Winter may not be ‘official’ until December 21st but the weather this week in Grand Rapids says otherwise - we are loving the early snowfall! We’ve fully embraced the season with back to back crockpot meals (beef stew and chicken pot pie), bottomless cups of cocoa and those boobytraps of melted snow on the floor in the mudroom that gets your socks all wet and there’s nothing you can do about it but go and get a new pair of dry socks.
This season is a big time for traditions in our family and so far we’ve checked off a few including building a snowman (followed by cocoa of course), decorating a gingerbread house and (my favorite) we went Christmas tree hunting with Grandma and Grandpa Smith over Thanksgiving weekend. Today we begin our advent calendars with the kids and this weekend we’re visiting Santa at Ed Dunneback and Girls Farm. Later this month we’ll check out the trains and trees at Fredrick Meijer Gardens with Grandma and Grandpa Kladder, bake some Christmas cookies and I LOVE opening everyones holiday cards that come in the mail.
Last week to took the kids to their very first broadway musical: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer at DeVos Performance Hall and they loved it. The awe on Thomas’ face when the curtain rose at the start of the show was the sweetest moment. The kids have been randomly sining ‘Rudolph’ ever since. Before the show we took the kids to Broadway Bar for some chicken tenders and fries and to see ALL the Christmas decor. That, plus the show, made for the perfect holiday family outing.
Natalie and I also grabbed tickets to Beauty and the Beast the Musical showing at Grand Rapids Christian High School with some of the other ladies from Ottawa Hills. We were blown away by the talent, costume design, special effects and we can’t wait to see what they come out with for next semester. Before the show we grabbed dinner and drinks nearby at The Old Goat which is always a crowd pleaser.
Jeff turned 36 on November 23rd and while he’s not the biggest fan of celebrating himself, the kids and I made sure to show him the love by baking him a big ‘cookie’ - the kind you find at Young Life Camp that’s fresh out of the oven and covered with melting vanilla ice cream. There were candles, we sang and it was no more or no less than what Jeff desired.
We hosted the Ottawa Hills Neighborhood Happy Hour at our house in November and had a fantastic turnout. These monthly gatherings are an open invitation to neighbors who live in Ottawa Hills. Neighbors volunteer to host and everyone who attends brings a bottle of wine and a snack to share. Jeff and I love attending because it gives us the opportunity to meet folks in the neighborhood who we might otherwise not cross paths with. And usually, these people have lived here a lot longer than we have so they have a wealth of stories to share - everything from who used to live in our home to what color it used to be painted. And I’m sure I speak for most everyone when I say it’s super fun to see the inside of other houses in our neighborhood.
Thanksgiving weekend rocked with back to back family dinners and a Friends Thanksgiving to cap it off. Celebrations officially kicked off with an impromptu neighborhood happy hour on our porch. Friend Keri made the cutest kids ‘cornucopia snack tray’ with ice cream cones that the kids devoured. Thursday morning we stopped by the Kingma’s Drinksgiving party for bloody marys and mimosas before heading to Schoolcraft for dinner with our Smith Family. My Dad made a fantastic dinner leaving us all feeling stuffed. Sweet Natalie made place cards for the table and made sure to seat herself next to both Grandma and her baby cousin Brianna.
Friday morning we headed north to Rockford for a second Thanksgiving meal with our Kladder Family. My mother-in-law Mari outdid herself again with all the usual dishes and then some. After dinner the kids disappeared downstairs playing in the bunk room while the adults played board games.
Saturday was a flurry of excitement. First with the biggest surprise of the season watching Michigan beat Ohio State. Jeff hosted some guy friends to watch at our house and even more entertaining than the game was watching the guys react to the game. Never before had I witnessed such giddiness from grown men.
The excitement of the big win carried into the evening festivities celebrating Friends Thanksgiving with the Calvin Christian crew. We tried to figure out how many years it’s been going and guessed at 12. Each year evolves but some things remain the same: we make soup and salad, there is dirt dessert and we always go around a big circle sharing what we are thankful for. It’s something we look forward to every year.
This week was Giving Tuesday and I was extremely proud of our community for coming around Grace’s Table and doubling our fundraising goal of $10,000 to more than $21,000. The initial goal of $10,000 will go towards the transportation fund (Ubers, bus credit, gas cards) for our Moms who commute to Grace’s Table for programming and gatherings. And it’s with bittersweet emotions that the additional $11,000+ beyond our goal will go towards a very special Mom (Sarah) within the Grace community who’s been battling brain cancer over this past year.
Last, it’s been a while since we’ve talked about church and I have been prompted to do so because we’re approaching that time of year again: New Year Resolutions!! One of our resolutions from last year was to ‘reconnect with church’ prompted by the ever so common disengagement that occurred after services went virtual post Covid hitting. Most recently we’ve been attending Ada Bible Church at the East Paris campus and we are really enjoying it. We are still working on our resolutions for 2022 and look forward to sharing those closer to the first of the year. If you have good ones you and your family are working towards I’m all ears for fresh ideas!
Happy holiday prepping and partying this month! Stay warm and be merry.
