December 29, 2009

Today started with errand running. We went to the church to make sure it was okay to order the kits for our upcoming class and had a nice chat with Fr. Paul. We are so blessed that he is our priest, he has so much wisdom and insight into things... We then went to Wally World to pick up a few groceries, and Hannah used her Christmas money ( augmented with some of her sisters' money) to buy a new Wii game. For dinner, we went to Red Lobster because my brother John and his wife Jenny are here for Christmas with their four kids: Erin, Jack, AJ and Luke. Tomorrow we will have a cookie baking day at my mom's house for all the kids. Should be fun!

December 28, 2009

Haven't posted for a while... been busy with birthdays in October, Thanksgiving, getting ready for Christmas, and then trying to squeeze school in to boot... Whew! So... here is what has been happening since our trip.

In October we had Hope's 8th birthday and Hannah's 11th birthday. James was out of town in Burlington trying to finish up surveying before the ground froze too badly. We went to Itz on Hope's birthday with Grandma and Grandpa John and Gran (Nee Nee). I brought along cupcakes and we spent so much time playing that we ended up having them outside after they closed! Hope's friend party wasn't until November since she got sick and we had to postpone it. She had fun with her friends Alyssa and Micah.

On Hannah's birthday, we went to Itz again, but I brought brownies instead, and we made a point of eating them before we went to play. Hannah had her usual Halloween themed sleepover party with her friends Heather, Megan, Madison, and her cousin Sara.

High Country ended in November, which always brings mixed feelings... The kids are sad, because they love their classes and seeing their friends, and moms are both glad and sad - sad that Mom's group is ending, but glad that there is a rest from going each week.

Our 6th Financial Peace University class ended the week after Thanksgiving. We saw the usual dwindling of attendance, and only graduated 2 couples, but the others are planning to return in January so that is good.

December started with birthdays - my Grandma's, then mine, then my Mom's. My cousin's mother (my first cousin once removed) had a heart attack, and at first it did not look very good for her, but through God's grace she is recovering and doing better each day. We decorated the house, and the girls had lots of fun putting out the Christmas villages that we have and arranging all the figurines that go with them. Saturday mornings were spent at church for the childrens' choir rehersals. On Christmas Eve, we went to Mass, where Hannah and Hope sang in the Children's Choir. We came home and had a nice dinner and baked cookies for Santa. On Christmas day, Grandma and Grandpa John and NeeNee came over and we had a nice brunch and played with the Wii that Santa left for us. Then they left to go pick up my brother John and his wife Jenny and their kids. The next day, I spent the day finishing up Christmas gifts and then we went to my Mom's for a nice Christmas dinner and package opening. The following day, we went to see my Dad and Grandma Bigler for package opening. My Dad, Sandy, Grandma, Uncle Randy and Aunt Marva, Aunt Meredith, Sandy's daughter Carrie and her son Cody, my cousins Meredith Dawn and her husband Andy, James, Sean, Rebecca, and Mariah, and my brother John, Jenny, Erin, Jack, AJ and Luke were all there. It was great to catch up with everyone.

Today we are going ice skating and then maybe out to lunch with my Mom and John, brother John and Jenny and all the kids - 6 in all! Should be a fun day!

Day 4 of our trip

Today we woke up to about 6" of snow. We decided to do something inside - well, relatively inside - and go to Jewel Cave National Monument. Jewel cave is the 2nd largest cave, and new caverns are being discovered all the time. We took the tour, which started above ground and we went down by elevator deep into the cave. We only toured a small portion of the enourmous cave and learned a lot about its interesting history - not just geological but also involving humans.