The halls are decked here at the Kladder residence and we have never been more prepared for the holiday season! Gifts are wrapped and under the tree. Christmas cards have been mailed. The kids and I baked a giant batch of my Great Grandmothers Almond Press Cookies. Jeff and Natalie hung the lights outside on the house and trees. Our elf (on a shelf) has arrived and the kids even sent their letters to Santa - something new for us knowing we won’t be able to visit Santa in person this year.
We already witnessed our first snowfall here in Grand Rapids and both the kids (and Jeff) were disappointed when it didn’t stick around for more than 24 hours. The kids were sad about not being able to make a snowman while Jeff was sad the plows at DJs didn’t get used. Moving forward, our entire family will be rooting for heavy snowfall which would mean not only a snow day for the kids but a meaningful work day for Jeff. As for me, I’m stuck working from home until further notice so for me it just means a prettier view from my seat in the dinning room.
Jeff is a month into his new job at DJs and so far the transition has been seamless. Jeff’s work truck arrived last week and just in time too - having the truck really improved our tree hunting experience this year. In honor of DJs I wrapped all of our Christmas presents this year in wrapping paper and bags with red truck print on them. It’s the little things that keep me going!
Natalie is still in the classroom (in person) at GRCS and we are super grateful for that. She lost her first tooth about a month ago and has a second wiggly one about to pop. Throughout November Natalie and her kindergarten class memorized Psalm 100. It was a very proud parent moment to watch her accomplish her goal to memorize it before Thanksgiving.
Thomas is also still in person in his classroom at Grace Preschool. Grace Church, however, recently announced that its closing it’s preschool ministry at the end of this semester which was both surprising and sad news. But sadness quickly turned to motivation for the Grace community when a core group of parents rallied together to help the teachers create their own LLC. The new organization will now rent back the classroom space from the church and be able to continue the school year as planned. For us, the only change will be who we write our tuition check to. A change that we will be embracing in 2021 is moving Thomas to full days instead of half days. Thomas is a ball of energy from the moment he wakes up until the second his head hits his pillow at night… we know full days for Tommy will be a piece of cake.
Thomas and his class are now gearing up for their annual Advent Program which will be recorded this year versus the in person event like years past. The teachers are organizing an outdoor viewing in the church parking lot where the video will play on an outdoor movie screen. Stuff like this gets me excited.
Other stuff about this month that excites me: making gingerbread houses with the kids, chocolate advent calendars, Shop Hop (I still have some teachers gifts to purchase) and receiving Christmas cards in the mail from friends and family. May your December be filled with massive amounts of joy!
POSTSCRIPT - Stuff worth mentioning…
Luna GR Takeout - Their taco kit family meals are THEE BEST.
‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor’ Documentary available on both HBO and Prime. Jeff and I watched last weekend together and it’s really really good.
I just finished reading ‘Beneath A Scarlett Sky’ by Mark Sullivan. It’s based on a true story about a young Italian man who finds himself as the driver for a high up Nazi sergeant. It was really good but I think my next book needs to be something a bit more uplifting.
With my gym still closed I’m finding myself out walking the neighborhood again and back on podcasts. Right now I’m super hot on Smartless with Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. I recommend listing to the Conan O’Brien one… had me in stitches!
