December in a giant nutshell...

December is always an event-filled month.  

This year we had numerous choir concerts with Jolie's audition group called Encore.  It is always fun to see kids excel at something they love!  It is even more fun that she gets to share that time with her friends.

 Asher is playing the trumpet in his school's band.  (He takes after his cousin Cody.)  We went to his first concert as well.  It was really good!

 We also went to visit Matt's Grandmother and Popper.  It was a bitter-sweet visit as they are moving to another home in 2016.  They have been in their current home 40 years.  It is hard to imagine them anywhere else. 

 Popper is 90 and in great shape!  But it is still hard to care for a big yard and home.  So they are moving to be closer to their daughters.  We are happy for that.

 But sad too because they will be further away.  We won't be able to see this laugh as often as before

 We won't get to hear as many stories or get as many hugs.

 

  But when we do, we will treasure them even more.

 

 Levi and Micah are ready for Christmas!!

 This year we decide to follow the Advent with our own twist.  It was beautiful and meaningful.  We will do it again.

 We also got a visit from my sweet nephew Ryder.  

 

He was a joy!

 

 Then there were the parties.  So many parties!

 Little sister got to go and was thrilled!!

This sweet guy has a heart of joy.  He loves life and shows it!

 His little face just radiates his emotion.

 It makes me happy.

 December also brought in a little blizzard.  It was what the kids had been waiting for!  So much fun!

We are truly blessed.  We pray that your December was memorable.  Praying health, happiness and growing in the Lord in 2016. 

Canadian trip 2015

Fall is my favorite.  I love so much about it.  It is a time when I put my garden to bed.  A time when chile gets roasted and tomatoes get canned.  The bees are nestled in their winter digs as we nestle in our cozy sweaters and boots.

One of our favorite things to do when he leaves start to change is to visit Canadian.  They have a Fall Foliage Festival every October.  Though we don't attend the festival, we do like to make our own day to take in the beauty of the change.

This year, even though we went later than normal, we were too early for much color.  But it was still a fantastic time with our family.  And, of course, I always take pictures.

  

No Excuse

I have no excuse for how long it has been since I have blogged.  I am sad that I have missed out on documenting the things we have been doing the past 3 months.  But I can't look back.  I must move forward. 

But give me just a few minutes to capture some of the "back."

 We had our first big honey extraction.  It was an amazing mess.  We had so much fun!  Thanks to our friends George and Paige Nester for letting us use their extractor.

 We has some gorgeous burr comb on top of the frames.

 Nice full and capped cells!

 We scraped the cappings and then loaded the frames into the extractor to spin out the honey.

 You know how it is when you know something should work but you have never done it?  When you see it work with your own eyes, it is kind of amazing.

 We had lots of fresh cappings to clean for use in making chapstick and lotion.  Maybe even soap if I get brave.

 I had lots of help.  Crazy help, but still help.

 The result was better than I imagined.  We harvested about 90 pounds of honey from 2 hives!!!

 These boys had a date to the motocross.  Asher wouldn't smile so Matt was helping him.

 

While the boys were gone, I made some honey-fermented garlic and fire cider for the upcoming cold season.  That fresh honey sure does make me happy!

 We also got to go to our local Fall fair.  It just gets better every year!  My kiddos always love the face painting.

 

  Having a teenage girl is not always easy but it sure if fun!  I love this group of sweet girls.  (there are a couple missing)