The J6 Journey: Year 4, December 16th-19th, 2019: Snow Week!

Wahoo! A whole week of snow! We had 4 inches come down on Sunday night and will have another 3-6 inches come down tonight. Who's excited? Me! Abishai was so excited, too, and was dressed in his snowpants before Daddy could get dressed! He went out and helped Daddy clean off the cars (as far as his little fingers could reach) and shoveled part of the driveway. Then he did a bunch of flops, on purpose, in the snow! Some those flops were belly flops and face plants, and then he proceeded to lick up the snow like a dog! Silly Abishai! He wanted everyone to come outside right then, but we were doing chores and getting breakfast. I did force everyone outside after lunch though. Keturah lasted about 15 minutes and Abishai, Justin, and I stayed outside for 1 hr. It had started to sleet/snow again and I had to leave to take Keturah to her ortho appointment, otherwise we would have stayed outside longer. While we were outside, we shoveled off the trampoline, threw snowballs, and I built two forts by piling snow into piles. The snow was a tiny bit too dry to make the huge snowman type snowballs I used to make as a kid to make forts. But I remembered Jared's trick of just shoveling up a pile. So I did that and then compacted it the best I could as high as I could. Hopefully the new layer of snow and ice will build it up even more. The two piles aren't perfectly in line with each other, but I think they are good enough. We used the snow from the trampoline and then I shoveled up the rest. Maybe tomorrow we can build a snowman and go sledding!

Then Keturah and I went to her ortho appointment to check how her arm is healing. The doctor said that typically, with this kind of "brake" some doctors only leave casts on for two weeks. He likes to give it a full 4 weeks. He also fully explained to me what was going on. The brake was really the softer bone compacted on itself like an aluminum can does when crushed. He pointed out where the new line of healing was, and how the bone had already straightened out some. It will actually take about a year to reposition it fully as it keeps growing. Keturah says it's still tender, but we think it's partly because it's been immobile. I think the doctor said something about using the cast like a brace if it hurts from time to time, but she will outgrow it eventually. I have some braces she can try if that's the case. Otherwise, it's healing fine and we are good to go for activities, if she does become active that is. Then she and I went to Meijer to pick up the rest of the items to make our cherry wink cookies. She kept begging for all the sugary items of course, but moved on quickly. We did have to double back a couple of times because I couldn't find everything on the first pass. But eventually, we did, except for gingerbread houses like the ones I got from Ollie's and the shortbread cookies in the tin. I was originally going to go to Ollie's and Kroger because that's what I wanted, but I don't need those items quite yet. I wanted to pick up a waterproof mattress cover for our mattress because I accidentally melted the lining in our dryer because I had the heat set on it's normal setting. Whoops. It was a nice one, but the zipper had broken anyway. I did buy the more expensive looking one at Meijer hoping it's better quality. I also picked up a pillow cover for Jared to maybe help with allergies. Anyway, we spent more than I had expected, but were able to find things fine.

The snow had picked up a lot and I had to clean off the car twice after having about 1 hr worth of snow on it. The parking lots and roads where very slick and I came within 1 inch of hitting a person's bumper. I, too, have to get used to the distance you have to keep on roads that are snow covered. But I got the hang of it eventually. I don't like it when the brakes lock up and I start sliding though. Scares me to death because I haven't been in an accident where I was driver before. The plows will be out eventually and they said they will do neighborhoods this time because the overall totals are high enough between the two evenings. Normally it has to be 8 inches or more for them to plow our street and private neighborhoods. Somebody did plow our street last night though, so with the sun, but the driveway and the street were pretty clear when we left. Not the case when we got back. I told Keturah that the trick is not to come to a complete stop on snow. Always creep and only yield at stop signs. That's how my mom drove on our street which was in a valley with two huge hills on either side we had to drive up and down on. Lots of shifting into second gear. I remember it well. We got home safely and I'm hoping that Benaiah does, too. He and Jared had a two hour delay this morning, and they will have a 2 hr delay tomorrow as well. School dismissed early at 2:30 because the storm reinvented itself. So as I was driving us to the appointment at 2:30, I said a little prayer for Ava driving home and for Benaiah as he started working. I'm thinking CFA won't be very busy this evening and hopefully he can get out early. He needs money, but it is also finals week. Grandpa called last night to ask if Benaiah needed more practice time on the snow and I told him that Benaiah is fine. Benaiah told me how he handled the roads coming home Sunday night from Crave and it sounded very appropriate. Benaiah is a good driver, cautious when he needs to be, but not afraid to do what needs done in traffic, just like Jared. But anything can happen. Now is the time to be a little bit scared as the mama of a teen driver.

Finished the day with a little Star Wars: Clone Wars after dinner. I think I did three loads of laundry today, one of Benaiah's work clothes and bedding and two of regular laundry. The boys tend to leave "half dirty" aka they will wear it again clothes in piles and then forget about them, so I scooped them all up and just washed them. I also pulled up Benaiah's extra blankets and put his bed back against the wall. I found a pair of Justin's gym shorts back there, too. How it got there, no one will know. They seemed small, so maybe when I was putting away clothes for Abishai to wear later? Oh well, they are back in Justin's drawer for now. I'll wash Benaiah's blankets this week, too, since he sweat in them when he was sick. Well, he sweated in his hoodies and they are all nicely washed now, too. But I can't find two of my socks! Ugh! I've shaken out all the clothes they could have stuck to. And all the laundry is caught up. Ah! So frustrating because I like those two pairs. Oh well.

Amy Grant also toured with her husband Vince Gill for Christmas, so this set list has songs on it that weren't sung at our concert, but it's a typical song list for Smity. I love all the instrumentals!

"Snow covered rooftops...lights on the trees...the sound of singing...I hear down every street..."

"Families have gathered
From miles away
Oh, Merry Christmas
It's Christmas day"

"You see that old tree
Down Cotton Lane
Those lights keep shining
It's always the same

We hear the church bells
Ring out to say
Oh, Merry Christmas
It's Christmas day
Oh, Merry Christmas
It's Christmas day"

"Swing the lights and hang the stockings
Decorate with green and red
Made the cookies for old Santa
Made a runway for his sled

Singing carols on a sleigh ride
Gather 'round the manger scene
Open presents, read the letter
And together we will sing"

"Oh, Merry Christmas
Joy to the world
For every nation
For every boy and girl

Let's light a candle
For peace we pray
Oh, Merry Christmas
It's Christmas day
It's Christmas day
It's Christmas day"

(Song written by: Michael W. Smith, Wes King, Cindy Morgan, featuring Mandisa on Smitty's The Spirit of Christmas album)

I'm borrowing a few pics from the youth staff, so credit goes out to them! Here's what it looks like at a silent disco party at our youth group! What you don't see is that they packed 1,000's of hygiene kits for the homeless as well. Our church is always great about having fun, but bringing home the message of Jesus each and every week, too.

Too many videos to upload them all here! So check out this playlist! Snow December 16th, 2019 Playlist

What?! You want to come in and out and million times? Well, you can't. Cleaning off paws is hard on Mama's back (thus I had Justin do it on Wednesday for me).

Abishai was very insistent on helping clean off the cars and shoveling. The others, not so much. Thank goodness for a 2 hr delay both Monday and Tuesday for the men.

Just a Canadian boy with his snow loving dog. Socks stuck with him the whole time and kept watch.

And Socks puts up with these shenanigans, too.

Walking in a winter wonderland....if only it would stay this way for months! I miss it so much!

Rolling around in the snow just because he can. Just like a dog. Goofy boy.

Old man can't stand the cold for as long as he used to.

The way kids eat apples cracks me up. I cut the rest of it up and he ate the rest.

Look at me, Mom, I fall down and I lick up the snow! That's probably why he developed a cough Tuesday night. Oh well, childhood memories and it was fresh snow.

He must be thirsty because he ate a ton of snow on Monday and then more snow on Tuesday when we went sledding. I should have stopped him, because now he's developed a cough. Whoops.

First real snow storm of the season. Well, second I guess, but this was a longer period of time for a higher accumulation. Our grand total was 7 inches I think.

Only New Englanders will understand. But yes, I used to say and write that phrase often.

Sunday night's total was 4 inches.

Sandbox play on a snowy day. He lined all his police guys up on one side and lined up outdoor movie goers on the other. But one of them is the bad guy that the police officers have to chase.

Ouch. Headache.

Eating more snow.

Trampoline was full of snow! We did shovel most of it off.

Justin thought the tires looked pretty cool.

Keturah swung for a few minutes and walked around for a few minutes more but then went inside.

Abishai copied Justin and threw snowballs at the brick wall to see if they would stick. He happily told Daddy all about it at supper time.

We got Socks to run around a little big. Poor guy got worn out pretty fast. But the more we keep him active, the better.

Ready for a snowball fight!

Keturah got bad and got Abishai right in the face. For the record, the boys did throw snowballs at her, but they weren't full force or down her jacket. No fun!

Tired dog.

Cool looking ladder.

Justin threw a snowball to the top of the shed.

Trying to sled when there's no hill. Spoiler: it doesn't work, but it makes Abishai laugh to see Justin struggling.

The sled makes a great shield!

You can't really see it but I made good use of the snow from the trampoline and made one for for the kids.

I shoveled the snow around this base and piled it up. Hopefully this works for them to play in the rest of the week. My normal method of using snowman type balls didn't work.

Cleaned off trampoline, sleds under the trampoline so we don't use them, and we are ready for the next few inches to drop.

One last bite of snow before we go inside.

Warning!

One gigantic storm again.

I'm so grateful we were in the snow band and not the sleet band this time.

The view from the orthopedist's office. It's starting to come down hard! Our car is already covered again!

All nice and on it's way to "remodeling." (I couldn't remember the word, but I overheard Keturah saying it to her cousins). There's a band of white on the bigger bone near the end where the healing growth is.

Wet roads, slick roads and finally a pretty landscape!

Ah, here's the picture of the kids packing hygiene kits. Yeah!

True that.

Oh my word! I'm so exhausted that I completely forgot that I had a Mom's Night Out tonight at the Kopper Kettle in Morristown, aka, fancy place. I looked up from our taco dinner and it was 6:30. MNO started at 6 and it's 30 minutes away. I quickly texted my friend and said I wasn't going to make it. I felt so bad! I had a feeling I didn't want to go based on the snow, my health, and busyness. But still, I never forget things like that! Holiday schedules always mess me up, too. I woke up tired, and had to drag myself around to make gluten free cranberry bread and gear up for sledding. Thankfully, Jared came home in time to stand there and cook the taco meat for me. I left dishes in the sink and will tackle them tomorrow. That's how sore I am from shoveling and standing in snow. Will I go to bed early? Probably not. But my brain is super foggy, so I'll try. This hasn't been exactly the week I've been thinking it would be, but I'm grateful we did take the week off of school. I need to check Justin's progress tomorrow on a couple of things, but Keturah's things were completed. Therefore she's bored and asking for screen time, but oh well. Today went much better with that because we were outside for 2 hrs this afternoon sledding.

Yes, they were sledding for 2 hours! And those two hours went by super fast! The sun was shining and I think it was around 30 degrees with a little bit of wind, so not bad at all. We could take our hats of and unzip coats if we got hot. My alternative winter boots are not waterproof anymore, so my feet got wet and very cold. Keturah is using my real winter boots this year, and I warned her to take care of them because I want them to last my lifetime. They were one of those awesome deals I found in PEI's Value Village store, name brand and built to last. Pretty pink and black polka dots, too. Anyway, I survived ok. Justin only wore some gym pants so his rear end was wet and frozen, too. Keturah did last most of the 2 hours despite hitting a man made snow ramp so hard that it knocked the wind out of her. There were a couple of kids from church, so that helped her to keep going. I was able to stand back most of the time and not worry about Abishai too much. He was able to go up and down the hill by himself. He did need a little push sometimes, and while I was down the hill, he made friends with a young lady and her boyfriend (young adults) who obviously knew how to handle little kids and was ever so kind. It was supposed to be Justin and Keturah's job to help him, but oh well. I'm glad that Abishai is resourceful. He even walked back up the hill hand in hand with the young lady and asked her name. What a charmer. And he had a blast. Sometimes he looked a bit shocked or scared but came up laughing every single time, even after he bumped into a tree! But boy is he exhausted. He was quieter at dinner and almost zombie like.

There were a few different groups of people on the sledding hill at Southeastway. From young couples, to middle school aged kids, to high school kids, to young families, and I think maybe some foreign exchange college students maybe from UIndy? Everybody was kind and friendly and patient. I think one parent even brought a lawn chair to sit on at the bottom of the hill while their kids (or maybe grandkids) went up and down. We have 4 sides of this hill that they can slide on, each with it's own speed and kinks. Abishai went on 3 out of 4 of them. The back side of the hill is short, but steep and has a big snow ramp at the bottom, so only the bigger kids used it. It was also muddier. There was enough snow this time to have some fast sledding, but you could see a few bare spots too. I did have to wash the kids' clothing when we got home, but it certainly wasn't as bad as last year. I begged for Jared to come but he wanted to be productive at work. I texted him, "But...but....but....it only snows like this once a year and we only get to go sledding once a year!" He missed some great laughter and cooperation by everyone, but I understand. I wish Benaiah had been able to come, too.

Poor Benaiah, he came home after his math test because he felt like he was going to throw up and he had diarrhea, too. That means, he missed another full workshift. That's now $225 he's missing out of his paycheck. Not good. He came home and slept a good portion of the afternoon and is going to bed super early. He still has two finals tomorrow and I think two finals on Thursday. Oh, and the doctor from Barrington called about last week's sick note. *facepalm* But, we decided to just have them make it for this week so Benaiah can go back to work for his Thursday shift and we don't have to track down a minute clinic that will take our insurance. Yeah! But to convince him to go get it is another thing, so I might have to leave extra extra early for my chiropractor appointment and then get Keturah to her last dance class, and oh wait, Justin does have small group and it's a party where you need to bring snacks and a white elephant gift. Ah! Anxiety is rising! Make it stop! Don't all talk to me and demand my time all at once! Anywho, back to Benaiah. I will try to find a way to ease his financial burden somehow. I have some cash that Justin gave me to pay for something he bought online, so I think I will give it to Benaiah to pay for his and Ava's special Christmas date on Friday. They are going to the zoo to see the lights, and then downtown to see Monument Circle and go to Rocket Fizz. They had already decided to use a McDonald's "two can dine" coupon for their "special" meal, lol. I applaud Ava's insistence on that one. They deserve a special night out and it's not Benaiah's fault he's been sick. I did double check with him to make sure his managers aren't thinking poorly about him. This is really unlike him to be so sick for days and miss so much work and school. I pray that they have compassion on him and not think this is a new trend. If they do, they can just call me and I'll happily tell them how much he's slept to try to get better. He's not faking it, that's for sure. Thankfully, his finals aren't stressing him out either. His classes aren't super hard this year. I just hope he gets better soon. Being sick can also stress you out because you are missing your daily life. Ask me how I know.

I'm not sick, but it took a lot out of me just to make cranberry bread today. It's not a difficult recipe, but I've tweaked it here and there depending on what gluten free flours I have on hand. I actually didn't buy any new flours this year, so it really was a mismatch on the types. I found a cup worth of an old blend I made that had gotten thrown way back in the freezer. Then I had two half used bags of almond flour and a new bag of rice flour. I used the rest of the right ingredients and created two nice loaves of gluten free, low sugar, cranberry nut bread. It wasn't as sweet as in years' past, but the kids still liked it. It did come out fluffier, though, because I used rice flour, which acts more like regular flour and used less almond flour, which tends to make dense breads. I also added way more cranberries than the recipe called for. I dumped the rest of the leftover walnuts from years' past, too. Cleaning out the pantry and fridge is always a great thing. But now the harder baking task is ahead of me, cherry winks. I'll shoot to do those on Thursday, if I do some resting tomorrow. I'm running out of time, that's for sure. I didn't want to make things too early though. But when you have snow in Indiana you have to go and enjoy it right then and there because it doesn't last.

And lastly (I know this is all out of order chronologically, sorry), I made a short trip to Kroger, again. Benaiah wanted a certain Asian soup he likes (but we couldn't find it, I even took pictures of the shelves, so he settled on a different kind), and I still wanted to pick up a gingerbread lighthouse kit. Justin needed a snack for small group tomorrow. I also picked up more scotch tape, a smoothie drink for me (good for tomorrow between the evening activities), seaweed snacks (next to the Asian foods), two other gingerbread kits, and a new circular sled because Justin broke ours today! Oh yeah, and some chocolate macaroons in a can I found while looking for Benaiah's soup. I'll take those to New Orleans for Everly and I, my little gluten free buddy. I am so excited to bring these gingerbread kits down! I was going to buy them regardless of price, but I bought 3 of them today for $6.50 each! They were half off! Actually, between Ollie's and Kroger, I spent less than $30 on 5 Wilton brand nice, unique gingerbread house kits. I think I scored better than I thought I did! Yeah me! I can't wait to do them with the girls! Although Abishai wants to do his here. We will try to bring them home with us from New Orleans. We decided to rent a van, so I hope it will all fit with the 6 of us. Benaiah's bag will be small because he's flying home by himself after a couple of days in New Orleans. There will be gifts going down and I bet many more gifts coming home. But Gary and Leah are driving as well, so whatever gifts they are giving should fit back into their trunk on the way home. We'll make it work. I'm just nervous because the van is supposed to be back by the night of the 2nd, and I don't know if that means midnight or before the rental place opens in the morning. I don't want to leave at 4am just to make sure we get a van back by midnight. It was costly to rent though, and I'm also not happy about that. #stupidtax

Anyway, it was a great day. Everyone is tired. Although I have a lot of stuff mostly up to date, I feel like I'm about to get behind because I have no wiggle room to get it all done. So, I'll end here and at least load up the pictures and videos that I can. I'll probably journal them tomorrow if I have time and definitely by Thursday. We'll see.

A new day, a new round of snow, just like on PEI when we would often wake up to 1-2 more inches without the weather forecasters making a big deal out of it. Here, they hype it up so much it's ridiculous.

Abishai was so excited to go sledding with his polar bear tube (and it served him well. It has a slow leak somewhere though).

Official Stats.

Finally got the middle kids to help out, although Keturah quit after 10 minutes and Justin didn't get the stuff from cleaning off the car (which he didn't do the roor, we had a chuckle about it later when I would stop and the snow would come down my windshield.) off of the driveway.

Careful! Don't scrape the body paint!

Such a great helper!

Keturah and Abishai cut cranberries for cranberry bread. Aw...

This is a road, or mobile, office. One guy is driving (up on top), one guy is looking behind them for bad guys, and one guy is doing work on his computer. Cool!

Gotta fix it!

Yikes, that's a lot!

Nearly there! Again, I wish we could easily donate this much money to a number of causes, but still, it's nice when someone actually reaches their goal. Current standings as of Wednesday evening is 19,772,599!!!!

A few more inches to add, especially if you consider that when snow gets warm, it condenses, so yesterday's snow is compacted under today's snow, shading our measurements a bit.

There's too many videos to post them all there, so I put them in a quick playlist! Enjoy! Sledding December 17th, 2019 Playlist

Sledding hill time! Our hill at Southeastway is only 1 of 7 approved sledding hills by Indy Parks. I had not idea that people have to have permission to go sledding.

Little guy was already climbing up before I could go and help him.

Later on, some church friends showed up. Yeah!

These boots are no longer waterproof. I feet feel cold, but really, they are wet and then cold. Plus, there's no grip on the bottom. I want my real snow boots back!

Building up one of the ramps together with a friend.

The super fast hill on the backside of the hill. Only the bravest attempt this one.

Action shot!

He's flying! Or is he falling?

I tried doing a burst photo so the next few shots are from that. It came out so weird. I had used up my DSLR battery by this point.

From the top of the fastest hill.

New snow on top of old snow. You don't see that often in Indiana.

Sunshine.

Yeah! Lots of inches!

DSLR pics:

Gorgeous day!

Pretty fast slopes and great for all ages!

Keturah helping Abishai up the hill while I try to NOT climb up.

He carried his polar bear sled 20 or more times by himself up that hill!

Abishai found a friend to help him and he's helping her, too.

Just a little guy trying to be a big guy.

I'm so glad we have a big hill to enjoy!

A tad muddy, but not bad.

4 different ways down the hill, plenty of room for all!

The death slide.

Uh oh.....

Crash! He was going very slow, so it was really just a little sliding. Justin's fine.

He's so attached to his sled.

Pretty snow on trees.

She's outside playing! Yeah!

Building up the ramp on this side, but the pathways skirt around it.

Penguin!

Action shot!

I took a little walk through the woods nearby. Nice wide trails.

A fork in the road.

Sunshine through the trees. Beautiful.

I told him to stand still so I could get some pics. Check him out! Those blue eyes!

How is he almost 5 yrs old? So cute!

Slide down if you dare!

True that!

I can't wait to build these! I'm super excited I got these all for $6.50 each! That's 50% off! Ah! This is the lighthouse, and you know I just had to have it!

Doggy house for Abishai because he loves his doggy. It comes with the premade doggy face.

I thought this was a cabin. It's a tiny house on wheels! Grandma and Grandpa are going to love it!

The cranberry bread came out really well this year! It's a combination of flours including almond floor, rice floor, and some other blends.

Wednesday I felt physically awful and sore all over. Great, nice fibro flare up. I did too much, y'all. So, I had to take it very easy today, nice and slow, and asked (really made) the kids to do extra chores. I took a nice long hot shower and felt a ton better, too. I need to do that more often. I also had a chiropractor appointment, and I was grateful for that. I even set my new chiro appt a week earlier than normal because I know I'll be so out of whack after a trip to New Orleans. The chiropractor is the best $50 I spend every month. I'm a "regular customer" and he's kind enough to give me a nice co pay, although they don't take our insurance. We are very blessed by the kindness of this older gentlemen, that's for sure. It's definitely what keeps me going and puts my mind at ease that I'm making sure my spinal cord has all the space it needs to do it's thing, even if other parts of my body tell it to do weird things, like send pain signals all the time. Anyway, chiro was after a quick run to the post office to mail two packages, a quick stop at CVS for cough medication, travel medication and some treats, and a run out to New Palestine to drop off women's clothes at a women's shelter. The post office looked full but they had three clerks going and I was in and out within 5 minutes. And my packages will still arrive before Christmas, yeah! I felt a little late in the game and was ok if they didn't, but I'm glad they will. I spent way too much money at CVS, but that's what happens when there's a buy one get one 50% on vitamins and travel medication. We are now stocked up for sure! And I got more MM's because the kids have eaten them all and I found this neat cookie tin that plays a song on it. I don't know if I'll regift it or use it as a gifting tin just within the J6 (then I can use it every year!) but it was a something different than I've seen before. I was gone for 2 1/2 hours and felt like I accomplished a lot on my list. Then Keturah and I ate dinner and off we went to her last dance class. I left the car running and took a little nap while she was in dance. It got toasty warm in the car and I kept thinking about the vlogger I watch that purposefully sleeps in her car and has traveled all around the lower 48 states. And that's about it for me.

Benaiah had more finals, and then went to get his paper from the doctor that says he can go back to work tomorrow, while waiting on Ava to finish school because he drove her. Justin had a last minute small group party and I barely had time to put together a white elephant gift in between things. I have a few items that are in the "to be regifted" pile, including some scented candles, so a 14 yr old just went home with a scented candle, lol. Justin received candy and a small whooppi cushion that will totally be Abishai's tomorrow. Keturah had her 3 minute presentation with props to do with Grandpa and the cousins today and I guess she did ok. I didn't really prepare her and Bible class was at 4pm when I was out of the house. I don't know if the girls practiced or were more formal than Keturah's, but I know that Classical Conversations does have the kids do informal presentations often. Everly might have more skills because I know the 7th and 8th grade years are more intense than the K-6 years. Hopefully we can talk to Grandpa about it on Sunday. It was crazy trying to fit it all in today. Justin went to his house for his final exam, but barely made it home in time to go to small group and I'm sure Grandpa was barely on time for his dinner appointment. Sigh. Such is life I guess.

And brrr, it's cold! I thought it was going to be 30 degrees today and when I checked, it was only 19! The temp is supposed to drop to near 0. And then I checked the weather for New Orleans next week and it's going to be 65-70 degrees with rainy. Yuck! We are bound to get sick again. And I don't want to wear shorts at Christmas time! Ew! Silly climates! So none of the snow melted and there are still icy patches on the road. The temps will go back up this weekend to above freezing, so that's why I say the snow will be gone for Christmas Day. Oh well.

I think men in their 60's should be banned from being this ridiculous, especially when the rest of their life is pretty serious. But anyway, goofy!

Why is there a haze on this photo?! Ugh! I think my phone camera is either dying or starting to mess up. I need to grab the big camera more often at least when I'm at home. I heard giggling from Keturah's room and Abishai had gone in there to wake her up.

Don't take my picture, Mom! Sorry, but I will always take pictures. Deal with it.

Justin brought this snack to group tonight. It was probably more expensive than I would normally by, but time is a precious commodity, too.

Benaiah BUILT that stage with the direction and design by our Creative Arts team. I can't wait to see it in person! And he got to stage manage that conference, remember?

Abishai used the new circular slide has an ice skating/snowboarding/sleigh riding arena. But only one pup could stay upright, Chase. The rest had to fall down. At least the sled is getting good use. I'm not sure if we'll get to use it again this year or not. And shoot! I forgot that we need to clean off the snow from the trampoline! We are home tomorrow, so I'm putting it on the list!

You gotta do what you gotta do when you need your hairs to dry before you leave the house. For some reason it was taking much longer for them to air dry. So I was trying to get the top layer lifted up and out of the way for the bottom layer to dry with squeezing too much hair into a bun. The hair in the bun is the last to dry. I still had to use a hairdryer. Sigh.

These are paper thin and interesting. I can taste the sea in them but they aren't anything different than a kale chip or something. You just have to get over the green part.

I bought these months ago and they sounded good today. They are spinach and potato bites and cut into shapes to entice kids to eat them. They weren't much different than tator tots. I don't mind green veggies, so they were great for lunch today.

Also at lunch to fuel my afternoon....yes, I probably paid too much for the DD White Chocolate Peppermint coffee but I don't care. It's Christmas. I think it was $8, which is about 1 1/2 Starbucks drinks, so in the long run, I win. It wasn't overpoweringly peppermint or chocolate so I was a little disappointed. But then again, I didn't add any sugar to my coffee like Starbucks does. Anyway, it was good enough!

Daddy and Abishai redesigned the mobile office. Yeah!

Eww, this is NOT Christmas weather, Chalmette! I so never want to live there!

It might be cold, but it's SUPPOSED to be cold! I want my cozy sweaters, jackets, hats, and mittens!

After "studying" on is computer, (aka video game, but give the kid a break, he's been working or sick in bed or at school for the last two weeks. This is the first time he's had to play in a long time) Benaiah chased after Abishai and Socks and Daddy actually attacked him in the other room. Benaiah's cough is still there, but he looks and sounds so much better today. Yeah! Just in time for his big date on Friday!

Do you know how hard it is to take pics and vids when you are behind someone and you don't want to make their backside look bad or show underwear, etc.? Yikes! Grateful our kids are pretty careful with being modest. I saw a guy at the chiropractor today laying down on a roller bed and he had 4 inches of his belly exposed and 3 inches of his underwear. Pull up your pants and pull down your shirt, dude! Anyway, I'm glad my kids have never argued about modesty, although they are more picky about the fabrics and prints on their clothes. At least on this topic, Jared and I have done a decent job modeling it for them.

Thursday was a hectic home day. The plan was to thoroughly go over what Justin has supposed to be doing to finish up school and then make cookies. Well, he didn't realize that we hadn't finished certain subjects on Friday because he wasn't Friday and he was supposed to study this week. So, I have to triple check him again in a couple of days. No fun when it's supposed to be Christmas break. I have now instituted a "no phone" policy during school time and less time overall during the day. And he misplaced his phone by accident for a couple of hours. I was not pleased. And then one double batch of cherry winks took 3 hrs to complete, when it should have only taken 1 hr. The kids were restless without their electronics, so I tried to send them outside, but they wouldn't help each other get dressed. Then they didn't place nice so Abishai came inside upset less than 5 minutes later. He's developed a wicked cough and now a runny nose again. He also said he should sleep in the bathroom in case he throws up. I think he's a bit scared to do it in our bed again, so he's holed up in bathroom for the night. Sigh. I'm exhausted. I can't stand for 3 hrs like that. My back hurt so much that I sat on the kitchen rug in front of the sink to wait for the cookies to bake because Jared was home getting lunch as well. I wanted to make a couple of other cookies, too, on a whim almost, but that was a no go. I laid on the couch for an hour after the cookies were baked and cooling and before I had to start dinner, which ended up being frozen hashbrowns and eggs because we ran out of regular protein choices. Sigh. I cleaned up the kitchen from dinner and baking and then it was time for piano lesson. That's what I accomplished today. That's all the energy spoons I had. I didn't even play my phone game that much. So, once again, I have no time or energy for IAHE. I think I will just have to find some time in New Orleans to work on the spreadsheet and start by at least sending out emails. Then I can follow up with calls from people I haven't heard from. It's been a rough day.

The best thing about the day is that I snagged front row tickets to the Michael W. Smith 35th Anniversary concert in Louisville, KY on March 29th. The only reason I didn't choose the Indiana date (it would be about 40 minutes closer to me) is because it's on March 28th and that's the 2nd day of the IAHE homeschool conference. Plus, I think all my Indiana Michael W. Smith friends snagged the first two rows for that concert anyway, lol. There were no meet and greet's or VIPs available because it's such a rigorous schedule and he's the only one performing, so the tickets were only $78. I was willing to pay $150 per ticket for VIP stuff. I think it was God's little way of saying I don't need to be spending that kind of money right now. I think I might work on finding another way to get a backstage pass, we'll see! Now, who is going to go with me? I texted one of my friends, but I know she's super busy, so I'll give her a bit to think about it, probably the next couple of weeks. But I have others that have the means to pay the ticket price. Especially when some people in my circles pay $100's of dollars for artists like Celine Dion for front row and that's without a VIP pass. $78 seems a tiny amount. It's in a theater, too, so comfortable seats maybe (maybe not because it's the orchestra section) and a smaller venue makes it more intimate. All the seats would be great seats because of how they all rise up from each other. Anyway, I now have that to look forward to. But I almost cried because Jared was acting a bit annoyed by it when I told him the price. We all know how much I complain about money. But THIS is how I treat myself. And it wasn't a quick decision. I had been thinking about it for awhile and then really deciding after Smitty hinted at it a couple of weeks ago and then when Derek (one of his managers) shared to save today's date for a special announcement and then he announced it a few hours early so we Friends Online members could be prepared for it (the perks of being part of the group, so I didn't share about the tickets until afterwards), I triple checked the locations and dates and prices, and then bought them. I won't be gifting this ticket so my companion will pay full price this time.

But I was on the verge of tears because I was in so much pain from standing up making what I thought was a Christmas tradition that everyone helped on and doing it all myself. I rolled all the balls, I did most of the mixing, I even had to do a lot of the cherries myself. I was already trying to not let Benaiah's absence not be a big deal, but when all three of the others didn't want to participate, I felt devastated. No one wants to wrap gifts with me. No one cares if there are ornaments on the tree. No one wants to help make cookies. They just want to eat up all the candy. And demand for this item or that item. That's why I've basically given up this year on Christmas. They will get their gifts and then they can leave me alone I guess. I know Jared hasn't had time to go buy me something, and I've spent enough already as usual, that it's not practical that he does. So don't guilt trip me about me saying we have no money and then I go out and buy concert tickets, again. Trust me, $78 is maybe 2/3 of women spend on a single hair coloring appointment. They drop that much on a sweater or a purse or pair of shoes. It's been a weird holiday. I'm not quite in the spirit and yet, I'm trying, because it's Benaiah's last one of his primary school years. Yeah. That's why it bothers me so much. It's all going too fast and no one cares. We aren't together like we should be. Work, work, work. It's not fun. I have so much work to do to make Christmas happen and then travel for a week again right after. I'm doing this for Shauna. That's it. I'm not doing this again. Traveling for holidays isn't my thing. It's all too much and overwhelming and I can't keep up. Sigh.

Boo yah! Smitty tickets are booked for the end of March in Louisville, KY! Front row, baby! I haven't had front row since I was pregnant with Justin, who obviously went with me. Or was it Keturah? I think it might have been Keturah. And I think I had Benaiah with me and that's when he got to meet Michael W. Smith. I remember the shirt I wore that day that I can't wear anymore. It was my ribbed red Michael W. Smith Friends (I think) ladies t-shirt. I've been patient with all these 2nd tier tickets lately. It was time to get up close and personal. And I promised myself I would if he did a spring leg of the tour. Boom! Done! And only $78 because there's no VIP or meet and greet this time.

Abishai was very cuddly this morning and wanted to be near me during school time with Justin. So he set up his own school work area (with a little help on the table) so he could his own "schoolwork" on his lap top. He also did puzzles and played with a rubber band thing (see below). I'm so proud of him when he makes these connections: "I want to be near Mom, so I'll do what she's doing."

Doing his "schoolwork" (because it's in his school box still, I could remove it now.)


Abishai and I saw this experiment on YouTube last night so we decided to try it. You arrange MM's or Skittles on a plate like this and then add hot water.

MM Experiment Video 1

The hot water starts to melt the candy coating on the MM's creating a cool pattern.

And that's it! Within a couple of minutes, you have a cool creation!

MMs Experiment Video 2

Final product! Then you throw it all away of course. But neat!

See how the candy coating is melted away. I ate a couple of them and they were still solid in the middle and didn't taste soggy.

Abishai blew on it to see if the colors would mix and they did!

He was trying to put his Star Wars guy to sleep by playing soft music and singing to him.

Ava drove Benaiah to school today, so Benaiah texted me saying they were just going to hang out in the front in her car for awhile. I told him I would periodically check on them. I then sent the dog and Justin (in Benaiah's sandals and bare feet through the snow because Justin doensn't have a brain). Benaiah was getting out of the car anyway. He had to go to work tonight, too.

Then I told Justin to get the trash can and check the mail. He got the trash can, in his bare feet. Then I sent him back out for the mail, again. And again, he was in bare feet. So of course he couldn't feel his feet when he got inside. *facepalm*

Bare toes Justin.

Cookie making time! These two did help a little bit.

Getting to lick the beaters.

Cutting cherries, although she asked after every other one she cut, "can I eat one?" No!

He bought himself one and one to give to a friend. It does nothing but look nice on a shelf. They were $15 a piece. Oh, and there's a code you can redeem in the game of Destiny.

Remember these? I got one a few years ago but no one really plays with it. Abishai figured it out today with a little bit of help from Keturah. Perfect toy for him!

Yes, they hold these companions in their hands in the game.

Putting the cherries on, except every other one went in his mouth.

There they go!

I used the most expensive gluten free flakes I could find on half of the batch.

And then I tried sweetened coconut shreds on the other half to try and mimic the shredded wheat my mom used on hers. She couldn't use the cornflakes listed in the original recipe because my dad was allergic to corn.

Cherries, a crunch on the outside, soft butter cookie on the side with date pieces! Cherry Winks! A Howell tradition lives on!

We didn't have a chance to go out on Tuesday or Wednesday to check on the forts. Here they are! But the kids wouldn't use them.

At least the trampoline got shoveled off.

A little slipping and sliding while no one else is out there bugging you.

Sunshine and snow, one of my favorites!

It was about 20 degrees today, so no melting!

Here's the cherry wink recipe, although I have tweaked it quite a bit and it changes every year depending on what gluten free flours I have on hand. I also used Stevia (because this house apparently hasn't sugar in a long time, that's how often I don't bake) and butter instead of shortening. I made 2 1/2 times this recipe, so 3 cups of flour and 3 eggs.

That's what they are supposed to look like.

And they are from this book.

Here's the cranberry bread recipe I used the other day, again with lots of tweaks. I don't mind if these things don't come out perfectly each time, just as long as they are edible. Some years it's thicker and sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's really sweet and sometimes not.

Directions for cranberry bread, although I'm a dump and go kind of person. I do let the dough rest for awhile so let non grain flours mix with the apple cider vinegar.

Today's flavor, and I added almond nog to it. It was ok. I had to drink it in between my other tasks so I wasn't really concentrating.

I finished the third episode of the crisis and I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm still not very happy about the Green Arrow portrayal though. Oh well, Batwoman is very, very cool, too, and she has her own show (she's a lesbian, so that plays a small role, but the rest is great).

They did it! 20,000,000 million trees! Now, if only 20 million dollars could go to feeding hungry people or NOT used to impeach and try President Trump that would be great. (He has been officially impeached by the House. Now we wait for the trial done by the Senate).