2022 Comes to an End

 I did not track our activities very well.  Sometimes whole days went by without me taking any pictures.  We had experiences that shaped us--that made me pause in gratitude or in conscious thought of how we can do better--but I didn't make note of them with photos or words, and now they are anonymously absorbed into our histories.

I do know these things--

We walked every weekday.

Sun, rain, snow;

bitter cold, mild, warm.

A slushy, watery snow was falling.

Later a better snow arrived!

On the bitterest, coldest days, we left the babies at home, but we took them with us when the temperatures were above 20 degrees or so.

This was the last day of snow, and the kids stopped every 100 yards of our walk to make snowballs.

We played in the snow as much as possible. 

"I want to go down the hill, but not fast!"

The Munchkin's look of absolute serenity makes me smile every time I look at this picture.

When the sun came out, and it tried to be spring, the kids shifted to skating and bike riding.  I have no pictures of that,  but I have a story! 🤦‍♀️

I was running errands, and Pixie was holding down the fort.  The kids had permission to skate and ride bikes up and down our street.  Suddenly, Beowulf came running inside waving a dollar bill, "I was the fastest!  I won the dollar!"

"Who gave you a dollar?" Pixie asked.

"The man."

"What man?"

Short version:  A complete stranger stopped Brother and Beowulf in the street.  He complimented their speed and offered a dollar to the fastest.  First Pixie chewed them out.  When I got home I chewed them out all over again, and we had yet another safety lesson and role-playing activity about when you can and cannot talk to people you meet on the street.

Pixie and I both felt like vomiting more than once when we imagined what could have happened.

For the winter solstice, we rolled beeswax candles.

We ate dinner by candlelight that night.

Then we put a tray of candles in the fireplace and read stories by candlelight and Christmas tree light.

We read all of our Advent books.

We read other stories as well--The Hundred Dresses, A Christmas Carol, and finished up Charlotte Doyle. 

We played games, talked,  watched movies,  ran errands,  took naps, laughed at Tik-Toks and memes, and generally enjoyed one another's company.

This 1" dino appeared one day on the book.  Just yesterday,  I noticed, he has an even tinier friend!

These 4 joined me on a trip to Ikea.  We played in all of the displays. :)

They're designing kitchens.

Beowulf was so patient and kind with these two all morning long.

She had to take a break from crocheting when her hands seized up, so she read 2 books in a series she's fallen in love with.

And one day we did Algebra with a very interested Sweet Peach.

Sometimes they go to PetCo to play with puppies.

Mister Man and Brother are officially out of the children's program and part of the youth program at church.  I sent 5 kids off to an end-of-the-year ice skating party.  Four of them had never been ice skating before, but I guess all of our informal creek and pond skating helped because after a few wobbles and falls, they acted like it was their second home.

Park day!  It was nearly 60!

We had an extra friend for the day.

All of the other babies were napping, but The Munchkin is 4 now, and he says, "I'm a big kid.  I want to go, too!"

Pixie caught me doling out cheese cubes for an impromptu snack one day.

Christmas Eve (11 kids home) and Christmas morning (all 12 kids) were so fun!

There was a whole lot of excitement on Christmas morning. :)

Socks by Nature Angel

Charmander by Nature Angel

Hand-painted Christmas cards by Nature Angel

I need to do a post about all of what Nature Angel created in December.  

Nature Angel and Little Princess went to a church dance on the 30th.  Nature Angel organized a group of kids to meet at a central location and ride together in our van.  Pixie and Belle drove, and the teens talked, laughed, and danced all the way to the dance, all the way through the dance, and all the way home again.

How gorgeous are my girls!?!?!?

Because my Christmas present was getting the TV off the fireplace and mounted from the ceiling, we celebrated New Year's Eve with an indoor cookout with hot dogs and s'mores.

   

After church on New Year's Day,  I pulled out the at-home escape room game I'd purchased and printed when I was feeling ambitious about New Year's Eve activities. 

I'm glad we waited!

Solving the mirror-image clue

One of the brownie-baking steps

Oooh! A challenging clue!

We're all ready for more routine, even though we always keep our basic routine.  I've worked on a lot of plans.  I still have some work to do.

We're not supposed to have any babies tomorrow, so I hope to finish up my school plans and feel ready for a new year.

Welcome, 2023!