We broke up the long days of January with a couple of trips, but when we were home, it felt like a lot of hibernating, which I don't mind at all. Slow, cozy happenings from the month included . . .
Kicking . . . off 2025 in sunny Arizona. I already wrote all about our trip in this post, but it was a great way to spend the first few days of the new year.
Paying . . . for guitar lessons. Starting this month, Aaron paid for his own guitar lessons. He had been doing very little practicing, so we told him we were done paying for lessons. I thought he wouldn't care since he clearly hadn't been giving it much attention, but he was actually very disappointed and said that playing the guitar was one of his favorite things. We told him he'd have to pay for his own lessons if he wanted to continue, but we would pay him back for every hour of practicing (or performing) he did. His practicing dramatically increased once the money disappeared from his bank account, and he got a large percentage (but not quite all of it) back at the end of the month. (He usually practices pretty late at night, and most of us are already in bed, but one of my favorite things is listening to him play Blackbird as I drift off to sleep.)
Eating . . . out with friends. We tried a new-to-us sushi place with Mike's cousin, Rachel, and her husband, Micah. It was called Sukiya, and it was amazing. We got the all-you-can-eat buffet, but on top of a traditional type of buffet, you also could order any sushi rolls from the menu and they would bring them freshly made to your table. Highly recommend. A couple of weeks later, we went to Sara Thai Kitchen with our friends, Ashley and Tim. We are always trying new Thai places, but I honestly don't know if I need to try any more after this because this one was pretty amazing and next to my other favorite Thai place (Top It Frozen Yogurt--yes, it really does have Thai food), I think all my Thai needs might be met. Besides the food, it was also so great to catch up with these two couples that we love spending time with.
Losing . . . a beloved pair of mittens. In 2018, I knitted a pair of cabled mittens for my grandma. When she passed away in 2023, my mom gave the mittens to me, and I have loved wearing them ever since. Not only are they the perfect fit and density to keep my hands nicely warm, but I thought of my grandma every time I wore them. Maybe I was being overly sentimental, but I loved thinking of her hands inside them as my hands were inside them now. But sometime during the month, I realized they were missing. At first, I was sure I had just misplaced them somewhere and they would turn up, but when that didn't happen, I went on an intensive search for them. I looked in every coat pocket, turned the van upside down, searched in every bag I own, looked under beds and chairs and couches. The last place I remember having them was on a hike I went on with my sister-in-law and niece. But I had them look in their car, and I even went back and hiked the same trail a few weeks later. I am so sad to lose these mittens because they feel irreplaceable. I could make the same pattern with the same yarn but they wouldn't be the same because they wouldn't have belonged to my grandma.
Spending . . . three days at Disneyland. We took Clark, Ian, and Silas to Disneyland for their Christmas present. I hope to write about all of the highlights in a separate post, but we loved (almost) every minute. They were definitely some long days, and we might have reached our limit of fun sometimes. The three older boys stayed home alone (with a few check-ins from family members), and the most noteworthy thing was that they watched too many Marvel movies.
Celebrating . . . Silas. The person who was much more excited for his birthday than I was for mine was Silas. He turned three, and anyone who remember all the fake birthday parties we had over the past year will know what a big deal it was to him to finally have the real thing. (Although, interestingly, just like me, he didn't want to turn another year older. He enjoys being little so much and is quite anxious about being old enough to go to school someday.) In spite of having a birthday on the busiest day of the week (Wednesday), he was thrilled with absolutely everything: his birthday bucket, doughnuts for breakfast, being sung to at music class, getting french fries at Mike's work, opening presents, his crocodile cake, and ice cream. Three-year-olds are so easy to please. His favorite present was probably a drum pad. Now he can beat out rhythms until we all go crazy My dad and Angela and Blaine came over for a little birthday party, and my favorite part was when everyone was playing Let's Go Fishing and Crocodile Dentist like they were the best games ever.
Continuing . . . to celebrate. Silas and I continued to get spoiled for our birthdays as the month went on. We had a little mini-party for Silas at my parents' house on one of our Thursday visits when we had another cake with candles. On another Thursday, my mom and I went out for pedicures, and Silas got a marching drum that he can wear around. Mike's mom also came over one morning to give Silas a few puzzles, which they then put together. My friend, Sarah, stopped by and gave me a few curly hair tools to try out, which was so thoughtful.
Giving . . . curly hair another go. Speaking of curly hair, my hair has some natural wave/curl, and occasionally I will go through a phase where I try to embrace that texture instead of straightening it away. The most recent of these endeavors was in 2020 when I thought I didn't have anything to lose since no one was going to see me anyway. I gave up after a few months because I couldn't ever get it to behave past the day that I washed it. However, in the last few weeks, I noticed that the daily heat was really damaging my hair, and it seemed kind of silly to straighten it every day instead of just encouraging its natural texture. So I'm giving it another try. And so far, I've had more success, especially with second and third day hair, than I did last time. I'm also letting myself go back and forth between curly and straight because it feels like a lot to commit to 100% of the time.
Playing . . . basketball. Clark was on such a fun basketball team this winter with a bunch of school friends and two really great coaches. Clark started out the season fairly timid, afraid to get any fouls called on him. And by the end, he was shooting and making baskets. They had a winning season, and the only team they lost to, they ended up beating in the final game.
Arriving . . . late to the Wicked party. We finally saw the new Wicked movie. Aaron, Max, and Clark saw it one afternoon, and Mike and I saw it that same evening (why we saw it in two shifts is a long, uninteresting story). I have seen the broadway show twice and love the story and the music, so I was excited about the movie. Overall, it was stellar, and I loved the casting, cinematography, choreography, and costuming. My one and only gripe is that it was too long. No one else seems to be saying this, but I think it could have easily been cut down by twenty minutes just by trimming a few of the slow, very drawn-out, dramatic scenes. Don't hate me.
Failing . . . to cut out sugar. With the start of 2025, I vowed, "We are purging this house of all candy and treats!" I felt like we needed to do something drastic to get Silas' eating habits under control. He loves sweets and hates regular meals, and I know this is our fault . . . particularly the big boys who love to share candy with him. But honestly, this ended up being so much more difficult than I thought it would be. Never have I been more aware of how much sugar comes into our home without any help from me: grandparents, neighbors, school, brothers, church. I realized that without becoming absolutely rigid and making everyone afraid of me and my rules, it would not happen, and I wasn't willing to do that. And then I was talking to our pediatrician at Silas' three-year well-check, and he surprised me by saying that he was actually fine with sugar; it was actually the food dyes he was more concerned with. So I guess I'm just going to try harder to limit snacks and focus on healthy meals (not as easy as it sounds with this very opinionated child).
Buying . . . a "new" sewing machine. This was a long time coming. I have wanted to upgrade my sewing machine for years, but I was so overwhelmed with all the brands and choices. I asked many of my sewist friends for their recommendations (including reaching out to my sewing teacher from when I was a teenager). I searched ebay and the classifieds and finally decided to go with a Pfaff Creative 7530 that I found on ebay. This was almost identical to the machine my sewing teacher had. There was a bit of drama when it originally arrived and the pedal didn't work. But luckily, my resident mechanical engineer got things working properly. The very first thing I sewed was a superhero cape for Silas. I made one for each of my boys when they were about Silas' age. Amazingly, they were all still able to find their capes, so we had to get a photo. The sewing machine worked great--so smooth and easy to control. After the cape, I made a sweatshirt for myself and currently have more projects cut out and ready to go. (As far as knitting, I finished my pair of Jo socks at the very beginning of the month, I shortened the very first sweater I ever made so that it fits me better, and I made a lot of progress on a lot of other projects but didn't actually finish anything else.)
Falling . . . in love with the Disney classics. While we were in California, we watched The Little Mermaid in the hotel one night. Silas loved the Little Mermaid ride and really wanted to see the movie, and it was a winner. (To our question, "Who's your favorite character," he usually answered, "Ursula.") When we got home, we watched Robin Hood. He watched that one at least four times in a row (it also coincided with him being sick.) And since those two movies, he's watched a plethora of the old Disney classics, and most of them still hold up.
Reading . . . a few fun books:
The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon (I started this book a few months ago but had to stop partway through to prioritize some other reads. I finally finished it this month and enjoyed it a lot. I love a good historical retelling. The audio grated on me a little (even though I know it has received high praise), so I kind of wish I'd read instead of listened.)
Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins (a cute readaloud with Ian)
It Happened One Road Trip by Becky Lamb Jensen (My friend's debut novel, and the cutest rom-com you'll ever read.)
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (Such a delight, made even more delightful by Mike reading (and loving) it too.)
Singing . . . during Family Home Evening. As part of our family nights on Mondays, we have seven assignments that get rotated through. One of these assignments is to share a talent or skill. Maxwell joined the tenor/bass choir this semester, and one day, he had to sing a short solo. So when it was his turn to share a talent, we said, "Sing your solo for us!" He had found a karaoke version of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" that he used at school, so that's what he sang for us as well. First of all, I just have to say that I was kind of shocked when he started singing: he was on pitch and had good volume and tone. It seems he became a good singer without me even realizing it! But then Aaron was like, "I want to sing it too!" So he also did his own little solo. The karaoke arrangement had five verses of the hymn, so we just kept going: Bradley took a turn, then Clark, then Ian and me, and finally Mike. This was so fun for me to hear each of my kids' voices, one by one.
Continuing . . . with Let's Play Music and choir. Speaking of singing, Silas and I kicked off another semester of Let's Play Music (Pink Piggies). It is so much fun doing these classes together, especially with Ms. Liz always working her magic. Clark, Ian, and I are continuing to do the elementary school choir twice a week. As I already mentioned, Max joined the tenor/bass choir at school, and Aaron is still in Troubadours. And Mike, Aaron, Max, and Bradley all participate in the youth choir at church. So there's a lot of singing going on at our house.
And I guess that wraps up this month. Kind of a shorter recap, but that's how January goes.
That cape picture is priceless! I love how each cape gets smaller on the boys until its tiny on Aaron! So cute!
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