On Monday, Kara took a gift card and some grandparent birthday money to Claire's to get her ears pierced. She was a little scared at first, but once she got up her nerve, she was SO proud of herself! We had to take a little walk around the mall carrying this bag, so the world would know what she'd just done. She enjoyed picking out a prize at Bath & Body Works, too. It was hard to get up close to give you a glimpse of the gems she picked for her ears, but she chose a cute pink daisy. She's done really well cleaning them everyday (and ALWAYS remembers to wash her hands first :)!

Throughout the past few months we've been reading the Narnia series in the car or in the evenings before bed when we get a chance. We now have 2 chapters left in the last book. Since we've been home the kids have enjoyed reading on Mom and Dad's bed. A few nights ago, they all wanted to stay and see if they could fall asleep together. They did quite quickly, but it was a workout getting those big boys back to their beds :)!

Playtime with the big scavenger hunt gifts. Keith's helping Simon with his Buzz spaceship (plus other) blocks.
Daddy playing "Belle" with Kara. This set was similar to one she chose at Disney, but it has the Beast and a horse and carriage!
The boys' new favorite card game is Chaotic. They got many sets of playing cards and together got the new Wii game. They are playing it, now, during naptime for the little ones, but all had to take a break because their arms hurt :)!

Mom and Dad enjoyed all the gift opening, too :) . . . Found my mom's old Christmas "cool thing" :) - comfy!

Kara and Simon helped make Christmas biscuits for lunch.
Cozy moments with Daddy!
Most of us in our "Snuggies" from the Wiegands (friends in PA).

A little unwrapping of gifts. They were so cute, SO GRATEFUL, for each gift. There were huge hugs given to each other as they said thank you :)!

After falling asleep around 10:30 (when Santa was over Sioux Falls, SD), the Ortlings arose around 7am to delve into their stockings! Yesterday, the kids called a "Ortling Counsel", led by the big brothers. They decided they wanted to share some of their "give" money with Mom and Dad, so Jeff and I found a dollar and some change in each of our stockings. What sweet kiddos we have!

Christmas Eve was full of fun. We had a "snacky" dinner (Keith's favorite) and watched A Christmas Story. The kids then got dressed in their new jammies, and we headed out to look at Christmas lights. It was in the single digits, so it took quite a while to warm up the car and "unfreeze" the doors :)! When we returned, I prepared cinnamon rolls for the morning, and Jeff got the kids set up for their "sleepover" awaiting Santa. They checked on Santa's location on Norad. We then did a neat activity reminding us of why Jesus came to earth, read some Narnia (we're on the last one), and it was off to bed.

Today, our Kara turned 5 years old! She had a few special friends over for "tea". It was SO neat how butterflies seem to become the theme of our table decore (notice the nice placemats, Kathy :). We woke early and made cupcakes and even ran to Salvation Army for teacups for all (several with butterflies on them, too) . . . All the gals played dress up, made pipecleaner bracelets, had tea, and decorated (and ate) cupcakes. Kara was a great little hostess, even allowing the "pirates" to invade her tea :)!!
Tonight, as I lay rehashing the day with her, she had lots of questions about heaven. We talked about PawPaw and being with Jesus. She reminded me of songs she knew about "One Way God said to Get to Heaven. Jesus is the Only Way" and "Jesus Loves Me". She wanted to talk to Jesus about her own wrong choices and tell him Thank You for making her clean inside by dying on the cross. She immediately wanted to know if Daddy had talked to Jesus about that. After checking with him, she was eager to ask Keith and Jacob, too. What a sweet, wonderful way to end her birthday!!

HOME!!!! Boxes still lie strewn around the garage, but we diverged from our plan to complete that task before Christmas decorations came down from the attack. It was a nice distraction to decorate, and I am enjoying seeing all those sweet Santa pictures of my Daddy! I am so grateful God blessed me with such a sweet man to fill that role in my life for a time!!!! I do miss him lots, though!!!
After arriving home last Friday, we enjoyed snowfall all weekend with an accumulation of about 7 inches. It warmed up a bit this week, but more is to come this weekend, I think. BEAUTIFUL stuff that snow!
Back to what we're accomplishing as we settle back in . . . Kara and Simon and I tackled getting their rooms organized, and Jeff is working with Keith and Jacob to get their room in working order. They've accomplished sorting through and reshelving books (even shared many with Kara and Simon who are loving them). We also started reading the final Narnia book last night - so cool! Our new Wii from PopPop and Kathy has also been a favorite reward for a hard days' work :)! Jeff, as well, jumped right into sorting and shelving books of his own purchased on our trip :) . . . I love our home, but think we'd do best to purchase an old library for our next house :) - I'd love that and we'd never run out of bookshelves! He also had to replace some brackets for our garage shelves before we loaded them with camping gear. I was wishing for my Hercules brothers or brother-in-laws when he had to lift the 10-15 ft shelf back in place! I've cleaned off my desk in the kitchen and gotten the kitchen/classroom all functional (you'd all be proud that I am keeping up with the dishes - except for one night :). There isn't room for Jacob at Elrod School, so we're finishing out the semester at home. We're praying there will be a miraculous opening after the holidays, but if not, the boys say they are okay with going to another local school for the rest of the year. Simon is working overtime settling back into home. He is NOT enjoying learning to sleep alone, but when his brothers finish clearing out their room of cluttered toys, he may be invited to live there. He is, however, feel mighty big as he tromps around the house in big boy underwear (aren't completely successful in the potty realm yet, but working on it :)! Upon arrival home, Keith shared his BIG Buzz Lightyear with Simon, and he has had a blast helping him go night-night, play, and go potty. Kara has stayed entertained with dolls and books and even had one playdate with a girl friend. She is looking forward to parties this weekend (friends' Christmas and birthday) and to a possible little tea for her birthday next week.
Wow, I'm quite wordy this morning :) . . . I guess I'm missing everyone far away as the holiday approaches... Here are a few photos of the fun we had this week at home - potty training and the traditional Christmas peanuts puzzle :) -

I got "gabbing" and forgot to take pictures at our last few stops in SD. We enjoyed stopping in to see the Letelliers for a couple of days. Shauna was a wonderful friend of mine in college, and we had a super time catching up on our lives! The boys braved the snow and 7 degree weather to explore their cool property. I enjoyed going to a MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) Christmas brunch with Shauna and even met a leader who grew up in Bigfork (crazy!). Then, we took a short drive across SD to Rapid City where we stayed a night with another friend, Manel, from my semester in Omaha, NE. She and her family had recently relocated to this area, and again, it was fun for me to catch up with her. The kids had a blast playing and crafting.
Now, we're caught up . . . tonight, we're finishing our LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG journey with a big shabang! Jacob says, "It is a good trip, but I want to go home. This is a great hotel." Jeff found a great one for swimming (even a waterslide)!! We're grateful it got a bit warmer today as we drove (maybe, 15 degrees today??). We're on to HOME tomorrow (Dec. 11th)! We are all SO excited and so grateful for the amazing adventure we've had over the last few months! Now, everybody come visit us - we don't plan on any traveling for a little while :)!

On we went to MN, where we reconnected with Leif and Kristy and Sven Storbakken. They've helped us at camp for several summers. We enjoyed relaxing (INSIDE) with them and joining them at church on Sunday. At their church, we were able to see a couple of other gals who have come out to help in MT. Again, FRIGID temps met us preparing us for home, I suppose. We all had a fun time catching up with them and enjoying all their fun stuff for kids (they are set for Sven and any young at heart folks who visit :)!!

Oops, if you're following geographically, I added the pictures a bit out of order :) . . . After MI, we headed to IL, where we found our super friends, the Belleques who moved from MT last summer. They just had a sweet new grandbaby, and as you can tell, have the grandparent roll down pat (doesn't hurt that they have an incredible love for kids EVERYWHERE)! They helped us find even more books from a new favorite author - Debbie Anderson. Someone had recently sent us a copy of one of her books, Let's Talk About Heaven (great resource)! Now, we have another new one about animals, Do Bugs Have Noses, compliments of the Belleques - THANKS!

Another stop in WI . . . frigid weather but cozy, sweet company. Kim Foster was a Camp Sankanac girl who married a WI guy :). They have 5 sweet kids (one of which was only a week old)! They graciously insisted that we stay with them anyway! I was busy helping Simon and Kara hold the baby, but you should have seem it. Simon was kissing and loving her - SO CUTE! he also loved Mollie (the 2 yr old you see in the pics). They took turns tickling each others' bellies :)! Tonight, as I blog, he was looking over my shoulder, and told me that was Mollie.

En route home, we stopped to visit friends in WI. Suzanna (the mom) was a friend from our Handi*Camp days. They have 6 kiddos and as you can tell loads of fun for the youngins to have :)!! Suzanna and I went to a Christmas tea one evening at their church. Tim helped ran the "tea room", and Jeff kid sat all 10 kids!! (including a small baby) Doesn't he rock! I was praying for him the whole time . . . but he had it under control, and it was a nice night out.

We're on the road - headed home to MT!!! We are still loving the adventure, but are more and more looking forward to being home :)! We stopped the first night in Akron, OH at a very nice hotel (even allowed Hazel to stay), all for $60 or so! Our next stop was in the Lansing, MI area where we stayed with a special college buddy of Jeff's, Jeff Howe and family. Kara was THRILLED to visit a "girl house", and Kaitlyn made her feel SO special! They even had a sleepover in Kaitlyn's room (heard Kara talking til around 11pm - out of fun and maybe a little nervousness a room away from Mom and Dad :).



We had game times galore, and Kaitlyn even share her bendaroos! The mural began as a kayaking dude and became a 3D sea adventure!!

While at the Brooking's, we had to play a croquet-type game with marbles, Black Snake, a game Jeff and buddies made up in college. Clark was one of those players back "in the day".



Jacob - THE WINNER!

We took a road trip to Baltimore, MD to visit friends from Jeff's college days. We had a blast with the Brooking boys (and their mom and dad, too). Above, Keith was made into a Santa with a large expandable ball and blankets :).
Spy games with the Brooking boys. Kara does prefer visiting a "girl house", but you notice she is enjoying herself just fine!
Kara and Lincoln were special buddies. They sat for almost an hour at the dinner table and then cuddled up during movie time :)!