December 31 New Year's Eve

Wednesday:  It was a busy day today and a good one too. A few weeks ago, an elderly lady (Bev) in my Sunday school class at Calvary reached out to me to request transportation (local) when needed. She is 90 years old and had to stop driving three months ago because her car died and she had no finances to fix it. She is a very kind little lady, quite tough and spry, and very clear thinking. I have enjoyed getting to know her! She needed to pick up a few things at Meijer this morning, so we went grocery shopping together. I've also been picking her up Sunday mornings and taking her to church--it's been a blessing to be of help to her.

This week, Dylan and Kelly switched my Tuesday to Wednesday--but I had already committed to helping Bev for the morning; so I picked the children up at about 1:00 and took them over here to play for awhile. I get quite overwhelmed with all four of these kiddos at one time over at my house--they are such a busy little bunch of kids, all talking at once, all wanting my attention concurrently; so sometimes when I anticipate having them over, I experience anxiety beforehand. I am learning, though, that the things I struggle with are noticed by the Lord; and when I commit myself to serve Him and others, He is very available to be of help to me. This proved true today, and I am so thankful.

I'm going to add my photos tomorrow--they are on my phone, and lately I am having trouble syncing them with my computer to upload them. I'm too tired tonight to try to accomplish it.

We had a fun few hours today. I couldn't believe how trashed my place looked after about two hours, but everyone was playing really well, and there were no major tuffs going on; so I just let it happen! These guys' ability to play through chaos is really quite amazing to me. I must be highly OCD! I feel so much better when things are orderly--but I knew that it would only take a little bit of time for me to get it back to how I like it once our day was over. 

Puzzle making and drawing ...

Brendan and Cal played a few games of "Stones."

Everybody tried their hand at making a successful marble run.

This is the game of "Blank Slate".

Brendan, Erin and I played a game of "Taco Cat" which was hilarious. Aidan was building a marble run at the time (I think) and didn't want to participate. Cal watched--he's a little bit too young for this game. We all played another game of "Blank Slate" (Cal and I were partners) and had a lot of fun playing this together. The kids do really well with this game! I'm so pleased.

The last day of 2025 ... this year was the fastest year ever ... but I suppose that's because I am getting older every year, and that's how time feels ... it just zips on by!