I woke up one Saturday morning, and was sitting on the easy chair staring out the front window when Mom mentioned Dressember. I remembered seeing something about it on Instagram and decided it was a good cause that needed support and awareness raised. So just like that I committed to a month of wearing dresses and ended up learning a ton in the process! But that isn’t all there is to the story of my November and December months so please – keep reading!????
October snow brings November photoshoots… That doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as the original, but one Saturday afternoon we took advantage of the snow and took the classic throwing snow photo.
In November we have our annual Sunday School Program, which we call the “Treat”. This year I felt it went really well!!! We all dressed up, and came to the Hall around 5:30 for the amazing turkey dinner. At 7:00 the program began, with the whole audience sitting and singing Sunday School songs to warm up. Then Stephen Vance, our speaker this year, got up and gave a short gospel message before all of the children got up on stage to sing the welcoming choruses! Cassia started them this year, and did an awesome job of singing loud enough to keep the kids on beat and on tune. After these songs the kids filed off the stage and one by one each class got up on stage to say their pieces and sing a little song. This year we did a couple of things differently and had several teens songs which were mixed in throughout the program! (Photo credits: Liz Griffin Photography) The boys sang very close to the beginning – and did a great job!!! It was so cool to sit and hear them sing “Come As You Are”!
Then later on in the program us girls got up to sing “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say”. It was also really special because Kirsten, one of the older Young People directed us while we sang!
And finally “Just As I Am – I Come Broken” by all of the Young People. And this year the teen song was absolutely amazing!!! Not that I have a biased opinion or anything…????But even as I was singing on stage I could hear all of the parts blending together and it was like God was right there with us.
The next day, after our Sunday School program we went to the hospital in Estevan to sing for the people in the longterm care unit. And after we were finished singing we went exploring – because small town city hospitals are pretty small – and came across a decorated Christmas tree challenge! Heidi, Mariah and I closely examined each one, and I have no recollection of my favourite one, only photos of the many ornaments on each tree! After we sang for an hour or so Stephen and Lisa Mac ordered pizza in and then took us all swimming!!!This was my favourite ornament because it perfectly encapsulates my favourite word, joy. I think a lot of people forget to dwell on the positives in life and so I have a mini life mission to make people happy. And not the please everyone kind of happy, but the belly laugh or ear-to-ear grin kind of happy.Several days after our busy weekend the hoar frost came out in full force! And then mixed with the sunrise – it was stunning!!!Several days late, but early enough for the kill Cassia and Lanaya got their hunting licenses! It was Lanaya’s first year hunting as she was finally old enough!!! Plus, they got free donuts, of course, on the one day I don’t come along…????Headed out, decked out in the classic orange associated with rifle season. Lucky for them it was warm enough that they didn’t need a million layers on just to go out the door, which would then be removed once they climbed into the truck!????Then, horror of horrors, we went to Minot during hunting season! This is a big no-no because during hunting season every available moment is to be spent hunting deer… But shopping is also a nice alternative, so Lanaya, Amariah and I went with Dad to do some Christmas shopping while he spent the day in Menard’s. I was walking around the mall, babysitting two twelve year olds going on twenty. But we survived, by drinking our Starbucks and shopping…????Then, as you all know, on December 1, I donned a dress in order to raise awareness about human trafficking. I met my goal and received more support than I ever would’ve dreamed and for that I thank everyone who put valuable time and money into this fundraiser!Cassia is a little stinker and managed to drop this big guy just five minutes before the hunting season ended. They were out on the prowl when they spotted a deer in some bulrushes. Cassia climbed up a pile of dirt and crouched into position while Dad snuck around and scared the deer out of the slough. She dropped him with her first shot, through the heart and then Lanaya, Mom and I got the call. We went rushing to them and field dressed the deer on the spot before taking him to Uncle Randy’s for butchering!We decorated our Christmas tree the next week, and I got to be the “tree police” and dictate the ornament choices…???? I went for a red and gold theme this year and it really brought the tree together!????That same night we decorated Christmas cookies!!! These are my some of my favourtist cookies – but I think the decorations are what complete them though.????
When doing Dressember, go full out. So on pajama day at school I donned an incredibly soft nightgown and wore it with confidence – at least that’s what I portrayed, because I was dying of mortification inside…????
#youcandoanythinginadress Even archery, where I got the strangest looks – because who wears dresses at target practice?This nightgown ended up winning me first place at our young people’s Christmas party. So moral of the story, no matter how much you don’t want to be seen in public, sometimes it’s worth it…????The morning after the Teen Christmas party we left bright and early to head down to pick up a “surprise”! My parents knew what was going on, and we received no clues except for “It’s not a person” and “It’s not alive”… So, as you can imagine we were guessing left an right trying to figure out what we all had to go down to Bismark to pick up. We finally reached Bismark three hours later, and parked in the Tractor Supply Co. parking lot. This narrowed down a lot of options, and I began thinking about what kind of small engine things were sold there. We walked up to customer service and my Dad pulled two papers out of jacket and slid them across the counter. I peered around and spotted the words “minibikes” printed on the screen…I had no idea what those were but tried to act excited because my parents were.???? But as they brought the boxes out I began to figure out what they were. They were like cute little motorcycles that go pretty fast and handle well on prairie terrain because of their thick tires. So I got more and more excited as the day went on and couldn’t wait to get home – but that didn’t exactly end up going as planned… When we got to the border we weren’t allowed to bring the bikes across the border because there was no record of these minibikes in Canada’s safe vehicles manual or something like that… So we turned around and drove the two hours back to Minot, dropped the minibikes off at the Tractor supply co there and then spent the night. The next morning we drove back to Bismark to return the helmets (pictured above) that we had bought in the Runnings down there, and then returned home. Strangely enough though, the next day my parents made a quick, secret trip to Regina and when we got off the bus after school there were two minibikes sitting in the back of the truck!!! Once Dad turned the US search engine off on his laptop he found them at Peavey Mart in Canada… So even though we couldn’t bring them across the border they were legitimately being sold in Canada – slightly weird. However, since everything worked out, I’m just going to be grateful…????Several days later I headed for the hairdressers during lunch hour…And cut off five inches. The headaches disappeared right away so yay for shorter hair!????That same night Cassia and I went out for supper with some friends and then to a free Christmas music concert in Carnduff! It was a fun evening with the friends – and the chinese food was AMAZING!!!While we’re at school Mom and Dad take the minibikes out for joyrides along the back country roads – leaving us to see the fun we missed through photos that afternoon…#youcandoanythinginadress including take everything from the home renovations to the dump.Christmas Eve dinner was a fondue that satisfied all the cravings – especially the deep fried shrimp with garlic butter! Afterwards we played Codenames – a game I recommend and is a ton of fun with a group of people!!!I nailed Christmas stocking stuffers with charcoal masks for the whole family…And the end results fulfilled all the internet had promised!????And the best Christmas present ever was the smallest one… Rolled up in cardboard tubes, wrapped in Christmas paper, and hung on the tree, were mock boarding passes indicating a future trip to New Zealand!!!!!!! New Zealand has been on my bucket list for yeeeeaaaars and yeeeeaaaars. And last year when I found out my parents were going to New Zealand in October 2019 and not taking us I actually broke down and cried – which wasn’t a good thing, given the fact they broke that news to us while I was driving the truck… However the months went by and I just avoided thinking about it – except for the teensiest bit of hope that maybe they might surprise us for Christmas. So Christmas morning when I pulled the boarding pass out of the tube, I once again broke down and “ugly cried” because I was so excited…???? It surprised my parents and the countdown is going with 224 days left!Cassia got her buck European mounted this year – and so we decorated it for the holiday season…????Here we see my struggle of being short… This mirror at Menard’s was mounted so high on the wall that while I was walking past not even the top of my head was visible in the mirror.???? So in this photo I am standing on my very tiptoes with a little support from Cassia – who is now taller than me????- in order to get this photo.Friday night skates with the YP!December 31, 2018 I met my goal of $350 USD – so thank you to all of you who donated and helped me to meet my goal – and even surpass it during January (which was Human Trafficking Awareness Month)! December 31, 2018 at 11:59 I got my photo in my dress…And then a couple of minutes later I was back in pants for the first time in a month. It felt slightly strange – but was definitely warmer!????On January 1, 2019 there was a young peoples on someones pond which they keep plowed for the winter months. It was below -30 degrees Celsius but the memories were worth it!
November and December seems so long ago as I write this blog post. But it was good to slow down – and actually stick around for a holiday…????It felt strange not traveling constantly throughout those two months but sometimes it’s necessary to take a break – given that life has been flying by since September!
Fantastic coverage of 2 months! so thankful that there were no chill blains associated with Dressember. Brave girl! I loved the singing recorded and am so excited for your upcoming NZ trip. Have a fantastic cruise! Love Grandma & Grampa
Sitting up in bed, just after it snowed here in Las Vegas. I so enjoyed all the stories you posted. The young people singing was wonderful and I love the songs we grew up with. Thinking of how many memories you are blessed to have as you journey through life. Keep posting I love to hear about everything.
Fantastic coverage of 2 months! so thankful that there were no chill blains associated with Dressember. Brave girl! I loved the singing recorded and am so excited for your upcoming NZ trip. Have a fantastic cruise! Love Grandma & Grampa
Awe! Thanks Grandma and Grampa!!! I’m so excited for the cruise!
Sitting up in bed, just after it snowed here in Las Vegas. I so enjoyed all the stories you posted. The young people singing was wonderful and I love the songs we grew up with. Thinking of how many memories you are blessed to have as you journey through life. Keep posting I love to hear about everything.
Thank you for the encouragement Ronda!!!