Hallelujah Chorus

OK, I just had to share this link with you all. A friend sent
this to us and we haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Enjoy!

Silent Monks singing Hallelujah Chorus

Jonathan's Birthday

Jonathan came over on Saturday so we could all

celebrate his 22nd birthday.
Grandma was able to join us for the afternoon, and
we had a fun time of Phase 10, as well as a rook
tournament.

Happy Birthday Jonathan!!

Last Christmas Program!

The girls were able to go with the Gerlachs out to Andover to

play for an independent living facility. They were able to play
a wide variety of Christmas music for the seniors, including
James and Amanda's great-grandmother.
They played many quartet pieces as well as
several duets.


It was a real treat to be able to play with
Amanda on the harp.

We are grateful for the many opportunities the
Lord has given us this year to share music with
others. It is our prayer that the music that we
play will be a blessing, and will point others
to the Savior.

Possum & Fun!

Our friends, the Thackers, trapped a possum a few days ago,

and Jordan was able to go help skin and prepare it for mounting.
Of course, some of the other children wanted to go just to
play, so while the boys skinned, (well I guess Anna was with the
boys as well), :-), the others played soccer, red rover, cops &
robbers, and otherwise ran off some excess energy.
I made these pictures smaller for the queasy ones. :-)

I just call this photo "pullin & peelin"
It looks like the neighbor boy in the back
may lose his lunch!

Christopher covering the skin with salt to
begin the drying process.

Ornaments & Treats

We jumped in full force around here with some holiday

baking and crafts. Justin and Joey finished up some
ornaments for the tree.
and the girls got started on some holiday favorites.
We thought we would share some of our
traditional favorites, over the next week or so,
as well a some new things we are going to try.
Sara began with our favorite caramel corn recipe,
while Anna started on the Glazed Apple Bread.
Anna, also mixed up some sugar cookie dough
so she and the kids could make these pinwheels.

The caramel corn, especially did not last long.
This is about 1/4 of the recipe left!! I guess we
will be doing several repeats of the caramel corn.

Youth Talent and Paul Wunsch Competition

We had a busy weekend, full of ACT tests, and music
competitions. Krista, Sara, and Anna all completed
ACT tests in the morning, and then Sara and Anna
both competed in the the Youth Talent / Stephen
Paul Wunsch awards in the afternoon.
Sara competed against many fine musicians, and she did a
great job playing Weber's Andante and Hungarian Rondo.

Anna played Hungarian Rhapsodie by Popper, and
received the McHugh Youth Talent Runner-up
Award for strings, for her performance!

Trip to Fort Scott, KS

We took a daytrip to Fort Scott, KS over the weekend.

We had been planning this trip for some time. Actually,
mom had been looking forward to this trip for over a
year! We had heard of the candlelight tour at the
Fort, and decided to make a day of it with a couple
families. We left Sat. morning with laptops, cameras,
and school books used to study for finals in tow.
We arrived at our good friends, Ron &
Kathy Puterbaugh's home, just after lunch.

After a bit of winding down...
we started playing games, beginning with
"Catch Phrase"
and ending with a rousing game of Encore. We
ended the day by going to the Fort for our tour.
This year's tour focused on the years between the
1840s and the Civil War. We watched several
reenactments representing events that occurred
during various Decembers in that time period.
The 700 candle lanterns and period costumes,
as well as the cold temperatures, all added to the
the ambience of the evening.
We concluded the tour with music, apple cider,
and snacks. The children were able to make a
few decorations for the Christmas tree.
After the tour we went window shopping down
the main street. It had a many interesting
shops, with antiques and unique gift ideas.
such as this one:
(I don't think I could handle a knife holder
like that sitting on my counter.)

After the tour we went back to Ron's for just
a bit before we headed back home. He got
out some of his old records and we all did a
bit of reminiscing. Well, the adults did anyhow.
Those that were a bit young for record players
had more fun observing the records themselves,
rather than listening to what was on them. :-)

Goodwill's Festival of Trees

Last week, the girls played during Goodwill's Festival

of Trees. Fully decorated trees are donated to this
event and are auctioned off, with the proceeds
given to local charities. Kayla played with her
violin teacher's studio, as well as joining her
sisters in some other Christmas songs.

Kayla with her friend Christy.


There were some beautifully decorated trees up
for auction!
Thursday was Senior Day, and many seniors
enjoyed the booths of games, snacks, as well
as the many decorated trees while the music
played. There were tables and chairs available
for those that needed to rest and enjoy the
programs while drinking cider & coffee.