January Happenings

 While usually a slow month for us, January still held some great memories.

Elisabeth's basketball season began in full swing in January. She really enjoys being on the court, and has improved a lot so far this season. 

Even though Christmas was over, we continued puzzling and completed our first Magic Puzzle. So fun!

Elisabeth redeemed her shopping day coupon with me on a Sunday after church. We spent a great afternoon together. Elisabeth found some cute clothes too!

Of course we had to get a treat at our favorite coffee shop.

Elisabeth also decided for a big hair change and asked the hairdresser to give her bangs. I think they look so cute on her. 

We received the most beautiful snow in January. We got more than six inches the most we'd received in any of the kids' lifetimes. It was just the perfect snow. The kids spent ALL DAY playing in it. 

Neighborhood friends are perfect for snow days. We had so much fun playing with our friends on Friday afternoon. 

And they even tried to start a fire!

Look at the huge snowman they built. We made such sweet memories with these friends on a snowy day. 

The kids were back outside playing the next morning. They crammed in as much snow time as they could before it melted. 

The managed to build a snow fort. 

And Samuel built an extra snowman. 

Samuel received some great awards at his Trail Life awards ceremony at the beginning of the year. He has enjoyed moving up in rank and getting to have more opportunities to learn and experience things this year as a Navigator. 

Some of our sweet friends performed in Willy Wonka Jr., so of course we had to attend. So many other sweet friends attended too. What a fun night!

Katherine adores Hannah.

All our friends showed up to cheer on Hannah and Anderson.

At the end of January, I hosted a Mario Kart tournament for the Middle School boys in our homeschool group. The boys all brought a box of cereal to snack on for the evening, but I couldn't resist planning some themed snacks too. 

These boys are such a great group of kids. They cheered each other on, displayed good sportsmanship and were very loud, ha!

Bella was the star of the night. 

Such a fun night! So thankful for these friendships for my boys!

Some of Nathan's friends started a flag football team, and I couldn't imagine not letting him play with them as much as he loves flag football. It made our Saturdays CRAZY with sports, but it was worth it to see his excitement each week. 

Meet Bella

 Around Christmas time, after watching Samuel swoon over any dog he met, I began thinking that maybe it was time to get a puppy. I braved the subject with Matt, ironically in the same conversation about replacing our carpet ;). I explained how the kids were much older and able to care for a dog, how we're home most of the day since we homeschool, and emphasized how much I wanted the kids (especially Samuel) to experience having a dog in their childhood. I was shocked when Matt agreed and gave me the go ahead to look for a puppy. He specified that it had to be a Westie. I immediately started searching before he could change his mind and quickly found a sweet breeder with puppies available. 

We were all so excited! The kids and I spent a morning shopping for all the puppy essentials. 

A couple of days later, we got to meet our sweet Bella. Katherine came up with her name, and everyone agreed. It fits her perfectly. 

We brought her home, and all the neighbors flooded over to meet her. 

Such a tiny little baby!

She slept so well the first night at home. 

One of the stipulations of getting Bella was that we needed to rehome Honey. We were able to give her to a friend, and she's living her best life at their house. Samuel and Katherine were a little sad, but a cute puppy cheered them up quickly. I don't miss the smelly cage in our office either. 

Bella has been the perfect addition to our family. We're all smitten with her. I'll like her even more once she's house trained. 

The Rest of Christmas Break

 Our Christmas celebrations continued after Christmas. The kids and I made a quick trip to Weatherford the day after Christmas to visit Granny and Grandaddy and Momoo. 

They had even more presents to open from Momoo. 

We visited, ate pizza and chocolate cake of course. 

We also spent some quality time with Granny and Grandaddy, including several games of Fast Track. 

Then we drove over to Edmond to celebrate a late Christmas with Matt's family. 

The boys were so surprised to get a 3D printer. 

They received some fun board games too. We can never have too many of those!

Elisabeth was surprised with a new guitar. 

After church on Sunday, we took the kids to the OKC Science Museum since we had a free membership. We spent several hours playing and exploring. 

You can always find Samuel building at any children's museum. 

We can't wait to visit again! The kids had an awesome afternoon. 

We drove back home on Monday to get ready for our NYE celebration with the Shondelmyers. They came over for Mexican food, games, and the New Year's Eve countdown. 

We've been celebrating with these sweet friends for years, and we look forward to it every year. 

We split up kids for sleepovers and gave them plenty of playtime the next day. 

Then we met back up and played some more. 

It was the perfect way to end/start the year!

A Look Back at 2024

 The years keep flying by, and our kids keep growing up. Each year with them is a treasure. Here's a look back on our year. 

January

We had a few snow/ice days 

Samuel and Elisabeth started their basketball seasons

February

The girls and Matt attended their annual Daddy Daughter Dance

We celebrated Valentine's Day with co-op friends and at home with family

I turned 39, last year until a new decade! We visited the Pioneer Woman's Mercantile to celebrate

March

Samuel turned 11! He celebrated with friends at a trampoline park

The Flamings came for a visit

Matt and I headed to Dallas for a long weekend getaway

April

Katherine started her second soccer season

We celebrated Easter with Papa Joe and the Millers

We watched the solar eclipse in our backyard

Matt received an extraordinary leadership award from FlightSafety which included a trip for both of us to Ohio for the banquet

The boys participated in mock trial. Samuel was the bailiff and Nathan was a defense attorney

We completed our second year at our homeschool co-op.

May

Nathan turned 13. He and Matt spent his birthday weekend riding roller coasters in Texas

For our family vacation, we set sail on the Mariner of the Seas for a seven day cruise full of adventures

Katherine participated in her fourth dance recital, the first at her new studio

We completed our fourth full year of homeschooling. 

Matt and I celebrated 18 years of marriage

Matt turned 41!

We traveled with the Shondelmyers to Texas to visit the Davis' house and the Farm. 

June

Samuel, Elisabeth and Katherine participated in the Music Camp's performance of the Promise Cruise. Samuel was Dr. Bill Rockstone, Elisabeth was a townsperson, and Katherine sang a solo

Nathan spent a week at ORU's STEM camp with his friends Daniel and Jax.

Nathan and I volunteered at our church's Vacation Bible School. Samuel, Elisabeth and Katherine attended. Sam's last year!

Nathan and Samuel attended Red River Valley Honors Camp with their friend Carter. The girls and I watched all the girly movies, and got our nails done while they were away.

July

We celebrated the Fourth of July with our favorite friends

We spent a week in Weatherford attending the Evetts' VBS and visiting family

August

Elisabeth turned 10 and asked to redecorate her room for her birthday

We traveled to Iowa for a long weekend to visit the Flamings

We started our fifth year homeschooling and our third year with CHEER's co-op. I started teaching two classes at co-op

We traveled to the Smoky Mountains for our end of summer vacation and also visited the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum

September

I attended the first annual Share the Arrows conference with some dear girlfriends

Katherine celebrated her 7th birthday! She invited a few of her favorite friends over to celebrate for the afternoon

October

We spent our Fall Break at Silver Dollar City and then on to Kansas City to meet the Flamings

We celebrated Halloween with the Shondelmyers and for the first time did not walk with the kids as they trick or treated

November

Nathan, Samuel and Elisabeth participated in the regional First Lego League competition and surprisingly walked away as Grand Champions!!

The boys attended a KC Chief's game with Papa. They got to witness a crazy win with a blocked field goal

Elisabeth started her basketball season with the NOAH Jaguars

We traveled to Weatherford to celebrate Thanksgiving with Granny and Grandaddy

December

Nathan, Samuel, and Elisabeth participated in the state First Lego League competition and won first place for their innovation project

We participated in all of our favorite Christmas traditions and had a really sweet Christmas season

We ended the year like always with the Shondelmyers celebrating New Year's Eve