Kaitlyn likes to use everyone's middle names. When asked who she is, she responds with "I Kaitlyn Elaine!" Mom thinks this means that Kaitlyn is in trouble too often, but I actually just really like to say her middle name, so I think that's where she picked it up. Kaitlyn also wanders through the house hollering for Olivia Helen and Gretchen Bernice.
I decided to attempt a vegan German chocolate cake for my birthday this year. Yes, my birthday was last week, but I was busy. We celebrated on Tuesday. The cake was comically flat (three layers looked more like one and a half) and too pale due to lack of egg yolks, but it tasted pretty good. I'd say the taste was more like a store German chocolate cake than a homemade one. Regardless, it was too inconvenient and too time consuming and didn't feel like we were really following the spirit of the fast even though we followed the letter, so in the future I'll just wait until my baptism birthday and have the real thing!
Due to unfortunate circumstances, I drove 200 miles in two days this week. Gretchen had a dress rehearsal for her dance recital on Wednesday night, and then the whole family drove down to Sidney (that mileage doesn't even count because Bryan drove it). On Thursday we visited with Grandma and then I left all four kids with her in the afternoon while I drove up to Van Wert (northwest of Lima) for an orchestra rehearsal followed by an evening concert. Side note: My concert was accompaniment for Michael W. Smith and Jordan Smith. Neither of these names meant anything to me, but apparently mom and dad used to listen to Michael W. Smith before I was born and Murry saw Jordan Smith on The Voice a few years ago. After the concert, I went back to Sidney to be with my family. Olivia's dress rehearsal for the same dance recital was on Friday evening, so I drove her back to Lima for that and then we of course had to return to Sidney when it was done.
Yesterday was "Murry's Christmas," the official Barhorst present opening day. Since we have church and Keshia wants to start her own Christmas traditions at her house with her kids, Murry just decided to move her celebration up a few days. We all gathered there Friday night and played games after the kids went to bed. Murry and I started a Christmas puzzle. Then on Saturday morning we opened the pile of presents under the tree. The girls got a few new shoes, boots, and dresses, as well as some books and toys. Matthias slept through most of the opening. I'd had the great foresight to bring laundry baskets this year for easy transportation, so we just tossed presents in as they were opened. Note to self: do this every year. We packed everything up last night and then left in time for church this morning.
Pictures:
Someone got stuck:
Cousins in matching jammies. Rudy, August, Olivia, Gretchen, Matthias, Kaitlyn:
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