Week 23: Merry Lil Landis Christmas

Merry Christmas! We are already partially through our Christmas celebrations so we are really feeling like it has already happened, but it is only the 23^rd! There is so much more Christmas to be celebrated. The past week seems like it went by so quickly! It was my last week staying home alone and studying all day and it marked the end of Jonathan working for the year!

Monday I got my truck back from the mechanic and it is functioning at tip-top shape! We are now established at a mechanic in western Ohio, so that makes us feel a lot better. The best part is, it is so close I just walked there to go pick it up! It was a nice day, so the walk was nice and brisk! We got our last Christmas gifts in the mail and I finished all my wrapping! Jonathan had Bible study, which ended up being a hang out with Dillon and Graham. They helped Graham prepare for the new carpeting he was getting! We had Chicken Pot Pie soup for dinner. It was a new recipe…good, not great. I don’t think I have classified it as a keeper at this time, but it was okay! Our photos we ordered the week before came in, so we put them in our new and old frames and placed them around the house. I love having them displayed for people to see!

Tuesday I took a walk into town in the afternoon. Downtown Wapak is just up the road from us and it is very festive right now! Jonathan got a haircut after work and then we went to the gym, finished our gift wrapping, did some reading, played some music and watched Angela’s Christmas to finish out the evening!

Wednesday was pretty slow too. I went to the gym and made a blueberry crumble for our Christmas morning. In the evening, Jonathan had dinner with Pastor Tony, so I stayed home, played piano and read while he was gone in the evening. After he got home, we played Kings in the Corner and got a plan together for Thursday.

Christmas tree with presents!

Thursday was my last day home alone and Jonathan’s last day of work! I got our breakfast ready for our Christmas morning, did some laundry and finished my studying for the month. Jonathan did some grocery shopping for me and then he came home and Dillon and Graham came over for games and pizza. We played Killer Bunnies (a card game) while they were there and after they left we played some Banangrams (similar to Scrabble, but a little different). After we got ready for bed and weren’t going to use the living room anymore, Jonathan put his gifts for me under the tree and covered them with a sheet, then I put my gifts for him under the tree and I pulled the sheet off mine as I walked away, so neither of us saw the gifts under the tree until we woke up in the morning!

Friday morning we woke up and had our Lil Landis Fam Christmas! It was so fun to have our first Christmas together as its own separate day since we will be on the road during our actual Christmas! Jonathan got me stockings with our names on them, a Wicked t-shirt and song book in memory of our engagement day, a new pair of nice gloves, Bourne Supremacy (a movie), a wireless charger and a pharmacy clipboard. I got him a valet box, Darkest Hour (a movie), a long-sleeved gray shirt, a 10.25” cast iron skillet and a travel map with pins. After we opened gifts we ate breakfast which consisted of two new recipes: overnight apple cinnamon oatmeal and blueberry crumble. The blueberry crumble was amazing, the oatmeal recipe will not be considered a keeper. Unfortunately, our internet went out, which kept us from being able to watch any TV or catch up on our shows, like we were planning. Instead, Spectrum sent a service man out to hook up our neighbor’s internet – they got internet and we lost ours, what a deal! So we spent a lot of time on the phone trying to get them to come fix it, it didn’t work but we still had a great day! We played Ticket to Ride, watched Bourne Identity and Yours, Mine and Ours, packed for our Christmas trip and had ribs for dinner. It was a fantastic first Christmas, even if it didn’t go as planned.

Our new stockings!

Saturday we woke up early and got ready to go. I packed the truck while Jonathan dealt with the Spectrum guy who came to fix our internet. We cleaned the house and got it ready for our leaving. Once the Spectrum guy was done we hopped in the truck and left for Indiana. The Hochstedler Christmas started at 12, so we got there just in time for the festivities to begin! I had never been there before, so it was a new experience for me and a good one at that! Jonathan’s cousin, Cory, and his wife, Grace, hosted the event that lasted from 12 until 9. There were about 40 of us there and it was such a good time. There were lots of kids and lots of great people to spend time with and catch up with. Everyone is so welcoming and I already feel like part of the family! After lunch, Jonathan and I played Skip-Bo with Logan, Justin, Lucas and Derek, then a bunch of other people ended up jumping in and out while we were playing. In the afternoon we had a gift exchange. They draw names at Thanksgiving and everyone submits a list of things they may want. I had Diedrea and got her a calendar, hot pads and a candle, Jonathan had Logan and got him a Notre Dame stocking cap. Jonathan got some socks, a pair of earmuffs and The Martian (a movie) from Cory and I got milkshake spoons, a kitchen timer and Gifted (a movie) from Kailey. I had never been involved in a gift exchange like that and it was so fun to see what everyone got! Throughout the day we played a lot of games, Jonathan and a bunch of the guys went out and played football, I played Dutch Blitz with Emily, Kristen and Kim and then Scum with a bunch of people. It was such a fun day with lots of tasty food and good company, I am already excited for next year!

All of our gifts!

Last night we went to Jonathan’s uncle’s house (Rex and Angie’s) to stay the night with them, Hope, Justin and Jordan. This morning we went to see his grandma’s new condo and had breakfast there at 8 with the rest of the Landis family and Dustin. She made a new breakfast casserole, which was absolutely delicious, and we got to see where she lives! After everyone was ready for church we went to the 10:45 service with her and are now headed back to northeastern Ohio. It is a 5ish hour drive, so we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch and have been trucking along the rest of the time, listening to the Browns game and getting ready for the next week. We have two of 7 Christmas celebrations already done, so only 5 left! We cannot wait to see everyone at home and are so looking forward to everything that will be going on!

We love you all! Have a Merry Christmas!

Love, Alli and Jonathan

Week 22: Sweets and Treats!

Here we are on December 16th...only 9 days until Christmas!!! We are very excited here and are enjoying getting ready for our first Christmas as the Lil Landis Fam! It has been a good week, I have done a lot of studying and Jonathan has done a lot of working and we have done a lot of spending time together!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty normal days. Monday, Jonathan had Bible Study, so we had pulled pork sandwiches and cheesy ranch potatoes, then he left for Graham's and I studied a little bit. Tuesday we got to go to the gym, which was nice, then we went through pictures from the wedding, and since the wedding, that we wanted to order for picture frames, we can't wait for those to come in! Wednesday we had burritos and then watched "Christmas with the Kranks" -- it has Tim Allen in it so we loved it, of course. Jonathan was crying laughing at some points...which only made the whole movie more enjoyable!

Thursday was a fun day, we both mentioned it in our joys for the week! I went to the gym in the morning and did a load of laundry, then I met with Hannah at Chipotle. This is a double win for me since I truly enjoy both of these things. We actually spent three and a half hours just talking, eating and going through our discipleship book! It was some much needed girl time with one of the few I know and trust with everything. I also finished some shopping while I was out and got home just in time to hide the loot I brought home! Jonathan got home and we both scarfed down some dinner, took the truck to the mechanic's and went to the Dailey's, a couple in our small group. Our small group adopted a family for Christmas, so we all got together to wrap gifts and get everything ready for them. 

Friday was the 14th, which marks 5 months of marriage for us, if you can believe it! I got a lot done on Friday - laundry, preparation for my January rotation, I made cookie dough and then put some chicken and wild rice soup together. We ate, did some cleaning and then relaxed for a little while. Shem stopped by on his way home from school. He got here around 9:30, ate some leftover burritos and had a few drinks with Jonathan while we caught up for a little bit, then we all went to bed at 11:30 for a quick sleep. In case you are wondering, I cannot remember the last time we stayed up until 11:30...the things you do for your little brother I guess!

Saturday morning we got up early so Shem could get home at a good time. We used him as a guinea pig and tried a new recipe! In case you didn't know, Jonathan loves breakfast food and he especially loves pancakes. His family makes homemade syrup, so he is a bit of a pancake snob. The boys have this in common as Shem is also a breakfast lover and is especially fond of pancakes. We tried a recipe out of one of our cookbooks for applesauce oatmeal pancakes. It got the stamp of approval from the boys, so we think it's a keeper! The texture is different, but they had a good flavor and were hearty enough to keep us full for awhile! After Shem left we cut out and baked cookies then decorated them. It is a new Lil Landis Fam tradition as neither of our immediate families do this. We listened to some good quality Christmas music, had fun mixing colors and decorating all the cookies and truly enjoyed our morning. In the afternoon, Jonathan wrapped my Christmas gifts and I played some Christmas songs on the piano and then did a little bit of studying...it took him a long time to wrap my gifts so my expectations are pretty high for Christmas! For dinner we went to Olive Garden, always a wise decision, and then came back to watch the Browns game. We both agree that yesterday was the best day of December so far and it was only the 15th! So, high expectations for the rest of the month! I have included quite a few pictures of our day; brace yourselves!

Today has been really relaxing. We got up and went to church and to Aldi. When we got back I did some meal prep for the rest of this week, then we went to Lee's Chicken for lunch with Graham and Dillon. I hadn't seen the two of them in awhile, so it was really nice to see them again. Afterwards, Dillon came back to our house and we played a game of Settlers of Catan and Bananagrams. Later in the afternoon, we took a short walk around the neighborhood then relaxed and watched the Patriots game. Since then we have been getting ready for the rest of our week and Jonathan has been serenading me on his guitar while I have been writing this for all of you! 

We both really enjoyed getting creative with our cookie decorating, a few works of art right here!

The next week has a lot in store and we are getting pretty excited! I can't wait to tell you how it all goes! We are planning on trying to finish all our leftovers and leave very little in our fridge, so don't think I am trying to starve Jonathan when you see how little I am cooking this week - we are just doing our best to leave as little uneaten food as possible!

Menu:

• Monday: Chicken Pot Pie Soup
• Friday: Ribs and potatoes
• All the time - Christmas Cookies (in moderation, of course)

I hope you are all enjoying some sweets and traditions of your own! It has been fun to make up our own, new way of how we want to do Christmas...and it's just getting started! Love you all! See you next week!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Week 21: Merry and Bright

Wow! It feels like it has been a really long time since last week, but here we are! In my mind, time off was going to be super relaxing and I would have tons of time to do a bunch of different stuff, but that has really not been the case. Every day there has been something I need to do, so Friday I finally had a day to myself and I was so thankful!

Monday was my first day off, but I had to go to a doctor's appointment late in the morning. Thankfully, it didn't take long and I still had most of the day to myself. Jonathan had Bible Study in the evening and he and Graham got dinner while I was gone. I had an inter-professional experience with some nursing students from Wright State Lake Campus. We met at VanTilburg Farms in one of the conference rooms to talk about different health risks a farmer might face in different areas of the farm. It was really interesting because it wasn't just a dairy farm like I am used to, it was much more of a business-type farm with lots of employees and different specialties. One of the three sons, who now own the business, gave us the tour and he was very kind. He told us about what they do. They have 4,200 acres that they farm, he said it is the smallest part of what they do. It takes them one week to plant and 4-6 weeks to harvest depending on the year. They also buy grain from surrounding farms, so they have a bunch of feed bins and a big scale to weigh the semis that come in. Additionally, they sell fertilizer to the farms in the surrounding area - they even apply it if people want them to! One of the big buildings had 4 big liquid fertilizer sprayers and two for dry fertilizer. They look big on the road...but they are even larger in real life! It was really cool to see. In the same building they had a bunch of liquid fertilizer in big tubs and some overflow grain, it was a giant building. The next building over had a combine and two choppers for silage as well as a big manure spreader and a bunch of other random equipment. Then we went to see where they work with the anhydrous ammonia and how all of that works and we also "got" to see the manure pit and piles of chicken fertilizer (woohoo). After those we went to the shop for the excavating business they run. There were about 5 trucks in there, two or three of them had trailers, a bulldozer, a backhoe, a skid loader, a pontoon boat, a ton of shelves with storage and more tools than you would find in Lowe's and it there was still plenty of room, it was pretty massive. The office was super nice, the ceiling and walls were all wood and they fed us pizza and cookies while we chatted. During the explanation of what the farm does he said they just got into the dairy business on November 12th. They have 4,200 registered Holsteins and they milk about 3,600 cows at any given time. All the cows get milked 3 times/day in their 24 hour milking parlor where they have a carousel so they can have 80 cows getting milked at a time. Every 7 hours there is a 1 hour cleaning and they will be adding 35 employees to their current 75. Sadly, we did not get to see the dairy operation, but it was such a cool experience! There were only a few of us girls there, 2 of us from ONU and about 5 from Wright State, but it was a really interesting evening!

Tuesday I had a hair appointment and I got some studying done. We went to run at the YMCA when Jonathan got home and then we had canned beef sandwiches and baked macaroni and cheese. We relaxed during the evening, Jonathan helped me choose an outfit and get ready for my interview on Wednesday. The interview went really well and also gave me the chance to meet up with Dad and Grandma for lunch, which was awesome because I love seeing them, that's for sure. Thankfully, I got home at a decent time and threw together some chicken crescents and got to have dinner with Jonathan while I talked to him about the interview. We went through the folder they gave me and looked at some of the possibilities they have to offer. The next few months are going to be pretty exciting, that's for sure! We are super excited to see what doors open and where we end up!

Thursday was another great day, I went to ONU to meet up with Hannah, Hannah and Jillian for lunch, so it was wonderful catching up with all of them! Graham came over in the evening for Bacon-parm pasta with mushrooms and we played Carcassonne and Sequence.

Friday I finally got to stay home, so I did a lot of studying and relaxing! Jonathan had a retirement party for one of the engineers at a local brewery after work, so he didn't get home until later but he had a great time with his work friends! When he got home we watched the Christmas movie "The Star" which was SUPER cute! We 100% recommend it!

Saturday morning we went to the YMCA to work out, then we went shopping in Lima to finish some of our Christmas gifts. When we got home we made some apple crisp and got the gift wrapping supplies out, so our living room is wrapping central right now and, I must say, the gifts are beginning to look so cute! We are very excited for Christmas! After the apple crisp was done we bundled up and went over to the Harrell's, our new friends from church. Joel is the worship director and his wife, Lyndsie, invited us over awhile ago. We had such a great time talking with them and getting to know them better. They moved here from Texas a few years ago and they have a little girl, Ayda, who is going to be two here soon. It was such a great evening! They made us fajitas (which were absolutely delicious) and it was a great time of fellowship! Ayda became friends with both of us about the minute we walked in the door. She was so sweet and gave us lots of love by the end of the evening. We have been so blessed to get to know a lot of really great people in our short time living here! So many wonderful friendships!

Today has been very productive so far! We went to church and went grocery shopping as usual, then we came home and unpacked. For lunch, we had sausage gravy, biscuits, mashed potatoes and corn - so we have tons of leftovers for the week...and we are pretty excited about it. After that we finished wrapping gifts for other people and Jonathan has been sorting through old school stuff and deciding what to keep and what to get rid of all while we have had the Browns game on. After the game we have some photos to order and we are getting ready for the week ahead of us!

New Christmas movies we have loved this season:

• The Christmas Chronicles
• The Star

Menu for this coming week:

• Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
• Pulled Pork and Cheesy Ranch potatoes
• Beef Burritos

We have had a good week over all and have been enjoying the Christmas season thoroughly, but have failed to take any pictures, so here is a photo of our small, but perfect Christmas tree! We are very excited about it and it keeps us super cheery! Have a wonderful week! See ya next Sunday! Love you all!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan

Week 20: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas wreath from Grandma Haas

This week we began to get in the Christmas spirit! I am very strict about not skipping Thanksgiving, so this week we got on the Christmas band-wagon! So I hope you are all enjoying some Christmas music, decorations and hot chocolate - I know we are!

Monday I finished our Christmas shopping for the family our small group adopted, so now all of those items are collected and ready to be wrapped and delivered. We had chicken tortilla soup (soup is our food group of choice in the winter time); it was really delicious! Jonathan had Bible study then he sent me away to do some reading so he could do some Christmas shopping for me online.

Tuesday we had a quick dinner consisting of hot dogs and mac and cheese (any 5-year old would be delighted) so we could get started decorating! First, we took down our fall decorations, then we put up some of the Christmas decorations. Unfortunately, we don't have space for all of them, but our living room looks very festive with the tree, wreath, village and other decorations up! While we decorated we turned on some good Christmas music to really get us in the spirit! Mostly we listened to Brett Eldredge's new album, Glow, for the first time, both of us were impressed! Afterwards I played some of my favorite Christmas songs on the piano, I think they are some of my favorite ones to play!

Panera selfie!

Wednesday I met Hannah at Panera Bread after work for some discipleship and quality time. It's always good to spend some time catching up and talking about what God is doing in our lives! On the bright side, I have also found something I like to eat at Panera, so that makes it even better! Jonathan enjoyed an evening at home and when I got home we got to catch up on our days and spend some time together. We always feel a little deprived when one of us has something going on in the evening!

Thursday evening we went to Graham's for game night. Dillon was there too, we ordered pizza and played a voting game and "Bang". We played "Bang" twice, the first game I won, the second game Dillon and Jonathan won and I lost pretty quickly - so it all worked out pretty fairly for everyone but Graham...he lost both times...and it's his game...oops! Either way, we all had a good time and it was nice to get to play some games together! We are hoping to do more of it as we go through the month!

Friday was my last day at work and Jonathan worked a little late, so we hung out at home and relaxed for the evening. We ate leftovers, did laundry, watched a show and then just chatted about life.

Danielle and Alli!

Saturday was a ton of fun! We got up a little early, ate breakfast, finished our laundry, watched a show then got ready to go to Columbus to meet up with one of my friends, Danielle. She and I have been friends since 5th grade when we went to homeschool group together and I have not gotten to catch up with her for a long time! Since we have seen each other last both of us got married and she and Cullen are going to be parents at the end of April, which I am super excited about! Initially we were going to meet at the Columbus zoo for the lights, but since it was rainy we met for lunch instead. It was so wonderful to spend time together again and (thankfully!) our husbands got along well. They live in Mt. Vernon, so we can easily meet and do little trips like this, we are already planning our next visit. It will most likely include ice cream...don't be too surprised! Danielle is a kindred spirit. We have always been super compatible and have gotten along well. Our friendship is one that we can easily pick up where we left of previously without missing a beat...and it is wonderful! After our lunch we went to Polaris mall to shop...it was a bit overwhelming, so we didn't stay too long, but we did go to Target to see what they had. We came home for dinner then went to church for the live nativity. I had never been to one before, so it was a really neat experience! Afterwards we came home, ate some ice cream and watched "The Christmas Chronicles" and it was SUCH a good movie! It is a Nexflix movie and I would recommend it to anyone! We both thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Today we got up, went to church and Aldi's, came home and put groceries away and cleaned, then we made lunch. For lunch we had smoked pork chops, baked potatoes and green beans. It was all delicious! Jonathan did a really good job with the pork chops and it all hit the spot just right! This afternoon we *finally* did dishes and Jonathan has been watching the Browns game. We plan to watch some of the Patriots game and then head to Ada for Emily's Christmas concert!

This week has been a great kick-off to the Christmas season and I cannot wait for the rest of December! It is the first year in a long time I feel like I can enjoy the Christmas season, so I have high hopes! My upcoming weeks are going to be a little odd since I am off this month, but I cannot wait to see what they bring! 

Upcoming menu:

• Monday - Chicken Crescents and Juicy Noodles
• Tuesday - Canned beef sandwiches and baked macaroni and cheese
• Thursday - Bacon, mushroom pasta
• Friday - Sausage gravy, biscuits, mashed potatoes and corn

Have a great week, happy Christmas season!

Love,

Alli and Jonathan