So I'm Not Very Good At This!

Wow, it has been awhile since I've posted a blog!
Since the last one (in September), a few things have happened around here.

The biggest, I suppose, is that we married Chrissie off to Garrett Griffith of MINNESOTA, so she's officially stuck here now! Eric performed the ceremony & I made sure everything happened. Holland and Katie's daughter Lily were the flower girls. It was a perfect ceremony...Chrissie used music that was uniquely her, (she walked down the aisle to Sweet Home Alabama) and everything was very simple...no extra stuff. Eric did a super job, of course! The reception was grrrrreat fun! Holland danced nonstop for about 2 hours!

It was great to have Katie & Scott here, as well as Grandpa & Grandma Coulter, and a brief visit from the Berniers!

Aidan and Holland have started attending preschool at a daycare just up the street from us. They go on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8-1. Oh, and the reason we can do this is because I'm now officially on the payroll of The Crossing at Woodland Fellowship! I am paid just enough to cover taxes, tithe, and the preschool. It is a HUGE blessing, as I have designated work time this way, and am not pulled back and forth between office and children for those designated hours. (Not that those are the only hours I work, but it sure helps to have this time kid-free!)

Um, speaking of church, God brought 291 people to church today. This is our highest attendance yet. It was a foggy, drippy day, and there were only 106 in the first service, so I just assumed that the holiday had hit us hard attendance-wise, which is to be expected. But then the second service was PACKED! God just keeps surprising us!

After church we had a turkey dinner potluck at Lions Park, and then we packed & wrapped 87 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes full of stuff people brought to bless children in foreign countries. Cool!

We very much enjoyed a stress-free holiday, as we stayed home for Thanksgiving. I made a 22-lb. turkey since if I'm going to make a turkey, it might as well yield lots of meat for future meals. We had sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie--the whole works. Eric even set the table & washed the dishes, so it was a super family effort! We enjoyed the parade on TV, and Braden watched football in the afternoon. It was a wonderful gift, and we have much to be thankful for.

We are making Christmas plans now. We have our VIP (Volunteers in Place) Christmas Open house on the 19th. I've been throwing a big Christmas party for people we're in ministry with for several years now, but this is the first year we've had to rent a facility. However, with over 100 volunteers in our church, we figured our home would be just a bit uncomfortable. I'm still doing the food, though... I love doing that... but we're hiring a caterer to provide the linens & dishes & help me serve it once the event starts, so that I'm not in the kitchen. We're doing it at our sister church in Rogers--the same one where we had Chrissie's wedding.

Yes! Aidan is finally potty trained.
Yes! Braden is enjoying & thriving in Kaleidoscope Charter School. He has Ms. Rhoades for homeroom, but the majority of his classes are with Mr. Goebel, a former Army man, who is grrrrreat with Braden!
Holland will go to all-day kindergarten there next year, and I can only imagine that she will thrive there also.

Eric & I cleaned out the laundry room & organized the back room in the garage on Friday, so we were able to move junk from the laundry room to the garage. He also parked his boat in the back room for the winter. (sniff, sniff) He's installing a shower in the laundry room (with a little help from his friends). We temporarily had a mouse issue last week...but five disposable mouse traps later, and our basement and garage seem free from furry friends. Ick.

Holland got her room reorganized & moved around yesterday. I love doing that--it just takes several hours. Keeping things organized is not Holland's forte. I still need to paint her trim and doors, but will need to feel REALLY inspired to get that done.

Well, it's 8:25, and the kids' bedtime has come and gone...so I must pull Eric away from his book (he's reading C.S. Lewis) & head the crew to bed!

Please let us know how you are doing.

Blessings to you!