Joy Dare::December

 12,882. John's surgery was successful
12,883. We made it through school
12,884. Isaiah and Sean have so much fun together
12,885. Boxes being delivered
12,886. Home to be there when Aliza needed me
12,887. Much better school day
12,888. Singing Christmas carols
12,889. Aliza being as opinionated as I am
12,890. Laura, John and Sean safely home together
12,891. Anna and Aliza working together
12,892. Snowman waffles
12,893. Waking up to snow

 12,894. Anna's music project
12,895. Audrey and Henry afternoon
12,896. Catching up with Mom
12,897. Pokemon afternoon
12,898. Christmas concert at SU
12,899. More music video making
12,900. So much laughter
12,901. Another special baptism
12,902. Making Valerie's day
12,903. Anna had a great day
12,904. Fun music lesson
12,905. Wrapping presents
12,906. Getting the text that Aliza finished A&P 1
12,907. White chocolate peppermint tea on cold mornings
12,908. Aliza and Anna spending time together
12,909. Boys playing disc golf in freezing cold temperatures
12,910. Afternoon walk
12,911. Alone at home for a little while
12,912. Knowing when to stop
12,913. Aliza's semester finished
12,914. Gingerbread chai
12,915. Cutting out cookies
12,916. Lunch and shopping with Maria
12,917. Supper with Anna
12,918. The Nutcracker evening
12,919. Waking up to snow again
12,920. Car time with Aliza
12,921. A hug from Anna
12,922. Everyone around the table for lunch
12,923. Isaiah and Anna playing guitar and piano together
12,924. Helping children buy gifts for each other
12,925. Crackling candle
12,926. Shopping with Isaiah
12,927. An evening with my friend
12,928. Children practicing for Christmas Eve service
12,929. Aliza running an errand for me
12,930. Some cookies made
12,931. The rain started later
12,932. Gingerbread houses
12.933. A soul fulfilling evening
12,934. School finished for Christmas
12,935. Children who are up for an adventure
12,936. Christmas lights and exploring a battleship
12,937. The Sheats family all together
12,938. Cousins playing Manhunt
12,939. A really peaceful day
12,940. Experiencing Handel's Messiah
12,941. Aliza's song in church
12,942. Slow, quiet winter mornings
12,943. The evening with Mom and Moriah
12,944. Another song that Isaiah and Anna can play together
12,945. Grades submitted for the semester
12,946. Our whole family showing up
12,947. Using a gift card for supper
12,948. Jeremy and Josiah staying up really late coding
12,949. A day of Christmas baking
12,950. Isaiah's confidence
12,951. Scripture, carols and candlelight
12,952. Christmas morning
12,953. Cinnamon roll success
12,954. Steak and fondue supper
12,955. The best helpers
12,956. Aliza's spurts of energy between sick naps
12,957. After Christmas hibernation days
12,958. Doing as much of nothing as possible
12,959. Finishing a book and starting another one
12,960. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Phil Wickham
12,961. Easy drive to WV
12,962. Listening to our children have Bible study together
12,963. Seeing Aliza's sparkle come back momentarily
12,964. A hand out day
12,965. Heslop family Christmas
12,966. Laughing at midnight over pick up lines Josiah is saying
12,967. Isaiah is Grandma's breakfast helper
12,968. Getting out of the house
12,969. Grandpa's prime rib
12,970. Isaiah is sweet when he's sick, "Thanks, Mom, for everything you do for me." 
12,971. Sharing a podcast with Aliza
12,972. Beginning the Christmas clean up
12,973. Looking back over 2025 memories

Heslop Christmas Memories

 On Sunday, when we went to WV, it seemed like Aliza was starting to feel better. And then she definitely wasn't. She was exceptional in her ability to be pleasant to be around while she was so very tired. 

 When your almost 3 year old nephew asks if his cousins will be watching out the window when he gets there, you ask what their arrival time will be and make sure his cousins are watching for him!

Josiah played and played with Ronan. For all the years Uncle Joel played with our children, it warms my heart that Joel can have that feeling of watching an "uncle/cousin" play with his son. So many times I hear my girls say, "I'm going to marry a boy like my brother" when they watch their brother play with Ronan. 

We all gathered to give and receive gifts. With Jeremy's family we have a longer time together and so we do gifts one evening and then have our holiday meal the next day. This year our meal was prime rib which Jeremy, Josiah and Isaiah especially enjoyed!

Aliza had just enough energy to participate in the sibling nighttime Bible study. This time we were in WV for three nights and they read the book of Colossians. Isaiah prayed at the end...I wish I could remember everything he said, but I do remember that he thanked God for family.

By the time they finished it was almost midnight and were chatty. Josiah started telling pickup lines that one of the guys at church had told him. Knowing who told them originally made them even more funny to us. 

Are your parents bakers? 
Because you are a cutie pie.

Are you a gardener?
You can plant your tu-lips next to my tu-lips.  

Isaiah loves Grandma's sourdough waffles and this morning he was the waffle maker. 

They were delicious! 

By the time we came home, Aliza was on the upswing. On the drive home, Isaiah slept a lot. By the time we got home, he had a fever and was sick for the next few days. Thankfully we are more than a week past all that and no one else has gotten sick!  

 

Our Christmas Day

 

We were home all day, all together. 

The cinnamon rolls turned out perfect! I was very excited! 

Probably my favorite part of the morning was the children giving gifts to each other. 

Isaiah gave a gift to himself. 

The mug says, Best. Big Sister. Ever.

The children decided that a backyard weather station made their Dad an old man. 

By the time we finished gifts Aliza could not stay awake. She became achy and had a fever by the end of the day. Ultimately she was sick for 5 days and had to cancel a lot of plans that she was looking forward to--including two days of work. 

 

I tried something different for our Christmas meal. Fondue. I had originally planned to do broth, cheese and chocolate fondue. At the last minute I decided it would be torture for Josiah and Isaiah to have to cook his steak one bite at a time. Jeremy made the steak (it was delicious!) and we had cheese and chocolate fondue. Time will tell if this becomes tradition or if we try something else next year. 

 

With that, we settled in for a few days of winter hibernation before we went to WV for Heslop Christmas.  

 

The Messiah

When I heard that the historic Episcopal church in downtown Salisbury was hosting a sing along for The Messiah, I knew that Mom would love doing that. I was right! On Christmas Sunday evening Mom, Moriah, and I sat in the alto section to sing along with the first part plus the Hallelujah Chorus of The Messiah.

Mom has her copy and her Dad's copy of The Messiah from the 1960s when they sang in a choir each year. Mom used her Dad's, very well-used, book and I used Mom's. I smiled finding some of Mom's notes in different pieces. I really enjoyed being able to follow along with the words and music.

The architecture and acoustics of the church building enhanced the experience.

There was a small orchestra and a professional soprano, alto, tenor and bass. The professionals sang the solo pieces. When it came to a choir piece, the orchestra director turned to the congregation, the congregation stood and became the choir. This time I wanted to sit with Mom. Next time I'm going to sit in the soprano section because I cannot follow the alto line! 

Afterwards we were still feeling festive and so we took Moriah to walk around Cheryl's yard to see her Christmas lights. When I got home I found just the right combination and spot for the diamond art that Moriah made for me. 

 

This is an evening that is going to hold a special place in my heart. 
 

Sheats Christmas

 Christmas came early for the Sheats family so that everyone could be together. Phil and Linda came in from Indiana and it's another year that all of the grandchildren have been there. Of course, it had extra meaning that all of us were together with John walking through cancer. I'm thankful that all of us have our faith in common as our foundation during this season. 

Anna and Renee intentionally requested the same Bible. 

Janell suggested that Brian and I go in with her on a gift certificate for Mom and Dad. It was a great idea! Such a great idea that it was exactly what Mom told Dad that she would like for Christmas from HIM and he was planning to give her a few days later on Christmas. Oops! We had no idea! 

Moriah spent many hours on a very special gift for Mom. 

The cousins got to play Manhunt which is some of my childrens' favorite cousin game. The adults sat around the table and visited. It was just an all around good day!
 

Winterfest

 It is so fun to have children who are up for adventures. Friends invited us to visit them in Norfolk, VA to go to the Winterfest on the USS Wisconsin. With no hesitation, all 4 of them quickly agreed to the 2.5 hour drive for a couple hours with friends. (Since we left at 2pm, Jeremy wasn't able to go with us.) We didn't know what to expect and ended up truly enjoying the experience of the lights and the battleship itself. 

Walking out to the USS Wisconsin, this is what we saw looking left...

...and this is what we saw looking right. 

From the bow...

In this setting it was hard to take in the enormity of this ship. It houses 2,000-3,000 sailors during WWII.

The thing I have been treasuring the most this season is how much Aliza, Josiah, Anna and Isaiah genuinely enjoy being together and doing things together. 

 

This is about midship looking back to the bow.  

This tree and display is over the helicopter landing pad. 

We were also about to tour below deck. It was also decorated for Christmas. This is the kitchen. We also saw offices with old computers that Josiah enjoyed, dentist office which Aliza was especially interested in, sleeping quarters, and so much more. At the end there were fresh, locally made doughnuts for purchase. I totally bought some which surprised and delighted my children. 

 

After supper with our friends at Chick fil A, we headed home. And with that, we started Christmas break. 

Gingerbread Houses

 We got to have a Family Christmas Party at church for all of the church children. This was extra special because the last few years we have had 4 children and this year we had 11 children!  

The highlight for my children was making a graham cracker gingerbread house. And then they found out it was a competition and they were ALL IN.

As you might expect, the Heslop table was the loudest, most overtly enthusiastic table there. 

They even won a Chick fil A gift card!

The group then went to Cheryl's house to enjoy her light display. The children filled her yard with their energy and laughter. 

The rain held off and it turned out to be a really festive and special evening.