Sledding.

My parents came to visit for the weekend and it was nice to see them! The girls love having them around as fun and constant playmates! We went sledding and had some wild rides down the big hill. There was ice underneath, so you went really fast, plus a fresh layer of snow on top, so you got a nice snow spray in the face. It was fun and nice to get outside for a bit, and special that Aunt Kayla could come too! 

Recent reads.

Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda- A Bible study I was in awhile back started this, but ended up dispersing before we got too far in, so when I was looking for a new devotional I decided to finish it. It's laid out as a year long study, with studying one woman of the Bible every five days. Each day isn't too long, so I did a two or three days at a time, so I finished it faster, but it could be done either way. I thought it was interesting! I had never done a study on women of the Bible before, and it made me look at things in ways I don't think I would have otherwise. The first day was a summary of the woman, second was something about the cultural times that applied to them, third was scripture and verses specifically about the woman, fourth/fifth were encouraging words and verses/prayer.

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn- I waited awhile to get this one from the library, and I enjoyed it. It's more of a thriller- suspenseful but not horror (I can't do horror). I found the storyline very engaging and I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. It's about a woman named Anna Fox, who suffers from agoraphobia, so she hasn't left her home in over ten months. She observes her neighbors a lot out her window, and ends up witnessing (part of) a murder one night. I am terrible at predicting what happens, which is nice in the fact that I never see what's coming. Finding out bits about Anna's past that made her the way she is and also more background (and eventually what happened during the murder) of the family across the street was captivating.

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain- This book is about time travel, which I would never say that I am into reading about, but I enjoyed this book. It's about a woman named Carly living in 1970, who is a widow who's husband just died in the Vietnam War. She is pregnant and is told her baby has a heart defect and there is nothing they can do. She finds out her brother-in-law works with time travel and is actually from the future. He sends her to 2001 to have the baby receive the heart surgery she needs, and then it spirals into what happens to their family. It was interesting and I was very pleased with the ending!

Ice skating.

We had a family ice skating date and it was so fun! Norah had gone once before on a daddy daughter date with Kley, but it was Lucy and Ellory's first time! Thank goodness for those kid walker things- a genius idea! Norah could go without it, but sometimes used it just for fun. She went around several times solo, we were impressed with how good she was for only her second time. Everyone loved it! It was harder than I thought actually to maintain your own balance while trying to help a child skate too. It was neat to do something different and everyone said they'd like to do it again! (You can see how fogged up Ellory's glasses were- mask problems. She's a good sport! All of the girls do really well with wearing masks. Hopefully sometime this year we won't have to anymore!) 

Love special family dates! Happy winter!

Christmas 2020- De Jong side.

We were in Des Moines over actual Christmas with my side, and we got to celebrate over New Year's with Kley's side! I really love celebrating with both side. What a joy to reflect on our Savior's birth and to enjoy quality time together as a family. This Christmas was especially sweet being together, as we didn't get to see family as much as we usually get to this year because of COVID. So thankful for His birth and family!

I'm not sure of the origin of this tradition, but last year the De Jongs started the tradition of the "Find the Pickle" game after hearing about several families in our church doing it. It's fun! Basically you just hide the pickle somewhere in the house and whoever finds it gets a prize. We did a couple rounds, and Lucy was so excited when she found it on her turn!

We had a popcorn bar for afternoon snack. So fun!

A rare picture of just me and my love!

Ellory got this Paw Patrol tower and she's in love!

Lucy got this builder construction set and it's been a huge hit!

Norah has been loving sleeping with a "cozy" blanket, meaning she's been stealing the one from the living room, so she got her own. She loved it!

Our best family photo shot.

Love four matching cousins! We unfortunately didn't get a whole family shot this holiday, but next time!

Christmas 2020- Schut side.

Merry Christmas! We were able to go to Des Moines, where my parents live, to celebrate with them and my siblings. We hunkered down at their house and didn't go anywhere, which was okay by me. I mean, a trip to Target would have been nice, but I'm grateful for all we can get! I'm thankful we were healthy and able to even see my family. 

Love our sweet family and glad we've gotten so much time together this year. 

My Christmas girls in red!

Entire family photos are my favorite.

Cute matching cousins in outfits from grandma!

One of my favorite things about Christmas this year was meeting my new niece Averie. What a sweetie!

Our beautiful Norah is growing up!

Matching Christmas pajamas!

Merriest Christmas to you all and blessings in 2021! Wonderful to celebrate Jesus coming- the best news!

Meeting our new niece Averie!

The best part of Christmas was meeting my new niece Averie! This is my sister Karlie's first baby. We are so excited for a new niece and cousin and holding her was amazing. It's so great to watch Zack and Karlie start their parenting journey. Doing it together and supporting each other is the best!  

The best picture- being an aunt is so fun!

Kley is super excited to be an uncle again too! He truly loves it and gets very excited and it's so fun to watch.

The girls meeting Averie for the first time!

What a sweetie! Love her wide eyes, like she's wondering what's happening.

Averie Jo Schornack was born on November 12, 2020 at 8:36am and was 20.5" and 8 lbs. even. Welcome to the world, sweet Averie. You are deeply loved already!