Good Old Fashioned Grocery Shopping

 

 I live by routines and my routine is to pick up groceries on Saturday morning between and 11:00 and 12:00. There are exceptions to every routine, of course, and this was one of those times. I wanted to pick up groceries this evening. First thing this morning I sat down to do my grocery order only to find out that pick up was closed through the weekend. I could have picked up at another Wal-Mart but the driving time would have been the same as me just doing my own grocery shopping at the closer store. 

I was reallllly tempted to be frustrated. What an inconvenience to have to walk through the store and pick out my own groceries and rearrange the day's schedule. I very quickly stopped myself because how can I even think of this as even as inconvenience. There IS a store that is full of a vast variety of foods to buy. I have transportation to get to the store. and money to pay for the food. The list goes on and on and on. 

And so I was relaying all of these thoughts to the children over lunch, which led to them remembering the days when we ALL went grocery shopping every single week. They talked about how HUGE Walmart seemed and how they were sure if they let go of holding on to the cart they would get lost in that huge store. Another story was how they hoped that I would not run into anyone I knew at the store--especially Aunt Meghan--because we would talk for sooooo long! Anna did cartwheels down the aisles. (She was not one who was afraid of letting go of the cart! Did she EVER hold on to the cart?!) Josiah remembered playing in a clothes rack only to emerge and not see me and got scared. 

Isaiah doesn't really remember those days and decided he would go along with me today. When we got to the store, I chose a cart and realized it didn't have a plastic cover on the handle and it was COLD. Isaiah offered to push the cart and warm it up for me. He proceeded to push the cart the whole time. He was a great helper. I realized that had I just picked up groceries I would not have had that hour alone with Isaiah and he really did need a full grocery shopping experience with me that he will remember. lol. 

We got to the cashier and I told her that I usually do pickup and was tempted to be annoyed at the "inconvenience." She was old enough to appreciate the days when there was no choice but to do grocery shopping with multiple children in tow and we laughed about "first world problems." She gave me my total and then asked, "And so did you spend more in the store than you do on pickup?" The answer was definitely YES. When we got home and the others saw the extra fruit and bags of chips, their response was "good job Isaiah."  

 

 

January Things

 January started with a birthday celebration for Moriah. Moriah has been a part of our life for a year now. Her smile, sparkly eyes and overall health is a testament to the work our Lord has been doing in her life. I'm excited to see what this year holds for her! Moriah chose lemon for her dessert. I had never had a lemon Smith Island Cake, but let me tell you, it was delicious!

Back to school with some new screen time limits. I went into this change with the expectation of some pretty big meltdowns, but instead these three have been cooperative and happy. I was telling someone yesterday how thankful I am for Josiah's cooperative spirit. He is just about 18 and could have really pushed back against having the same screen limits that his 11 year old brother has. Not for even a second did he push back. 

Josiah and friends have been able to play disc golf just about every week. Some weeks it's the coldest day that works for everyone, but that doesn't stop them!

This month we have added Audrey and Henry to our Thursday afternoons. They go to Homeschool Gym with Isaiah while Josiah and Anna finish up school. When we get home Henry is glued to Josiah!

Aliza started the year off by going to Cross Con in Louisville, KY with a group of young adults from church. They took four cars and drove themselves. She was in a car with a driver I trusted and I knew she would keep the energy level high for the (11 hour) trip. I'll admit that I did check her location on the travel days. Cross Con had a live stream and I enjoyed listening to the sermons and main breakout sessions. I watched them delayed so that I could speed up the speaking!

We had a good evening celebrating my Dad's birthday. It must have been an extra dark night. There were multiple mishaps among the cousins during Manhunt. 

As soon as she got home, Aliza had her first of 3 weekends at camp during the month of January. She is working for the winter youth retreats. Since she had just gotten home and was very tired, we dropped her off on our way to West Virginia. The timing worked out well so that we got to be with Karen for her birthday.  

Karen had some bananas that needed to be used and asked if I had a banana bread recipe I used. I do and she had the Joanna Gaines cookbook that it is in, so I made it. There is nothing healthy about this banana bread and not what Karen was expecting. However, it was yummy and turned out perfectly!

And then we picked Aliza up again. It actually worked out really well. I'm glad we could do that for her this time. 

A priority this month has been figuring out how to best help Anna with math. We've had some good days and some not-so-good days. I'm hopeful that we are finding a new rhythm. 

Jeremy gave me encouragement cards for Christmas and so far they have been quite timely. After a few days with high emotion and hard conversations, this one was just what I needed. 

It's been a while since I've read a Charles Martin book. Last weekend was pretty quiet and was just the right time for one of his books. 

 Josiah has high school transcripts requested to continue his college application process. I'll be preparing myself emotionally for the next few months for his graduation. 

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!