It's Almost Christmas!

This has been a rough week. Before we get to that, however, when last we wrote, we were headed to Lyn's final Christmas concert for her bell choir.  It was a fun evening, and the kids did a great job.  It wasn't just the bell choir--there were many other musical numbers as well, including an audience sing-along of the Messiah Hallelujah Chorus.  That was Margie's favorite part!  (Besides watching her daughter perform, of course.)

Again, we just love how much Lyn loves to be up there!

On Monday morning, we received the sad news that one of Dan's closest aunts, his father's oldest sister, Betty, had passed away.  She had struggled with Alzheimers for many years, and her daughter had told us that they had put her hospice, so Dan had already planned to begin the long drive to Nebraska that afternoon.  The timing worked out extraordinarily well for him.  His sister missed her connecting flight to Lincoln and was rerouted to Omaha, and since Dan was driving instead of flying, he was able to alter course and pick her up. They arrived at around 2am Wednesday morning, and there was a family visitation that evening.  Thursday was the funeral.  Dan began the long drive back on Friday and finally arrived earlier this evening.  We missed him!

Betty and Gene, circa 1937

Betty and Gene, circa 2007

While in Nebraska, Dan and his siblings, Deb and Tom, decided to visit the site of the old farm.

While Dan was away, Margie and the kids survived, barely.  Margie came down with a wicked cold, but she couldn't slow down because she didn't have anyone to pick up the slack.  She powered through her new job with the high school drama department, her entrepreneurship class, Cub Scouts, her organizing business, kid chauffeuring, and her still-hurting ankle, with the help of lots of over-the-counter medication.

Lyn continued her challenging school work load, as well her rehearsals for the One Acts, and, of course, the Young Women's program at church.

John, meanwhile, was super busy, not only with school, scouts, and piano, but with running sound for A Christmas Carol.  He had a performance on Friday night and one on Saturday afternoon.  Then Saturday night was the closing night party.  He was a busy boy!

On Saturday morning, we awoke to an ice storm.  John carefully took out the recycling and thought the bin looked really cool coated with ice.  He came back in to get the camera and take pictures.

On Saturday night, Lyn made some vegan fondue. She had been eyeing the recipe since Thanksgiving.  For dippers we had roasted cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and broccoli, as well as tofu chunks, celery, and french bread.  It was super yummy and we plan to make it again!

On Sunday, we had our church Christmas program.  Lyn and Margie sang in the choir.  We were sad Dad missed it.  Luckily, he got back in time to take a picture of us still in our new Christmas duds.

I can't believe Christmas is only a week away.  Ack!  We're not ready!!!

Hope you are enjoying the season...

'Tis the Season

This week was very full, but thankfully a bit of a slower pace than last week.

On Monday, Lyn performed in her first handbell choir concert.  Dan and Margie were not able to go, due to Dan's set building, Margie's One Act supervision, and John's piano lesson, but we heard great things!  We are looking forward to seeing her perform tonight.

I love how happy she is in this picture.  She loves bell choir and wishes it would last all year!

Margie spent much of Tuesday getting ready for the Cub Scout Pack Meeting, which was held on Wednesday.  Then she attended her 6th class in entrepreneurship.  She's halfway through!

On Wednesday, Margie continued to spend time preparing for Cub Scouts, then she had lunch with a dear friend, then she rushed off to One Act rehearsal, then she rushed off to set up for Pack Meeting, then she hosted our special Christmas-themed meeting.  Whew!  It was a crazy busy day.  She was so exhausted by the end of it, that she left all the Pack Meeting stuff in her car, left all her dirty dishes piled in the kitchen, left many Christmas decoration boxes strewn about the house (because she ran out of time to finish decorating), and went straight to bed.

This turned out to be a mistake, because...

The next morning, she started carrying some things downstairs to put them away, while at the same time carrying a chocolate breakfast shake, slipped and fell, tumbling down the stairs, spraining her ankle, and splashing the shake EVERYWHERE.

She sat on the stairs, wondering what she should do, and finally decided to call Dan (luckily her cell phone was within reach).  He opened the door to the basement, saw the mess from the shake, and nearly had a heart attack because he thought it was blood!

Anyway, he managed to get Margie upstairs, brought her some clothes (because she was soaked to the skin with chocolate shake), and got her set up with some ice, while he wiped down the walls, put away the things she was carrying and had dropped, and pre-treated the carpet stains, before heading off to work.  What a hero!

Later, Margie's neighbor came and brought her some breakfast, and a woman from church came and cleaned the carpet.  You can hardly tell anything happened!   Well, at least as far as the carpet and stairwell go.  Margie had to cancel two jobs, as she sat around all day popping Advil and icing her foot.  The good news is that the injury is not nearly as bad as she thought it was going to be.  She is back on her feet, still taking it easy and taking a good amount of Advil.  It could have been so much worse!

Margie's friend from church also came and wrapped it with kinesiology tape.

On Friday, John ran sound for his first real performance of A Christmas Carol at LTA.  From all accounts, it went well and he did a great job.  He still has a couple more performances on the schedule, but if you wanted to see it, too bad--it's sold out until the end of the run!  

On Saturday, Dan spent most of the day building is set for A Lion in Winter at The Arlington Players. Meanwhile, our current AirBnB guest used our home to host a Christmas party for her family.  Due to some political family issues, she was not able to hold it in her own home or that of her family.  It was so gratifying to be able to lend our space to them.  This kind of thing is exactly why we did the remodel and continue to work to improve the space--for the benefit of others, more than ourselves.

That evening we attended the church Christmas party.  It was really a delight to be able to show up and have NOTHING to do with it and just enjoy.  Margie was not asked to lead the singing, the kids were not involved in the pageant, no one had to set up or break down the chairs.  It was just so nice to finally be able to relax and just be the recipient.

And that's been our week.  Tonight are excited to hear Lyn's bell choir, as well as other musical performances as we attend the "Christmas at Mt. Vernon" concert.  It's not really at Mt. Vernon.  Kind of complicated as to why they call it that.  But it is what it is.

We hope you are enjoying the season!

Winter is Coming

I hate to keep using the word "busy", but this has been an excruciatingly busy week.

Dan has started to build his Lion in Winter set for The Arlington Players.  Has has also started meetings for Neil Simon's I Oughta be in Pictures, another paid gig for Peter's Alley.

Margie spent the entire week preparing for and then catering the opening night part for LTA's A Christmas Carol.  It was a dessert reception, and this time she garnered the help of two amazing food artists from church.  It was pretty spectacular, but it was so much work and took so much time away from other endeavors that Margie has decided this was her last gig.  It was definitely a good one to go out on.

Dan made these awesome cookie stands.

Margie was particularly proud of her beautiful food signs.

She also couldn't get over how beautiful her apple roses turned out (dyed with beet juice).

The apple roses were a part of a beautiful grape wreath.  Margie used spun sugar to create the popcorn sprays.

We had a hot chocolate and apple cider bar.

Margie's friend, Rozey, did all the plating and table decorating.  It was beautiful!

Sugar cookie ornaments made by Margie's friend, Amber, graced Dan's cookie tree. 

A close up of the candied trees--a crowd favorite!

In case you can't read all the signs, on the menu were Sugar Cookies, Marshmallow Pops, Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes, Fig Jam Thumbprint Cookies, Candied Trees, Mini Eclairs,  Mincemeat Hand Pies, Peppermint Brownie Rounds, Eggnog Truffles, Peanut Butter Candy, and Coconut Candy.

In addition to all this, Margie continued with Cub Scouts, her new job supervising the One Act rehearsals at Edison, and her class in entrepreneurship.

Lyn is going crazy with homework, homework, and more homework.  Everyone says Junior year is the hardest, and she definitely agrees.  She also has been rehearsing for the One Acts at school at the bell choir at church.  Her first bell choir concert is tomorrow at the Temple Visitors Center! She loves bell choir so much, she wishes it would last all year.

John is staying busy, too.  The Global STEM Challenge he is participating in at school has lived up to its name and truly been a challenge--not just for him, but all the students, and the teachers as well, as they all work together to figure out this new style of teaching and learning.  He is also busy with piano and Boy Scouts.  Plus, last week Margie hired him to be her personal assistant and manage her calendar.  That's been a learning curve, but has already been hugely beneficial in managing Margie's crazy life.

Well, that's all our news.  Hope you're staying warm and enjoying the sights and sounds of the coming holiday!