Merry Christmas, Y'all!

December - Finishing The Semester

We have had some truly chilly days (30 degrees) in December.

Amber was determined to get outside for some fresh air. 

Brent and Clara finished out their semester on human anatomy.

We've also had some nice warm days filled with Christmas carols! :)

Very Close!

They are only 1 pound and 1 inch apart! 

People have asked, "Are they twins?" 

RV Trip Over Thanksgiving Week

We celebrated Thanksgiving by taking an RV road trip to 4 state parks in western TX. Besides lots of driving, we also did lots of hiking at each park. 

Highlights of the trip were seeing a herd of 16 wild pigs cross the road in front of us, and seeing fossilized dinosaur footprints. We were also blessed with two 70+ degree days. 

Excited for the Christmas Season!

Fall Colors in TX

This year there have been pretty vibrant colors, for the South. We look forward to Thanksgiving. 

Blessings to y'all!

Playin' By the Creek

This is a simple, but still favorite, activity for the kids. 

Happy Halloween

Fall with Friends

We went to a pumpkin patch with our friends. We were glad they were open for this fall activity.

Amber and I attended a multi-church outdoor meeting to pray for our city, schools, families, and country. Some of her youth group friends were there too. 

Co-op Friends

Above: Brent and Clara's class practiced drawing the White House.

Below: Amber's class is playing Scrabble on the board...in Latin! And then a bunch of them enjoyed some ice cream (supposedly "custard," though this Wisconsinite would disagree) after class one beautiful afternoon. 

Around Home

We occasionally walk around the subdivision and pick up trash. Here Amber was pulling trash (mostly plastic bottles) out of the turtles' pond. 

The kids wrote their own script version of Pilgrim's Progress. It was delightful to watch. 

Sports

Amber joined the Middle School volleyball team for the private school they attended two years ago. She is still friends with several of the girls from the school and they are on the team too. Amber is loving this, her first official team sport. She is training to be the setter. 

Brent and Clara have been taking a track camp. We found out their coach was on the 2016 400meter relay Olympic team (for Haiti). They do lots of conditioning and sprinting, and once in a while they race each other. 

Learning

We were learning about the respiratory system and then abstract art at our elementary age co-op. 

In Amber's middle school co-op she is learning to draw the whole world this year, every country and capital. So far she has mastered freehand drawing: Canada, USA, Mexico and Central America, and the Caribbean islands. Also, she is learning Latin and doing some beginner translation work.  

All three of these kids keep me on my toes! :)

Birthday Week

The kids kicked-off Lucas' birthday with breakfast in bed. Amber made eggs and sausage. Brent helped me pick out and wrap some new board games for Lucas. Clara painted a rock and made a card for Dad.  We also enjoyed a keto pumpkin pie later in the day. 

A couple days later, Lucas and Brent went on a 12 mile "Tour de Frisco" ride.  

And Lucas rounded out the week with his annual scuba dive (in a TX lake). He met up with a bunch of divers at a dive shop event. The lake's visibility was not great that day, but the water temperature was perfect. He was able to do 3 dives, and...come home with free gear (baseball cap and diving shirt). 

Happy 37, Hon!

Paris

In August we took a day trip to Paris, TX. 

On the way out of Frisco, we saw several hot air balloons along the highway. It was a still, hot, humid day...maybe that's idea for ballooning?

The little Eifel tower was so cute, especially with the cowboy hat on top. 

There was a veterans memorial next to the tower. Unfortunately, because it was 104 degrees, we couldn't stay long...just long enough for pictures and a quick walk-around. 

We also enjoyed a refreshing swim at nearby Cooper Lake state park. 

We Heart Frisco

We are feeling increasingly settled as we start our third year in Frisco (starting the second year in our new home).

We've learned, through our many moves, that it takes us at least 2 years before we truly feel "settled" and comfortable. We thank God for these years in Frisco. 

AWANA Awards

With smoothies in hand, we drove over to the church to pick up the kids' hard-earned awards in Covid drive-through style.

High school students were applauding as each vehicle drove up. This made our kids smile.

They had a "Smith" packet all ready to hand us. 

Back-to-School

3rd Grader

5th Grader

7th Grader