The February Findings

*Full disclosure - I'm completing these blog posts a year later, so they are really a summary of what photos I took.  Obviously, February was just as uneventful as January! 

I surprised some of my favorite littles at Chick-fil-a

The Hackney 4 were each other's Valentine's dates at Monicals

And in a move of stunning dexterity and gracefulness, I managed to slice open my finger while chopping an onion.

One ER visit and 3 stitches later...

Random January

What can I say?  Sometimes January is slow.  We had the usual round of cleaning, purging, and organizing that January seems to bring.  The snowfall prompts photos to send to our sponsored children who never see snow.

Then there is the sledding with the neighborhood friends.

The month ended with Aaron and I attending a worship retreat with the rest of the team from Hope.

Hello 2019!

We usually bring in the new year at our house so it was a fun change of pace to spend New Year's Eve at the Shelby and Jen's ringing in 2019 with the Smith and Schmidt families.

Rachel go in some guinea pig snuggle time with Rylan's new pet

There were several rounds of Uno, and after introducing in the new rules we had recently started playing with things got even more hotly contested.

After frustrating Shelby with the crazy Uno, Heather and I destroyed Shelby in euchre!

And of course, Shelby made sure to fully demonstrate his disgust!

A fun evening with this incredibly fun crew!

Christmas in Flora

To wrap up our time with family we spent a few days in Flora with the Hackney side of the family.

Dusty with the most appropriate gift...ninja dust!

We also got to spend a little time with Glenn, Tina, and Olivia who were in the area from Belgium visiting family.  It was nice to catch up with my gracious hosts from mine and Marla's European adventure.  Rachel enjoyed getting to meet Olivia.

Christmas 2018

We kicked off the Christmas festivities on Christmas Eve at home opening gifts.  When your son works at Best Buy who knows what will show up under the tree!  Aaron surprised Dusty and I with an upgrade.

And Christmas is not complete until Dusty has unwrapped a Chuck Norris calendar

On Christmas Day it was off to Mom and Dad's.  The usual full mantle.  (Note the Chuck Norris mask popping out of a stocking...wonder who that could be for?)

When one sibling has surgery and a heart valve replaced by a valve from a cow the other's must use the opportunity for fun...munching on cow tails!

My Christmas dinner...which looks remarkably the same from year to year

Present time

Trying out the flying presents outdoors.  Our family has notoriously bad luck with any sort of flying toy.

Rachel got make-up help from Haylei

PJ's from Memaw

The evening concluded with a spirited game of UNO

and karaoke 

Daniel got to partake in a special treat....waffles sent to us from Belgium by the Dietrick family.  I made a convert out of him.

No December is complete...

...without a trip downtown.  We had our fill at PF Changs and then headed to Monument circle.

Can't miss shooting this shot.  I have one for just about every year...and they all look just about like this!

Holiday traditions

Our Decembers are full of fun Christmas tradition.  This year is no exception.  Rachel and I have made the Festival of Trees at the Indiana Historical Society a regular addition to our holiday activities.  This year Heather and Alli join in on the fun.

We always have to have a "leg lamp" photo.

Lots of beautiful trees and fun with our friends

Rachel and I were also able to spend an evening at the symphony for the Yuletide celebration.  This fun show never disappoints.

And we always have a holiday concert thrown into the mix.  8th-grade choir concert at East Middle school.

Rachel and one of her besties, Katya