Butler Family 2018 Road Trip | New York to California

Room Update

A YEAR ago Thanksgiving weekend, John and I were discussing Stewart’s asthma and how it had seemingly been getting worse.  Was it is busy college schedule?  Was he not eating well?  Sleeping well?  And then, as I stood at the stove, stirring dinner, it was 100% clear.
“He’s been in his new room since summer and that room still has the original carpet!”  What is more, that room had a rabbit in it when we visited [in 2007] to inspect the house.  Stewart is allergic to rabbits.
So – we ripped out the carpet that weekend and he’s had nothing but an area rug over the subfloor ever since. 
We decided to use some of John’s vacation time to have him spend two days doing the new floor.

Mama could hardly stand to look at that empty room with a new floor and old paint!  So she convinced everyone to let her paint the room.
Tab helped me prep it.

And a quick paint job it was.  From here on out, I’ve decreed that bedrooms for anyone over 12 years old just get a neutral color!  I believe we will have musical bedrooms for the next 10 years as kids come and go to college…

Christmas fun at church.

It is really hard to take photos outside in the dark when your hands are freezing.  So there are only a few.

Our church had a Christmas Fun Night out in the parking lot.  There was a petting zoo, a throw-the-snowball-at-the-Grinch game, a fire pit, a hot cocoa and cookies tent, and later on in the evening there was singing.  Indoors there were some crafts for kids and a photo op.

I didn’t get a picture of the live nativity… that included pigs?
But here is a photo to prove there were some animals.

Stewart, Nigel, and Marie sang with the adult choir.  Johanna and Katriel sang with the children’s choir.  Tab is in an in between age, but she had more than enough fun hanging out with friends. 

And for the first time since we started attending in 2001 there were lights on the giant pine tree out front that went on at the end of the gathering.

I stand at the door an knock…

said Asa, reminding us how we have to let Jesus in.

Asa brought hot chocolate.

Baby, it’s cold inside?

Nah.  Not really.  Asa had some inside style “snow” to play with this morning.

George Eastman House 2018

In looking through this blog, I came upon this entry from 2011.

See Johanna in the stroller?  Yeah, that was the last time we had been to the George Eastman house for any reason, least of all the Gingerbread display.

So after CBS we regrouped a bit at home and headed over to see the Gingerbread Display.

We did the scavenger hunt.  At first we were sort of laid back about it, then we all got into it and started to really put forth effort to figure it out.

What a difference 100 years makes.  Not to mention extraordinary wealth…

She was both pleased and horrified by the animal heads.

Katriel wanted to take a picture of me.  At first I balked.  I am sleep deprived and underwhelmed by my appearance.  Then I thought, “Why, YES!  Do take my photo with my family.”  Sometimes doing life tired is beautiful.  Rest is good – very good.  But sometimes digging into reserves to give more is a gift you can give.  

So glad we went; it was the last day of the exhibit for another year!

An RGH Christmas

My friend Jamie encouraged me to bring the girls to RGH for the Christmas party.

Tab, Hanny, and Katriel joined me for pizza, air brushing, and Santa.

Jamie’s five and three of mine.

Katriel and Pastor Tim

Not sure what else I would title this.

My friend Miriam sent me this photo.  She said she couldn’t resist snapping it after she saw these two in conversation (while having a snack at a small reception at the church).  I love that there is such a culture of intergenerational fellowship at our church.   I am just as likely to find my kids visiting with someone 50 years their senior as I am to find them chatting with someone their own age.  This goes for all my kids.

This summer, I heard a research article summarized on a radio broadcast.  It said that young people who stayed involved in church into adulthood could identify 4 non-family member adults who they had friendships/relationships with at church as youth.  At this point my kids could “boast” of way more than double that number.  I am exceedingly grateful for this.  We all but left our church in 2011, but God saw fit to direct us back.  It’s worked out spectacularly.

Youth Group Christmas Party

It was a really busy day.  But there was no better way to end it than to celebrate the season with a Christmas party for the youth group.  We’d spent the fall walking through Jesus’ early ministry and the book of John and this time was set aside to be silly together.

The theme of the annual Youth Group Christmas Party was Your Favorite Movie or Song.  Despite the fact we’d had weeks to prepare it was in the last few minutes before the party that we threw together costumes.

As the minutes ticked by, we came up with these:

Tab was Max from How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

I was a Who from the same movie.

Marie was the mouse that the Grinch didn’t leave enough crumbs for.

Nigel paid homage to his Grinchy friend.

I wasn’t the only Who.

Our friend Megan created this beautiful set of wings and wore bells in tribute to It’s a Wonderful Life.

We played a bunch of games and ate like junk food kings.

Marie: Retro

Marie was invited to a sock-hop style birthday party.  We found this not-so-poodle poodle skirt on Craigslist, and the collared top at Goodwill.  A red scarf from our pirate gear, and off she went.

CBS Christmas offerings

Another year of CBS blessings, as the students gathered to sing praises to God for His indescribable gift of Jesus.

Johanna and Katriel majored in enthusiasm.  And my images pretty much stunk.

I guess I was too busy enjoying the singing.

Asa is back.

Our sweet shepherd, Asa, has returned for the advent season.  He is bringing crafts and treats, and daily encourages us to look for Jesus. 

Each day comes with a card with scripture and some wisdom from Asa.  The girls look forward to seeing what he is up to each morning, and he keeps me on my toes as he scurries around the house each day.