December is one of those months, you know? Our homeschool co-op was taking the month off, but life is still quite full!
We kicked off our very busy schedule with ‘school picture day.’ For many, many years I took the kids to a studio about half an hour from our old home. There was a great photographer there named Sarah. The kids liked her, she got them to smile, and took really good photos. I started calling ahead to put us on the schedule when she would be there. I’d always ask after her son (conveniently also named Nathaniel). Time marches on and we moved. Starting kast year we headed to the portrait studio closer to the new house (now it’s closer to an hour drive). As I was making the appointment, Gabby mentioned we weren’t like to hear, “Stinky feet!” this year (one of the ways Sarah would get my littles to smile, when they were still little). But when we walked in last week, who did we find, but Sarah! It was lovely to catch up on this, Gabby’s last school picture day.
Nate saw the empty parking lot at the mall and asked for a chance to practice. His sisters and I acquiesced. He did quite well. I will say, if you told me this mall, that I visited on Black Friday 30-ish years ago would be this deserted at Christmas time, I wouldn’t have believed you, but here we were!
Justin and Nate spent the next day hiking. They opted for a spot that took a drive, but were our old stomping grounds, to get his 14-miler in.
Katie managed to have TWO flat tires in the course of an hour—we got the spare on, then en route to the tire shop, the spare popped. Thankfully we never finished changing a tire ourselves. The first time a guy running a grating project on our road came by. Then a fellow who was painting a mural at the local hardware store helped with the second. The tire shop had to order for her, but they gave her a loaner to get her through!
They barely made it home in time for Nate to grab a shower and for me to whisk him off to practice for his upcoming music Christmas program.
Then, of all things, he spent the night in a shelter he made, as he’s trying to finish a badge. Thank goodness for good gear and Hot Hands! I woke him up at 6:15, so he must have slept okay—his water bottle froze though. It got down to 22°!
The next day the fellows went hunting, but the deer won hide and seek.
On Sunday, our Gabby flew away to see her fellow.
We had a day of music at church—(not pictured, the children sang in the morning), then we had an evening of readings and carols in the evening.
Monday was concert day, in Virginia
Ellie had Christmas performance practice.
The youth had a Christmas Party.
We helped set up for some displaced Helene families for a Christmas visit.
They guys went paint-balling.
Then Ellie fell ill and missed the Christmas Parade and performance, but we got our gal back from Virginia.
