A Montana Christmas

OK, you all. You must, now, understand Scott's obsession with Montana when seeing the view from the home he grew up in!



The Sunday after we arrived, Toby and Sayler shared CradleRoll time. Aunt Sydni was their teacher.




Christmas Eve the family opened gifts. The big hit with the boys was the snowy train that blows real smoke. Every time they were bored, Ranne would ask for the train to be "fixed", i.e. turned on.



Christmas Day began with stockings, of course. Both the Hostetters and the Lairds joined us throughout the day. Middle picture is Toby, Calla, Sayler and Amber.





Outdoor fun made for awesome three hour naps for the kids.


Toby's turn.


Brider Bowl
This is where Scott and I skied the Thursday after Christmas. We got there before most. I am proud to say I was first tracks down the bunny hill in 17-inches of Cold Smoke (powder). There were areas we were over our knees in powder.



Aunt Sydni read book after book to three kids! Toby never has that kind of attention for my reading. Sayler shared her family and toys with the boys very well! The seven of us attended a Bobcats basketball game. Seems to be a thing we do when in MT over the winter. FUN.
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Scott is busier than ever at work. His co-worker has gone on his vacation to Malibu, so we're trying to stay afloat without he and his family's help! There's a lot going on this month from prayer meets, to men's and ladies' studies, Welcome Back week, a ski trip, weekly meets.... How exciting for them.

The boys are doing well. Ranne keeps saying hysterical things I forget to write down. He's also potty-trained, for the most part. His imagination is flourishing and his stories are a mile long.

Toby is now walking most everywhere, unless he's in a hurry to catch big-brother. He's also signing his three wonder signs of, "Please", "more", and "food". As you can probably guess, he's eating enough to effect our budget and is growing like a weed.

Being in Montana for the holidays has inspired both the boys in so many ways. They just flourished in development with the added stimulation.

The trip up was, unfortunately, longer than we hoped. I had a miscarriage on way to Colorado where we were staying the night. We're still unsure whether or not that process is over, but praying God heals me as He can or desires. Despite the ER visit and extended trip, the boys did awesome, fussing only when I could easily have fussed myself from boredom and tiredness. All four days of travel, there and back, they did amazingly well. We had a blast with them and wouldn't have traded the time, unless it was in order to have more hours with dear family in Montana.

Our visit in Colorado always holds good memories with my cousin Alda's family. They bless us with such personal encouragement and educated, stimulating conversation. Too, their dogs entertain the boys after a long day in the car, which is a wonderful experience thing.

We arrived in Bozeman to beautiful snow and a cozy Free home. Wonderful is was to arrive there and be 'freed' to take care of the kids with baths and beds before feeling like we have to visit about everything. The boys settled in and we caught up a little before bed. It was so nice.

The next morn we met with the church, Toby getting to share cradle roll class with Cousin Sayler. She is the most precious and smart little girl! It's obvious her parents work very hard to help her be happy and accomplished. She's so SMART. Ranne marched out of his bible class with candy and head full of stories and children's names and talk of baby Jesus.

To make a long story short, we visited with: the Phillips family, the Hostetters; the Lairds; and the church family there, including dear Jim. We gifted, we ate, we played, we shopped, we skied, we sledded, we slept, we ate (did I mention that?), we coffee'd, we talked and read and caught up on study Scott was able to sing with his family, which delighted him. It was so nice, I didn't want to go home and would still rather be elsewhere. Hm. Funny how when blessings are counted, it can make one a bit down and ready for heaven.

Funny things: Ranne called Grandma "Grandpa" most of the time we were there. He did it at first due to my mistake and his smarts, but continued after getting so many laughs from it. He was also spoon-fed by Grandma the whole time, so is having to relearn how to feed himself since coming home. He keeps saying, "I can't feed myself; you have to feed me."

So, I'll post some pictures, including some Sydni sent. She takes such great pictures with her little camera!

Sunny, we were very sad when you were unable to come see us. Know you were in our thoughts are prayers as everyone was together and missing your sweet family as well. We suffered too, not having you there. Lord willing we'll see one another face-to-face very soon.