A Full Circle

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Higby's!

Here is an update of what's going on with our family in sunny California!

 

 

Alysa is a freshman this year and loving her friends and school. She really enjoyed playing basketball this year with her sister. Alysa turned 14 in May and now goes to all the church dances she can find! She has worked really hard in school to get her grades where she wants them to be. Alysa has a talent for making friends and helping everyone to feel welcome. She is really enjoying seminary, even if it means waking up an hour earlier than the rest of the family. Alysa is a beautiful young lady with a strong testimony and she is a big help to her mom.

 

 

Kylah is in 7th grade this year. She is a perfectionist at heart and excels in everything she does. She is the bake sale queen and has a monopoly on our corner. Neighbors look for our blue canopy during the summer because they know all the baked goods are worth stopping! Kylah enjoyed playing basketball with Alysa this year and has really improved her skills. She entered Young Womens in February and was excited to finally be where she belonged! Kylah enjoyed her first year at Girl's Camp with her Mom as her leader. She has really grown this last year as she's discovered her talents and shed some of her shy exterior.

 

 

Austin is in 6th grade this year. He has adjusted well to the Jr. High schedule and excels in his classes. Austin has a fun sense of humor that we enjoy. An engineer at heart, Austin loves to design and build things with whatever materials he can acquire. Earlier this year he participated in his last Pinewood Derby event with Cub Scouts and won best in show! He is now enjoying 11 year old scouts and had his first camp out this fall. Austin has started piano lessons and his teacher loves him and his natural musical ability. He loves to practice and we often have to remind him that he does have chores and homework too. Austin is always watching out for those around him and is definitely a fun-loving young man.

 

 

Mayci is in 3rd grade and she was baptized this past Spring! She looked beautiful and we were proud of her for making the decision to follow Jesus Christ. Mayci has a bubbly personality and her smile is infectious. She is loving Activity Days and feels more like her sisters now that she has her own church activities to attend. She is growing tall quickly and her hair is growing just as fast!

 

 

Bailey is at school full time now that she is in Kindergarten. She loves school and making new friends. Bailey is quite the little mommy and loves toddlers and babies. She loves to help Mom, especially making dinner or her favorite cookies. Bailey admires her older sisters and wants to be just like them. She has a fun sense of humor and is really growing into her own.

 

 

 

Cole is Mommy's little buddy during the day. He just turned 5 in early December so he won't start school until next year. He enjoys the joy school co-op we have once a week and also having play dates with his younger cousins. Cole is an intense little boy and is always looking for what's coming next. He enjoys making cookies with Mom and wrestling with Dad. He can't wait until he can start baseball in the Spring. He's even been out "practicing everyday when the weather is good! Cole is all boy, but he is sweet and loving too and we all enjoy his antics.

 

Jed is working for Apple Computers in their warehouse. He has been there for 3 months and really enjoys the new environment. There is room for growth and he has worked hard to showcase his skills. He has loved officiating football and volleyball this year and is looking forward to club volleyball picking up in January. He works hard and we all love and appreciate him.

 

Wendi has kept busy volunteering with the kids' school and playing chauffeur all afternoon. She has enjoyed serving as the Young Women's President for just over a year and stays very busy with all the youth activities. It's been fun to share her talents and to help the girls try and learn new things. She still decorates the occasional cake and participates in teaching Cole's preschool with the other moms in the group.

 

Our family will be moving just after Christmas! We are grateful to Wendi's parents for letting us stay so long with them and we are excited to move and find out what's in our storage unit! We are grateful for the tender mercies the Lord has shown our family as He has guided us along our journey. We are thankful for the friends and family we have and we wish you all a Merry Christmas!

 

Love, the Higby's

 

 

A Little Summer Fun...

Love these Bubble Blowers! Soooo easy to make. Just take a water bottle and cut off the bottom end. put a wash cloth on the end and wrap a rubber band around it. That's it! Now dip the wash cloth into the bubble solution and then blow! These bubble snakes are so much fun!  We found that the fluffy bathroom type washcloths work better than the dish cloths.

Free Piano!

So I acquired a free piano! With a little research, I discovered that it's a Shaw Piano and was manufactured in 1913 in Baltimore. It is a little beat up and so I had this great idea that was going to refinish it! Here are the "before" pictures. We had already started removing some pieces.

Through online research I read that although the piano is solid wood, it does have wood veneers on parts of the piano to give it a finished look. Because of the veneers, I could not just sand of the crackled coating. I actually had to get a stripper agent and tediously paint it on, wait, then scrape off the goopy substance. This has become a way bigger progect than I intended! Just a few small sections left and the entire surface will be stripped down to the wood! Pictures to come soon!

Fruits of the season...

In this case, vegetables of the season! We love corn on the cob and the kids had fun shucking corn for the family. Grandma couldn't resist telling them about how she had to shuck a whole bag of corn everyday during the harvest seasonl. They'd store it in the freezer and enjoy it all year! The kids didn't mind the 3-4 ears they each had to shuck!