Christmas Morning

 This LEGO puzzle is the best!  It comes in four little boxes inside of the big box, making it ideal for puzzle races. My kids are puzzle masters and wouldn’t even let us look at the picture for the first round. 

An Adventure & A Christmas Gathering

 A “van hike” with Poppa to Bald River Falls was delightful.

 

This was a delicious Italian restaurant after the hike. 

I can’t believe this is the only picture I have from a fantastic family Christmas gathering of 30 Gibson descendants, but since it is, it makes the cut. The Traceys were the perfect hosts and the five of us even spent the night and visited their church the next day. 

Ringing in the New Year

 

Fall Break 2025

 

Hello, everyone!

Long time, no see. 

I haven’t blogged much lately for a number of reasons. 

One is that the way I have to post right now always scrambles my pictures, for example, in this post, they’re exactly backwards!  Another is that the site that I used to print blog books has gone kaput. Nevertheless, here I am, ready to report on our lovely Fall Break.

As you can see above, Eleonora is spending the last night of her break with her adorable smallest cousins. 

This weekend, all three kids enjoyed a retreat at our very favorite camp with E as a camper, C as a man-of-all-work, including painting and weed-eating, and Josiah as a counselor. 

Here are Josiah’s cousins enjoying his counsel during chapel singing. 

I got some great organizing done, if I do say so myself, especially in the dining room. Here are some old photos I organized. And guess if you can find a photo storage box for sale in this town…you can’t. 

Eleo and a bestie in their cabin. I 

The kids’ chore chart they completed one morning before an adventure with Heather. 

We saw The Birds in a vintage theatre. $10 each for the ticket, popcorn, candy, and drink. Fun times!

We have new kitchen counters coming our way in the next few weeks, so I’ve been looking at some new paint colors. 

We went to a baby shower for a sweet neighbor. 

Chris and I took the boys on a great college tour. Loved it. 

We camped out at the platforms with Cash and had a great time. E and I came across this turtle during our morning hunt for the doughboy sticks. 

See?  I told you. Scrambled. 

Eleonora and Chris and I had a fabulous little hike at Fall Creek Falls. 

And these pictures are from eleven years ago. Lovely times with lovely people!

2025

 You may not believe it, but it appears as if I have not blogged in 2025! 

Ashley, Jennifer, and I watched Pride and Prejudice in the theater last night for its 20th anniversary. Simply delightful!

Eleonora played the flute in her 5th grade spring concert this evening. 

They did a great job. 

She has improved so much this year, and had lots of cousins there to cheer her on. 

The two musicians of the evening. 

Eleonora and her sweet friend Piper. 

And to top off the evening, Eleonora came home and finished listening to the audiobook of The Secret Garden to put her over 3 million words because the AR words are counted for the last time tomorrow. She is hoping she read the most words in the school. Right now she is tied with a few others at 2 million. 

We are so proud of you, Eleonora!

But wait, there’s more!

 

You just thought my account of fall break was over!  We celebrated Chris turning 46. 

Josiah and Eleonora enjoyed a Junior Retreat at CSBC. 

I made some egg cups to put in the freezer for “healthy” before-school breakfasts for me. (I do not like eggs one speck unless they’re in a baked good. This does not count.). It’s so funny how the idea of a healthy food choice varies from generation to generation. I’m reading the Mitford series (again!) and their idea of a healthy breakfast is mostly dry toast. 

We enjoyed watching the boys perform at a football game. 

Ten years since Ashley’s wedding!

An old pic from a fall retreat back in the day. You can see little Josiah’s face if you look hard enough. 

We also went to the Pumpkin Playground with the cousins on Friday.