Epiphany

We celebrated Epiphany quietly this year. Always the puzzle of the Magi graces the table in the living room. Always we invite somebody to share a sweet treat and look for the hidden baby Jesus inside. 

Last year, we invited a family with small ones to come to our house. This year, we went to a home with many small ones and several big ones, too, and shared our chili and our cottage cheese cake. Then, we sang hymns around the table and enjoyed a sweet time of worship together.

Epiphany

Only one new book, "The Last Slice" made it into our basket with the old Epiphany favorites.

This year we continued with hiding Baby Jesus in a high-protein cheesecake (which is now a family favorite) and invited friends over to watch Amahl and eat soup.

We played peek-a-boo and read books and the littlest one called Aaron "Papa" all night long. The three-year-old delightedly found the ceramic baby Jesus in her dessert.

After our friends got home, Lauren texted me with a quote from her little girl. "Hey guess what? I'm just like the Wise Men. I found Baby Jesus!"

More January 2024

Katherine's hair was finally long enough to donate, 

so she got it cut, and we mailed the hair to Wigs for Kids. The envelope included the hair I had cut in July along with her lustrous braids.

We celebrated our traditional Epiphany by watching twelve-year-old Aaron sing Amahl. We also tried a new recipe, high protein cheesecake. We put ours in ramekins, which made it easier to find the ceramic Baby Jesus.

Aaron's mom found Baby Jesus, so she got the prize!

On January 13, our proposal-versary, Connor asked Olivia to marry him. He chose that date because of its significance to our family, annnnnd because they were already going to a concert that included a Brahms symphony.

We've had more snow this year than I remember having any other year!

Taking crunchy walks around the neighborhood quickly became one of my favorite things to do.

Snow added joy to a chemo treatment!

And gave us opportunities for mini-dates :)

Katherine continued to plug away with chemistry.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Youth Ensembles held its "side by side" concert. Katherine got to play alongside my cello teacher, Rafael, and his wife, Susan. They opened their home to Aaron and me every Saturday morning. Early. Our lessons began at 7:30 and went until 9:30, when we drove to our youth orchestra rehearsal. They were formative in the shaping of our musicianship as well as how I run my home cello studio now.

Which leads to joy of watching some of my students participate in the youth orchestras. These guys are dedicated members of their orchestras, and it's so fun to watch them grow as musicians.

January (First Half)

We rang in the new year with a hike to Longpool Falls.

Inspired by 1000 Hours Outside, I'm tracking my outdoor hours this year

and trying to make space for more outdoor adventures.

The falls were beautiful, but so was the river.

Before Olivia left to go back to JBU, we took another trip.

This time, we stayed close to home and visited Pinnacle Mountain State Park,

but we hiked a trail we had never seen before.

#thefamilythatplaystogetherstaystogether

Afterwards, we enjoyed a stop at Le Pops, a local popsicle place.

Popsicles were just right after a sunny afternoon of hiking.

Olivia got to join us for Body Pump at the gym again, which is always fun!

One of the hardest things about going back to school is the lack of time to open our home and be hospitable.

So when Olivia had the opportunity to pick up a friend in Memphis and give her a ride to school, we jumped at the chance to host her. Especially since it was Epiphany and making the Three Kings Cake is always better when it's shared.

And then we got an unexpected opportunity to host friends whose water wasn't working properly. They brought laundry, took showers, and helped us celebrate Epiphany by looking for baby Jesus in the cake.

After they left, we enjoyed watching Aaron singing the part of Amahl as a boy.

The next weekend, Aaron and I snuck away for a few days to celebrate our 26th proposalversary.

We started with a portion of the Ozark Highlands Trail and felt a little bit like Pa Ingalls in Little House in the Big Woods when he saw a tree stump and thought it was a bear.

We stopped at Ozone Burger Barn (which is quickly becoming one of our favorites in this part of the state) before we drove to our cabin.

This time, we returned to Mt. Nebo, always a special place for us.

I always forget how important it is to get still and quiet on a regular basis

and to pull out of the hustle and bustle of daily life. Especially as a couple.

On our way home, we took some more time on the Ozark Highlands Trail.

Even in January, the waterfalls were flowing.

Before school kicked in again, we enjoyed attending Bree's wedding. What a joy to watch God orchestrate this relationship! Bree is a fabulous personal trainer and friend.

Joyful January

 

Epiphany was quieter than ever this year.  We still hid baby Jesus in the cake, but we tried a new recipe.

And we still watched the original "Amahl and the Night Visitors".

SITAG's Conference finally had the capacity to be worldwide via Zoom for the first time ever, and Uncle Fudge and Aunt Karen, some of our colleagues, needed a place to stay overnight during the meetings.  So much more fun to share the experience of Conference!

January brought more old friends, the Conard family, as they swung by for a quick hello on their way to visit their oldest in college.

After taking a break from visiting churches during Thanksgiving and Christmas, 

we hit the road again to share about Bible translation in the Solomon Islands.

Finally, we finished one of the most intriguing puzzles we've ever attempted.  The Wasgij brand gives you a picture of the perspective from the puzzle you are trying to complete.  It's a fascinating brain twist!

School continued to move forward through American History, we added my grandparent's beautiful clock to our house.

Katherine continued to advance on her cello,

and we enjoyed the sun coming from the South and slowly filling the days a little bit more with its light and warmth.

January is a fabulous month for soup, and we found some winners in a cookbook I picked up at the library book sale for $1.  The "Oh She Glows" cookbook gave us this Indian curried cauliflower and red lentil recipe that has become a staple in our home.