Happy New Year

So out with the old and in with the New Year!   Here is to 2017!  2016 has been a long year full of ups and lots of downs.   We are excited to start a new year and we are anxious to start it out with a big bang.   Or lots of horn blowing.  (Note to self...you have to listen to the horns.)

RaeAnne is bringing the year in with one of her besties.   Hollie and Rae started Kindergarten together and have remained friends all these years.   We always enjoy Hollie coming for a visit.

From our family to yours....Happy New Year!!!!

Annual Christmas photos

I try to take a photo of the girls by our Christmas tree each year.  I thought it might be fun to look back over the years.

This year.  Pugston has started liking being a part of the family.  Not sure he really likes the hat but he tries.

Last year Chrystal, our Washburn Exchange Student participated in the annual tradition.   Pugston jumped in again.

Then the year before that.

Or course we spent the holiday in Branson one year.   It was fun.

And then the year before Tessa was home.

Merry Christmas Eve

Here it is Christmas Eve.   Many things have been going on around here the past few weeks.   Dasher has been all about the house keeping the girls on their toes and the nice list.

Mom spent some time in the hospital this past week with a small bowel obstruction.  Not the way I like spending a few days but the care was great and I am slowly returning to normal.

Dad is pursuing getting on the heart transplant list at University of Nebraska, Omaha.   So Mom gets out of the hospital on Sunday evening and Mom and Dad head to Omaha Monday afternoon.   After two days packed with multiple tests and procedures we were back home Wednesday evening to help RaeAnne celebrate her 17th birthday.  

No way can she be 17th!   Where does the time go?   It really seems like just the other day that we met her in China.  One of the tests Dad had in Nebraska was vascular.  The RVT (Registered Vascular Technician) was a very nice guy and he told us about how school had really changed him.   We came home and had a long talk with Rae about maybe this was maybe something she could look into.

The weather in Kansas has gone from super cold to almost summer again.   The high for Christmas Day is predicted to be 63 degrees!   After last weeks lows of -3 and wind chills of -20's we are ready for warmer weather.  So much for a "white" Christmas.

The girls and I made Christmas Crockpot Crack this afternoon and boy is it Yummy!   They have been eating it like they are already addicted....guess that is why they call it what they do.  

So while all the girls are snuggled in bed...well, actually they are stomping through the house like they have horseshoes on :(    Our family wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and to all a Good Night.

Winter concert at high school tonight

Tonight RaeAnne played in the band for a winter/Christmas program and Zora sang in the choir.   Zora sings soprano and was lucky enough to stand by her friend Liberty who sings Alto.   The dresses they wear for choir belong to the school.  So no altering could be done.  I managed to use small safety pins to pin Zora's dress on so it would not slip off her shoulders and drop to the floor.   The problem with having one style of dress available....well not every one fits in that kind of style.   Fortunately with 4 small pins we had everything looking pretty.  Here are her sister RaeAnne and Zora before we left the house.  RaeAnne decided to use the straightener to work over her hair tonight.  Not sure where that idea came from but she did a really nice job with little sisters Tessa and Kendalan giving her tips along the way and it really makes her hair look nice.

Zora invited her boyfriend Andrew down for the concert.   His Dad and Mom dropped him off at the house so he could go with us.  I had been busy running errands in town and had only come home about 15 minutes before he arrived.  Zora has been excited that he was coming out to her concert tonight because his birthday was November 20th and she had been anxious to give him his birthday present and Christmas present.   Having a boyfriend who lives 45 minutes away can kind of put a crimp in their getting together very frequently.  Which is actually okay with her parents.  Even though he is 16 and has a car, his parents do not want him driving to Topeka, so we have to play musical cars and after his parents drop him here, then we usually either take him home or meet up with them in town somewhere after they get through shopping.

Since our vehicle only holds a max of 7 people, I opted to stay home and get a few things done here while everyone was gone.   Sometimes it is very nice to have the house to myself when I am vacuuming or trying to put things away.  I was able to vacuum tonight and get most of our Christmas cards ready to mail.   Mark wrote the annual Christmas letter very quickly last week and although it sounds very depressed, it does go along with the stress we have been feeling since early this summer. We are so anxious for 2017 to start.  It HAS to be a better year!   It certainly can't get any worse than this one has already been.

So Zora stood by Libby and their friend Kaylee sit in the audience with Libby's mom and tried to make them smile.  I think it backfired, if looks could kill, I think Kaylee May would no longer be walking on this planet :)   They still looked very nice in their dresses.  This photo actually shows them with smiles on their faces.

Dasher has been finding new places to hang out around our house.   It always cracks me up to see where he has landed each night.  Here are some of his recent escapades.  In the fire place!  He must know we have not had a fire in this house since we moved here.  Then he was sitting on the mantle beside a candle.  Guess he likes mood lighting.   Dasher is attracted to the ladies :)

Christmas is coming up soon.   Not sure when Dasher will leave us and stay at the Northpole with Santa and the elves, but as long as he is coming we are getting a laugh of where he lands for the day.

This and that

I have continued to be suffering from back pain.   Physical therapy helped, until the last visit when they tried decompression.  Ouch!  It started hurting about an hour later and it was not pleasant. I was released to work 4 hour shifts then 8 hour shifts.  After two 8 hour shifts in a row my back was throbbing.   Back to the doctor and right now I am waiting for the neurosurgeon's office to call me.  I am really not looking forward to possibly having surgery on my lower back, but I am excited to not be in pain anymore.

Since I have not been able to work, we had to make some hard decisions here.   I was still making payments on Cranberry....my 2013 Ford Expedition that we bought in December 2013 after Mark and the girls had a head on crash in our old Expedition.   I named it Cranberry as it was maroon and we bought it right after Thanksgiving.   It has been a fantastic ride and I will miss it.   RaeAnne's minivan will serve dual purposes for her and I in the meantime.   I feel like it isn't fair to Rae that she has to "share" her ride, but there really isn't an alternative to the situation.   I hope that one day I will be able to have an 8 passenger vehicle to call my own again.

Kendalan and Tessa had their music concerts this past week.   It is amazing to see how far they have come...from the first few weeks squawking and making the most terrible noises as they tried to play their instruments to the beautiful music they are now able to make.   I am very proud of these girls and the hard work and practice they do to make sweet notes come out of their flute and clarinet.

 
Tis the season for Dasher to arrive.  He has already made a trip to and from the Northpole to take Kendalan's list to Santa.   Here are a couple of the places he has landed this year.

And of course, we had to make our annual trip to see Santa at the mall.    The gal that was working with Santa asked me how many years have you been coming to see Santa here?   Gosh...quite a few, they are not little anymore :(