We started the week with a Christmas gift exchange on Sunday afternoon. Megan and Ammon left for a tropical vacation on Monday with all of Ammon's family so we took the chance to do it early! It was super fun to see the excitement everybody had for their gifts both giving and receiving.
Benjamin had a choir concert on Wednesday night and surprised us with the fact that he was part of a little group of three that were pulled out to sing on their own. So fun! He really has a nice voice. I love going to choir concerts, especially at Christmas time. I had to do some big talking to convince him to take choir but he has LOVED it. I think he's converted. If his feelings remain the same, I will have more choir concerts in my future. Yay!
Thursday was Kevin's birthday! The kids were still in school, so he and I went to the mall around lunch time. In the afternoon he went on a bike ride with Mariah while she ran. That night we had gluten-free fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gluten-free gravy, and gluten-free crescent rolls. Yum, yum! Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik came, too, and Sarah and McKay and girls, too. The extra-special bonus was that Chey and Cali both got to call him! Cali called in the morning and Chey in the evening. Here's me peeking in to the Chey call:
Friday was FINALLY the last day of school before Christmas break and the last day of the semester. For Beth and I, it took forever to get here and made this the longest week of our lives!! She needed to finish some assignments in order to get passing grades and also in order to be able to put it away at Christmas and to feel mentally like it was over. She told me often that she just couldn't do it and I would say, "Can you do this one little part and then we'll put it away?" I have felt often like the teamster sent to rescue the pioneers in Martin's Cove who when the little girl wanted a ride in his wagon, he took her hand and made her run next to the wagon. Do you remember this story? She thought he was the meanest man alive until he brought her up into the wagon and explained that he did it to get her blood pumping so she would survive. The good news, the miraculous news is that Friday did come. Christmas break has started. The semester is over and Beth has passing grades in four classes! I'm proud of her hard work and for all the things she pushed through to accomplish this. I'm so grateful, too for all the peace her relationship with God brought to her and the peace it brought to me, too. Bring on the new year! We have put some things to rest and we know better how to succeed with our new normal.
Savannah had to work a half hour earlier everyday (5:30am) and a half-hour later everyday so that she and her coworkers could have a half day on Friday. The poor girl has been exhausted! But, she gets paid leave for the whole next week. Won't that be great?
Mariah has been home this week and has been able to spend time with Beth and be her bed buddy which has been great! She's also had time with friends and been running everyday, of course. She is also wondering where her eternal companion has been hiding so if you see him, send him this way.
I had school assignments due through Wednesday, but now I have two weeks off. Yay!
On Saturday, we had candlelight dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's house. We usually do it on Christmas Eve, but Sarah and Co. needed to be with the Hatch's on the 24th this year. Everything seems so different this year, what's one more thing? Right? We're flexible! Dinner was lovely, as always. We had a special musical number, "Up on the Housetop," Avery's favorite -- she can sing "Ho, ho, ho," and "Click, click, click." It's super cute and Savannah made a great Santa Claus. We played the chimes and had a recital. Beth played ukulele, Ben sang, and McKay performed a cowboy guitar version of "Silent Night." Grandma even played a video of Cali and Chey playing a piano duet so they could be part of our night. Then we opened presents. It was really nice.
Merry Christmas to all of you! We hope you all have celebrations that are full of gratitude for the great things in your lives. I, for one, am so very grateful for the child born in Bethlehem and all that it means for me and the entire world.
No comments:
Post a Comment