November 2017

It's a day off from school with very little on the agenda and a very busy week ahead, so I'm going to try to cross at least one thing off my list and blog November!!

The sweet 6th graders and their awesome teachers put together a great display about the ancient civilizations. Elise had to make a statue out of playdough. 

Ed's car FINALLY died, so we were able to get him a new-to-him-car that is younger than all his children!

Gosh, they're cute together.

7/8 orchestra assembly!!

November was also the SIXTH GRADE MUSICAL!!! So cute and very fun to watch! Elise had a small part, about 12 lines, and a small solo. So proud.

A wonderful night out with my favorite group of friends - we were formerly known as "Accountability Group" when we got together twice a month to "scrapbook" or pay bills or whatever. Now that we're all back to work, we have to settle for dinner or coffee once a month, so I think we need a new name...

We Skyped with Sarah on Thanksgiving - she was with Grandpa Freeman & Karen (below) and we spent the day at my aunt's with my grandma!!

Later we put up (most of) the Christmas decorations and I found these two happily playing with the Playmobile Nativity Set.

My Nativity from the market in Lusaka, Zambia.

I tried to create vignettes in each space in the living room, and I tried to have a less-cluttered look this year. I was pretty happy with how it turned out!

I used greens from the branches that fell from our trees in the back in several places.

Right before Thanksgiving, Bethany helped me lead an Esther School night at GEMS and we made & served nshima and showed pictures and played Gaga Ball!

On Thanksgiving weekend, those two decided to make nshima cakes like we had done in Zambia. Problem was, we couldn't really remember HOW we made nshima cakes, so Bethany just kind of went for it. I was blissfully happy in the garage, crafting my garland for the front door, when I'm suddenly smelling smoke and hearing some commotion in the house. I go inside and Ed is standing by the back sliding glass door and the girls are freaking out. I go to Ed, look out on the patio, and I see:

Yeah. Just a tiny little grease fire there. I almost got a new kitchen.

Thankfully, the flames were under the lid until Ed brought it outside and opened it up, so we had no damage in the kitchen. We just sent an awful lot of black smoke into the neighborhood...and the girls owe me a pan.

October 2017

October was a really busy month! Bethany made two college visits (one with just Ed and one with both Ed & I), there were TONS of cross-country meets, I went to Michigan to visit Sarah & my brother's family, and Becca turned 14!!

My parents also went to Michigan and saw Sarah and my brother's family. So fun for them to spend time together!

Bethany's Senior cross-country season ended well. She had great support from family & friends!

Becca's season also ended well. I sure hope a lot of those girls run in high school because they had a great team and great friendships!

We visited Bethany Global University in Bloomington, Minnesota and really were impressed with it. It seems like a perfect fit for Bethany as she pursues foreign missions are her future and we pray God will bless her there next year!

The fall colors were gorgeous while we were there!!

Ed & I skipped out on one morning of classes and went exploring and found a waterfall and creek at a park with a great path for walking. It was beautiful and relaxing and exactly what we needed before a long trip home again.

Bethany made a good friend in another prospective student and they are excitedly looking forward to being on campus together next year!

We celebrated Becca's birthday a bit early since I was going to be in Michigan over her birthday. Can't believe this spunky teenager is FOURTEEN!

I headed to Michigan and I found a friend on my flight to Chicago!! We had lunch together in the airport and learned we were on the same flight home again, so planned to meet up together again in Chicago and ride home from the airport together. What a blessing!

Time with family was such a gift!

Excuse me while I overpost pictures of this kid, but seriously. He is the cutest.

I mean, look at that face!!

I went to see this girl. It was so good to talk, to help her with life, to watch her run. God knew we needed that visit together and provided it at just the right time.

Watching her and her teammates and her coaches at the meet was awesome. The coaches are excellent and they love those college kids. 

It was so exciting to be at another college level meet! This was a great course, also! We could see them several times because they just did switch backs over and over on the golf course! I stayed with my college roommate on this trip and she even came with me to the meet, which was over 2 hours away! We had such a good time!