Christmas Time is Here! 2016

Thanksgiving weekend - time to put the Christmas tree up, deck it out with lights and decorate.  While the tree and lights are quite the chore, I thoroughly enjoy putting up the ornaments!  It is so nostalgic to look through the box and remember the kids as they were babies and then toddlers...now young adults.  I love looking at the ornaments that help us remember our fun (and not so fun!) trips.  We even have a few funny ornaments that only the 6 of us would understand.  I love my little family and the memories that we have shared over the past 17 years.

This year's ornaments were given out after the tree was decorated (usually we give them out before other ornaments have been placed on the tree).  Due to work and commitments, this is what worked for us this year.

Kaitee received this Amelia Earhart Brooch to remember her trip with Matt to Amelia's birth home in Atchison, Kansas.  She continues to love the history of Amelia!

Will played "Ed" in the school musical "The Lion King" and did a wonderful job. 

Alex continues to run Cross Country and has improved her overall time.  She looks forward to running track this spring as well.

There is always one elusive ornament (or kid) to figure out.  This year it was Maddie.  We finally decided on this Snoopy Detective for her (thanks to a light bulb moment by Matt).  You see, she is very intuitive and doesn't miss any conversation (whether she's a part of it or not!).  Not much gets past her.  I miss the days of spelling things out and having the kids be clueless to what we speak of!  She often sits in the back seat and tells Matt if he is speeding.  Thanks kid!

After Matt's Nook (Raccoon) Fiasco, I couldn't let the year go by without commemorating it with an ornament. 

This was an ornament we purchased a year or two ago...but it sums up our year really well.  We visited all of the Lincoln sites in Springfield, IL this year as well as finished up our "Looking For Lincoln" hunt.



And for some cheap entertainment...here's Will singing along to one of the National Lampoon's Vacation Ornaments.  Whenever I watch this, I can't get over how much he looks like Anthony Michael Hall from the original Vacation movie. Enjoy!

Hart Family Christmas Letter 2016

Christmas 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

As another year ends, we take a few minutes to reflect on what 2016 meant to us.  The good, the bad, the mundane and the exciting – every part counts.  The older I get, the more I realize that life is full of seasons and that “exciting” is overrated! 

We did a lot of traveling this year.  Our family trip was spent driving over 4,000 miles through the New England states.  We saw some of God’s wondrous beauty as well as some man-made beauty!  It was a great trip, filled with lots of memories (most of them good!).  Matt and Kaitee visited Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas for their father/daughter trip.  They revisited the Laura & Almanzo Wilder home (MO), Eureka Springs (AR) and Amelia Earhart’s home (KS).  As a family, we also visited Michigan, Chicago, Springfield, IL (lots of Lincoln history) and Wisconsin.

Kaitee is 14 and a freshman in high school.  She loves high school life.  She has a few clubs that she participates in on a weekly basis when time and homework permit.  Homework consumes most of her time, spending 4-5 hours studying most days. In her spare time, she loves everything Harry Potter, Nancy Drew (there’s always a mystery to figure out!) and Hamilton.  Her & Alex both volunteer their Tuesday evenings at Awana as well as a few weekends helping at church with the younger kids.

Alex is 12 and in her 2^nd year at the middle school.  She keeps busy with band (flute), choir and sports (XC and Track).  She loves to run!  She is looking forward to learning the saxophone over the winter so she can participate in the jazz band.  After working diligently this past spring, she received her Timothy Award in Awana.  She had to complete 2 books in one year to accomplish this!  Getting baptized last month was a highlight for her – for all of us!

Will & Maddie will be turning 11 in January.  They are in their last year of grade school.  With their last year comes a lot of responsibilities (patrol, student council, band), which keep them busy.  Will chose to play trombone this year.  While he loves playing, he doesn’t like practicing.  If not playing Legos or reading comic books, Will often asks, “What can I do to help, Mom?”.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t care for my usual answer of “Well, you could go clean your room”! The biggest highlight for both Will & Maddie was attending their first week long church camp (by themselves).  They loved it and are counting down the days until next June!

Maddie keeps us on our toes mentally.  Not a secret can be kept when she is around!  She has become very astute at listening (eavesdropping)! She loves to keep us on task when we forget to do what we promised!  She decided that she didn’t want to play an instrument but keeps busy with artwork and crafts.  She loves playing with her Shopkins and Legos (often making up games that include using her collection of bouncy balls).  She and Alex still help lead kid’s worship once a month – they really enjoy doing that.

After more than 10 years with Option Health, we made the very hard decision to change jobs this year.  Matt started with Northwest Respiratory Services in September.  While the company and paperwork are different, he is still delivering oxygen (solely) and doing what he loves most (interaction with patients and driving).   He is still studying Hebrew with a friend and keeps busy with church & family commitments. 

I took on the role of chairperson for the 5^th grade class this year.  There are fundraisers to coordinate as well as end of the year activities to plan.  I was very overwhelmed by the prospect initially, but have found my grove and am enjoying it!  I am still working 15-20 hours/week in the office at Chick-fil-A.  I am definitely keeping busy running to and from work, school and activities.  I wouldn’t have it any other way!

We often say to the kids (as we send them out the door in the morning), “remember to bring glory to God in all that you do today”.  This goes for the good, the bad, the mundane and the exciting times! We are blessed beyond belief and hope that you know the True Love of God – sent to us on Christmas Day as a baby in a manger. 

We pray that you have a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful 2017!

With Love,

Matt, Becki, Kaitee, Alex, Will & Maddie Hart

2321 25^th Street

Moline,IL  61265
309-764-2347
www.hartx6.blogspot.com

From Fall to Winter

It seems that there is always something happening at our house!  I don't know if this is good or bad...

We had a fall clean up day in November.  We were blessed with beautiful weather - above norm temps.  Because of this, our trees didn't lose their leaves until late November, early December.  Here are Will & Alex working on the majority of the leaves.  Poor Will, he had to do the front gutters again just a few weeks later!

The temps turned a bit colder and the sun disappeared much earlier...this calls for family game and family movie nights!

While eating dinner out one night, the kids watched a poker tournament on tv.  They took the hat and sunglasses idea a bit far during our next game night!

Of course, everything is DAB worthy these days...

Alex found this huge collection of safety pins while at Goodwill.  Unfortunately, all the pins were open and stuck together!  We purchased the collection as a Christmas gift for her Cross Country Coach (Perkins).  He gives kids a safety pin to place on their shoelaces every time they PR during the season (get a new personal record). It is a great visual for the kids.  We had "fun" untangling this mess!  Hopefully Perkins gets a kick out of her gift!

Our first snow of the season - it was very wet and stuck to everything!  We were expecting no more than 2 inches but ended up with between 6-8 inches!  A crazy start to our winter.

The Holiday Train

 

We heard that the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train was making a stop in the Quad Cities.  We had plans on the day it was schedule to be in Davenport (with a concert) but heard that they would be traveling in the area the day before.  We were able to drive a bit out of town and see it as it passed - on the way south to Muscatine, IA.  What a special treat and well worth the wait and cold!  Just wish it had been traveling a bit slower...

 

Alex Gets Baptized!

Earlier this year, Alex decided (on her own) that she was ready to be baptized.  Our church holds baptism services (typically) twice a year.  She had to fill out a packet of information which included a lengthy bible study (on baptism) and sharing her testimony.  We are so proud of who she has become and the choices she is making.  Most of all, we love that she is thirsty for The Living Water and is seeking answers, learning and growing in the process! 

Here are some pictures from her baptism.

Alex with her leaders, Bri & Emily, from youth group (her break out group leaders) as well as our Family Pastor, Garth.

Alex was one of the last baptisms...we were so excited to see her name pop up!

Here she is - sharing her testimony and stating why she wants to be baptized.

From Old Life to New Life - Publically Cleansed!

Grandpa Ken Visits!

We were blessed by a visit from Matt's Dad (aka Grandpa Hart) in November.  We loved the week that we had with him and will cherish the shared memories for years to come!  Matt's parents live in Oregon so we are lucky to see them once a year.  We love spending time with Ken & Connie, but it always goes too fast!

 

One of the first things that Grandpa did after he arrived was to give Will this plaque.  Last year there was talk of a "Pretty Boy Club" among the Hart men.  I'm not sure how it all started but the idea definitely took off (in Will's mind)!  Once we arrived home from vacation (Colorado with the Hart Family), Will emailed all of the Hart women and asked them to vote on who should be president of the "Pretty Boy Club".  While the voting was close, Will was the winner.  It has become a family joke now.  And now this joke will live on forever because it has been engraved and placed on Will's wall!



While the kids had school, Ken helped around the house with a few projects that needed to be done.  What a huge blessing to us!  The kids were out of school on Veteran's Day (Friday this year) so we planned a weekend getaway to enjoy our time with Grandpa.  We drove north along the river to Dubuque, IA.  This is the town where Ken was born! How appropriate that he visit Dubuque again - 68 years later, to the day!  Veteran's Day is also Ken's birthday! We drove around the city a bit then took a ride on the Fenelon Place Elevator.  The view was breathtaking - 3 states can be seen from this hilltop!  Personally, this is something that I've wanted to do since I was a child!  Definitely a fun way to start off our weekend!

Maddie wasn't too fond of the elevator...

Dead Squirrels in Dubuque!

Okay - maybe not quite so scared now!

Leaving Dubuque, we crossed over into Wisconsin.  We drove through the Dickeyville Grotto then headed toward Potossi.  Ken's first homes were Lancaster and Potossi, WI.  We drove by the churches where his father was a pastor and tried to locate the home in Lancaster where his parents sold all of their belongings at an auction.  They did this in preparation to move to Lebanon to become missionaries (running an orphanage). While we couldn't figure out which house was the right one (Ken was too young at the time to remember), we did enjoy listening to Ken sharing stories from his young years. 

While in Potosi, we stopped at our favorite river view point and enjoyed the sunny day!

We admired the Grant County Courthouse and Square while in Lancaster.  What a beautiful dome!

From Lancaster, we continued north into Boscobel.  We crossed the Wisconsin River then turned East to drive along the river.  In my many years of driving around Wisconsin, I've never traveled this route.  It was a nice drive - I'm sure it would be beautiful in the summer and fall.  It was pretty brown and sparse at this point in the year.

We saw Peak's Farm Market along Hwys 14/60 and knew we had to stop!  We didn't have a clue that this place existed but after seeing some fun photo ops along the road, we stopped.  Oddly enough, we didn't end up taking pictures with the photo ops!  We ended up spending over an hour at this location - petting and feeding lots of animals (prairie dogs, ducks, geese, lots of goats, cow, horse, fish, pigs, llama...I'm sure there were more, I just can't remember)!  I think it's safe to say that the animals were used to more visitors and eating more food throughout the day.  The day that we visited, there were few visitors and many animals "starving" for attention!

These piglets cracked me up!  They were all standing in a corner - lined up in a row.  One by one, they would make a break for it and run quickly across the pen.  After most of them were back together again, the same scene would play out!

We left Peck's and headed toward the Wisconsin Dell's area...our stop for the night.  We drove through Baraboo and the Devil's Lake area.  It was getting late in the day (too late to get out for a quick hike) but we loved showing Grandpa one of our favorite areas!

We were successful (the second time around) at finding a letterbox in the Dells.  Will captured this shot of the sun disappearing beyond the horizon...

We hid the letterbox then headed for dinner - Buffalo Phils!  We didn't know how busy it would be and hoped for a short wait (Friday night, touristy place...).  We were shocked - we got right in AND right beside the train line.  If you've never eaten at Buffalo Phil's...it's not about the food but the experience!  Check out their website.  We were also surprised by their generous offer for Vets (it was Veteran's Day).  Any meal and drink - free to Vets.  We ended our time by riding the "roller coaster" at Knuckleheads then drove around the Dells - taking in the sights at night.  Sadly, most of the seasonal things were already closed for the winter.  We headed back to the hotel and swam for a bit, then called it a night.  What a fun day! 

The next morning, we drove back into the Dells and found another letterbox and snapped a few pictures...

Another Paul Bunyan and Babe to add to our collection

We started heading home (south) - stopping along the way to find a few letterboxes. 

We were very thankful to our Google Maps (on our phone) as we navigated our way around Madison - trying our hardest to avoid all the traffic heading to the big football game.  It was a bit crazy!

We ended our trip in Rockford - visiting the Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens.  We were surprised by the amount of color in the gardens.  It was a great way to end our time together!

As we were driving home (Rt 2), we enjoyed the beauty of a full moon (Super Moon).  We pulled off and hiked the steps at Castle Rock Overlook - mainly in the dusk light.  It was a magical, almost haunting, experience that I won't soon forget.  The pictures show a bit more light than there was, but it was amazing to see the full moon over the water.

Our time with Grandpa quickly came to an end - too quickly. We visited Whitey's once more for a special treat with Grandpa and then said our goodbyes as the kid's headed back to school and Grandpa headed to the airport.  We will miss him (and Grandma)!  We look forward to seeing them next summer!