January 2017

Hawaii and Atlanta, Georgia
Nathan was on a work trip the first week of January.  While in Hawaii, in addition to working, he also hiked up a mountain (Mauna Kea)!  This was the view from the airplane.

 And this was his view the next morning on his way up!

He also flew to Atlanta where he accepted a Teaching Statistics Award!  It's great to be awarded for all the hard work he puts into his job.

Our week at home
Meanwhile, I was home listening to Mason read books to me!  It was a reminder to me of the many, many times we've read that book since he had it memorized!  :) 

I had told a few people this Christmas season about how Levi fell in love with star shower lights.  I thought it was super sweet to get a text from our babysitter just to let me know that they were on sale at Bomgaars for half price.  I couldn't pass it up.  :)  Our house is going to look beautiful next December!

Preschool, Letter K, at our house!  It was a picture perfect moment when they were all concentrating on making a K with cheerios.

When preschool was over, Mason wanted to go outside and fly the kite that he made even though it was below 0 degrees.  Brrrrr.

 The boys still love to make marble runs!

It was Saturday and Nathan was due to arrive from his trip late in the evening and we needed something fun to do!  An hour of jumping at Sky Zone was the perfect way to burn off some energy!

Then we stopped over at the Lamfers' house to play Wii for a little while and take Claire with us out for supper.  She told us about a new restaurant called Pizza Rev which was a hit.

Sunday was nice to have Nathan home again.  It was especially fun to see how excited the boys were to watch the Packer's play football. 

Baking
It's always fun to eat batter out of the bowl when making cookies. 

 I had to laugh when Mason put his whole head in!

 It was the perfect afternoon to sit and watch the cookies bake in the oven together!

Snow day! 
I was planning on watching Aniah, Eden and Adria but I wasn't planning on a snow day!  It worked out well because they entertained each other all morning.  By the afternoon they earned popcorn and a movie!

Sledding 
We only had about a foot of snow left but Mason thought it was just the right size for a sledding hill!

Writing
I went to Dorian's classroom to hear him and his classmates read a persuasive essay that they each wrote.  Dorian convinced us that we shouldn't litter!  He also came home with a paper he wrote about camping.  His opening sentence was "I have found that camping is very relaxing and also very fun."  It was fun to read about times that we've been camping together and made me excited about more family vacations together.

Another snow day
I like it when friends come over to play!  Playing board games was the perfect way to spend some time on a snow day.

Terry Peak
When Janey asked if we'd be interested in going skiing with them, I was pretty hesitant because I knew I wasn't good at it.  But I also knew that Nathan loved it and that it would be a great opportunity to spend time with friends!  So I'm very thankful that it worked to go!  Janey, Amy and I took lessons on the first day and by the afternoon I was even going down a blue square!  We rented a cabin within walking distance to the lodge and spent the evenings playing games and talking together.  Some great memories!!!

December 25-31

Merry Christmas!!!
The house was still quiet and dark so turning on the Christmas lights was especially beautiful!

I don't think we've ever opened presents with the boys exactly on Christmas morning, but this year we thought it would work out!

The last day of our advent calendar was waiting to be opened.  The boys really looked forward to that every morning!

The stockings were stuffed (well, with one present anyway).

The manger scene was set as a reminder of the reason for all of our celebrating.  Thank you Jesus for coming, and for choosing us to know you.

Comfy blankets were ready to be cuddled in.

The boys artwork was proudly displayed!

The boys came upstairs just as excited as I was!  And Levi could not wait another moment to give us the special gift that he made at school for Nathan and I.  The packaging was perfect and so was the candle holder inside!  So special.

All 5 of us got an ornament this year.  The animals are all ones that live around the new cabin we purchased and hope to see when we stay there!

Dorian couldn't wait any longer to share the gifts that he picked out and wrapped for each of us!

Dorian knows Milky Way candy bars are my favorite!  And how sweet that he also secretly picked out a couple of things from the Christmas Eve Bingo prize table just for me! 

Dorian created these beautiful cards at school for Nathan and I and wrote about them on the back.  What a fun surprise!

Dorian gave Levi some of his baseball cards!

He gave Mason a hat (that was getting too small for him) and a toy he knew Mason loved.

The notecards that he wrote for everybody were very special too.  And he even had one for Molly!  :)

Levi couldn't wait to go next and share his gifts with all of us. 

He designed and made decorative cups for each of us!

I'm so proud of them for being much more excited to give than to receive.  Lord, thank you each of them and for their giving hearts.

The boys were excited to have new football cards and Mason got his first binder!

I love this picture because I know Nathan loved collecting cards as a kid and now he gets to enjoy this hobby with our boys!

The boys liked the books we picked out for them and it was fun to sit and read Mason's new book, Paddington!

They look good in their new stocking hats (and I'm secretly hoping Dorian will wear one more often!)

Nathan informed me that it was time to upgrade his laptop mouse pads and I was happy to create one with pictures on it from Snapfish!  He had a puppy one from before my time with him and one that had a picture of Dorian and Levi when they were very little.  :)  I was also excited to get him some books he's wanted to read, some clothes he needed and a few other fun things.  He surprised me by ordering a paddleboard for me which came a few weeks prior but it was too big to keep hidden.  I can't wait to try it out!

Molly is one spoiled dog!

Mason likes his new sled!

He thought it was a surfboard.  :)

Dorian loves his new Leatherman!

And Levi loves his new Seahawks blanket!  Sometimes I wish they were all Giants fans, but it's kind of fun to watch them each come to love their own teams.

Here are the obligatory Christmas morning photos for mom!  :)  They are so handsome!

Then we went to church, and ate a delicious lunch that Nathan lovingly planned and prepared for us.  In the afternoon we went to Dad and Mom's house to play games and wish them a Merry Christmas!

Plenty of good food
10 pounds of potatoes, mashed and ready for the Bolkema Christmas party coming up on the 28th!

In addition to the cut out cookies and peanut butter blossoms which I made, Nathan made thimble cookies and almond bars.  We had so many Christmas treats that appeared at multiple parties!

Happy Birthday
We enjoyed eating at the Pizza Ranch for Dad's birthday and then having everyone over to our house afterward!  How sweet to see Mason and Caden reading with Grandma.

They left close to 9:00 and the boys should have gone right to bed, but they convinced us to open the presents that came in the mail from Aunt Suzanne!  Books, movies and paw patrol toys were a perfect fit for them.

Bolkema Christmas Party
We left in the afternoon to drive to Dad and Mom's house and Mason fell right asleep!  There is something so adorable about sleeping children.

All the cousins!  I think this was the first Christmas that Brian and Katherine were able to come home with Mikayla and Caden so it made it extra special!

Mason is the youngest so he was the first to open his present!

He loves his new Paw Patroller!

Levi loves his new remote controlled truck, mask and snorkel and game!

Dorian's gift was similar but different colors.  :)  He loved it too!

Caden got the same Paw Patroller!

Thanks Brian for cooking and carving the prime rib!  Yum!

Christmas Break
We watched Aniah, Eden and Adria on one of our days off.  It's so nice that they like to play together!

Dorian went to a Snow Derby for Cadets and his team of 4th graders won 3rd place!  There were 15 teams made up of 4th to 8th graders.  They earned points for ability and equal points for cooperation and teamwork.  He was proud and I was one proud mama!  Thankful Nathan could be there too to help as a Cadet Counselor.

Happy New Year
On New Year's Eve we watched a movie together.  New Years Day was much like any other Sunday going to church and watching football in the afternoon.  We needed a weekend at home together after all of our celebrations and before Nathan left for a week for work.

Another blessed month and year! 
Praying God will guide us in the year ahead!