My Joy

12/15/23

Two days ago we had a Christmas Young Womens activity at Sister Driaza’s home. They surprised Lizzy with cupcakes for her Birthday:

She was definitely surprised!

We all sang our best version of “Happy Birthday”:

Make a wish!:

Then we had hot chocolate, snacks and watched a holiday movie!

12/16/24

Oh Christmas Card:

Later that evening we had our Ward Christmas Party at the church. Lizzy led the music for the opening song:

Then Lizzy directed a live Nativity performance!

Lily was the Star:

Rachel was a shepherd:

Dad was one of the wise men!

Adam was the little drummer boy:

Santa!!

Patricia was excited to see him as well!

Daisy, Patricia and Lizzy with Santa:

Rachel made a quick visit too:

That had an ice/snow rink inside!

12/17/23

Christmas with Joy Flowers:

We shared some homemade Christmas treats with her:

She shared some treats and gifts with us too:

Cindy (Joy’s Daughter) joined us too:

Merry Christmas Joy and Cindy!

12/09/23

We made some cupcakes for fun:

We decided to have a pre-birthday celebration for Dad:

Happy Birthday Dad!

Make A Wish!

Lizzy wanted to decorate the rest of the cupcakes for funzies:

12/10/23

Happy Actual Birthday Dad!

Handmade cards is a tradition!

This year we did hand decorated gift wrapping as well:

Luna Dog was sure something here was surely for her!

A Music CD Dad Wanted:

Now a card from Lizzy:

She always includes iconic gift clues in her cards:

This one was a doozy!!

With lots of twists and turns:

And questions too:

Oops, Mom didn’t get a full shot of the card, but it was iconic!

Another music CD Dad wanted:

Now Mom’s turn:

Mom decorated the gift wrapping a s well:

A Deep Fryer Dad wanted:

Happy Birthday Dad! We Love You So Much!

Later that evening we had the Araque family over to celebrate Lizzy and Dad’s birthdays:

Lizzy prepared the strawberries for the strawberry shortcake Dad made:

Time to bring in the cake!

Since Dad made it we let him blow out the candle:

Miss Kitty was enjoying the company:

Patrician and her family brought lots of festive balloons:

Lizzy’s gifts first:

Dad’ gifts:

We had a very nice time celebrating our birthdays with the Araques!

12/14/23

Happy 17th Birthday Lizzy!!

An assortment of essential oils from Rachel:

Lizzy love the Big Bang Theory (TV Show) so she got A Big Bang Game. The emotional responses that followed:

Lizzy also got a new laptop before her actual birthday to replace the one that fell from the top bunk while she was sleeping.

Lizzy also got a Big Bang Theory shirt from her Aunt Elynn and Uncle Garret:

And a card from Grandpa and Grandma Beck with some spending $:

She read us the card:

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Beck!

We Love You So Much Lizzy Have A Wonderful Birthday!!

12/08/23

The Tanners coordinate this event every Christmas and have invited us to participate again!

This year Lizzy and Rachel performed the song “Last Christmas” complete with choreography and festive outfits:

Awesome performance!

12/03/23

Lizzy attended the District 12 Thespian Festival and Districts Competition:

She came home with two wins: an Excellent and a Superior!!

Congratulations Lizzy!

11/24/23

We decided to try a different cut your own tree farm this year. We drove almost an hour to Anthony, Fl to “Kandy Kane Christmas Treeland” farm. It was a drizzly start to the day but that wasn’t going to stop us from getting the perfect tree!

Or maybe this one:

Yes, this one:

They provide little saws and dad was on the job:

That was easy:

Luna was so happy to be out with the family!

Of course we walked to the farthest end to find the perfect tree so we had to drag it to the front:

It’s a family farm and the young boy in the middle was in charge of our tree. First they shake out the tree to get out bugs and dead needles:

Then they wrap the tree for safer transport:

Then they carried it to our truck:

The young boy refused any help at all he was very committed to the job and carried it all the way to the truck. Dad was really, really wanting to carry it for him but he was doing a great job without help!

This was a very nice farm and we will likely come here again!

The next day. . .

Time to decorate. First we spray some snow on the branches:

Dad put on the star topper and Mom put the traditional bird and nest in the the tree (symbolizing good luck, home, and new beginnings. Finding a “bird’s nest” on your tree is considered a sign of prosperity and happiness). 

Dad’s role is to put hooks on the decorations and hand them out for placement on the tree:

The color scheme was white and red this year:

The tree is officially trimmed!

Cheers! (with some sparkling grape juice)

Mom was busy with all the other decorations to bring the Christmas Spirit to the house.

11/29/23

The Young Men and Young Women got to decorate the outside of the church building:

12/01/23

Mom got us Advent Calendars again (a tradition as far back as we can remember):

12/02/23

Elf on the shelf shenanigans:

11/23/23

First thing in the morning we of course did the 2 mile Run/Walk Turkey Trot with the Tanners and several other families:

We then had the Araques and the Tanners over for a Thanksgiving feast. The table was set and the guests were arriving:

We even set a place for Luna Dog to eat her meal!:

Later that evening we all went to a Drive In Movie Theater. It was Lizzy and Rachel’s first time:

The Movie: “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”(2023) 

We had trouble getting the sound system to work and it was a bit chilly outside, but it was still fun!

11/14/23

Mom and Dad are getting ready for another Appalachian Trail backpacking trip and they gave each other some early Christmas gifts for the trip. They were preparing their backpacks when Mom came in with Santa hat and bells to surprise Dad:

Dad was definitely surprised:

And happy because it was a new sleeping pad:

Dad was imagining a good night sleep on the trail!:

Two Days Later:

They were on the trail!

And the next day too:

11/08/23

We had a Young Womens Activity where we had a gingerbread building competition. The girls were separated into pairs and they were each given a kit.

The judges (Paul and Dad) carefully deliberated , not knowing who made which creation:

The Winners Were:

11/02/23

Lizzy and Rachel were both cast in the Gainesville High School production of Romeo and Juliet:

Rachel and Lizzy were in the opening scenes together:

They had an awesome fight scene!

After those scenes Lizzy went back stage and changed clothes and character and she played Juliet!

Rachel was back on stage as well and Lizzy had one of several costume changes:

Congratulations Rachel on your first High School performance!

Congratulations Lizzy on a wonderful performance as Juliet!

Of course, Mom went to all four performances! “They were all so good!”

There was a different Romeo in the last performance:

Congratulations to the student directors including Lizzy’s best friend Yara!:

10/27/23

Mom and Dad secretly got us an early Christmas present:

They parked it in front of our next door neighbors house (with their permission) so we never suspected anything!

Two days later. . .

We got home from work and Mom and Dad came in wearing Santa hats, ringing Christmas bells and singing “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”. We thought they just were acting crazy! Then they had us sit in the living room and they gave us this box gift:

Go look outside!

Merry Christmas!