The Kohlmans

This past Wednesday we finally got around to celebrating Christmas with my family on the farm.  We ended the day with a few family pictures. Dad's surprise gift this year was a KJK Farms fleece blanket (anti-static, pet hair resistant) for each of us. The surprise was definitely a highlight, as usual!

Every year, my Grandma Lu's brothers and sisters get together for an amazing potluck and great fellowship. This year was Grandma's turn to host the gathering. It was a little bit smaller than usual, but that just meant more amazing food for me. Highlights from the day included watching the little kids play, seeing Grandma with all six of her living siblings (there were nine who lived to adulthood - at least one or two from each family were there), visiting with Jody (who I'd never really talked to in person before, just via our blogs), watching Gracie, Jada, and Sidney sing (BRAVE girls!), and just spending time with my amazing extended family.

I have some catching up to do... We spent the 23rd and 24th in Lyndon, celebrating with Jeff, Barb, Leah, and Justin. We took Jazzy with us. She behaved better at their house than at ours... She kept trying to make friends with the cats, but they weren't having it. Maybe some other time.   We hung out, ran around town a little, ate, and opened presents.  It was a pretty low-key weekend.

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.” -Cicero Every year, for as long as I can remember, my mom has "stuffed" a package of thank you cards into our stockings, among a variety of other useful items. (hint, hint, mom.) Whether it's a not-so-subtle hint or something inexpensive to add, I'm not sure. Either way, it's handy to have a stack in the desk drawer. And, it's a good reminder. (Here's your fair warning: I might rant in the coming paragraphs.) Speaking of thanks, I've been wondering for the past year or so... Since when did writing a thank you for a gift become optional? Maybe I'm old-fashioned in this respect. And maybe thank-yous are completely outdated or optional, in an age of texting and email and expected gifts. But I think not. At least, they shouldn't be. I'll be the first to admit that I love receiving gifts. Yes, I know that "it's better to give th...

Yesterday was Kohlman Christmas. After great food and lots of presents, the day ended with attempts to recreate a picture from 20-some years ago... Pretty much the same thing, right?!

Yes, I know we're still a few days away. But I've gotta say it if I'm gonna post about all my Christmas decorations. (I have to admit that I used to be a Scrooge... or is it Grinch? about "no Christmas before Thanksgiving." Not anymore. I don't know exactly why or how my perspective changed, but it did.) I love, love, love decorating for Christmas. I started asking Brad if I could get things out on Halloween. He said no. Lots of times. He finally gave in a couple days before Thanksgiving. I actually wasn't going to take many pictures of my decorations and tree this year. I asked myself, Who needs Christmas tree pictures every year?!  ...especially since the tree is the exact same kind as last year with the exact same ornaments. But then, I was reading a few blogs. People were posting about their own Christmas decorations. And I read phrases like "my theme this year" and "blends perfectly with my home decor." Seriously?! In ...

We are thankful to be part of a small group of "young adults" (defined loosely) through our church. Saturday evening we had our annual Christmas get-together - an appetizer supper and grab bag gift exchange.

For three of my four college years I lived in the mods (four double and one single room that shared a bathroom and living room) with - more or less - the same group of girls. When we first started talking about living together, somehow we christened ourselves "The Nunnery." I think it had something to do with the fact that we wanted to live in mod 2B, and there's that great "to be or not to be" Hamlet quote... and that play also includes the line "Get thee to a Nunnery!" Conveniently, none of us were dating at the time (though that didn't actually last). Am I remembering that right?! Living so close together for two or three years means you form bonds that are different than just about any other. One of the things we discussed before moving in (we talked a lot - still do when we're together) was that we wanted to be intentional. We were choosing to live in community, not just to live with each other in order to get a mod. A...

I found this great idea on Pinterest, a simple nativity that needed only a few items. I immediately made a list of what I had to buy. Then, after two or three weeks of carrying the list around, I gathered the supplies. The heads were the most difficult thing to find.The package said that these can be either doll heads or cabinet knobs. Gotta love versatility. The craft paint colors weren't quite the same as the sticker on the bottles. Oh well. I did a little bit of painting. And then..... Jazzy did a little bit of chewing. Only the heads. Oops. Maybe a lot of chewing. I let her out this morning (she usually hangs out in the kitchen while I run in the basement.) I heard a few thunks while I was on the treadmill but thought it was her nylon bone. Nope. It was Mary and Joseph. Fortunately, I usually buy extra. So tonight I painted some new heads and finished up these little nativities. Then I put them way out of the dog's reach.