From one year to the next

This kind of feels like the last day of Christmas. I'm not sure when we'll undecorate around here.  I'm not really in a hurry.  I know for sure the outside lights will be up through the darkness of January. Maybe longer.  We have neighbors who put theirs up way early and take them down way late, so we won't feel too out of place around here, lol!

It's a new year, 2022!  For the second year in a row I kept a "Good Things" jar.  So last evening I opened it and read all the good things I had written on post-it-notes throughout 2021.  It was so fun!  We thought of more things I should have written, so I added them to it.  So now I will be starting again for this new year. 

I want to back up now to Thursday.  I mentioned in the previous post about the tragic death of my great niece Jody and her husband Art.  Their memorial service was live streamed on Thursday and I watched it all, including the slide show at the beginning.  I was glad I was home, because I could cry without needing to hold it in.  SO many people shared memories and tributes to Art and Jody, including their two oldest teenagers.  God was so very glorified in their lives and in this memorial service. It is so, so hard to understand why their lives were cut short when they were making such an impact.  Here are some pictures I snapped while I was watching the slide show on my computer.  

On Friday morning Destiny, Alex, and Elizer arrived home exactly at the same time I got home from the grocery store.  Well, almost.  I got a text from Destiny, "Ten minutes away."  I talk-texted back, "Me too!  Let's race! Just kidding!!"  When I got home they had just pulled into our driveway.  Alex said, "We won!!"  

That evening we went to First Night in downtown State College.  We first went to that in 2007, even before we lived up here.  Anthony's band was one of the events that year, and we wanted to hear them.  We took Destiny along with us and had so much fun that we never missed again until 2015, the first time she wasn't with us for New Years.  We have attended when the temps were in the single digits!  But this year it was close to 50.  We were so afraid of getting cold that we way overdressed and ended up sweating!  We had a good time!

When we stood in line for this picture we thought Destiny would sit on the chair and hold Elizer.  But she quickly found out that the rug on the seat was soaking wet!  So we instead stood Elizer on it.  A lot of people were watching, and he totally enjoyed their attention!

Here's the picture of Destiny in 2007.  It was so freezing cold there were no worries about the seat being wet!

More pics at the ice sculptures.

There's little cabin in the playground where some of the activities took place.  We waited in a long line for the freshly made kettle corn and hot cider.  So yummy!!

We watched the reindeer until it was time for the biggest one to be on a TV interview!

Next was the ice slide!  Destiny LOVED that when she was little, and now she got to take Elizer on it!

The wishing well is always a fun place.  Lots of coins stuck to the ice.  On the left Destiny was probably ten years old. 

When we left downtown we drove around for a while looking at Christmas lights. 

Then we came home, put stuff out on our charcuterie board again and waited up for the ball to drop in NYC.  Elizer had slept in the car while we were driving around, so he was still awake till midnight and saw the ball on TV.  That made Alex happy.

On New Year's Day we all slept in till whenever we woke up.  I made bacon and scrambled eggs for everybody.  It was a rainy, lazy kind of day.  

Dick left around noon to go pick up a chest of drawers we had bought on Facebook Marketplace.  After he had picked it up he called and said that he was just 15 minutes from the Stauffer cabin, so he was going to go there to reminisce for a while.  So many memories of his dad there. 

At home I was getting started on our pork and sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.  Such a bland-looking meal, but so very scrumptious!!

We laughed at Elizer on his Blues Clues chair.  We're pretty sure he thinks it's a potty, because he always lifts the lid for the storage compartment and then sits down!  Having things to do while he's sitting there makes it look all the more realistic, hahahaha!

Across the room was Great Grandpa being funny too!

After dinner we had story time with Destiny!  Last week she had gone through all my children's books looking for the original Amelia Bedelia that she had loved so much as a child.  It was nowhere to be found!  She was so disappointed.  So I immediately ordered it from Amazon, and it arrived while they were away.  When I gave it to her last evening I sat down beside her and she read it to me.  We giggled over every single page!!  So fun!!  That is one book we will not let Elizer have until he's older.  It is precious!

The chicken that was just as dressed as he could be!

Later we played The Game of Things.  If you've never played it you've missed out!  Actually four is the least amount of people that can play, and the bigger the group the better.  But we still had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs with just four of us.  Alex was the winner.  He's a very good mind reader. 

We tried to keep Elizer occupied while we played - with food and with his own pencil and paper.  He did pretty well.   It was a good day! 

So this morning when I was deciding what to wear I realized I hadn't worn my beloved 2007 "Christmas program outfit" this season.  I usually wear it once a year.  So this was the day. 

I looked up the picture from 2007.  I told Destiny we should recreate it, haha!

We came home from church to this sweet scene.  

She had recently gotten a kit for making Mickey Mouse pancakes and finally had a chance to do it!  How adorable, and in Elizer's Mickey Mouse dish!

Dick and I were watching Shreck this afternoon, and Elizer was trying to sit like we were!  So cute!

Later this afternoon we went over to Anthony and Lori's to get our first peek at our pop-up camper.  Since summer Lori has been working whenever she had a chance at refurbishing it.  And wow!!!!  I told her I might be afraid to use it because it looks so amazing.  She's not quite finished with it yet, but it's time to pack it up for the winter. 

New seat covers, new flooring, new finish on the table top. 

New curtains, painted cabinets, new finish on the counter top, a basket near the door.

Fancy pillows, a cozy blanket, a lantern. At the very top right corner of this picture you can see just a bit of the new ceiling.  

I wish I had "before" pictures with the very dated plaid upholstery and olive green curtains and cheap-looking woodgrain cabinets, but it seems the only ones I have were taken with people and tons of stuff in it!

Anthony and Lori and the boys were ready to go for a little hike in the woods when we left, and I got this picture!  They're a hardy bunch!

And now I'm caught up again!  Blessings on your first week of 2022!