The Christmas Microscope

We got a wonderful gift this year of a small digital microscope.  The kids have had a great time looking at things like...

The pixels on a computer screen VS.



The OLED pixels on my cell phone.



Sugar



Salt



Artificial Sweetener



Bread



Black Pepper



Wood and a Nail



Cloth



Printed Pictures



and even Hair.

I hope these are as fun for you as they have been for our kids.

Happy Things

It's been one heck of a Christmas.

I don't want to talk about it yet.

But I do want to share these things that make me happy:

This magical frost only lasted a couple hours in that sun. What a sight. 7 December 2018.

"Look! This is as high as I can go!" 4 December 2018

The following is "The Bad Guy Dance", a cooperative effort between Alice (dance) and Robert (music) that they developed one night after dinner. 12 December 2018.

This was one reason Alice and Robert were so silly happy that night after dinner. They love a cook out. 50 degrees on December 12th? I'll take it.

Matthew fell asleep on me. He never falls asleep on me. Just Bobby. This was a privilege. 19 December 2018.

It looks like a hug, but we all know it's not. Hilarious fun until someone takes it a little too far. 24 December 2018.

The following is a video interview Matthew took of me today. I don't normally like to watch videos of myself, but this one makes me happy. It's the most normal I've felt in a long, long time. 

Not Ready

We decorated the Christmas tree this week.



We started #LightTheWorld (2016 version 'cuz it's easier for the kids to grasp).

We had the first of 4 Advent Sings.

And still I'm not ready for Christmas. Not feeling the love, dude. What am I missing?!

???

My almost-2-year-old hens are laying XL eggs these days, so imagine my surprise when I found this little beauty this morning!



It probably doesn't even have a yolk. 

Turkey Day and Reindeer

It's been a fun Thanksgiving Break. My sister Heather came up from Texas to spend a week with Erin and me. Here are a few pictures so far:

Alice and Robert waiting for the 1-mile Turkey Trot to start on Thanksgiving morning.

Our group at the Turkey Trot: L-R, The Green Family, me and Matthew, some of the Merrill family, Alice, Robert, Bobby and James, and Heather.

I think they are friends now. They play more often than they fight, at least, which is a huge turnaround from...from...pretty much their whole existence together to date. They wrestle, sit on each other, fart on each other, chase each other around the house, and call each other gross names. They were laughing their heads off the other day in a spontaneous farting competition.

Petting reindeer at Hardy's Reindeer Ranch

The following is a video Bobby took of me getting a "reindeer kiss." Now I have kissed both a donkey and a reindeer.

A whole line of people I love, admiring baby reindeer.

Leaping across straw bales.

Erin treated us to cocoa at Starbuck's where we discovered something called "Kid Temp" cocoa: tepid. They all loved it.

Heather and I traveled out to the Indianapolis temple. I have loved getting to know her all over again. I have so much respect for this strong, faithful, mature woman. What a pleasure to have her visit!