Learning how to be left-handed

Three weeks ago we were having a rather warm day right before another 10-day forecast of frigid temperatures. Jason & I decided to take advantage of the warmth and get the jog stroller out for a quick jog before church. Not 20 feet into it we realized how foolish we'd been. Even in the "warmth," the sidewalks were still completely iced over ... and I was on the ground before I knew it.

We continued on for 20 minutes and by the time we stopped I realized I'd hurt my right hand pretty badly. After icing, splinting and anti-inflammatory meds, a professional opinion seemed like a good idea. Fortunately, no fracture, but the doctor said I might be in a splint for up to 6 weeks. I told him I was hoping for two. Three weeks later, although much, much better, I am still in the splint.

I've been extremely grateful to at least have a working left hand and fingers on my right hand that can move at least, but I've been really surprised by the activities that are difficult or that I literally cannot do with only one hand. I expected writing and eating to be difficult, but there are a myriad of things I never thought of ... cooking and dishes were out for about 10 days, I am still struggling to cut foods that are hard, brushing teeth with a non-dominant hand was really frustrating (& my teeth never felt clean!), pushing a shopping cart is extremely difficult, putting deodorant on, and the silliest thing, I still can't pump a liquid soap dispenser with my right hand. Not to mention trying to wrangle my wild children.

It's been interesting and has definitely given me both a lot of frustration and A LOT of appreciation for those that are dealing with more serious/permanent limb issues. Jason has been amazing (of course!) through all of this, doing his best to keep up with the things I need help with and taking on a lot more of the household chores. So thankful to have a teammate! 

Lucky for me, I also have a wonderful snow shovel operator here at the house!

Ice skating ... for the first time in 20+ years

Ever since last winter, Luke has been asking us about going ice skating at our Main St Square and last week he was able to go finally! We were given a lovely gift of some $$ to spend on our family and this is one of the outings we picked to go on. I was a little nervous after I realized that I hadn't been on the ice since my freshman year of college, yikes!

It was a lovely afternoon -- a wind-free day that wasn't too far below freezing AND half price day at the rink! By the end of our time there, Luke was skating without assistance while Mabel enjoyed doing a lap with the pushcart, then a warm up at the fire pit (my kind of girl). It was a really fun and memorable family outing.

Going on a proper date - a kid-free winter hike

It has been quite a while since we have had a proper date and we are very blessed to have met some friends here who are committed to doing regular kid swaps with us so that both couples can have a date without having to pay for a sitter.

Jason & I decided to do something we haven't done in nearly six years -- go for a hike together without our children. We love hiking with the kids, but generally it is more of a dawdle and always accompanied by whining, screaming, emergency potty breaks, etc. It was SUPER to go out together and just hike and talk. We picked the Spring Creek Trail which was pretty icy and slippery, but we'd brought poles to use which made it mostly doable. It was a beautiful and "warm" day to be out. So nice!

There were 3-4 of these crossings which made me a little nervous each time.

Our hike took us along Sheridan Lake where we got to watch a number of ice fishermen with their vehicles/tents out on the lake.

Ringing in the New Year

Now that January is nearing it's end, I guess it's time to acknowledge the new year finally? With the very s-l-o-w recovery rate from our holiday sickness, the past two weeks of feeling "normal" have just been pure catch-up from the weeks we were down.

In spite of sickness, we still managed to have a small New Years Eve party with the kids (with homemade confetti of course), and then on the First we went for a lovely drive in the Black Hills and a quick play in the snow at a campground.

Happy New Year! (@ 8:30 pm)

New Years Day ... just thankful to have the strength to get out for a little bit and enjoy the beauty around us.

Freezing fog leaves ice crystals everywhere, Luke learns about electrical circuitry,
Mabel says she's mailing herself (&owl) to California. Lunchtime creations. Luke becomes an expert at shoveling. . 

Feed to Fish day at the outdoor campus' 4,600 gallon aquarium & we enjoy a sunny, wind-free 60 degree day at the park in the middle of winter!

Another first ... ice cream cones that they didn't have to share! 

A Merry {sickie} Christmas

Our Christmas was a bit different than expected.  I'd been fighting a cold for the past week that turned for the worse and took me completely off my feet on Christmas Eve...just as Jason also started struggling with the beginnings of the same cold. Only the kids fared well and with their Christmas enthusiasm were even more energetic than their usual selves. :)

I am very thankful Jason's employer closes for the week and that he is able to be home. We have been able to sort of trade off on parenting & house chores to keep things semi-sane around here. And in spite of sickness, we were able to have some very sweet moments with the kids and had a lovely Christmas Day -- albeit with oatmeal for dinner.  As we walk with friends/family who are going through difficult loss or serious health situations, we know we have so much to be grateful for.

Even though this time of year can make us feel really removed from our family and friends, we can appreciate that our aloneness allows the kids to move through Christmas day at their own pace. Of their own accord, each gift that was opened was played with (some for hours) before the next was opened. This would be very difficult if we had a schedule to keep, but for us it was a beautiful way to spend the day as a family. We were opening the last gifts just before bed.

Heading out to church with Jason on Christmas Eve for 'Carols, Cocoa & Cookies'

Ready for Christmas morning ... complete with Guatemalan nativity scene. 

Christmas morning -- getting into stockings, playing checkers on the handmade board from Jason & crafting with new supplies.

Mabel wearing her gift from Luke -- butterfly wings!
I still managed to get at least our Christmas Tree Coffeecake made :)

Watching November speed right into December

November came and went so quickly! I can hardly believe we're already nearly to Christmas day!

So many of my days slide by made up of the boring, daily grind stuff (for which I am thankful to have such a luxury!); however, when I look back at photos there are also lots of fun, sweet moments too. Thankful to have photos to remind me of those moments.

We have also been incredibly grateful for God's provision to us during these weeks after Jason's Guatemala trip where we've been on a leaner budget. We have been absolutely overwhelmed. We received generous financial gifts both from our church and another family, a friend purchased groceries for us, another friend gave us a coupon for two free Hello Fresh meals, a co-worker gave Jason a large box of beautiful oranges and an acquaintance just gave me money last week stating she'd been praying and felt like she was supposed to help us. That has never happened to me before and literally brought me to tears. Jason even received an unexpected bonus at work which allowed us to pay for some much needed repairs on both our vehicles. I haven't really known how to respond to all of this except to feel completely thankful, thankful, thankful. We have been able to pay our bills, have food to eat and even have a little to use toward some small Christmas gifts. So overwhelmingly thankful!

These goofy, adorable kids doing their things.

Opportunity to serve/feed a pre-Thanksgiving meal to some of the needy in our community.

Our "thankful tree" -- love the visual of the abundant leaves showing the many things we have to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving fun with friends!

Fun activities while Jason was on a work trip.

Checking out a pod of Milkweed seeds.

Winter hiking at Buzzards Roost

Our annual Christmas tree hunting trek -- on our way Mabel fell asleep with a crayon in her hand! So cute!

Christmas crafting

Fun with Dad

Our winter wonderland

Mabel, Mabel, Mabel -- eating her way through a box of oranges
                                    -- writing her name (without coaching or assistance!)
                                    -- trying to keep up with big brother

Having "fun" without Dad - again!

It's been nearly a month since Jason got back from his Guatemala trip and he took off again today for a work trip to Georgia. After our last "fun" week when he was gone, the kids have been asking if we'd do another fun week this time. To which I responded "of course!" (and then wondered why I don't make the effort to make every week with my kiddos a fun week?)

Luke & I decided that perhaps we should do 1) one science experiment each day, 2) one craft each day, and 3) some sort of cooking together each day. We'll see if this is overambitious, but I figure it's worth a try!

Airport goodbye ... made a little more exciting by a surprise delayed
departure & re-routing scramble- woohoo!

Luke has gotten very interested in science after I introduced him to the effect of vinegar on baking soda last week :)

Fun thing #1 - getting beautiful day-old bread & bagels from a friend at a local charity 

& letting the kids pick whichever kind they wanted to eat for lunch :)
Super thankful for God's provision of food to us. 

Fun thing #2 - Glow stick baths

Fun thing #3 - toilet paper tube / hacky sack bowling