Nails and Facials

 Christmas evening, the girls all wanted to try out their new facial masks and paint their nails. My first inclination was to say I needed to do other things, but just as I was about to, I felt the Spirit remind me that I had been praying for ways to connect with my kids more. So we painted nails and put on facial masks, which looked more like ghost masks. And it was fun!

Christmas 2019

 We had a great Christmas this year. We try hard to help keep the focus of Christmas on our Savior and giving, so the kids get to give gifts to each of the family members. It is so neat to watch them get excited about finding a perfect gift to give each other. This year Joseph even created a scavenger hunt for Ruth to find her gift, wrapping the first clue in a tiny mint tin. (This created much pre-Christmas conversation and angst.) I am grateful that they are so giving and loving to each other!

The Giving Machines

This year Denver was one of the cities selected to have the Giving Machine. It is a neat vending machine where instead of buying food, you buy things needed by people around the world. We encouraged the kids to earn money to be able to buy something for others in need. Ruth chose soap, Joseph bought a blanket, Miriam purchased a starter library, Rebecca bought meals for a women's shelter, I got some toilet worms, and Jack bought a sheep. It was a fun experience and helped us all to have a little perspective on life this Christmas Eve.

Christmas at Grandpa Mike's

Every year we get together with Dad and all the siblings that are in the area for a Christmas celebration. This is the only time all year we see some of these family members. We had a nice time visiting with everyone: Aaron and his family, including Samantha, Ryan and their three little ones, Ali and Alejandro, Jacob and Trish, Jonathan, Naomi and kids, and Brittany, as well as Great Grandma Wickham. It was fun to see everyone.

Carri, Samantha and Samantha's new baby

Aaron with jingle bells in his beard

Miriam, Ruth and Rebecca with Great Grandma Wickham

Ruth holding Samantha's new little one

Derik

Rebecca with Santa

Miriam with Santa

Joseph with Santa

Ruth with Santa

Brittany Huff

Rebecca's Piano Studio

Rebecca has been teaching piano lessons the past several months. It has been fun watching her as she creatively and patiently teaches these little ones to play the piano. She decided to have a Christmas recital with them, and the kids did an excellent job playing. Rebecca really showed a lot of maturity and dedication as she has created her own business. 

School Showcase Fall 2019

We had our end of semester school showcase and it was an exciting time. Miriam and Joseph were both recognized for working hard and completing the requirements for their Shakespeare class, which included reading at least 7plays, memorizing the Marc Antony soliloquy in Julius Caesar, and writing lots of papers. They were crowned as part of their recognition. Very exciting times.

Ruth also worked hard and had a great semester. She was able to perform a song her class learned as well as perform an Irish dance she learned. It was a successful semester and everyone had a good time.

Top 5!

Miriam has been interested in writing books for a long time. She asked last year for me to look into finding a writing curriculum to teach her how to write a novel. I did some research and found the One Year Adventure Novel. It was a great fit. It taught how to be creative and write a novel in a systematic way. She was able to work through the curriculum and finish her first novel! That is a huge accomplishment in itself.

OYAN also holds a novel contest for any students who have completed the course every year, and Miriam decided to enter. This was nerve-wracking to her in some ways- it is hard to put your work out there to be critiqued! She was so excited to hear the results, and the kids were all gathered around the computer to listen to the webinar where they announced the top 5 novels. We were ecstatic to hear her name and novel description read. What an amazing honor recognizing all her hard work and efforts to write her first novel. Great job, Miriam!