We're Still Here and We Love Each Other and We've Learned a Lot

 

The Saturday before Christmas Cannon participated in a speech and debate tournament online.  Abe-- the completely awesome, unselfish dad that he is, gave his day to be a volunteer judge for the tournament.  And the thing is, for every student enrolled in the speech and debate league, a parent has to volunteer to judge at least once.   I had signed myself up to judge on this day.  And Abe, knowing that I didn't really want to and I had lots of other Christmasy things I wanted to get done, happily took my spot.  If that's not love, I don't know what is.  

You know what else is love?  When your really good friends come over with tools and man-power to help chop up your wood pile.  Honestly, people are so kind.

Along with being kind, the Schramms are the most prepared, self-reliant, responsible people I know. They know how to do everything and most likely already have the right tool for the job.

  Why are pictures taken right before the picture is taken so funny?  

Christmas Sunday 2020.  It has been A YEAR.  I am very grateful to be where we are now.  Like I said in our Christmas letter-- "We're still here and we love each other and we've learned a lot."  I think that's how I'll look back on 2020.

Bethany played in three different musical numbers in three different wards.  

Click here to hear the number she and I played in our ward.

Click hereto hear the rehearsal of a beautiful "Silent Night" duet she an another girl did in her singles ward.  

The third, which was actually the first) number was "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" in a ward in a stake with a kid she used to work with.

We went on a family outing last Monday to the Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork.  It was... well... memorable.  We must have gone on the busiest night at the peak time because we had to wait in line for an hour and half.  Had we known the wait would be so long, we might have considered an alternative family outing  But once we had drive all the way down there, we decided to wait it out.  There was the incident of Greta having to use the bathroom with no bathroom was available and we didn't want to lose our place in line.  We figured out a way for her to relieve herself.  As Cannon says, one of our family mottos is "Make it Work".  So that's what we did.  Can someone cross stitch that for me?

Despite the long wait, it was really fun and Spanish Fork lights never disappoint.

And this was pretty cool.  While we were waiting to meet up with Clark and Alexa so they could ride down with us, we found the convergence of Jupiter and Saturn in the sky.  The "Christmas Star" hasn't been seen like this for over 400 years.  That is what Cannon is pointing to.

Maybe we'll try to go earlier in the season next year.