December 2024

December was filled with many festive memories and special times together.  

In December, we...

...decorated... 

(Emma carved the candles she made several years ago at school to fit my angels)

....baked....

...played and drew...

...opened ornaments....

...enjoyed a wonderful time together at North Park...

....bought a new Suburban (and thought very hard about vehicle color)...

...still worked on school....

...soaked in the gorgeous leaf colors...

....snuggled, read, yawned, and napped....

 

Titus wants to fall asleep now for nap time holding both hands. 

...built Lego Advent calendars....

...cheered on a friend in her "Nutcracker" performance...

....tried a new hairstyle!...

...reslished gorgeous Christmas music at the Countryside Christmas concert with Dave and Josiah both singing...

...had our hearts melted by my Shouts of Joy choir singing "Happy Birthday Jesus"....

....played in a Christmas flute choir...

which Seth jokingly referred to as "Michael and the Flutettes"

....had oral surgery!....

...laughed a lot about the 26' Santa Clause at Pop and Mom-o's neighbors...

...treasured our gingerbread decorating morning with the Davises...

Dave built this mid-modern home for the moms to decorate ;)

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...other special parts of December included Christmas parties with church groups, Isaac advancing from Area to Region for Texas public schools (areas 1A - 4A), a fun dinner and game night with the Mosers including lots of laughs playing "Concept," and the kids going to the theater with Papa and Nana to see the new "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."  (Every time we drive by the theater, Titus says, "We went there last night with Papa and Nana!" Titus refers to any event that already happened to as "last night.") 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

For breakfast we enjoyed caramel rolls, garbanzo bean donuts (inspired by the Mosers!), and a scrambled egg buffet.  Everyone -- especially Josiah -- thinks this is the best Christmas morning breakfast!

an Owala water bottle!

our Texas loving boy - new sweatshirt and money to use toward horse riding lessons!

a toilet light! Ha!

Air Jordans!

Ticket to Ride on 12/26

Rinn Christmas on December 28

I couldn't help but smile seeing both Dave and Josiah reading.

Isaac opened an incredible knife!

Jeri and I enjoyed a marvelous, sunny morning at the Dallas Arboretum on New Year's Eve!   The Delgoyer House was open for tours. Both of us have been to the Arboretum multiple times and have never been in the home; we were so excited to be able to tour it and see the amazing Christmas decorations.  It was such a beautiful morning!

What a full, blessed month!  I'm thankful for all the special time we were blessed to spend as a family, with grandparents, and dear friends.  

Everyone loves evenings by the fire, with Dave reading "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" or "The Hobbit."  I could not stop crying as Dave read the last chapter of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" to us, pondering how fleeting these years are and what a gift it is to have so much time together. 

Isaac’s 16th Birthday

Isaac turned 15 on October 16 and asked for apple oatmeal waffles for his birthday breakfast!

He was excited to open a new Lego set!

We celebrated with grandparents the previous Sunday, and he had friends over for pizza and a "Lord of the Rings" movie night to celebrate as well!

Most exciting of all, we drove to Weatherford for Isaac to get his permit!

He drove from Pop and Mom-o's for his first drive and was immediately honked at by an impatient neighbor.  

We are so proud of you, Isaac, and praise God for you! 

We love you so much, Isaac!

Countryside Fair 2024

Josiah asked Dave to dress up like a cowboy just like him!  Before coming to the Countryside Fair, they first went to vote!  

Titus was so excited to be a puppy dog for the Countryside Fair.  He kept asking when the Countryside Fair was going to be, and he also asked his grandparents if they were coming?  ("Why not?  You don't have a costume?")  Titus' favorite part of the costume was the tail!  He was so excited to tell Mrs. Stonecipher and Mrs. Lambrecht, "I have a tail!" and then wag his backside like a dog.

Isaac wore this costume in 2013!

 

Josiah wanted everyone in our family to dress up.  I was the only one without a costume.  Whenever Josiah said that he wanted everyone to dress up, I'd say, "I'm going to be a mom!" He didn't think this was a legitimate costume (unless I wore my bathrobe and Frownies and carried around my coffee and phone, ha!).  A few hours before the Fair, I really wanted to pull a costume together because it meant so much to Josiah.  How much longer will he care that we are all dressed up?  I prayed that the Lord would help me come up with something quickly, since I needed to leave and get Isaac to band rehearsal.  I quickly googled "fast costumes for women with items you have at home"....a librarian, teacher, Mary Poppins, the moon, and a scarecrow were all suggestions.  (Dave thought a librarian was very boring, ha!)  I had overalls and a beach hat, so I suggested that I be a scarecrow to Josiah, and he was ecstatic!  He immediately said he could cut hay for me (notice my collar), and then he also crafted a crow for me to wear!  Josiah was so happy that his whole family was dressed up.  At the end of the evening, he said that he was the luckiest boy in the world.  

Isaac and Braden served in one of the game rooms! They decided to wear their sports jerseys and cool sunglasses.  It was so fun to visit their room and have Titus play their game!  Isaac said he had a great night serving, and he even came home with a 5 pound bag of (extra) candy!

I had so much fun making Emma's Frappuccino costume!  Brittany and I passed many supplies back and forth in the days leading up to the Fair, and my dad also helped by printing and laminating the logos.  It was so sweet to see the girls together!

95 "Reese's!" in the Reformation Room

This was a room themed with games and activities all related to the Martin Luther and the Reformation.  Kids stamped the 5 Solas on a printing press, tossed coins in the "coffer" after hearing how evil the practice of indulgences was (is), and tried to shoot one of the 95 Theses/Reese's on the wooden door!  We are always amazed at the creativity and thoughtfulness of the games!

Titus knew just what to do on this game!  "I need a bird!"

You cannot imagine Titus' excitement when we found Levi and his mom in one of the game rooms!  These two stuck together the rest of the evening and had so much fun together. 

They loved this wheelbarrow game!  They didn't follow the arrows on the ground, but loved following each other!  Especially fun was that Levi's sister was one of the volunteers at this game!

We found two Frappuccinos!

and Titus found Jaidyn!  He is holding an apple from the hanging apple game, where you try and grab a dangling apple with your mouth.  No worries -- Titus just grabbed the apple with his hands and bit in!

Josiah had a terrific night, too, with his buddies!  He thought it was a big deal to be able to stand in line for games on his own.  He found another cowboy friend, too!