December, 2018

December flew by in a whirlwind of activity this year. 

We started the month off with Levi's piano recital. We agreed ahead of time that he could quit taking lessons after his recital...so this was more than likely our last recital.

 The garden peanuts kept us busy, lots of cracking and shelling.

Hi steers!

 Even our friend Kreed got in on helping us shell peanuts.

 And then he and Levi helped me make peanut butter with all of those peanuts!

 Our entire harvest pureed into butter. Yum!

 Ben took me out for my Christmas/Birthday gift to a Wine Soiree at George's French Bistro in Wichita. The entire evening was a delicious food adventure. All of the foods were a first for me and I loved everything.

 Dessert was Baked Alaska and it was gorgeous and yummy.

 All winter I try to keep my ferns alive in my house...

 Before Christmas break we celebrated Levi's birthday at school - lunch at school is always fun and very interesting.

 The birthday boy on the hot seat getting asked questions about his birthday traditions and wishes.

 I got to witness his class have several short recesses and each one was an intense game of kickball.

 Finally, it was time for Levi to hand out his birthday treats - puppy chow.

 We recently figured out how to make rice and beans that taste almost as good as Mary Alice's or Sue's and it feels like an incredible win!

 And, when we hosted a get-together at our house I put this charcuterie board together. What a delicious treat that was and it was so very fun to put together!

 Levi's first band concert was a great success. His trombone solo went perfectly and he had a lot of fun, too.

 The Christmas concert was delightful, as usual with all the kids looking and doing their best.

 Christmas at my parents' house happened before Christmas since Rylee was traveling over Christmas with her other mom. Even if it was early, it was still a lovely day together!

 And then that evening we had another Christmas with the extended Epp family.

 Just before Christmas, our Sunday School class walked around Goessel caroling and it was a fun and meaningful experience. Singing to your neighbors and to strangers and bringing them joy is truly a special experience.

 Levi got sing in a children's choir at church for Christmas Eve,

 and Noah was a Wise Man.

 We were lucky to have Tim and Sue join us for Christmas this year.

 We made a healthy and delicious breakfast casserole for Christmas morning and lots and lots of coffee.

 The boys opened their gifts,

 and then we moved on to puzzling.

 My parents came over in the afternoon so my dad and Levi continued putting together his robot

 and mom helped us puzzle.

 Later on over Christmas break, Ezra and Andy and Lia came to join in the fun! Ezra soaked up all the farm fun he could while he was here.

 Puzzle complete!

 Christmas can be exhausting - we were thankful for a schedule that was relaxed and allowed time for naps.

 Time to celebrate Levi's 11th birthday!

 And the next day we drove to Lawrence to watch KU play.

 Next up, my 38th birthday - we met my sister for brunch at Homegrown in Wichita and it was so darn yummy I've been trying to figure out how to get back there for brunch ever since!

 Time to celebrate at my parents' house with my December birthday buddy. :-)

I really wish our birthdays and Christmas were further apart but they're not and we just have to do our best to celebrate when we can. On to 2019!