Hello everybody! A random life post is way past due, and since I have pictures from all the way back in December that I haven't posted, here is a winter recap...and it is quite large. ;) Our winter was a busy one, and we enjoyed making lots of memories together!
The first two Saturdays in December we did our second annual Live Nativity Scene at Historic Washington's Christmas and Candlelight event. We were blessed to have good weather and big crowds both weeks!
We grabbed a picture with our good friend, Mr. Ford, who read the Christmas story for our program.
Poor Jesse Lee...everybody thought he was a goat, not a hair sheep!
Mr. Ford reading the Christmas story.
Dad presented the gospel and the true meaning of Christmas to the crowd each time. It was such a blessing to be able to speak that message, along with presenting it in the Live Nativity Scene.
The sheep was a big hit with the kids! They loved to come pet him in between our performances.
Grace drinking hot cider with a friend while waiting for the next performance.
IT SNOWED in December!! But it didn't stick due to it being too wet... We did enjoy watching it come down beautifully, though!
Getting set up for the Christmas concert we did at our church in December.
We lined the driveway with luminaries, which made for a pretty effect! We prepared 200 bags, but we ended up not using all of them. :)
Our family performed, along with the Sister Strings Trio and our Aunt Lynn.
We enjoyed a wonderful evening of visiting with friends afterwards!
When we were in Texarkana one day, Mom realized some of us had never been to the state line, so we had to stop and get some pictures there. :)
Christmas morning was spent in playing games. Jared, Grace, and I were on a Monopoly kick at that time. :)
We will not mention how many times it took to get Max to look at the camera! :)
Our Christmas brunch tradition...homemade doughnuts and sausage balls.
Later on Christmas Day we went over to Pap and Nana's house and had a relaxing day.
Singing Christmas carols.
Jacob got his third deer this season!! He got two on the first day of gun season and that one on the last day. We were very thankful for the extra meat.
We really enjoyed spending New Year's Eve night with our friends the Harbours!! It was such a fun game night...and the many references to hippos was hilarious! *inside joke*
Playing Dutch Blitz!
New Year's Day we celebrated Christmas with the Silvey side of the family at Pap and Nana's.
Just hanging out after the meal.
Aunt Lynn reading the Christmas story.
We did a White Elephant Gift Exchange for the first time and it was so much fun!
The annual Rook game... this time Jared and Uncle Mike did NOT win! :)
Nana got a robot vacuum cleaner (who she named 'Rosie') for Christmas, and it was very entertaining watching Rosie work! :)
In January, we headed down to Texas to see the Bontrager family in concert!
You never know who you'll meet at a Bontrager concert! We 'knew' these girls from a magazine we were both involved in, and when we walked in we immediately recognized them, and went over to introduce ourselves. It was such a treat to meet them!
Amanda and Allison Bontrager.
Will, Brittany, and Elizabeth came to help us celebrate Amanda's birthday on January 14th.
Three generations!
Amanda got a Hobby Lobby gift card from Will and Brittany...
...and a tea mug and a Texarkana Symphony Orchestra ticket from Dad and Mom. She LOVES to go to the Symphony anytime she can! :)
We got to have a little Lizzy time when she woke up from her nap. :)
In February Amanda and John's piano and guitar students did a music recital. It was neat to see the progress they had made in the past year!
Amanda with all of her students.
In February we had a visit from some very dear friends... talk about a week full of laughter and love! We enjoyed smoothies and shopping on this girls day out with Mrs. Sharon. :)
It was so special for them to get to meet Elizabeth!
At the fire department's pinning ceremony this year, Will was pinned for five years of service and his promotion to Captain.
After the pinning ceremony we enjoyed an evening over at Will and Brittany's. Amanda got some adorable pictures of Elizabeth with her Aunt Erin. :) She is one serious little girl!
Garden season has arrived! Potatoes was our first big crop to get planted this spring.
We are very thankful for the sweet new friendship we have with these ladies! That picture was taken after a fun day of helping them settle into their new home. :)
And on the last day of winter (although the weather made it feel like spring) I turned 18. It was a fun birthday, and Will, Brittany, and Elizabeth got to come over!
Can't believe Elizabeth is sitting up by herself already!
Just a girl and her niece. :)
Enjoying an afternoon of singing with the siblings last Sunday. :)
"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad."
-Psalm 34:1,2
