Marching On

During one of Bella's driving lessons, we worked on backing up. Sometimes, it can be hard to gauge how much space you actually have by looking through the back-up camera. I went outside to give her an idea.  

Curtis received a lesson in pancake making.  

Our Spring Break came mid-month, so the kids and I decided to go up to WI for a few days to visit with family and meet our newest nephew/cousin, Bennett!  

It's so fun to see my sister, Kristen, as a mom.  

Bella is getting good at holding babies.  

 We also got to see this sweet baby again who was alreayd almost six months old when this photo was taken!  

My mom put together a little egg hunt for the kids. Each of them ended up $20 richer!  

Just missing Sydney and Rose!  

We love having these two sweet additions to the family!  

Curtis got in some baby-holding practice too!  

Back home in Indiana. . . Andy and Curtis replaced our front screen door. The glass in it has been cracked for years - so severely that we had to duct tape it to keep it from becoming dangerous. It looked pretty awful, but our front door is so far back from the road and we always use our back door, so it just wasn't a big priority. But I finally came to a place when I just couldn't stand it anymore, so Andy and Curtis took care of it.  

I didn't manage to take any before or after shots, but it looks 100% better!  

Curtis had a bright idea!

Somebody had a birthday in our house. Andy is 41! We celebrated by going bowling and eating pizza at the bowling alley. Afterward, we came home for ice cream cake and presents.  

This was a 1,000 piece puzzle that I primarily worked on during Spring Break. We didn't go to a warm beach, but I stared at one for several hours. This was the hardest puzzle that I've ever done. Looking at it now, it doesn't seem like it would be. But the sand and sky pieces looked very similar, so it was hard to sort those pieces out. Plus all that water! It felt very satisfying to push in the very last piece!  

Bella had her basketball awards banquet the other night.  

She was awarded the Most Valuable Teammate for the JV team. Go Bella!

FFA and Bowling

Bella is involved in the National FFA organization at school. This club is really strong in our community and the teachers who oversee it do an amazing job at developing these students into leaders. National FFA Week was a couple weeks ago and during that week, Bella and several other classmates, were recognized for earning their Greenhand Degree. We are so proud of her! As part of the fun that week, there was an annual basketball challenge between the Hope and Columbus FFA chapters. It was fun to watch Bella and the other kids play each other. Andy, Graydon, and Curtis have been really getting into bowling lately. They've been going to the lanes each Saturday and at least one night during the week as well. Last Sunday, Graydon really wanted Bella and I to come and play with them, so we made it a family outing. Bowling isn't really my thing, but when my preteen son wants me to join him in something, I join him! Curtis was having a rougher night. His record is something over 100, but the pins just weren't falling for him that day. Me, however, with a score of 76 is about as good as it gets! I love hanging out with our family! :)

Loving February

We were part of the 70% of our country that was hit with winter storms this past week. Last week, we had three snow (e-learning) days and one two-hour delay. The previous week we had two snow days and a couple two-hour delays. It's a good thing we've learned how to do school from home. Otherwise, the school year would have had to be extended several days at the end of the year. 

Curtis took some initiative and came outside to help shovel without being asked. He is such a sweet kid. He even cleaned off the van for Bella. All that snow has meant lots of backyard visitors! Sledding and hot chocolate are a great couple. This girl now officially has her permit! She's had no choice but to learn to drive in the snow. This should make fair-weather driving seem that much easier for her! Off we go! She'd done some driving in parking lots previous to this, but this was her very first drive on the roads. The boys' biddy ball season was canceled, so the organization put together videos of basketball skills for the kids to practice. If each kid submits photos of them doing the drills, their name gets put into a drawing each week. The boys are doing a good job practicing their skills. They've had to practice in the basement due to all the snow. Valentine's Day was last Sunday. Bella made this chocolate cake and frosting from scratch. I made the chocolate pretzels that I do every year. And our traditional heart-shaped pizza. I had some (non-alcoholic) strawberry diaquiri mix in the cupboard, so I decided to blend some up for the kids. It was red, so it fit with the theme. Andy captured this beautiful winter morning in our front yard. Saturday morning is the one morning each week when I let myself sleep in a little bit. When I woke up today, I found this sweet face next to me. Our temperatures are supposed to go up next week, so our yard is likely going to turn to mud. We decided to get a little more sledding in while we could.

Making Our Way Through Winter

Andy took us to his "corner office" (aka: Burger King). When he really needs to focus on his sermon-writing, he needs to get away from his church office. Previously, Starbucks was his location of choice. But they closed their dining room due to COVID, so he had to find a new place. And it has become Burger King. This location mostly sees drive-thru traffic, so it's often empty inside (it was the whole evening we were there). And when he comes, this is his spot. His corner office.  

We were excited to watch the NFC championship game because it allowed us to watch the Packers play (their games don't get aired locally here in Indiana and we don't pay extra for football channels). Graydon did all he could to support our team. Unfortunately, the game didn't turn out as we hoped.

School was closed this past Monday due to snow. It was only a couple of inches, but it was the most snow we've seen in a couple of years.

In addition to sledding, we made some use of our golf cart this year! 

 

Wipe out!  

We live by the best hill in town, which means our house gets a lot of visitors when it snows! February 1-5 was National School Counseling Week. Due to the nature of the work, a lot of things school counselors do is unseen. This week was created by the American School Counselor Association as a week for school counselors to promote their program and shed some light on the role of the counselor in the school. Part of the promotion included a social media campaign where each counselor completed various statements. This was my post for Monday. It was also our snow day, so I did the post from home. I really love my job and feel so thankful that I have important work to do every day.  

I also had some little snacks for our teachers and staff in each of our lounges as a 'thank you' for their support of my program as well as to share some data from things done this year.  

Curtis creates some of the most unique food combinations. Here he is having celery with ramen. Another favorite of his is raspberries on hotdogs!  

And I'll end with some big news for Bella. She completed the school portion of drivers ed this past week and will be getting her learner's permit in the next few days. Today, she had her first driving lesson in the school parking lot. This is such a big milestone in growing up!