Winter Weather

Icy rain brought Arkansas to a standstill. We decided to put the time to good use. It is Ethan's favorite time of the year… Putting up Christmas decorations!   He has been singing Christmas songs all day long.  Loudly.  We have encouraged the use of the ipad Christmas song list to help quiet his enthusiasm.  It doesn't help much.  Unfortunately I couldn't find the star for the tree.  But even Ethan's insistent requests for the star can't get me out on the icy roads to go buy one.  It will have to wait until next week.

The rod iron grating for the fireplace that I used for the stockings is ruined because "someone" (hint: I don't put the decorations up in the attic) loaded suitcases on top of it and it broke. 

I. Was. Not. Happy. 

Now Ethan is obsessing over where the stockings are going to hang..........

Just a side note:  No vacation day on February 17th.  Bummer.

On another subject:  I am starting to get a great collection of nativity sets.

This is actually my first nativity that mom got me 8 years ago.  The picture isn't the greatest, but all of the characters have real clothing. I love this one!

from Ghana

from the Congo

From Guatemala.  You can tell the carving is a lot more crude.  I didn't add the picture of baby Jesus.  He looks scary.

This was a different nativity from a different group of Guatemalans.  It isn't scary like the other carved pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Little History

I have to show off the birthday present my mom and sister made for me this year.

This is a kimono that my grandfather on my dad's side got when he served in the Marines in China. It has to be at least  100 years old.  My grandfather served in the Marines in 1921. He claims it came from royalty during the Peking dynasty. But my grandfather was well-known for his exaggeration.  So I accept his stories with a bit of skepticism.

It is starting to fall apart at the seams, but mom took it and she and my sister had it framed for me.  I love having this bit of history preserved forever.  The hard part is now I have to decide who gets it in my will!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Yes, it has been four months since my last post. Of course a lot has happened.  After all, we aren't that boring. 

So what, you may ask, has kept me from the important duties of keeping a blog? Well…

After coming home from Guatemala. I flew to Utah to get Megan and the three grandkids. I returned home and had a house full eagerly awaiting the arrival of Logan from Africa. 

We enjoyed Logan for about a month before he decided to move out to Utah to work, go to school, and… Date!

I have managed to be distracted with school, church, and bike shop work. I am getting to work with kindergarten and first grade students this year. I love it!

Jordan, who is a senior, was in the school's production of "Seussical". He played the Cat in the Hat. It was definitely typecasting.

Part of the reason I haven't been blogging is because I am finding it highly inconvenient to carry around the camera.

However today I went to the special Olympics bowling in Little Rock to watch Ethan. I took pictures! Now mom and the rest of the family can enjoy my blog once again.

I'm not sure which category Ethan competed in. But he won a gold medal!  It was fun to watch him with his fellow students cheering everyone onto victory.  He has a very special teacher, who I love. He also has a fantastic aide. I feel lucky he's in such a wonderful environment. He loves going to school every day.

Great job, Ethan!