Adventure Air

We were graciously given passes to play at an indoor sports facility. We spent a couple of hours running, jumping, sliding, tumbling, bouncing, jousting, climbing, ziplining, making our way through obstacle courses, and laughing. We had so much fun and are so grateful for the opportunity to have this experience.

We topped off the outing with bubble tea before heading home--what a great treat! This was a welcomed adventure! :-)

Valentine's Day

This year, to celebrate Valentine's Day, we experienced a mix of activities. Sonja made heart shaped breakfast muffins to start us out--they were really good!

I made sure each person got thier traditional love notes and box of Jr. Mints as a small token of my love.

John and I enjoyed a charcuterie board lunch (yum!)

and then he (surprisingly) took the rest of the day off and spent the afternoon with the younger children and myself. We went to pick up a treat for the children--craft holiday donuts. They loved them :-) and we made sure to take a couple home for the older boys as well--Jozsef's were gluten free. While we were there we also picked up a special treat for John and I--chocolate covered strawberries (so good).

The weather was too good to go straight home so we stopped at the park to let the children play a bit before dinner.

We got chinese food on the way home and enjoyed it with the older boys when they returned home after work. It was a very pleasant day. :-)

Winter Formal

Last year,the youth group had it's first Winter Formal ever, but we were sick, so no one from our family went. This year, our youth group representatives gladly jumped at the chance to represent. Connor and Sonja both experienced their first formal evening while Jozsef both served (dinner) and chaperoned (which means he made sure there were no wall flowers and helped to orchestrate group/line dances). The night was full with activites--Dinner, dance instruction, dance, photos, fellowship, and memory making.

It was a wonderful evening for all! I'm so glad that everyone was able to participate, learn a bit, and have fun! I'm so thankful for nights like these <3

New Chapter

As 2022 was winding down, a chapter of Jozsef's life was winding down too. After four years working with Chick-fil-A, the time came for Jozsef to move on. Although Chick-fil-A (and especially Jozsef's particular owner/staff) was a wonderful experience that taught Jozsef so much as it grew him in multiple ways, God was leading Jozsef into a new phase. Actually, the road of transition was not short. Jozsef prayerfully sought God's guidance for a few months before he actually gave notice. As we discovered, the guy that Jozsef will now be teamed up with, was also seeking God's leading for the same time span. It's a really good story--but Jozsef should tell it. :-) God works in wonderful and unexpected ways. Jozsef will no longer be serving people through food, now he'll be learning a brand new skill set as a painter's apprentice. His new boss, Jake, is a ministry-minded business owner who shares many of the same beliefs and desires as Jozsef. In the immediate, Jozsef will have much to learn in order to be a good painter. Thankfully, he's teachable and a hard worker. However, I do think that Jozsef will gain much more than just how to skillfully color a room. In hearing some of the business goals and outlooks, I believe that these two young men will make a great team and I cannot wait to see what God has in store! Congratulations on sucessfully completing one in-depth chapter and for beginning the next, Jozsef! May God bless every minute of this journey!

Welcoming the New Year

We've turned another calendar page and now we adjust from writing 2022 to 2023. Welcome to a new year! We spent the holiday relaxing. playing, eating, and enjoying being home together. Our traditional rounds of Mexican Train and rootbeer floats were accompanied by our annual clock countdown and binge of Jurassic movies.

Our clock this year was less of a clock in image but certainly did it's job in counting down the hours. We had a lot of fun and joyously spread confetti all over the place as we marked the start of a new chapter in life. Thank God for another year and for the blessings yet to come!

Celebrating Christmas

This Christmas was greeted with extra gratitude this year as last year there were a few of us that were rather sick and barely remember the holidays. For the first time in three years, we were able to attend the Christmas Eve candle light service at our church. The first year we were snowed out. The second year we did a divide and conquer since three of us were ill. This year we all attended and Jozsef read scripture during service. Candle light service is always such a treat. We were glad to partake in the service and to be able to see a few friends before the holiday. That evening, we enjoyed food (meats, cheeses, and fruits), the annual saran wrap game (so much fun!), as well as opening one gift before bed.

Christmas day, we took our time starting out with a hearty egg casserole breakfast before heading into the living room to enjoy gift opening. It's always so relaxing and fun to watch each gift being opened, discovered, and enjoyed. Gift opening pauses for conversation as it arises and food as hunger beckons. We very much enjoyed different gifts of food sent by family--thank you! Those touches really helped to make our holiday a little extra special. There were many really thoughtful gifts exchanged this holiday--so many belssings! It's worth noting that this was the coldest Christmas we've ever had here--or anywhere actually. Our hopes for snow were dashed as all we received was frightful winds and negative temperatures. However, thankfully, we have a couple of guys in the house knowledgeable enough to protect our pipes from bursting as well as a wood burning fireplace and plenty of wood to keep us warm. Praise God! Besides, there's still time for snow. :-)

Now we're gearing up to ring in the New Year--so exciting! We look forward to the family time it affords and we look forward to 2023.