Haircuts were done inside instead of on the porch for obvious reasons.
I enjoyed our Christmas decorations all the way up to January 6th, Three Kings Day.
My mom brought us a Rosca de Reyes to celebrate.
The boys absolutely love this tradition and will eat the entire thing piece by piece in hopes to get one of the babies hidden inside!
Then we put away all the Christmas decorations while remembering baby Jesus and the three kings.
Mark worked hard on the basement. I don't even know everything he did in January, but it included more framing, plumbing, and electrical.
We went to cousin Caitlin's baptism.
Mark and his dad continued their ping pong practice.
And the boys figured out how to climb the walls.
I took the boys to the ranch for a much needed day out of the inversion.
Our sweet and favorite hen named Hensies died. I think she got an infection and we tried to nurse her back to health, but she didn't make it.
Here's a view from the hayloft window into the backyard. I like the different perspective.
The boys, including Mark, have had some pretty epic snowball fights.
We have an awesome Tongan family in the ward, and they gave us each leis when their daughter, who was one of my laurels and then one of my teachers in primary, left on her mission. We are grateful to have such good people around us.
Here is a cute giraffe Timmy drew.
On the 100th day of school he had to dress up as an old man. This is the best we could do.
This cute girl moved in next door. She is due to have a baby soon and we can't wait to see it all happen!
Here is the view while waiting for the kids at school. Dropping off and picking up each day is worth it for the Chinese they are learning!
I took them to early morning Parents and Pastries, where we read and then eat donuts together.
Difficult times came to my dad's family when my sweet 21-year-old cousin, Paul, passed away unexpectedly. It's hard to see loved ones go through so much trial, yet my testimony of the Plan of Happiness has been strengthened in the process. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have. I know from millions of times feeling it in my heart that there is a plan, and that we are God's children and that this mortal life is a small, but essential part in that plan. We'll see Paul again and so will his family.
Mark is close to this family and was sad to have to be in California for work during the funeral. I took the boys and they were very respectful and good.
Staying for the luncheon that the ward Relief Society did for the family after the funeral was such a blessing. It was a time family and friends could talk and to be together and remember Paul in a less formal environment. I made a renewed effort to help with funeral luncheons in my own ward when needed. It is a valuable service I didn't recognize earlier.
The next day Mark was back in town and we had missed Chinese New Year at the Hsiao house, so we had Mark's parents over for dinner.
This kids got plenty of celebrating in at school though. There were crafts and decorations and chopsticks at lunch and a lion dance performance.
And that concludes some of our January happenings. It's on to February already!
