December Little Things

December came and went like the blink of an eye!  I can't believe 2020 will be over in just a few hours! Here's how we spent the last month of this crazy, unforgettable year:

We started the month with our elf, Charlie, returning.  He brought with him a few treats for the kids.  Lily was so excited to see him again!

We got the Christmas tree up and the house decorated after Thanksgiving.  I didn't want to put the outside lights up but Parker really wanted to so I told him I'd pay him to do it without my help.  He took me up on my offer and did a great job!

Cory had cataract surgery a couple of months ago and the company that makes the lenses contacted him to see if he would be in their promotional video.  They came to our house to interview him and then went up to the clinic to video him at work.  I had no idea it was going to be such a fancy setup.

Stay tuned... Maggie will soon make her acting debut in this promotional video!  She apparently was the star of the whole day!

Cory took Parker out to Heath's one afternoon to shoot guns and ride 4 wheelers.  He had a great time!

Our church put on an outside telling of the Christmas story so Lily and I went and participated one evening.  It was cold outside but they had hot chocolate to warm us up.

The last week of school, our PTA did some fun things for the kids including a train ride around the school during their PE time.  

One of Lily's best friends is Nikkee, who is also one of my ESL students.  When she told Lily that they might not have Christmas presents this year, Lily asked me if we could do something special for her family.  With the help of several teachers and family members, we were able to purchase toys and clothes for every child in her family.  Lily loved shopping for her family and truly learned the meaning of giving this year!

One of Parker's best friends, Kayden, had knee surgery and is confined to bed for several days.  He has a long recovery ahead of him so we took him a basketful of snacks/drinks to cheer him up.  They have been friends since preschool and I love that they are still such good friends after all these years.  Parker is sad that he won't be able to finish the basketball season with Kayden but hopefully he will as good as new after he fully recovers.

Lily and I spent the last day of the year making a lot of freezer meals to use once school starts again.  In just a few hours we made 2 lasagnas, 2 manicotti, a poppy seed chicken, two batches of energy bites and a chuck roast for street tacos.  She is such a good help in the kitchen and I don't know what I would have done without her!

And we will end the year with a few more pictures of Maggie! She has been spoiled rotten this year and has loved us being home more often.  She continues to be a great snuggler and curls up next to us any chance she gets.  She had a rough few months recovering first from surgery and then complications from surgery but is almost back to 100%.  I'm thankful every day for her unconditional love and am so glad she joined our family almost 5 years ago!

Peace out 2020! It's been a crazy 12 months and I'm not sad to see you go!  I'm praying that 2021 will give us a fresh start and bring back a little more normalcy to our lives.  And if it doesn't, I pray that we will continue to stay healthy, make memories and find joy in the little things in our lives.  

Christmas with Granna and Granstan

Everyone arrived before lunch to start the Rhone Family Christmas!  We've learned over the years that if we tell the kids they can't open any presents until we've taken family pictures, they are more likely to cooperate.  We actually got a great group picture this year!

The Harsheys nailed their family picture this year!

After pictures, it was finally time to open stockings.  

The triplets got some really cool sunglasses in their stockings that were a huge hit!

Luke and I modeling the new sunglasses!

We took a break for lunch and then let the kids open their presents.

The triplets got equipment to make obstacle courses in their backyard.  Hadley was thrilled about the new hurdles!

And Wryn loved the new set of cones!

We got the triplets new plates with their names on them.

The girls all got headbands to wear while they are getting ready in the morning.

After presents, we played a fun game where we chose a Santa hat with a quote on it and we had to choose the family member that was most likely to have said that quote.  

We sent the kids off to play or watch a movie while the adults opened their gifts and then we enjoyed dinner together.  After dinner, Meredith started playing beauty shop with the girls.  She curled their hair with a new curling iron that Granna had given us and even put makeup on them.  It was crazy how beautiful and grown up they looked.

As everyone got ready to leave, I looked over and captured a sweet moment between Hadley and Granstan.  She's such a sweet, loving, and funny girl!

The day flew by and lots of fun memories were made!  2020 may have been a crazy year but I'm so thankful for my family and all the fun times we had together despite the COVID restrictions.  I'm already looking forward to all the memories we will make in 2021!