I never intend to take long breaks from posting here, but that’s just what ends up happening occasionally. During busy seasons when life is very full, blogging just has to take a backseat. Life is still busy but I’m motivated to get caught up here.

A few snapshots of beauty to brighten your day…

The late afternoon light streaming through the windows. 

New leaves on a couple of my houseplants. I was struck by the difference in color compared to the older leaves. I’m sure the new leaves will darken with time, but thought they were so beautiful now. 

More to come very soon!

Kenny attended the Young Life All-Staff conference in California in early January & thoroughly enjoyed the time there. Meanwhile, at home, James had to step in to help Anna with math homework. 

We have enjoyed watching James play in the pep band at the high school basketball games. He loves having an opportunity to play snare more.

One weekend, Kenny & Anna made homemade biscotti. They are so delicious with hot drinks & we’re still enjoying them. 

Girls night – watching Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour movie. 

The PE Coach & one of the 6th-grade teachers built this amazing snowman at Anna’s school. 

This school year Anna is part of a monthly bible study with a small group of sweet girls from school. Last semester we met at a church & all the moms took turns leading. This semester one mom is heading it up & we’re meeting at her home. I drove all the girls from school to bible study a few weeks ago & they all had so much fun being squished into the van together. 

Anna & two friends participated in their school talent show last week. They found a song (Count On Me by Bruno Mars), created a dance, auditioned & performed all on their own! They did a great job!

Work on the Christmas puzzle continues. Every time I stop by the table to work a few minutes I usually find at least a couple pieces to put in. I think that’s God’s way of saying ‘Keep at it!’ Initially, my goal was to finish by Valentine’s Day. Now I’m thinking maybe Easter. 

The week between Christmas & New Year’s Day is often a slower pace. This year, because we were home for Christmas, it was even slower. And it was glorious. Kenny took the week off, which he usually does, and that makes it so nice. We didn’t leave the house for three days & it was very relaxing for all of us. Our fall was much busier this past year & by the time we made it through the Nutcracker, everyone was needing a rest. 

We slept in, had no agenda for days & just refreshed together. We played hours & hours of games. Our new favorites this year were Just One, Five Crowns & Klask. Highly recommend them if you’re looking for great family games. We worked on a puzzle which might be a tad difficult for this family. After taking Christmas decorations down, I decided to leave it up in the hopes we’ll finish it. We ate lots of great food & treats. We took naps & watched movies. Anna & I cut out snowflakes, & Kenny took Anna on their annual ice-skating date.

We enjoyed New Year’s Eve with our traditional dinner of dips & appetizers & an epic-long Monopoly game (over 3 hours). Kenny bankrupted us all & overturned Anna’s winning streak from the previous couple of years. We all managed to make it to midnight & saw the fireworks on top of Pikes Peak to ring in the New Year!