Week ending 12-27-15

This was a very busy Christmas week but hardly any actual Christmas preparations or activities. Instead we worked from morning till night fixing things around the house, packing, and making arrangements for our move.

Wednesday: Spencer painting the trim. 

Madalyn took this for some photography website and it got published. I haven't been too involved with her photography stuff (she's also taking an online BYU class) but I love that she's doing everything herself, getting an A, and enjoying it.

Thursday: Acting out the nativity for our neighbors, Ray and Yvonne. 

They are super sad we are moving and I think this is the only picture we have of them. They've been the best neighbors ever. Ray frequently mows for us, helps us fix our car or lawnmower or anything around the house, lends us tools, fixes bike flat tires, and more. We couldn't ask for better neighbors. 

The baby Jesus. He was perfect the whole time. 

Anderson enjoying the M&M bag. Gotta teach them young to love peanut M&Ms. :) 

Friday: Christmas morning before going upstairs to get the kids.

Spencer got a pocket knife sharpener, Samuel got a fold up race track, Thomas got a pogo stick.

Mine and Nathan's stockings are next. 

Alexis got preemie diapers for her doll, Anderson got a crib sheet. Madalyn and Kylie got pillows, Kaitlyn and Makenna also got doll diapers and bandaids.

For the family Santa left gum and games for the car ride plus a car charger and speaker for the ipod. 

Lining up to go downstairs. 

It was a weird Christmas with it being so hot (70's and 80's) and us working so hard all week. It didn't even feel like Christmas since we didn't think about presents much. 

Alexis made this little baby toy for Anderson out of pipe cleaners and pom pom balls.

Our home teacher left this generous gift basket on our doorstep with homemade bread, candy for the car trip, and a gift card. We'll miss the McCreas so much. 

Back to work packing the kitchen just minutes after opening presents.

I guess someone took these pictures to remember our back yard. 

The little kids ran around outside all day. Crazy warm weather. The rest of us sweated inside as we worked hard and our a/c sprung a leak in the hallway so we had to turn it off. 

Our last scripture reading in this house. 

Last piggy back ride up the stairs to bed in this house.

Saturday: taking apart the bunk beds and moving all the boxes down stairs to the living room. 

He was declared the fattest, laziest person in our house. Both moving days (Saturday and Monday) he just sat around or slept through it. :) 

Mattresses starting to be piled up. 

Taking the couch to the dump. 

Other stuff going to the dump including a bike that got ran over. 

Moving the piano out first. 

Thanks to the Elders who spent a few hours helping us. The sisters also spent a few hours painting upstairs and disassembling beds. 

The living room piling up. 

Saturday night we went to the Timothy's house to sleep since our beds were packed. It was so nice to be able to get ready there, go to church, and then have a house to go to to for a hot lunch of taco soup I made in their crock pot. We were able to rest and rejuvenate after the chaotic previous days. Then Nathan and I took turns going out to finish our home and visiting teaching. 

Enjoying lunch. 

Kylie and Madalyn relaxing/doing their scripture reading in the front room.

Week ending 12-20-15

Monday: I don't know who takes all these sunset pictures; I just find them when I'm uploading pictures. I do know that we're all going to miss our Carolina sunsets.

We've had a record breaking warm December. 

It was nice for me because the kids played outside a lot while I packed.

This day was particularly warm and breezy. The little girls made beds for their dolls in the leaves that were falling. By the end of the day almost all the leaves were off our Japanese maple tree. They were beautiful all over the ground. 

Madalyn faithfully doing her school while the other kids were outside building a fort all day.

They used some boards and then a window screen and piled it with leaves to make shingles for their roof. It rained on and off that day and everytime the rain started they ran under their screen roof to test it's rainproofness. If they packed enough leaves on it they were kept pretty dry, but most of the time the breeze blew the leaves off and they got rained on. They had a lot of fun and I loved seeing them work and play together all day. They ran in and out of the house all day doing school and then checking out their fort when it started to sprinkle. 

Thursday: The chore was to powerwash the front walk and the driveway. When I came out to run to the store this is what I found. I nearly panicked thinking, "What if the powerwasher broke or the neighbors wanted it back?" (It was borrowed) "This is how we'd leave our house for the next family to live here." So far the powerwashing had taken a week since we only had spurts of time between thunderstorms. And we were doing the whole house and steps too. So with all the starting and stopping I was afraid we wouldn't be able to finish the driveway, but after a few days, they eventually did. At least they were having fun.

Random pictures of Anderson during a meal. 

Saturday: Kylie staining the new shed door Nathan and his dad built. 

Samuel's first haircut. Here are the before pictures. I guess I forgot the after pictures. You'll just have to notice him in the following pictures. I didn't do a very good job, but I think I know how to do it better next time. :) 

Good bye baby curls.

Makenna's first real hair cut too.

Samuel and Anderson the last Sunday before Christmas.

Two years ago I took cute pictures of Kaitlyn, Makenna, and Samuel wearing this little red vest outfit. So the kids wanted me to take it another with these 4 kids. 

The picture from 2 years ago.

Alexis and Anderson

Someone made a temple with playdoh someone else brought home from primary.

I'm thinking Madalyn made the temple with Tom's playdoh, but nobody is here to confirm.