29 December 2022

 

The month of December was very busy!  We had scheduled everything that needed to be done well ahead of time so we had time for some more fun things too.  We had Advent singing every Sunday night with friends, made lots of Christmas cookies, opened two advent calendars every night, and drove around to see some light displays too.  The prep for the ward Christmas party took a lot out of us, but we fortunately recovered enough to have a good Christmas Day.

Since Christmas was on Sunday, spirits were a bit high all through church and the kids were anxious to open presents as soon as we got home.  Mr. Brown played a major role in stockings this year, and the kids got slingshots, yo-yos, marbles and parachute men.  They had a lot of fun with all of them.

The kids did a lovely job making/buying gifts for each other.  There was a lot of gratitude and hugs and affection.  It was wonderful.

There were wonderful gifts from grandparents and relatives as well.  Everyone was so happy all day.  We were kinder and more patient and more flexible and more willing to engage with each other, so it was a very peaceful and happy day.  We wound it up with Christmas dinner, where we had as guests a young couple with a super-sweet baby.  Happy Christmas!

Rosebud playing carols on the piano

walking the neighbor's dog, we found a friend of hers

Christmas craft this year was making paper chains.  Rosebud made a wreath, Bobo and I made icicles, and Rose Pink and Nut Brown made a long somewhat holly-based chain that they hung near the front door.

18 December 2023

 

Christmas is concert season for the choir that the girls sing in.  This semester Rosebud wanted to join too, and it has been such a good experience for Rose Pink that we signed her up too.  The concert in Dallas was wonderful.  Our friends the Atchleys came again too.  

This year there was a second concert in Austin.  It was not as good as the one in Dallas, primarily due to issues with the venue, which was disappointing, because Mr. Brown and our neighbor Polly got to come to this one.  It really felt like it was an A-level choir performing in a C-level venue.  

Here's some photos from the second concert:

Rose Pink's choir on the risers

Rosebud's choir in the front

Rose Pink's choir singing while standing off stage - the venue was too small for the choir.

16 December 2022

Rosebud was excited for me to come to her class Christmas party.  They had some fun activities and finished with decorating cookies.  Then there was a visit with Santa in the school auditorium (with the Grinch sneaking in the back).  Rosebud wisely kept her mouth shut while her classmates were amazed at the appearance of Santa.  

She's had a harder time with school this year, and after visiting I can see why.  Her class this year has a more rowdy kids in it, so it's a louder, more restless environment, which stresses her.  She was also freaked out by the assembly with Santa - so loud and so many people.  (I think she gets this from me.)  She came home with me after the assembly.  It was a half day anyway.

 

15 December 2022

Sketches in vocabulary:

While Mr. Brown was out of town for funeral, some friends brought us dinner.  When Nut Brown discovered that there was no dessert for dinner, he was very upset and told me, "My disappointment is immeasurable."  

Bobo struggling with working on his crosstitch project, and in his frustration exclaimed, "I am IRATE!"

The other day on the way home from school, Rosebud said that she didn't understand why people liked to be hit in the face with pies or cakes.  Bobo explained that once it got on your face it couldn't be taken away from you.  She said something along the lines of, but your face gets all sticky and yuck! and he explained very seriously that when you get frosting on your face you end up taking a shower so really it's a better outcome than if you don't, because you end up cleaner in the long run.  I told Mr. Brown this story and he said, "That sounds like a boy who is seriously considering getting birthday cake on his face for his next birthday."

13 December 2022

Where Nut Brown can be found when he is at home - on his computer, at his desk, with his headphones half off so he can hear us if we holler for him.

12 December 2023

The activities committee in our current ward is volunteers, except for the chairman.  Mr. Brown and I and our good friends the Weeks volunteered as soon as we found out.  Mr. Brown had a brilliant idea for the ward Christmas party that involved flying in a plane to travel around the world to celebrate Christmas, and we found ourselves and the Weeks in charge of the whole thing.  We worked so hard on it, and invited a lot of other people to help us with it, so it was more of a ward effort than previous activities.  It turned out really well - everybody had a great time and attendance was through the roof. However, it was A LOT of work and we burned ourselves out on Christmas only two weeks in to December.

Rose Pink is making flags for the tour leaders to use

Mr. Brown is painting one of the travel posters than hung in the "airport lounge" we created in the gym

Rosebud helping by painting a picture of the sunset

All the practice painting we did for the poster

and the final result.

We designed and furnished an airport lounge area, a ticket booth (they were given passports to collect stamps for each country) and a metal detector with a TSA agent who had an alarm he could set off.  The lounge had a bunch of signs and posters that other people also painted.  The detector was built by an older couple who said, "if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing" and threw themselves into helping us!  Then after the flight was announced, the passengers went to an airplane seat set up (we painted airplane windows that were hung up along the sides - and people argued over who to the window seat!) and we sang Christmas carols to "power the plane".  Then the passengers were split into groups and went around to three classrooms to do Christmas activities from three countries.  Then back to the plane to "fly home" and deboarding back into the airport lounge, which had been turned into a winter party wonderland with snowflakes, white lights, decorations and cookies and hot chocolate.  It really was a great party.

 

5 December 2022

Earlier in the fall, the girls and I went to a rodeo with the mother of one of the participants.  We really enjoyed it!  It was pretty small and so it was easy to be close to the participants and really get into each competition.  If we have the chance we'll go again.

1 December 2022

  

Rose Pink!  She passed her GED so is officially done with high school now.  The anti-anxiety meds that she is taking are really helpful, with the result that she does a lot more silly things that brighten our lives.  She is brilliant and impulsive and funny.  So glad she lives with us!