favorite August activity, the rodeo.

Photo 1: Steer Wrestler Hans (aka: A Cowboy who has a lasso who rides a horse.)

Photo 2: Buckin' Horse Rider Evan (showing off his balloon mouse.)

Photo 3: Barrel Racer/Rodeo Princess Lydia (collecting her winnings after dropping a bean bag in the clown nose.)

Photo 4: The Coyboys and Cowgirl posing with the rodeo clowns who followed them around all night (aka: the prize winners!)

We're more than a little crazy but we have a lot of fun!