January 2017 Update

Happy New Year!

We had a very nice Christmas celebration.  Everyone (plus a couple of wonderful extras) was able to be here for at least part of the holidays, and I got to meet my Minnesotan granddaughter, Daisy!  At our peak, we had 25 people here for a crowded but fabulous time.  The extras were Cai’s girlfriend, Amy, Carissa’s mother-in-law, Rhonda, and Abigail’s boyfriend, Seth.  We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church where several of us sang an arrangement of “I Wonder As I Wander,” and we enjoyed the singing and the gospel message of God becoming man to reconcile us to Himself.  Then Christmas morning was busy with it being on a Sunday this year.  We did stockings first thing, got ready and went to church, then did our usual Christmas brunch, and finished up with the presents under the tree.

Krista feeding Alma at a family dinner over the holidays

Alma returning the favor

Family dinner over the holidays

Ready for Christmas morning

Christmas morning stockings

Christmas brunch

Grandpa with Daisy

Since 12/25 is also Carissa’s husband, Matt’s, birthday, she made him a cake while everyone was here so we celebrated him too.  Also, Ella’s daughter, Hazel, turned two on 1/6.  Hannah and Kevin skipped out on Hazel’s party, but Alma, their daughter, represented the Mickle family there.  They had a pretty good excuse for skipping:  they were in the hospital, and Hazel got a birthday twin!  Alexander David Mickle was born on 1/6 at 8:08PM.  He weighed 10 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 23 inches long.  They are all doing very well, and we praise God with them for this gift to their family!

Grandpa and Alex

Alex ready to go home from the hospital

Of course, everyone eventually went back home after the holidays, and that’s always a little sad.  We also had to say goodbye to Amelia for the first time.  She went with Kortney and Mat and Daisy and is living with them in Minnesota.  She is doing all kinds of new things, like finding a job (she started working as a bank teller this week), getting into a new church and Bible study group, and living with her sister and brother-in-law.  I’m proud of all the new things she is doing and how well she is doing them!

Our downstairs is mostly done.  I need to finish off the flooring, and we need to do the trim, but it is very usable, and we’re very happy with how it looks.  It was great to have that space available when our house was so crowded!

This shows our downstairs renovation as it is now (before we decorated the tree and moved furniture in for Christmas)

For contrast, here's the same corner midway through the demolition

I guess that’s it for this month!