Joy Dare::December

 10,757. Josiah getting Geometry
10,758. The Nutcracker
10,759. The feeling of finishing school on Friday
10,760. Family afternoon in OC
10,761. Temperatures that made OC nice in December
10,762. Puppy chow
10,763. Sunday School discussion
10,764. Christmas carols
10,765. Holiday baking shows
10,766. Isaiah's distraction dance makes me laugh every single time
10,767. Dangerous Jesus by KB Burgess
10,768. A quick orthodontist appointment
10,769. Josiah has his driver's permit!
10,770. Wrapping presents
10,771. Hot chocolate
10,772. Choir singing
10,773. House cleaning
10,774. China mission night
10,775 Isaiah insisting I come outside to see a beautiful sunset

10,776. Singing carols
10,777. Spontaneous shopping with a friend
10,778. Good school day
10,779. Christmas tea

10,780. Daughters having sister time
10,781. Fishing stories
10,782. First batch of Christmas cookies
10,783. Josiah doing sound at church with confidence
10,784. Finished puzzle (minus one piece that remains missing)

10,785. Wrapped presents under the tree
10,786. Josiah driving for the first time
10,787. A good talk with Mom
10,788. Monday evening with Janell
10,789. Isaiah excited about frost this morning
10,790. Anna did well on math
10,791. Gingerbread chai
10,792. Marco Polo to keep in touch with far away friends
10,793. Studying Exodus
10,794. Hair cut
10,795. Finishing up the Christmas shopping
10,796. Amazing Race finale
10,797. Anna wanted to sit beside me while we each read our books
10,798. More cookies and addressing Christmas cards
10,799, Jeremy could do the evening pick up
10,800. A winter Pokemon afternoon
10,801. Aliza's Christmas concert
10,802. Soup, friends and Christmas carols
10,803. The first plate of Christmas cookies

10,804. A youth pastor who went the extra mile to watch out for Aliza driving in questionable weather
10,805. Tree Farm candle
10,806. 4 big kids outside in the rain and puddles
10,807. Aliza snuggled in with Aunt Janell
10,808. Breakfast for supper per Isaiah's request
10,809. New ramon bowls and spoons
10,810. Driving time with Josiah
10,811. Listening to the kids having the best time together
10,812. The little girls we take care of
10,813. Trying new instruments with Anna

 

10,814. First semester finished
10,815. A day with my mom and my girls
10,816. Cheesecake Factory duly impressed Aliza and Anna
10,817. The Miracle of Christmas at Sight and Sound
10,818. Singing in the car
10,819. Decorating cookies
10,820. Listening to the children banter back and forth
10,821 Chrissy.
10,822. Christmas with the Sheats family
10,823, Peeling shrimp beside Dad
10,824, Playing so hard they are completely worn out
10,825, Candlelight Christmas Eve service
10,826. Fancy hot chocolate
10,827. Watching Christmas with The Chosen
10,828, Christmas morning
10,829, Jeremy made the perfect cinnamon rolls
10,830, Enjoying a day to be together at home
10,831. Grocery shopping with Anna
10,832, Taking a vacation day
10,833. A new Charles Martin book
10,834. Tea and reading
10,835. Watching Sound of Music with the girls
10,836. Listening to brothers play together
10,837. Lunch with all of my siblings
10,838. A productive conversation
10,839. Visiting Matt and Chrissy
10,840. Our West Virginia Christmas
10,841. A quick project with Anna
10,842. Family slumber parties at Grandma and Grandpa's house
10,843. Filling Grandma's raised beds with dirt
10,844. Isaiah eating prime rib and liking it
10,845. Late nights and late mornings
10,846.Jeremy drove the whole trip home
10,847. Friends over for New Year's Eve
10,848. Lessons I've learned this year--both hard and joyful

Christmas Visit with the Friends

 Life has made it almost impossible for us to visit Matt and Chrissy the last few years, but this week it worked out that we could make a Christmas visit on our way to West Virginia. We hung out in the game room at their apartment complex and the boys had fun playing pool. The stick was longer than Isaiah is tall, but after a game or so he worked out a method that worked reasonably well.

Chrissy had gifts for the children--a Christmas ornament for each and something else they would enjoy.

Anna's ornament was a guitar case with a little guitar inside. Clearly she LOVED it. It is attached to her guitar case now, I'm not sure it will ever make it on a Christmas tree.

The other ornaments were equally personalized. Isaiah's was a minecraft bee, Josiah's a key fob with the 2023 on it--the year he got his permit, Aliza's was an airplane with her name, India, and 2023--her first flight.

A picture with all of us made my heart happy! Keeping in touch via Marco Polo is great, but seeing each other in person was special.

 

Grandparent Christmases

 Sheats Christmas is

cousins, reading the Christmas story, singing Joy to the World,

giving gifts,

being with Mom and Dad, sitting long around the table, pizza and shrimp and cookies,

playing games that turn out to be hard,

sweating from playing soccer and manhunt, and decorating gingerbread cookies.

The last round of manhunt took a bit of a turn. Caleb and Josiah hid so well under the boat trailer in complete darkness. No one could find them to the point that Isaiah was sobbing because he was so scared that Josiah was lost in the woods somewhere. That was the note the night ended on.

Heslop Christmas didn't go quite how we expected it would. Baby Ronan tested positive for flu the day we arrived and so we didn't get to see him open gifts for his first Christmas. And we didn't get to see him walking. But mostly we just want him to feel better quickly so that his mom and dad can get some sleep again! We were happy that Joel could come over while we opened gifts and Amanda could come visit the next day.

The sun was warm enough for a little chalk drawing and paper airplane flying.

There was lots of time to rest. I read a lot between visiting.

And we got Karen's garden beds filled with dirt--our gift to her. We brought dirt with us and we made a trip to Lowe's to get the rest of the dirt we needed. I continue to be amazed at what a difference Karen's heart surgery has made for her quality of life. I'm thankful that she is on this side of it and able to do all the things that she wants to do including gardening this spring!

Our Family Christmas

 Our family Christmas made my heart happy this year. Having big kids is pretty great--they sleep in and still get excited about giving and receiving gifts. This year we also had Christmas Eve at home. We went to the Christmas Eve service and had soup and fancy hot chocolate when we got home. Then we watched Christmas with The Chosen--"Holy Night." That is a Christmas movie that I won't mind watching every year.

Jeremy started off the morning with amazing cinnamon rolls that he made. I completely failed on brunch by not having bacon--or enough eggs. I have no idea how I managed to do that. 

The blanket tradition continues! I don't really blame Josiah for choosing the couch (lol), but the others all make their spots (claim their territory?) on the floor with blankets.

Aliza had the most fun putting together a snack basket for Isaiah. And he was thrilled with it!

The sisters and the brothers gave each other the same gifts. The girls gave each other weighted stuffed animals and the boys gave each other nerf guns.

Josiah's mug from Aliza says, "This is one awesome brother" with an arrow pointing up!

 The most interesting gift turned out to be Isaiah's remote controlled paper airplane. I was skeptical when Jeremy sent the idea to me, but since I didn't have a better idea I went with it. It's controlled through a phone app and it flies well! It's a little tricky to figure out at first and seems to be attracted to trees, but they have had a lot of fun with it.

Instead of a traditional meal, I went with Ramen and pork which is a hit with a high majority of the family. It's also a mean I knew would not keep me in the ktichen all day. 

Our Girls Day

 After we saw Moses at Sight and Sound in September, I knew the girls would love to see the Christmas show. It was a bit impulsive, but I invited my mom and sisters and bought tickets for December 21. There were not many shows or seats to choose from--even buying 3 months ahead. 

Grandma/Mom was able to join us and we had such a special girls day. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to introduce my girls to Cheesecake Factory on our way to Lancaster. We had lunch and, of course, cheesecake! It was as impressive for the girls as I thought it would be. Anna could not stop exclaiming over her huge plate of chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and corn. Aliza had a Korean Beef Bowl which she really liked.

White chocolate raspberry, key lime and Turtle were the cheesecake choices.

Barnes and Noble gave us a chance to walk around a bit before driving the last hour to Sight and Sound.

Aliza kept the music going all the way to Lancaster and all the way home--6 hours. I'm not even sure that we had any repeat songs. We sang some, talked a lot, and listened to Aliza and Anna sing more.

The show was so good. The music, the acting, the story, all pointed us to true meaning of Christmas and right before Christmas Day.

Usually I race to get home after a day away, but this time we decided to have supper at a local place called Agape Cafe before we drove home. I had promised Anna Starbucks on the way home. After a couple missed turns we found one in Target--that had closed a couple minutes before we got there. I should not attempt to find Starbucks off of my known path. I have had more than one failed Starbucks stop. 

Aliza sang us the rest of the way home! She said she has 5 hours of good music--the last hour she was having to look a bit for songs. 

Such good memories!

 

A Weekend Filled with Singing

 Saturday was sunny and warm. I sat on the porch soaking up the sun for a bit and then after lunch we had a family Pokemon adventure walking around SU.  It turned into quite the social event. Jeremy had invited Taylor without telling anyone so the children were excited to see him. And then we ran in to our favorite SU couple. They walked around with us for a while. Jeremy knows some other Pokemon guys who are at SU on most community days. It definitely got significantly cooler as the afternoon went on, but it was really nice to be outside and walking around. 

Saturday evening was Aliza's Christmas choir concert. It was an impressive concert. We really enjoyed getting to hear all that she has been working so hard on all semester. I had to grab a picture with Mom and Dad. We don't make enough excuses to get pictures of them! I had no idea we ended up under the Joy banner until I saw the picture later. That words seems to find me.

After church on Sunday we were invited to a couple's house, along with the rest of the worship team,  for soup and singing carols around the piano. Isaiah did not think this sounded at all like his idea of a good time.  He declined a hymnal when they were first handed out, but after the first song Isaiah asked for a hymnal. And then he announced that he had no idea how to read a hymnal. There was an empty chair between Melinda and Taylor and Melinda quickly took the opportunity to invite Isaiah to sit beside her.

Melinda showed him how to read the verses and the chorus and Isaiah sang loud and strong. He was so earnest and concentrating so hard! After a few songs his neck got sore and Melinda showed him how to hold the hymnal up so he didn't have to bend his neck. We sang alllll the Christmas songs and Isaiah stuck with it until the last two. By then he was very ready to go home and made sure that everyone heard him say it! (Embarrassing.)

My heart was completely melted over Isaiah singing. Isaiah's favorite Christmas song this year is O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

December Weekends

 School has taken priority this month with travel, life and sickness the last couple months. The weekends, though, have been full of Christmas and winter things.

We all went to Ocean City to listen to Aliza's choir sing at an event there. It was a warm day that made walking around on the boardwalk pleasant. Six teenagers plus Isaiah took a walk on the beach. The predicted and were right...Isaiah and Anna came back wet. The others came back barefoot.

Anna got a few strands of tinsel put in her hair.

The choir rode the carousel and tried to sing while riding.

It didn't exactly work out since it was so loud and they couldn't hear or see each other!

My Dad, Jeremy and the boys had a very successful rock fishing trip.

They caught their limit in the first hour, but that only meant they could just fish for fun the rest of the afternoon.

I heard the story a couple different ways, but Isaiah got the biggest fish and Josiah was involved in helping him reel it in.

 Today is another Saturday and it's warm enough to sit on the porch in the sun which is just soul refreshing for me. We are taking advantage of the sun with a family Pokemon afternoon. And then it is back to winter Christmas things this evening with Aliza's Christmas choir concert.

Joy Dare::November

 10,667. One year old giggles in our house
10,668. Snacks from the country of Turkey
10,669. Catching up with my mom
10,670. Encouragement
10,671. ESL class went smoothly
10,672. Staying real close to Jeremy
10,673. Laura and I knocked out the cleaning list
10,674. Youth led worship experience
10,675. Singing Christmas carols while Anna played guitar
10,676. Welcoming Josh, Sarah, Evelyn and Florence
10,677. Florence playing with Aliza's dolls
10,678. Sitting with Aliza while she packed
10,679. Anna has a funny #momfail story to tell
10,680. Two rows of Heslop's in church this morning
10,681. Listening to Anna's guitar teaching play

10,682. Isaiah was willing to go with his cousins
10,683. Sending Jeremy and Aliza on a huge adventure

10,684. Hours for Melinda and I to talk
10,685. Isaiah sleeping beside me
10,686. Tracking flights
10,687. Making applesauce
10,688. Getting pictures from the other side of the world
10,689. Making cookies
10,690. Prayer warrior moms
10,691. Sleeping in peace
10,692. Gingerbread oatmilk chai

10,693. Enjoying the fall warm afternoon
10,694. Supper with my boys
10,695. Anna had a great evening with friends
10,696. Facetime with Jeremy
10,697. Some time with Mom
10,698. Ladies brunch
10,699. Scrapbooking
10,700. Watching a show with Anna and Isaiah
10,701. Sunday School
10,702. Afternoon nap
10,703. Carpooling for youth group
10,704. Josiah is back to making us laugh
10,705. A night away with Aunt Janell
10,706. Water view
10,707. Isaiah and I had fun in the pool
10,708. Slowing way down
10,709. Pizza for supper
10,710. Walking this morning
10,711. Feeling more positive
10,712. Setting up a puzzle
10,713. Letting Isaiah try something new
10,714. Reaching out
10,715. Talking to Jeremy
10,716. A mom who knows how to mend
10,717. Anna's welcome home sign for Aliza
10,718. Safe travels
10,719 Great Falls

10,720. Seeing Jeremy and Aliza walk around the corner
10,721. When Sunday School discussion and the sermon complement each other
10,722. All of the India stories
10,723. 6 people around the table for supper
10,724. Fun shopping
10,725. Setting the Christmas season in motion
10,726. A quiet evening at home
10,727. Kitchen floor repair went smoothly
10,728. Having Ezra here for the afternoon
10,729. Decorating the Christmas tree
10,730. Celebrating Anna
10,731. The way Josiah keeps us laughing
10,732. Holiday baking shows
10,733. Thanksgiving with my family

10,734. An afternoon of visiting and cousins playing
10,735. Delivering a Thanksgiving plate of food to a friend
10,736. A lively game of Jeopardy in the car
10,737. My Christie time
10,738. Isaiah playing with Ronan
10,739. Reading time
10,740. Getting Grandma's raised beds started
10,741. Thanksgiving table
10,742. Christmas shopping from home
10,743. Smooth trip home
10,744. Feeling ready for the week
10,745. Winter morning cup of hot tea
10,746. Thanksgiving leftovers
10,747. Puzzle progress (lol)
10,748. Anna's perfect movie night

10,749. When Josiah has nighttime thoughts to discuss
10,750. Mom stopping by
10,751. Maggie playing peek-a-boo
10,752. Isaiah getting me water as soon as I start coughing
10,753. Reading the Gospels each month
10,754. An opportunity I wasn't expecting
10,755. Clothes that fit Josiah

10,756. ESL Christmas party