LaFeber Life Lately: A Whirlwind of December-January!!

 Christmas time is always full of activities and fun, but somehow we managed to make it even more busy as we stayed home most of the time and celebrated Christmas pandemic style! Do I wish this damn pandemic would go away and we could go back to life the way we knew it in 2019? Umm, YESSS!!! But has this crazy year also been full of the  most beautiful days because we have learned to live in the moment and make even the smallest thing an adventure? Absolutely!! I can't understand how we are already into 2021 because 2020 felt like the slowest year ever while we were in it, but it also went by faster than any year I've ever experienced! Does that make any sense? Anyways, here is a timeline of pictures from the past month and all of it's ups and downs. I probably drive everyone crazy with all of my picture taking, but I am so grateful to have these precious gems to keep for always. These days with my family are more precious than anything money can buy and I am so grateful for modern technology and that I can have these memories forever :).

Go 49'ers!!!

Isla LOVES the swings! And we have had some beautiful weather this winter so she has gotten lots of good use out of them!

Cowgirl Up!

Oh my heart :). She loves her brother so much and gets so excited when he's around!!

Isla has also been teething constantly for what feels like months so we have had plenty of cuddle breaks during homeschooling so she can get her Mama fix!

We harvested our lemons this winter and they were so beautiful!!

This was a very exciting moment for all of us as we have watched these beauties grow over this past year :).

They were so delicious! Probably the best lemons we have ever tasted! The kids had fun making lemonade out of them :).

For fun friday we a gingerbread house :)

The final product!

We spent an entire Saturday baking Christmas goodies for the neighbors :). Isla even sampled the pretzels for us because she HAD to be involved :)

Exhausted but so happy! It was such a fun experience delivering these and putting a smile on people's faces. This has been a hard year for all of us and it made me so proud to see our kiddos happily working to make the world a little bit sweeter :).

Most of my exhaustion came from this girl and her need to be involved in ALL the fun! :)

Because of the pandemic this year, the only way to see Santa was through a plexiglass window 10 feet away (insert eye roll here) which was totally ridiculous. So we wrote him letters this year instead and dropped them off at the Nightmare Before Christmas house in the neighborhood where there was a mailbox for Santa. And guess what?! He actually wrote back! Each kid got a hand written letter from Santa Claus with a wax seal on it and everything! It was amazing and so magical! I am so grateful for amazing neighbors who have strived to make this year special in it's own way for the little ones ;).

The kids were ecstatic when they checked the mail and we all couldn't believe our eyes!!

And the rest of the time, this is what life looks like. Homeschooling while also trying to feed a baby and keep her entertained for hours at a time.... It's rough. Let's just say that. And I never have enough hands!

On this particularly rough day, someone at Starbucks bought my coffee and pastry for me and I almost cried! Those little things have made such a difference when life is as hard as it has been this year....

Well good morning!!

I love that homeschooling Austin has allowed me to teach him important life skills. Like sewing and playing the piano!

Matchy Matchy!! Evie gets so excited if we can find a way to make her and Isla match!

For this fun Friday activity, we made snow paint! 

The ingredients were shaving cream, Elmer's glue, and glitter!

It's fluffy and fun! 

We made lots of snowman cards and gave them to all the grandparents for Christmas :).

Isla has become a champ at eating solid foods and we learned on this day that she LOVES breakfast borrito's from Roberto's Taco Shop! :)

It has been hard not being able to see Grandparents this holiday season. We have to protect them from COVID-19, so our Governor has mandated that we all stay home and stay away from the elderly. But they have all been sweet enough to send gifts through the mail, and stop by our house with masks on to visit outdoors from 6 feet away. I know, it sounds insane right? That's exactly how 2020 has been. INSANE. I'm scared to ask what is going to happen next.....

Evie and Isla both LOVE bath time together! And I love watching them splash around and giggle :).

Grandpa Nathan gave Evie a fairy lamp kit and she and I both had a blast making them! We were in little girl heaven together!

Are they cool or what?!

A couple of nights before Christmas, our neighborhood did a Christmas parade for the kids down our street! It was silly and fun, and we all loved the spontaneity and joy of it all as we sat out on our porch and watched it!

Plus, since it was cold, it gave Isla the perfect opportunity to wear her teddy bear snow suit! Is she cute or what?!!

Evie shared her fairy lanterns with Austin and her neighbor friend, Bella, while we watched the parade!

Making Slime!!

It has been fun trying to come up with indoor activities for the kids to do while we are all quarantined indoors. This was a good one!

EEEWWW!

Sadly though, as soon as I am focusing on the big kids, Isla finds a way to get hurt and I am back to utter chaos and cuddles... Like I said, I need more hands!

But Austin always finds a way to make her happy again! Like I said, this girl LOVES her big brother! He doesn't even have to try and she just starts laughing when she is around him!

We have our good days, and we have our bad days. This was a bad day. So I treated myself and the kids to a special soda from POP and life got better ;). When in doubt, try sugar and caffeine! haha!

Oh this boy! I am so grateful I have been given this year to have him at home as my pupil! he has grown in leaps and bounds and our bond has become so close :). 

Taking our spelling lesson outside with chalk! I love that homeschooling allows us these opportunities to mix it up a bit :).

The leaves are finally falling here in Henderson and Isla had a blast with it!

She and I just sat in the grass at the park for hours playing in the leaves :).

I love getting to experience to all of her "Firsts" with her :) :).

Evie saved up all of her money and bought herself a new bike! She has outgrown her old bike and this one has a bell, a basket, AND a baby seat for Polar Bear! She was in heaven!! And now she rings that bell the ENTIRE time she rides hehe!

I love my little twin :).

My goal for 2021 has been to reclaim my time for ME. I spent ALLL of 2020 raising a newborn baby, homeschooling my two older kids, working, and basically taking care of everyone BUT me. So this year I am reserving time each day for me... starting with yoga, meditation, and exercise! :)

Let the year of yoga begin!

It's not the same with a baby crawling all over you. 

"Munchies" (as Evie and I fondly call her because we just want to munch her up all the time) is always ready for her afternoon walk! Just look at that face! Don't you just want to eat those cheeks?!

Austin has become obsessed with making "potions" out of essential oils and it has been so fun! He loves reading  my Modern Medicine book and making oils for sleep, and health, and whatever else his little mind comes up with :).

On this day, I had a tummy ache and he made me 5 different potions to drink. I was nervous about it but couldn't say no because he worked so hard! And believe it or not, my tummy ache went away!!

Cheering for Ohio State with Daddy while we watched them lose to Alabama during the National Championship :(. You love hanging out with Daddy and always want him to hold you :)!

Merry Christmas in November! :)

  I had bought these adorable matching outfits for the kiddos this year, hoping they could wear them to church and our family Christmas party. I wanted everyone to see how incredibly cute they all look and to get some adorable pictures for our Christmas cards this year. However, both our family Christmas party AND church have been cancelled this year, so I am having to settle for just some cute pictures to send out as Christmas cards.... such is 2020. Despite the fact that nobody will ever see us in person, I am so damn proud of this cute family of mine! I am so in awe of my beautiful babies and the fact that Josh and I made them! I am so grateful that Josh and I never gave up on each other and are still happily married and keeping each other afloat. I am so grateful to be celebrating the Christmas season early so we can enjoy it's special spirit and the joy it ensues. I have a beautiful life and praise God for every day I get to live it.

 Now, BRING ON CHRISTMAS!!!!! :) :) :)

LaFeber Life Lately: Doing our best to enjoy November during trying times :).

Christmas in November? You bet'cha!! :)

 This month we have been doing our homeschooling but adding in the spirit of the holidays! All of our crafts have been holiday related and we all had a blast decorating the Christmas tree in the middle of November to gain some Christmas cheer! Isla was in awe of that whole process and is constantly trying to get at all the ornaments the second she isn't being watched carefully ;). She's already broken a few... I will let the pictures do the talking, but I just wanted to say how grateful I am for this special time of year that brings a higher level of joy and excitement to the dull, monotony of pandemic quarantine. 

Fun Friday is always full of crafts and fun!

Isla's first experience with decorating the Christmas tree! :)

My little Elves happily at work!

I can't believe how big Austin is getting. He is so helpful with his sisters and is so smart! He makes homeschooling easy because he catches onto everything so fast!

We couldn't visit Santa this year because of quarantine, so we were happy to discover that one of our neighbors up the street had set out a mailbox for letters to Santa!! It was so cute and came with the whole crew from the Nightmare Before Christmas which the kids adored! God bless people like this during this difficult year. I am so grateful to be living in such a wonderful community.

The kids got to have their own little tree in their room this year! Evie sleeps with Austin on the bottom bunk because Isla is still getting the hang of sleeping and I don't want the older kids bothering her. It has been hard for them to be around each other ALL. THE. TIME. But it has also been comforting to have their special bond during this hard year and all of its changes.

We NEEDED to get out of the house and found ourselves at POP for some treats!! :) After that, we all felt like we could survive another day of homeschool.

Evie has become obsessed with doing yoga everyday with this fun lady on YouTube! It has been such a positive moment for all of us as we watch her, or flow right beside her. :)

I am trying to teach the kids how to play the piano and Isla never misses an opportunity to keep it real! hehe ;).

We discovered that Isla is a HUGE fan of pancakes!

Watching 7 Brides for 7 Brothers while we all cuddle on the bean bag. It's moments like this that make my heart melt and bring peace to my soul :). Happy music, silly giggles, and lots of positive energy.

Making fingerprint Christmas trees for Fun Friday!!

The one good thing about this pandemic is it has left me with plenty of time to do all the crafts I've wanted to do with the kids over the years!

Each kid has a hand-print ornament on our Christmas tree so we had to make sure Isla does too! It was NOT easy, but it was definitely hilarious! :)

Making Christmas Tree pancakes with my girl for Sunday brunch :). She loves to cook and we both love these lazy Sunday mornings where we can get creative and spend some quality time together while Isla runs rampant and destroys the house :).

I love this picture of Isla in the background ;). She got into the plastic bags and scattered them all around the house, along with ALL of our tupperware! It's definitely not easy giving each kid their quality time and trying to keep Isla alive, along with a clean house. But I love these moments all the same :).

 

Milestones: Isla 11 Months Old!!

 

Oh beautiful girl, how we ever lived without you is beyond me!!

I can't believe this is her last month before her first birthday!!! Like my mind is seriously blown away by that. This year has been the best of times and it has been the worst of times, but the one thing that remains constant is our obsession with this little girl!! She is teething, which could possibly be why she was having head cold symptoms over Thanksgiving, and it has made her rather clingy and sad. So on the days that I am homeschooling, I feel like I am going to lose my mind. But we are getting through it and every night as I rock my sweet baby to sleep, we exchange smiles and I know that there is nowhere else in the world that I would rather be :).

Isla is adventurous and has discovered how much she loves the park! I am always torn between taking the kids to the park and possibly exposing them to COVID-19 or possibly going insane if we spend one more minute trapped indoors!! 3 kids in a tiny townhouse during a global pandemic has not been easy by any means. But the park days are always the best days, and Isla has gotten very good at exploring and climbing! She climbs up the stairs to the slide, and everything else she can find! Nothing stops this little girl, and I fear that's a trait that is going to come in useful many times in her life as the world just keeps getting more and more insane...

I am always surprised by Isla's love and understanding of routine. She puts the same foot out each morning to get her pants on, she knows exactly when bed time is, and she seems to know what time she should be watching her Baby Einstein shows each day as I try to keep her entertained and simultaneously homeschool the others. But she is a Capricorn and those traits are very fitting for that Astro-sign. 

Isla can say "Bath", "Yes", she shakes her head "No", "Mama", "Dada", "Pease" (please), and "Up". She is extremely intelligent, there is no doubt about that. I just hope all the times she has fallen and bonked her head on our hard wooden floor hasn't damaged any of those brains! Ugh...

We love you baby girl! You are the light in our days and my happy thoughts in the night :).

Completely in her element at the park!

This shirt was Evie's and it is just as adorable (and relevant) now as it was back then!! ;)

She loves her "Dada"

Just keeping us entertained (and distracted) while we attempt to homeschool...

This was a beautiful day. These days of sunshine and fresh air are something we no longer take for granted.

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2020!!!

A beautiful day with some beautiful people :).

        

     As with everything this year, Thanksgiving was difficult to pull off. Our governor ordered that, because of the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, nobody is allowed to have more than 10 people in their households during the holidays. At first I was devastated by this, but after talking to Grandma Wiegel, I realized that most of my family (on my side) are total shipwrecks and I really don't want to be around them this year anyway. For example, the week before Thanksgiving, my Mom decided to drive down to the gas station at 1:00am. For what reason? I have no idea because I have stayed out of it, and I'm sure I wouldn't get the truth even if I asked. Anyways, she drove her car through the gas station. You heard me right. She literally crashed her car INTO the gas station!!!! She broke her arm, and thankfully nobody else got hurt! It just knocked the power out. Yes, this is the kind of crap I have been dealing with on my side of the family and both Grandma and I decided we didn't want to host a big get together to celebrate all of these idiots. Because of course my Mom isn't the only insane one in the bunch... So we invited Josh's parents over! I was actually shocked they accepted our invitation because they have been super cautious with the pandemic, but Janis already got COVID-19 a couple of months ago, so that could be part of it. All I cared about was that someone was coming to our house and I was determined to make it a beautiful holiday! I lost 5 pounds that week from all the stress of homeschooling, cleaning, prepping, Isla caught a cold the week before, etc., but it was all totally worth it to have some semblance of normalcy and happiness during this very depressing time... 

    Janis and Steve were the PERFECT people to invite over because they are ALWAYS happy (which I love), and they always come bearing gifts (which the kids loved)!! Because of the pandemic, we didn't leave the house the entire time they were here, and I desperately cleaned the house so they would feel comfortable (the pandemic has made everyone extremely leery of germs), but we had ourselves a great time! I didn't feel I had the energy to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal for everyone, so we ordered a pre-made Thanksgiving Feast from Cracker Barrel and then I added sides to it that were missing from our traditional meal. I still had to cook it all up for about 2 hours, but it was sooooo nice to have everything pre-made for me! You just slide it into the oven!! :) Evie and Grandma Janis helped me with the other sides, while Grandpa Steve set the table, and Austin lit the candles. I planned the meal time perfectly with Isla's nap so I could actually enjoy my food and enjoy it I did!! I had second helpings while we all talked over the beautiful table about what we are thankful for and how much we love each other. It was the perfect meal, and for that I am so grateful. I needed that. 

They stayed for three days and the night before they left, Evie and I both cried our eyes out. Evie had to keep going downstairs to get more hugs from them because she was so sad. I just felt sad that the only two people in my life who are semi-helpful and actually care were going to leave me and life would go back to the way it has been. Tons of stress and never enough energy, with me constantly working to provide happiness for everyone while never getting enough help to fill up my own cup :(. Supposedly there is a vaccine that is coming out next year that will make this all go away but I'm not going to get my hopes up yet. I'm hearing that even with the vacccine, we will still be mandated to wear masks everywhere and to stay 6 feet apart from other people at all times. Which means the next school year will be just as ridiculous as this one has been :(. Don't get me wrong, we are all loving homeschooling and are doing our best to make a terrible situation into a wonderful one! But sometimes I would really love it if life could just be normal for a day. However, our prophet in his last address has urged us all to remember gratitude during this tough time and it really has helped! I am so incredibly grateful that my family hasn't gotten sick from this disease, and that Josh's job can sustain us so I can work only once a month and we still have enough money to stay afloat! I am so grateful I have a job that is allowing me to work Per Diem so I can homeschool my children and be here for my family during this tough time. It could always be worse, and as I am hearing about little elementary school kids who are committing suicide, or the man down the street who threw his 3 month old baby off the apartment balcony, or the people who's loved ones are struggling to breathe in the ICU because of COVID, I remember how trivial my problems really are. Thank you Lord for that.

In homeschool, we have been doing all sorts of fun Thanksgiving crafts! Here are their pumpkin pies we made! :)

Opening up Grandma and Grandpa's gifts!!

Austin got the big army cargo truck he had been asking for!!

And Evie got her Cry Baby doll that actually cries real tears!!

I got a super softs Minky Couture blanket that I had asked for to cuddle with during these long, cold winter days.

And Isla got a little Minky baby blanket herself!

It was so incredibly helpful to have extra sets of hands to help out with Isla!!

Poor baby didn't feel so great, but there were plenty of loves from Grandma to make up for it :).

Happy Thanksgiving 2020!! Isla's first! :)

The cooking crew :)

Austin got to be the honorary candle lighter :)

It's no wonder we all cried when they left us! It was too good to be true :)!