Christmas Time

I hadn't gotten around to sharing pictures from Christmas time yet, I just wanted to record some of the fun and blessings from Christmas time 2022....

The Wednesday night before Christmas we enjoyed a time of singing carols by candlelight. I really enjoy using candles and it is fun and special to do something different from the ordinary. We enjoyed it.

Before the carol sing we had a "Shepherd's Supper": with Lentil stew and other stews, charcuterie boards with bread, crackers, cheese, dates, olives and things like that. It was yummy and fun to do something a little different there too.

  Megan and I had fun (and a few late nights and pushing ourselves too) making handmade gifts for everybody this year. We only do a gift exchange amongst me and the kids (not our whole extended family) so it wasn't quite as big of a project as it could have been.

  The first thing that we made was a bunch of candy. Our friends the Kleinsassers (or the females in the family anyway) came over one day and we worked together at it. We made peanut butter pretzel truffles (which were very yummy!), Christmas Crack, Rootbeer cream cheese candies, Eggnog truffles and Turtles. We made far more candy than we needed and I am working to take off some extra pounds that landed on my body now. :-) We did give candy away to people outside our family so that was a good thing!!

I had fun make these little forest friend magnets for Malcolm to play with.

I made this teddy bear/rice heating pack for him as well.

Megan bought an unpainted set of nesting dolls and painted it for him. It is super cute but the best picture I have is this one where they are on his and Aaron's laps and you can't see any of the fun details.

Malcolm didn't mind getting up early for exchanging presents before breakfast and church. He loves reading books now so Megan was reading him one at like 6:30 in the morning.

Megan had made cute little personal pies for all of us which we enjoyed at breakfast along with our traditional Vanocka braid, sausage, eggs and hot chocolate.

Thomas and Mara camped at a rendezvous this past summer and hope to go again. Thomas had borrowed a shirt to wear last year so I made him one of his own. Megan knit him a wool hat.

I didn't get any good pictures of Jonathan. I knit him a black hat for a present which he said he liked but he didn't try on because his hair was already in place for church. I also made some flavored syrups for coffee or other things for him, Thomas, Aaron and Megan. Megan made cookie dough (to be frozen and then cooked) for Jonathan.

 I made a harvesting Apron for Mara. It has a really big and adjustable pocket on it for gathering produce. I also made her a miniature journal necklace. Megan knit her a neat bag which she filled with cookie dough and other treats.

I knit this vest for Megan. 

I made (with help from Megan-in cutting out squares and my friend Amy -in sewing) this quilt for Aaron. Megan made him a wool green beret.

Megan made me this beautiful scarf.

Others gave very nice gifts as well but those were the handmade ones. Compared to many our Christmases I am sure are very simple. I am thankful for that. I like it that way. 

  One highlight of the time for me was all of us working together to make supper on Christmas Eve. We made hamburgers (with homemade buns), fried potatoes, onion rings, deep fried pickles and jalapeños and milk shakes. It was just fun to have all of my kids here and work together to make a yummy supper. After supper we played games and then everybody stayed here overnight. Having all my kids here together is such a blessing. I treasure it when it happens.

  One Sunday after church my parents and my brother Luke and his family joined us for lunch and that was fun too. Holidays are fun in that they prompt us to get together with family a little more and that is wonderful.

 

My Experience Hosting With AirBnB

    On April 16th of 2022 I listed our basement as a private room space on AirBnB. I wrote all about that in this post in May. I thought it would be fun to give you a little update on how it has gone.

    First of all with this whole experience I just feel like God has blessed us over and over and over again. I have heard stories of bad experiences hosting (guests that trash the place, guests that are hard to deal with and people holding parties at your place or having to deal with things like guests having their car broken into while they are at your place) but we have not. We have had 2 guests out of the 49 stays in 2022 that weren't completely positive about the whole experience of staying with us. One was unhappy about driving on a gravel road to get here, He couldn't find the fridge (nor did he ask me anything while he was here because I would have been happy to show it to him), there was a spider on the ceiling and our footsteps upstairs were loud. But still he left our place neat and tidy and wasn't a bother while he was here I just would have appreciated more communication while he was here so that I could have resolved issues as best I could rather than him giving us a low rating. But it doesn't really matter. Plenty of guests have given us a high rating so it balances out. The other unhappy guest arrived late and found our dog's bark scary (which does make sense and I am glad he pointed it out to me so that I don't leave Kitchi out when people are arriving) and he didn't like our patriotic stairway - I don't mind that he pointed that out in the review either as if people don't like that sort of thing it is fine if they don't book with us. Even though they weren't completely happy they still were respectful of our space and we didn't have any issues having them here.

   

   Financial blessings: Hosting with AirBnB out of our home like we do is not a get rich quick scheme but it has been a true blessing financially. We made just $4 shy of $6,000 in 2022 from AirBnB (and they take out all the fees that are needed above that amount). So I got nearly $6,000 deposited in my bank account. They usually put it in a day or two after the guest arrives. 2023 looks like it will be even more financially lucrative as I will, Lord willing, be doing it for the whole year. I already have over $4,000 worth of trips booked or already stayed with me and that is with nearly the whole summer and fall still open for bookings. I didn't know if this would be a year round venture but it seems to be. December was way lighter with only 4 guests but January is back to being fairly busy again. This earnings is made from using a space that our family used very little anyway.

   The blessing of opening your home to others: The Bible speaks of the need for Christians to be hospitable. And that word for hospitality has to do with treating Strangers like friends. Though when I do it for money it doesn't seem quite the same as simply inviting strangers in but I do still find it to be a blessing. I am not quite sure just how to explain the joy I experience from trusting mankind enough to let them come in and use my home, to have access to much of my stuff (though not all of our stuff nor all of our home as we did put up the door pictures below to block guests from our main living area). It is just another area where I have learned to be a little more vulnerable and open and when you find that others are kind back when you choose to be open and kind there is something so very beautiful about that.

  The majority of our guests have been from Minnesota but we have had guests from all over. We had a lady from Germany stay with us for a couple of days and I had a lovely long visit with her. It was so neat to visit together of the beauty of truly trusting strangers as she has done by staying in all sorts of shared spaces as she traveled across the USA.  A couple from out East was super friendly and thoroughly loved on Kitchi while they were here. Kitchi has been a favorite with many (though not all as I mentioned above) when they are here. One lady from Kansas had evidently read reviews about him (many mention the sweet dog) and she was so excited to get here and play with him. They brought him a frisbee as a gift and spent a fair amount of time playing with him.

   I do want to give you the whole picture in this post because all though I have absolutely loved having guests come and go the kids have merely tolerated it. It is not something that they enjoy. They understand that it is something we need to do financially but they try to avoid meeting any guests. The blue doors have been a very good thing for their sake. When we close the doors they feel comfortable to act as normal in our space and they try to stay out of the shared space if they think that the guests might be coming and going. 

 How does it actually work? I made a listing on the AirBnB site which over all is quite easy to do. Their site is pretty easy to navigate and they have instructions about everything. There are also people you can contact if you need help. I got some bookings in about a week and then less than a week later I was hosting. I have it set (You can choose setting according to your comfort level) so that if someone is verified as a real person (they have to submit some documentation) and they have a 5 star rating from their stays at other places then they can book automatically as long as the dates have not been booked by anyone else and I have not blocked them (I block dates that are busy and I don't want to have guests or when I am out of town  or we are having company that needs to stay in that area). When someone has booked a stay I get a text, an e-mail and it shows up on the AirBnB host site. If people don't fit the qualifications that I set up they can send a request to book. Or they can do that if they hope to get some dates that currently look unavailable. Then I have to go on the site and either approve or decline their stay. I do some communicating with the guests before they arrive to let them know who to check in and such and I will give them contact info for me and ask if they have any questions. That generally does not take that much time. I have a general instructional letter that I have in a document on my computer and I just copy and paste it.  Before they come I made sure the bed(s) are made and that it is neat and clean. It usually takes me 1 to 2 hours between guests to change sheets, clean the bathroom, clean floors and sanitize things. I also change the lock code on the door that they use. They are able to come and go as they like and generally we don't visit a lot. I do try to meet them if at all possible and let them know that I am available should they have any questions. I do have coffee and tea available down in the AirBnB and have occasionally set out fruit, granola bars or some other snack but usually I don't have it and no one has complained. Most stays take less than 2 hours for me to clean, communicate and do anything else needed for their stay.

Do you have any interest in hosting? I know it is not for everyone but if you are looking to earn some extra money and you have some extra space it could work for you. I personally have found it to be a very fun and easy way to make some extra money. The work is fairly minimal. Most things can be done when you have time and you can make it work around another job. If you are interested in doing it I would love it if you would sign up by following this link for AirBnB. If you sign up and host a stay within 90 days (of signing up) you will get a little bonus payment and I also will earn some money. 
 

Lovely Wintertime

Temps are supposed to get below zero tonight and that is fairly normal for January in Northern Minnesota. It can be cold but it is oh so beautiful and invigorating too. I truly love it here. Even when the wind feels a little nippy and my eyelashes get frosty - I love living here. 

 I thought I would share a few of our winter doings so far this season....

The top picture is of Malcolm and Thomas - biking in the snow. People heavily discourage me from doing that after my tumble last winter but I guess it is okay for Malcolm when he has his Daddy's help.

Several weeks ago my parents brought their wood splitter and my brother Peter and Niece Jatan over for a Saturday morning. Thomas, Malcolm and Jonathan also came and they along with Aaron, Megan and I worked on doing up a nice amount of wood for us and some for my mother-in-law, Sharyl too. What a blessing that was! We love having our cozy fires and wood is needed for that.

Mom and Dad make a pretty good team! They have been working that way for over 50 years now.

We got two loads like this for us. Yay!!

I am not sure how much this guy did to help but he sure is cute!

He, Megan and Jaten were the stacking team.

A couple of weeks ago I invited my friend Amy over to hang out with me on a Saturday when the kids were busy doing other things. We enjoyed breakfast (Aaron was here for that) and then a lovely walk in the woods followed by sewing on a quilt together.

The woods were lovely but even more lovely is friendship. I am so blessed.

We have gotten quite a lot of snow this year and we have really been able to enjoy the winter wonderland look!

The next day after church and lunch Aaron and I decided to do some back country downhill skiing. Aaron had checked out this area the week before with Megan.
There was a trail from the road that we were able to follow to get to the hill. 

Once we went down the hill of course we had to take our skis off and climb back up. It was fabulous exercise.

It was around 2 degrees that day but the sun was shining, I dressed warmly and with all the exercise I got so hot!

Kitchi is always happy to be a part of things.

Aaron is a great skier and sometimes seems like he has endless energy.

A few days later I got this picture of Megan when we were out on a walk. It was pretty chilly that day (below zero I am pretty sure) so she wore a trench coat over her snowsuit. I guess there is a book out (which I have heard is a good one) called "There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather" (by a Scandinavian Mom) that then also says that there is just bad clothing. I generally agree. If you dress for the weather you can truly enjoy time outside in all kinds of temps.

My goal is to get outside and get some exercise of some sort at least 5 times a week. I think it is really good for you - mentally and physically. 

How is your winter going? Are you enjoying it? What sorts of things do you do outside in the winter time?
 

Thanksgiving 2022

I know we just had Christmas but I had still been wanting to document Thanksgiving so here we go....

   Thanksgiving morning found Megan and I hard at work in the kitchen working on Butterhorn rolls and pies. I am thankful for children (my girls especially) that are very capable in the kitchen. Megan especially enjoys baking.

   This year for Thanksgiving there were a lot of family here in town and so some thought it would be to crowded at our house (where we usually have it) and so we should have it at the church building instead. Our family struggled a bit with not having it at home and changing that tradition but in the end where we get together with our loved ones, and the purpose of this Holiday to give thanks to our Creator does not require being in a certain place. We had a lovely day!

   Decorating is important to me in making a holiday special. So I packed in a bunch of stuff to work at making the church building seem a little more homelike and special. I was blessed to have people willing to help me in the decorating. Working at a Florist shop is always a nice thing as I frequently get to take home (for free) flowers that aren't sellable but still look lovely for our table.

We had a very large L shaped table for the older people and then a shorter kids table as well. The kids were eager to help with the decorating and so their table got heavily decorated. I had so much fun with them and helping them with flowers and finding vases. The arranging of the flowers and everything else was totally their doing.

For me it is the people that make any holiday special....

Heidi and Tati

Mom and Dad and their youngest grandchild (that is born - there is another grandchild and another great grandchild on the way)

Dennis and Karen (my Brother-in-laws parents)- They moved to our town this summer and we are loving having them at church.

Brandt and Jennifer.

Heidi, Molly and Dakota

Plenty of pie for all!!!

Malcolm, Mara and Thomas

We had like 2 turkeys and 2 hams. Way more food than we could ever eat.

What a fun bunch of kids!

It was lovely to have my brother Peter and his family in town with us this year for Thanksgiving.

These two had fun playing with the rockers in the nursery and taking care of "their babies".

Thanksgiving is a holiday that reminds us to be Thankful but we truly have so very much to thank God for all year round.