December's Stuff

I know I already posted about this character in November, but man he was a delight amid the moving/packing month of December.  He gets an encore mention!

We marveled all month at how wonderful the Lord was to allow us to go under contract so quickly ... and with such an amazing offer!  We were set to close Dec 18.  One week before that, those buyers had to cancel completely and that was really upsetting news ... and yet we trusted the Lord and concentrated hard on not freaking out.  Within the weekend, we had the second best offer people offering again and we accepted right away.  As well, we secured the big chunk of earnest money the first buyers forfeited, which softened the blow of the disappointment a smidge.  Only a smidge though.  So glad to keep most of our plans in tact.  This did push back closing and all, but what can you do?  Roll with it. Which we did as best we could - cancelled all the installs and movers and start ups and such.  This delay also afforded us one last Christmas morning in this house, which seemed fitting.

I got Christmas cards in the mail late this year.  Also fitting, for 2020 at least.

Noah and Anna have been seeing a counselor for a few months and they finished that up in December as prescribed by Ankita, their counselor.  She was so wonderful for the kids to work with.  Anna drew her this butterfly as a thank you/Christmas gift for their last meeting this month.

Sister had her first ever salon shampoo and was  ... clearly... delighted.  Followed that up with a new braids style.

We checked out The Dancing Lights of Christmas again after a few years of not.  As expected, the big kids were over it.  Sad!  Lasa enjoyed the whole show and music at least.  Will probably be our last time though.

Packing continued, a little at a time.  Piece of cake!

Holiday antics from school for the kindergartener.  This particular themed day was holiday headbands.

The last few days of school, Lasa had to miss for quarantine, having been exposed at school somehow, someway.  Oh well!  Really thrilled we made it through the ENTIRE semester before this happened.  Not too shabby!

Gingerbread house - group effort.

Got antsy to see the property again, so we went a'wandering around the lot to make it not feel so far away.

We were so bummed to not be moving into the house over Christmas break as we had planned, while Josh was home and available.  So we went out on a limb and asked the sellers to let us move in early, like a rental agreement until closing.  The wait for their response, and then meeting a couple terms they wanted squared away first, was emotionally exhausting ... and then a few days before Christmas we got the go ahead to do early occupancy!  It was such a wonderful thrill and relief to get that call!  We got the keys on December 23. 

We kept Christmas morning at the house ... but we were taking a couple loads to the new house by midday.  Ha!

Just a few Christmas morning pics ...

Anna got permission to have her ears pierced.  Again.  She has been begging for this for years. Gonna give it a try again.

We got the kids their first iPhones as a big surprise this year ... but not before tricking them with some decoy old school flip phones.  Josh was so amused with his plan. 

Noah was gifted permission to play Fortnite finally ... which he did right away.  His buds are so pumped to have him playing with them now.

Super simple, but super yummy Christmas lunch before heading over to the property.

It has snowed a smidge on Christmas Eve, so there was some snow and ice to sled down the front hill on Christmas day.  Delightful!

We started taking little loads ourselves the weekend after Christmas.  Every load made it feel more and more real.

That weekend, we decided to rent a UHaul and start moving boxes instead of waiting til the movers first available day almost a week later.  We figured every box we moved was less we had to pay the movers to move and that we would just leave the big stuff for them.  But as it happened, we moved so many boxes and stuff with friends and friends' teenage sons, that we decided to start moving small furniture too.  And as it happened, we moved so much in the course of three days with this truck, that we went ahead and moved the last 7 larger pieces with another friend and just cancelled the movers altogether!  Cannot believe we moved ourselves entirely in the end!  All those little trips and extra hands really just add up.  It all went so smoothly and we cannot thank the Lord enough.  Thanks just flow and flow here lately.

We spent our first night at the new house Dec. 29 and unpacked like crazy people to be ready for a visit from Emily and Lee and cousins on New Years Eve.  Weather kept them from coming til New Years Day, but it was for the best anyway.  The extra day got a lot done inside the house with some odds and ends that needed attention.  And it also got the bunnies' set up finished and got them brought over officially, too. 

And that wraps up December! And 2020!  This year has just been too much - on both ends of the spectrum - good and bad.  I don't have the words to even begin to sum it up.  Except humble praises to Him who has been so near and so tender and so steady throughout.  I died this year ... and yet I live and look forward to what He is doing in our lives next.  Hoping in Him!

Merry Belated Christmas, friends!