Christmas 2022 Celebrations!

How did time jump from November 1st to (almost) mid January so quickly? It is hard to believe that another Christmas season has come and gone. 

We enjoyed many of our yearly traditions with the family. The week of Thanksgiving, we decorated the house for Christmas. We even added a few more trees this year.

Maddie purchased a small tree for her room.

My mom found a free tree for the girls - it was a perfect fit in their tv room.

The front porch went through a "remodel" this past year, allowing more space to decorate. I found these cute birds and trees and created a winter wonderland of sorts. 

We also added a medium sized tree to the basement (a special request from Will last year). 

I love seeing the trees from outside! It makes my heart happy!

Early December - baking time! A family favorite, peanut butter cup cookies.

I sent some cookies home with Dad one morning but told him that he couldn't eat any of them until he was home and could share them with mom. He thought that was very unfair!

I sent the kids to Chick-fil-A one morning (before heading to Iowa City for the Hawkeye basketball game) to meet Santa Claus. I am thankful that they appease my requests.

Maddie & I made a quick trip to East Peoria one afternoon to hunt for the ornament. We didn't have any luck with the hunt, but did find the real FELOPI (behind Maddie).

My boss, Jeremy, loves to decorate the store for Christmas! It is a beautiful display of lights! He also has a huge manger and nativity that is on display in the parking lot. I didn't get a picture of that this year.

One Sunday (after church), we headed north to Platteville for a day of shopping at several Goodwill stores and an early dinner at Pizzeria Uno, followed the light displays in Dubuque and Clinton. 

Sadly, Alex had a huge school project due that week and Will was under the weather, so the family wasn't complete for our day away.

We made a quick stop in Bellevue, IA to enjoy their lights along the river

Matt and I had a work party after church one Sunday, so I had the kids grab pizza and work on their gingerbread houses (while we were gone). They enjoyed their time together. I put the pictures on Facebook for a "Best Gingerhouse" vote...

Kaitee's cute little house received 4 votes.

Alex and her boyfriend Alex worked on this house. It received 9 votes.

Will's house won with 16 votes.

a decapitated reindeer?!?!

Maddie's house had 12 votes.

As promised, the winner (Will) received $10 for Whitey's! I love their creativity and the time that they spent together working on their houses. 

One of our favorite days (out of the whole year) is Christmas Eve. We attend the Christmas Eve service at church (always such a wonderful, moving service) then eat a late lunch/early dinner at Texas Roadhouse.

This year we were joined by Alex's boyfriend's family for the Christmas Eve Service. It was nice to have them there! 

After our delicious meal, we headed home so the kids can open their Secret Santa gifts to each other.

Kaitee got her raffle ticket drawn first. Her gift was from Will. 

She received a few "Tangled" stuffed animals, Corner Gas the complete TV series as well as Corner Gas, The Movie. Totally surprised her!

Kaitee then found Will's raffle ticket. His gift was from Maddie.

He received a Spikeball set (he can't wait for nice weather!) and lights for his room (see the after photos, below). The lights are very cool!

Next up was Alex! Kaitee picked Alex's name and surprised her with a skateboard with knee/elbow pads. She is also anxious for warmer weather so she can get out and try out the board.

Maddie finished out the Secret Santa gift opening. Her gift was from Alex. She received a pair of airpods and a few miscellaneous chargers/phone pieces. 

We finished our evening together by watching our traditional two Christmas Eve movies - The First Noel and The Nativity. 

Just before bed, Santa stopped by to fill up the stockings...

Christmas morning was a bit different this year since it fell on a Sunday. We woke up around 8 and had our usual breakfast of egg/sausage casserole and monkey bread. After breakfast we headed to church for the Sunday Christmas service. 

Once home, we started opening our gifts. Everyone got comfy and settled in!

Matt was the first to grab a raffle ticket (hidden throughout the tree). He opened the envelope and it had his name on the back! Lucky duck! Even though he was pretty excited to see his name, he quickly realized that the joke was on him..he had to locate the gift with the same raffle ticket number! Also, I utilized all 4 trees in the house - there were gifts under each of the trees! 

Took him a little while, but he found his gift!!

I have learned to be deceptive when I wrap the gifts! As Kaitee is showing in this picture, a small DVD was wrapped in the huge box (I taped it to the bottom of the box so it wouldn't rattle around in the box)!

Next up was Maddie, then Kaitee and Will got turns (with a few double gifts here and there).

After a few rounds of raffle tickets/gifts, we realized that Alex's name hadn't been chosen yet. We continued on - all secretly hoping that Alex's name was picked...but laughing when it wasn't. It was a sad situation!

Will "spotting" the tree while Kaitee goes under to locate a missing gift!

Matt started filming every raffle ticket opening, in hopes that it would be Alex chosen. 

Yah!!! It only took 15 gifts to finally get one for Alex! Let me disclose that each of the kids received the same amount of gifts, so it was completely randomized. What are the odds!

This gift for Will is a light set for one of his Lego sets. Looks pretty neat, all lit up!

Maddie felt like she got robbed! The box was only half full!

Check out the wrapping job!!

The kids utterly took my breath away with this gift! I couldn't believe that they purchased this for me. The KitchenAid mixer is something I've wanted for years...but could never bring myself to purchase (or let anyone purchase for me). With limited counter/cabinet space as well as the fact that I don't cook/bake a lot anymore, it just wasn't worth the money spent. All the while, I look at them every year, thinking maybe this is the year I will cave and purchase it. I couldn't believe it when I opened the box! I didn't want to believe it, honestly! What a wonderful surprise!

About a month before Christmas some of the kids asked Matt about a piece of artwork he did when he was in school, that his mom had professionally framed. Matt explained that he had done that piece in the first week of his 8th grade year. His teacher entered it into the Scholastic Art Competition ~ and he ended up winning a Gold Key for the piece.

Flashforward to the beginning of his Freshman year, and he noticed other students put various pins on the lettermen jackets, and he decided to do the same with his Gold Key Award. The first day he had pinned the award on his jacket, it went missing (presumably stolen), never to be seen again.

Maddie went on to Google the Gold Key Award from Scholastic and found one identical to the one Matt lost his Freshman year. This was a very touching gift to Matt this year. Thanks, Maddie.

Matt can't say "Charcuterie" to save his life. The kids thought it would be funny to get him a charcuterie board - if no other reason than to hear him say the word! Maddie had fun wrapping it too.

Kaitee was hunting for another gift and ran smack into a tree branch. Kaitee, Meet Tree...Tree, Meet Kaitee. HA!

Maddie wrapped 2 bricks in a box, taping a gift card to one of them. Matt literally got a box of rocks (bricks)! LOL

At this point, we had to put a halt to the hunt so we could head out to my parents for our extended family celebration. We had 11 gifts left to unwrap. What a fun afternoon!

We had a very nice evening at my parent's! We ate lots of great food, opened gifts/stockings, sang some songs, the kids (under my mom's direction) performed a very simple Christmas pageant and played games. It was an enjoyable time with family.

These 2 - Trouble with a capital T!

Once back home, we finished opening our gifts.

What a blessing this Christmas weekend was! Two church services, wonderful friends and family fellowship, a bounty of gifts and food - all the while, celebrating the birth of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ!

We ended our Christmas celebrations on the 30th, when we headed to Kewanee, IL to walk through Windmont Park. This has become a fun tradition over the last few years. We always stop at Paxton's Corner Coop in Annawan, on our drive to Kewanee. Paxton's has amazing treats! When we realized that their winter hours meant they were only open on the weekends, we changed up our plans to head out to Kewanee on the 30th, instead of the 26th. Sadly, Paxton's was closed (reason unknown) when we arrived that Friday night. No special treats for us that night. 

Kaitee's friend (from last year!)

As I write this blog post, all of the Christmas things have been packed away for a few weeks. Christmas has come and gone. While it is getting harder to get out and enjoy these traditions as a full family, we cherish the time we have with each of the kids. We pray that these are fun, wonderful memories in their hearts and minds for many years to come.

Merry Christmas From The Harts - 2022

Christmas 2022

Dear Family & Friends,

I'm watching college football (Go Hawks!) and wrapping presents while the kids are out Christmas shopping. With the change in weather this past week (from 75° to 25° and snowing) and the constant Christmas commercials, it sure seems that the Holiday Season has arrived.

Kaitee turned 20 in May. She has been working full time in the daycare industry this year. She LOVES her kiddos, but it is safe to say that she enjoys coming home after a long day of work and vegging for the evening - watching her favorite TV shows (especially Wheel of Fortune) and movies. She purchased season passes to a few of our local venues to watch traveling Broadway shows as well as plays/musicals put on by local talent. She is hoping to add some travel time to her calendar next year - she would love to see more Broadway shows in different cities. Trivia nights are a favorite and she tends to be a great source of (useless?? Ha!) knowledge! Kaitee (along with Maddie & Will) volunteers every other week at church with the kids, where she gets lots of cuddles from the babies. We moved Kaitee & Alex upstairs to our upper duplex in July. While there have been some growing pains/learning curves to them living "on their own", I think it's safe to say that we are all adjusting and enjoying the new norm.

Alex is 18 (March birthday). She also started working (part time) in the daycare industry, at our local YMCA, in May. Bonus benefit of working at the Y - free family membership! She graduated early from Moline High School in January then walked with her class for the official graduation ceremony in May. This past month she purchased her first car, a 2011 Ford Escape. Pretty exciting!  She also voted for the first time during the Illinois Primary in June. Her first semester at Black Hawk College is just a few weeks from being complete. She is looking forward to a break from homework and studying. Her & I traveled to the Chicago area in April for her (belated) 16th birthday getaway. We shopped, ate great food and went to Wrigley for a Cubs game (Win!).

Will is 16, almost 17 (January). His year has been busy with lots of school activities. He is very active with the high school band. Marching band season just came to a close (lots of extra practices, football games, competitions and parades). Pep band will be starting up in the next month (basketball games) as well as jazz band practices (early morning). He loves his time with Bass Fishing Club (spring) and Chess Club (they went to State last year!). When he isn't at school, he is working at Culver's. This past summer, he traveled to Disney World with the school music department. He saved up for the trip, paying his own way. He really enjoyed his time, experiencing it with his friends. Upon arriving home, he unpacked, did laundry and packed for church camp - leaving one day later (with Maddie)! He & Matt put in a lot of time behind the wheel this year. He's close to getting his license - about 10 more driving hours to go!

Maddie, also 16 (going on 17), just got her license. It's been wonderful to have her drive to/from school and work! She is working at Culver's (with Will) and loves it, most days, ha! She is currently saving most of her paycheck to pay for her summer (2023) trip to France, Germany & Switzerland. She will be traveling with a school group and is super excited! In April, she played her last high school level volleyball game (club ball). It was a hard decision to make, but overall, a good decision. She loves her time at youth group - often meeting up with her best friend for coffee beforehand. Her & I attended a Casting Crowns concert in April as a part of her 16th birthday gift. A few months later, we headed south for a day of shopping (lots of Goodwill stores).

Matt & I celebrated 23 years of wedded bliss in April. With the kids working, driving and keeping busy, we have many evenings/days to ourselves. We enjoy heading to our favorite taco place or the occasional drive, usually ending at one of our usual pizza spots. It's a strange but nice promise of what is to come! It definitely makes us appreciate the precious time that we have together with all 6 of us.

This year had no shortage of trips - We traveled to Kentucky over Spring Break to tour the Ark Encounter, Creation Museum, Lincoln's Boyhood Home and Mammoth Cave. Lots of history to see and read about! In July, we traveled 5,300 miles from IL to California (Joshua Tree) and back home again. We made lots of stops along the way - Colorado Springs, Four Corners, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Sloan Park (Cub's Spring Training), Carlsbad Caverns, San Antonio and many more! What an amazing country we live in! The girls & I traveled to Chicago a few times to shop at IKEA and eat Chicago Deep Dish pizza - always fun days!

We loved seeing Matt's parents in September. They flew to Moline from Oregon to spend the week with us and celebrate their 50th Anniversary together. We were able to drive to the Chicago area, where they showed us the house they were married in, their first house, Matt's childhood homes, etc. It was a wonderful weekend, full of memories and lots of Q & As! Of course, our time together wouldn't be complete without a trip or two to Whitey's Ice Cream!

My family will be getting together for Thanksgiving - It is always great to have us girls and our families together with Mom & Dad! Even with a few of us living within miles of each other, it is easy to allow weeks to go by without seeing each other. We truly have to be intentional about our time together. 

We pray that your holiday season is full of much Love, Laughter, Family & Friends. Above all, we pray that you have the Hope of the World - Jesus Christ - in your heart and life.

Merry Christmas & May your 2023 be blessed!

With Love,

Matt & Becki Hart

Kaitee, Alex, Will & Maddie