Preparing for Christmas, Part 2

The second week of December started with Becky getting sick. We knew it was going around, so we braced ourselves to all get sick, and it did go around the family, though I think Becky had it the worst. It was pretty mild for most of us.

We were very excited about the start of our basketball season, and then our opponents called to cancel an hour before the scheduled start when they started to experience ice on the interstate. One car of girls arrived, though, so we had an informal girls game anyway, and then Varsity boys practice afterwards. It was amazing that there were almost 75 spectators there even though there wasn't a game -- our homeschool sports organization is really beginning to have a following, and it is really fun!

Fortunately, the weather cleared up enough that we were able to drive down to Poplar Bluff to pick Andy up from school. We decided to combine it with a visit to a couple of Missouri landmarks which we had not yet visited, and took the whole family except Abby, who was taking her turn being sick. After Poplar Bluff, the first stop was Taum Sauk Mountain, the highest point in Missouri. Only Dan braved the look-out tower, which had some ice on the steps and railings that deterred the rest of us -- the following photos give an idea of what he braved and what he saw. The rest of us decided it will be much more worth the climb in the spring!

Looking down from the top -- where we are trying to stay warm in the van!

Looking out from the top of the tower.

Panoramic view from Taum Sauk Mountain overlook

About a 1/2mile away from the lookout tower is the actual highest point. A "rugged" path takes you right there, the long way. Dan took a short cut through the woods, the direct way and beat us back to the van!the rugged path

Seven Halls at the top of Missouri -- wow!

Next stop, Elephant Rocks state park. These huge granite rocks are an oddity in Missouri -- but they may look familiar to those of you who live in California and have ever hiked in the Sierra Mountains! They mined a lot of beautiful red granite blocks out of this area, but these rocks were too soft to be of any use in building, so they got to become a state park. The kids want to go back with friends -- lots of places to explore and hide.

One of the places they quarried out of, now full of water -- but no swimming allowed!

We finally played our first basketball games on the weekend. All three teams - Dan and Zeke's junior high boys team, Abby's girls team, and the varsity boys -- started off with a win. Unfortunately, the last two were mismatches. The girls' game wasn't too bad, since we have 14 players and this gave the coach the freedom to give the less experienced girls more playing time. But the varsity boys' game was painful to watch. We could have probably scored 100 points and held them to zero, but the boys did a good job of not turning it into a total slaughter, by practicing their passing and allowing some of the weaker players to shine...the other coach was very appreciate of our team's attitude and character, and thanked us for being willing to play them and for being so nice about it....and we all agreed these kinds of games are an opportunity to build character..The next day the Junior High boys got to be on the other side of the character building coin as they were outmatched and pretty badly beaten twice (they were in a tournament). But they really did pretty well, considering it was their first season, and only a few weeks of practice. It is a good solid group of guys that have a lot of potential, especially if they keep playing together year after year. Dan does a great job coaching them in the basics of basketball, which are so quickly left behind by many coaches, it seems.

Zeke preparing for a rebound.

Jockeying for position against Lebanon

Because we got through the tournament so quickly, we were able to get back home in time to participate in our church's Live Nativity. This was the third year, and Isaac is still wearing the shepherd costume I made for him for Christmas Eve that first year, after he insisted while we were visiting the Live Nativity that he had to be a shepherd. That first year we tied a kitchen towel around his head and sent him out to be a part, and he went up to people and asked them if they had seen the baby and then took their hand and led them to the manger, proceeding to tell them not only the Christmas story, but also the Easter story! What a witness! It has become a family tradition. This year more of us got involved (Abby reading scripture, Isaac as a Shepherd, Dan and Zeke as wise men) -- Dawn stayed inside and made sure people felt welcomed!

Elizabeth checked out the manger scene, including climbing over the bales to look into the manger. It was precious!

Can you find Isaac in the wooden nativity display?

Sunday afternoon, Dan and I enjoyed the Rolla Choral Arts Society Christmas concert, in which Abby's choir participated. It was fabulous. We are fortunate to have an opportunity to hear such fine music from people in the community. We rushed home after to host our church youth group who arrived to watch Christmas movies in our shed, which has become a do-it-yourself theatre. When we started the evening, it was 60 degrees and dry; 3 hours later the temperature had dropped to 35, and the rain had started....