I spent a good portion of the morning working up the quarterly reports for Bessie, Gabe and Rachel. This year, I had to put in the hours done for each subject for Bessie. We tried to keep track, but we didn't always document it very well. This meant a lot of going back, looking up what books we read and estimating the time spent reading. I think we finally have it all straight. What it did show me is, we do a lot more reading than the school system requires. The reports will go out in the mail tomorrow.

The kids played outside after lunch until we had to leave for Bessie's piano lesson. With Brian gone, the youngers and I had to wait for Bess. We decided to take a walk. Her teacher lives in a housing development and it is a nice area to walk....little traffic and paved roads. I popped Dan in the stroller so I could go fast enough to make it a good walk for me. Hannah got quite tired and I piled her in with Dan...good thing they are so small.

Our next stop was WalMart to look for the Fisher Price Nativity Set. I asked the people in the holiday area...nope they didn't have anything like that. Okay, toys next. Asked someone there...nope, they didn't have it. Well, a very nice woman who actually looked like she knew what she was doing, overheard and said yes, they had the sets. They were stacked on the high shelves someplace. She hadn't worked since Saturday and she said they are constantly moving things around. We browsed in the toy section a bit and sure enough, she came up with one of the sets! We were thrilled. We picked up a few other things and checked out.

We made a stop at the library and headed home. It was late by the time we got home. The kids watched a Veggie Tales video while I threw together a quick dinner. The Littles went to bed right after we ate.

Gabe and I read a couple chapters of Pinocchio and snuggled. Bessie had some internet time and then went to bed to read. I actually turned the TV on tonight. The first time all week. I try very hard to stay off the TV, especially when Bri is away as I tend to get sucked in and stay up watching way too late. I did good tonight, watched one program, a little bit of news and shut it off.

It is so warm tonight...still in the 50s and it is near midnight. I think they are predicting record warm temps tomorrow and then I dive down to more seasonable. It is going to seem so cold after our warm stretch.

When I started this book, it only took me a few pages before I found myself thinking...this is a very, very light read and that I probably wouldn't read another one in the series.

Well, I kept reading and while it is very light reading, I also found it quite entertaining. It is definitely not a mind bender by any means, but I got quite caught up in the lives of the characters in the story....Lady Rose, the Heiress, Daisy, her maid, Captain Harry Cathcart, the private detective and Becket his man servant. Throw in a murder in high society and it was a fun book.

They left the relationship between Rose and Harry hanging, so I'll have to read the next book to find out how they resolve it.

The weather has turned a bit and it was cooler and cloudy today. I am hearing rumors of a big change by Friday. I am thankful that the weather has been as warm as it has.

We had a good morning. We did school. Bessie played some math games with Rachel and Hannah and kept Dan and Gabe occupied with picture book reading. Gabe read a book to me. His reading is really coming along nicely. Dan will only sit for a few books and we do lots of abbreviating of the text, but he enjoys the pictures.

After lunch we went to visit our friends that also have adopted children. The new baby is so cute. His eyes like to cross, which gives him quite a comical expression, but he is such a good natured baby and he loved watching all the other kids playing.

The kids played outside for awhile and Bessie and their daughter, who is home from college, went for a walk. It was nice for Bess to have some girl time. They played games after they came back.

Visiting this family is always a boost for me as they really understand where we are having three new children. She also challenges me to keep going and not to get discouraged.

We had a light dinner and a quiet evening. Gabe and I got in a few chapters of Pinnochio.

Brian called and things are going well. He is getting good sleep which is often difficult with the strange hours and 24 hour sunshine. He sounded really good.

Another Monday

This morning I finished the packing up the preschool activity bags, got them boxed up and ready to send.

Bessie had a few minor things she wanted to do to finish up her lapbook. I think she was glad to get this project completed. She did admit to enjoying it.

We actually got some regular schoolwork done. It is always tough to get back into the swing after a holiday and with Brian gone, it is especially hard.

After lunch we went to the Post Office to mail the box. There was a PBS package waiting for me. I love those little packages. We also picked up a few things at the grocery store. No matter how many times we go, I seem to always forget something.

The kids stayed outside after we got home. The temp is still holding very warm for us. It is a welcome treat. They stayed out until almost dinner time.

Making applesauce was on the agenda for me this afternoon. It took me longer than expected. I need to come up with a better method of cooking the apples, so there is no lag time in between patches.

We started Pinnochio tonight. I got a really nice hardback copy from PBS, as I couldn't find our paperback. Gabe wasn't too sure about it, but I kept telling him it is not like the Disney version. It only took a few minutes and he was hooked. It will be enjoyable reading this again.

It was overall a good day. We didn't hear from Bri, but that isn't unusual. Maybe tomorrow.

Making Applesause

This afternoon, we decided to tackle the boxes of "drops" that we have had in the back room. Usually there is no rush to get the apples taken care of as the temp is cool and they keep well, but with our warm weather, I was concerned about losing the applies...so, we made applesause.

We ended up with 17 quarts of applesause. That should last us for a bit. Gabe and Bessie always love to help and the Littles will enjoy doing the eating.

Bessie and Gabe run the Victorio Strainer

I have to set the card table up as the strainer won't hook to our table with the curved edges. It is amazing to me how sticky everything gets when we are doing this.

Our work station

The sauce came out much more yellow this year than last. It is fun to see how different it comes out depending on the type of apple. Last year the sauce was a lovely pink color.

The finished product

Ear Piercing

Bess has wanted to get her ear pierced...again, for quite some time. I was pretty adament against it...she already had two holes in each ear. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that she has to start being allowed to make some of these "major" life decisions on her own. She is such a wonderful Christian young lady and daughter...what difference does it make is she has no holes or ten.

So, we let her get them pierced again. She has said that this time it seems to hurt more. I think it was very close to the cartilage. I have to admit that it looks pretty cute with all her different earrings in.

Thanksgiving Lapbook

Here is Bessie with her completed Thanksgiving Lapbook. She worked really hard and did a great job.

We made it to Sunday school and church this morning. I didn't know if we were going to. I had a very relunctant group. Gabe never wants to go...thinks church is a waste of time and wants to know why we can't just do worship and pray at home. Bessie was tired. I think the girls have been getting her up early. The Littles are always willing...they love Sunday school, although they haven't been having junior church and the girls get bored by the end of the service...thankfully Dan has nursery.

After lunch, Bessie and I got to work. I wanted to finish the preschool activities bags and Bessie worked on her Thanksgiving lapbook. We were both able to complete our projects. I'll post some pictures of Bessie's lapbook tomorrow.

I emptied the ashes out of the woodstove and got it going again. I let it go out lastnight because it has been getting warmer during the day, but it really got too cold in here lastnight. I could here the furnace going on way more than I like!

Bri called again and they arrived safe and sound. I can remember when he first started taking these trips, I wouldn't hear from him the whole time he was gone. Now, if he can get a line out, he can call everyday. It makes it so much nicer when we can hear his voice.

The Littles were thrilled when they saw our neighbor putting up his Christmas lights. They are so excited by the whole idea of Christmas, but they don't understand there is still a month to go. I try and show them on a calendar, but they do not have the concepts of days, weeks or months yet.

After the Littles were in bed, Bessie, Gabe and I watched old Superman cartoons.

Lazy Weekend

It has been a very quiet few days. We didn't step foot outside yesterday except to play in the yard and get some chores done. It was nice not to have anywhere to go.

Yesterday was a beautiful day...clear skies and warmer temps.

I caught up on some laundry and picked up the kitchen.

We didn't do any "formal" schoolwork, but Bessie and I worked on her Thanksgiving lapbook. She is almost done. She is working very hard and doing some good indepth work putting together her mini-books. I finally decided it was way too much writing for Gabe and I didn't see the sense of me doing it all. He and I have focused on reading about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims. I'll save the lapbook and we'll do it in a year or two when he is writing better. I keep forgetting his is only seven.

I spent some time taking advantage of a couple on-line sales/deals that were being offered for Black Friday. Then I did a lot of downloading of ebooks that I had bought. With dial-up, this was not a speedy task, but I didn't have any problems with the downloads and I guess some did.

When Brian is away, I get to do his chores, which this time of year means bringing in wood and taking care of the chickens. Neither is difficult and I enjoy the good excuse to spend some time outside.

The kids played outside for quite a while in the afternoon. Bessie made dinner for us.

Another gorgeous day today. We had a good morning. I did more laundry and chatted on the phone with friend that also has adopted children. She surprised me by telling me that have another baby. Apparently a family adopted this little guy from Quatamala and later found out he has severe vision loss. This was not something they felt they could deal with. So D & D have an eight month old baby boy added to their brood. It makes me feel ashamed on days when I complain...they are in their 50s and still opening their home to children.

After lunch we ventured away from the homestead and went to the library, grocery store and farm store.

We heard from Bri and they should be heading down to the ice today...well actually tomorrow, the time/day thing is wierd. He sounded good and eager to get to work.

All the kids seem to over the snifflies. Rachel and Dan have a little runny nose left, but nothing serious. Hopefully this will last.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

It was a cool, rainy day today, but warm enough not to be freezing or snowing.

Dan was up several times in the night. I am never really sure why he does this. He doesn’t seem to be sick or uncomfortable. Maybe he just needs to reaffirm that someone is there. I can understand this, but it sure makes for a tough next day.

I made an apple and pumpkin pie and dinner rolls. Bessie helped me with the pies. The Youngers played and relaxed this morning. Gabe played the new computer game for quite a while. The Littles love to watch him play on the computer.

We headed over to Mom and Dad’s around noon. They had dinner pretty much all ready. I helped with some last minute things and then we ate. Everything was yummy, of course. Since Mom did all the dinner cooking, I did the dishes. With only eight of us, this wasn’t too hard a task.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, watching some football, chatting and a bit of napping thrown in. The Littles always love their time at Noona and Papa’s. They discovered the Barbie dolls today. That was a big hit. Mom has toys stashed all over the place and they are still finding them.

We didn’t stay too long and were home by 5:30pm. The Littles wanted to eat again (ugh!) so we gave them a light meal. They watched The Jungle Book.

All is quiet now. I finished cleaning up the kitchen and putting away the baking things. The Littles are in bed and Gabe and Bessie are reading in the other room. We heard from Brian with his "I arrived safely call".

Thanksgiving Eve

The last few days have gone by so very quickly.

The weather has been considerably cooler, but nice.

Brian was home yesterday in prep for his trip. He did some last minute chores....brought over lots of firewood for me, so I don't have to lug so much, cleaned out the woodstove and a few other things. He also helped me put up some of our Christmas lights outside. He will not be home until mid-December and I like to have some lights outside. We do not decorate a lot for Christmas, but the lights are so pretty.

"Decking the Halls"

We made a Post Office run, I got four books from PBS! Woohoo! And a quick stop for some last minute items Bri needed.

We had homemade pizza for dinner. After the Littles went to bed, we played Cadoo. Gabe loves this game. We always pair one of us with him, but his reading has gotten quite good and I think next time he can play by himself.

Today was a tougher day for us. Brian was heading out on his longer TDY. It is nothing compared to others, but tough for us none the less.

We all drove to the airport. It was more crowded today, being the day before Thanksgiving, but not too bad as it was still early.

We have learned over the years to not linger too long with our goodbyes, it makes it so hard on everyone. We said our goodbyes, gave our kisses, waved and left. Gabe had the hardest time, but stayed strong until we left the terminal and then he started to cry, which always makes me cry! By the time we were driving out of the lot, Gabe, Bessie and I were all weeping. The Littles don't understand the significance yet and probably thought we were a bit strange.

I decided a treat was in order to help ease our sadness. We headed to the mall...not that the mall is a treat for me, but their food court is! LOL Unfortunately, I hadn't realized that they are doing reconstruction and the food court was closed. We opted for Friendlys. This was a big hit and the kids had a great time. They were so good.

An elderly woman that was sitting at a table next to us, stopped on her way out to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving and to tell me how much she enjoyed watching the children during lunch. She said she was alone and it is so nice to see happy, well behaved children. It was a happy momma moment.

The gang at lunch

Dan sure enjoyed his sundae

We made a stop at Toys R' Us where we picked up a new computer game...Pajama Sam. It was late afternoon by the time we started heading home and the traffic had gotten very heavy. A trip that usually takes us 30 minutes took almost an hour.

The rest of the day was spent in leisurely activities. The Littles are in bed and Bess and Gabe are watching a movie.

Quiet Sunday

This morning found all of the youngers with major sniffles. We decided being Thanksgiving week and all that we didn't need to share our germs with everyone at church, so Brian stayed home with them. It was strange for just Bessie and I to go to church alone.

Because Pastor was away, one of the men from church gave the message. He is a pastor himself (hospice chaplain) and always does a great job. I got a package from my secret sister, which is always fun.

We made a quick stop at the grocery store and pharmacy after church.

Brian had a nice soup all ready for lunch when we got home. It was cloudy all day and we had a few showers. A quiet afternoon was spent by all...computer, reading, some TV, napping, etc. Brian did go outside and stacked and covered the firewood.

After the Littles went to bed, we played Monopoly. Gabe beat us all, fair and square. He has a real knack for trading and deals.

"Stars and Stripes Forever"

Last night we had our last preformance of Stars and Stripes. It was a wonderful evening. We had a good turn out and the show went well. The only down part of the evening was that our pastor, his wife and their daughter had to leave right before the show started because their son, who is in college was going in for emergency surgery and they were driving to be with him.

I'm the third from the right (not a great picture)

It was nice to see so many veterans there and to be able to honor them. Mom and Dad had come over to see it and they enjoyed it as well. There was a nice reception after and everyone seemed to enjoy lingering and enjoying the evening.

Here is a list of the songs:

Stars and Stripes Medley:

-Stars and Stripe Forever

-When the Flag is Raised

-You're a Grand Old Flag

Legacy of Faith:

-O God, Our Help in Ages Past

-God of Our Fathers

-My Country, 'Tis of Thee

Fifty Stars

I Pledge Allegiance

Statue of Liberty (my favorite)

Hearts to Honor You (I had a solo in this song)

Star-Spangled Finale:

-The Star-Spangled Banner

-Whent he Flag is Raised

-You're a Grand Old Flag

The Red Doors

Last week I wrote about painting our outside doors red. Here are the photos. They don't do the doors justice as they look so striking painted red, but you get the idea.

The side door

Front door

Busy Saturday

Yesterday was a good day. We got a lot of chores done.

The weather was much cooler, with temps in the 40s, but the sun was bright and shining and the sky was blue.

Brian always has lots of helpers

We made a library run in the morning. We needed to stock up on books and videos before the holiday weekend. They will be closed for several days next week.

"Big Diesel" and his "girls" enjoying the day

Silling name for a rooster, but Gabe named him

We spent the afternoon working outside. This time of year there is always so many things outside to pick up and put away for the winter. We never know when the first big storm will hit and plunge us into winter.

Gabe discovered our video camera and has

been having a ball...perhaps a budding filmaker?

We picked up all the kids toys...lots of sandbox toys, bikes, balls, various other things. We left out a few of the bikes, but made room in the shed for them if the weather turns. We also picked up all the garden tools and hoses.

Hannah gets a step up into the tree

My garden pond was next. The pump was removed and put away and we removed as many of the leaves as we could without draining it. The plants and fish had already been removed before our first frost. We got things ready for the winter birdbath, but I didn't plug it in yet. I'll have to take care of the concrete birdbath when the weather gets colder, but I like to leave it full as long as possible.

Bri works hard cleaning out the ditch

The biggest project was cleaning out the ditches in the front of the yard. It fills up with leaves from the maple trees and this causes the water to run across the road if we get a heavy rain. It took many, many wheelbarrow loads to clean it out.

It felt great to get all the pre-winter things done.

Mom and Dad came over after dinner with a truckload of wood and to go attend the preformance at church.

Bri had another day off. He loves hooking a day or two onto a weekend.

It poured all night. I don't know how much rain we got, but there was a lot of flooding around the area. And the wind blew and blew. I really appreciate this old house then the wind is howling. It is like a fortress.

The temperature steadily went down today and we are once again in the 40s.

Brian fixed the van...yeah! He also winterized the camper.

Bessie and I sorted clothes....blah. Most of it is still piled on a bed upstairs. Good thing Gabe is back to sleeping in our room and doesn't need his bed. :-p

The musical went well tonight. We all looked so nice. We had blue bottoms, pants or skirts and white shirts. Men wore red, white and blue ties and the ladies wore read, white and blue scarves.

We had a color guard from a local army unit which added a great deal to the evening and then pastor awarded honor plaques to the various veterans groups that there present.

There were a few glitches...always are, but it was well received and we had a good crowd. Hopefully the bumps will be all out for tomorrow.

Home Away From Home

These pictures of our camper are for De'Etta.

We love this camper and have had so many fun adventures in it. It is 22' long, but with the new kids, we are growing out of it. It has a lot of inside space and can sleep six...well, we fit in seven, but the Littles sleep sideways on a bed.

Our traveling home

Things we love about it and would look for in another camper.

1) The bunks. They are so helpful, even with five kids. A great place to stow stuff during the day. Works great when someone needs a nap. Make sure to get bunks that are rated for higher than 150 lbs. This way even adults can use them as needed.

2) Bathroom with a 1/2 bathtub, not just a shower. This has been so helpful with kids. They often need a good hosing off and the bathtub is great. No need to run to the campground showers all the time.

3) Awning is a must. Most campers have them now. Very, very useful. If we buy a new one, we would probably get a add-a-room to put on the awning. This would add a lot of livable outside space. Great for when the weather isn't great.

4) We love having the AC and the microwave and a split refrigerator/freezer. I know, I know, we are so spoiled. Most campers come with these anyway.

5) For us, it worked better having a camper with no carpet. We bought area rugs and that has worked very well...easier to take them out and clean them and keep the linoleum floor clean.

bunks...looking toward back...bathroom

is behind door with mirror

Kitchen area

Table area

Looking forward from bathroom

Warm Weather

The weather has been unseasonable warm. I think we might have hit 70 today. It was so balmy and breezy. Later in the day it started to rain very hard and got quite windy. It is still raining out and the wind has picked up significantly.

Brian was home today, which is always a treat. He is going TDY soon and he is trying to get as many pre-winter jobs done as possible before he goes.

He worked on several projects today. He wanted to re-wire the phone system in the house. There were wires going everywhere and they all seemed to go to nothing, so he pulled everything out and put in new wires to the phonejacks.

The van was still not running well, so he did some trouble shooting on that. It was pretty funny. At one point he wanted to watch the engine while we drove. In our van, the engine sits almost between the two front seats. He took off the engive cover and I drove so he could see what was going on. It was very loud, but I remembered to wear earplugs. He figured out the problem and will be able to fix it tomorrow.

We dropped the truck off to be inspected. It should be ready tomorrow.

The kids played outside for quite a while. We are trying to get in as much outdoor time as we can before the weather gets cold.

I had dress rehearsal for our Stars and Stripes show. We have one preformance tomorrow night and one on Saturday night. It went pretty well. The blocking took some time, but the music went well. I had to wear a wireless mike tonight for my solo. I am not used to it, but it was better than worrying about a handheld. Gabe came with me and we had another lively discussion during the drive about how much better it is now with the Littles than it was when they first come home!

Thursdays are TV night for Bri and me. It is nice to relax with my sweetie, a cup of tea and a little mindless viewing.

Book Review

I just finished reading The Sunday Philosophy Club, by Alexander McCall Smith. Mr. Smith also writes the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency book and I just love these books.

When I started reading this book, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I was determined to stick with it and I soon got caught up in the story and really enjoyed it. The language is so different than what I'm used to. I'm not sure if this is because Mr. Smith is not American or because he is an acedemic, or just he writes differently. The language is what I call very rich. Not a fluffy read.

I like how he discribes what is going on, including the thoughts of the main character. Her mind wanders and he puts that in. It is interesting to see where her thoughts lead her, often very far from what is going on at the moment. She is a philosopher and is a reviewer of a publication that deals in applied ethics, this impacts so many of her choices and why she does things.

I also like the fact that the mystery isn't a major thing, no blood and guts (although there was a death) and for the most part, there isn't a lot of suspense, just an unfolding of the story and how she tries to figure out the events that led up to the death. His No. 1 Detective stories are also like this. I like Precious Remotswe better, but I think Isabel will grow on me over time.

I did enjoy this book and will look for others in this series. I did not read it in a few days, it was not a fast read for me, but an enjoyable one.

Military Mom in Action

Tonight I helped Kathy work on her Christmas boxes for the troops. Kathy has four sons, two of whom are in the military and have served in the middle east. One just coming home this week from his 2nd tour in Iraq.

Kathy in her work room.

Three years ago, she started a non-profit organization that sends packages to soliers. She sends upwards to 400 boxes a week. This time of year she is sending special boxes for Christmas. All this is done by volunteers and Kathy's tireless dedication.

Boxes almost ready for shipment

This is a wonderful work that Kathy does. Click here to check out her website.

We had a light work morning. Everyone seemed to be dragging a bit, including me.

Late morning we made a Post Office run. I had four PBS packages. What a treat. I have been able to get quite a few of the picture books that we are using for our art program.

We then headed to Mom and Dad's. We own land in the town where Mom and Dad live and the taxes were due this week. I like to pay in person. We had a nice lunch with them and then Dad and I walked to the town office. I always enjoy spending time with Dad, even if it is just a short walk.

Bessie, Gabe and I went down to the church to check out the "boutique". They have a running sale of clothing, books, and small household items. We found a jacket for Gabe and a few children's books. The kids had a great time, as they always do and didn't want to come home.

As soon as Bri came home, I headed over to help Kathy with MMA (Military Mom in Action). We got quite a bit done. My feet are tired from standing on the concrete for so long. I don't know how she does it all the time.

Thanksgiving Unit

For the next few weeks, we will take a break from our regular history studies to do a unit on the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving. The end result will be a folder/lapbook project. Bessie and Gabe are doing the actually books with the Littles listening to the readings and I've found color pages for them. I'll probably put their art work together and make a book for them.

We started the day with our regular seatwork...math, handwriting, reading, copywork, etc. Dan and Hannah worked with a couple of preschool folder activities that I got off the net. Hannah is doing well and surprisingly, Dan is picking them up very quickly. It is hard for me to assess his capabilities because of his lack of language, but I'm thinking he will be catching up very quickly.

The first book we read today was The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh. This is a good introduction to the Pilgrim story. We were able to finish this in one sitting. Dan wandered off a few times, but with no one else to play with, he soon came back to join us at the table.

Each of the Littles colored a picture of the Mayflower, while Gabe, always marching to a different drummer, wanted to do an Indian. Bessie listened while she worked on her science.

Bessie and Gabe worked on three of the mini-books for their folders, terminology, a map of the Mayflower route and information on the Pilgrims. This is a lot of writing for Gabe and I did do some of it for him. Bessie dove right in with the dictionary and finished hers off.

The kids watched a video before dinner and then played.

Brian was flying tonight, so we had a light dinner. The Littles love to sit at the table and color and cut. They did this after dinner. Bessie practiced piano. She is already working on Christmas music and Gabe played upstairs. He seems to need time at least once a day to get away from the crowd. He'll play with his stuffed animals or actions figures in his room.

After the Littles went to bed, Gabe and I headed upstairs to snuggle and read. We picked another Thanksgiving book. He wanted to wait up for dad. The book was The Pilgrims of Plymouth by Lucille Recht Penner. This was a very nice book. The illustrations were great and there were some fun sidebar additions. The information was basically the same as the first book, but more detailed. I really enjoyed this book and Gabe must have too, because he sat and listened intently to the whole book, asking questions and adding little bits here and there. He thought it quite funny that the captain of the Mayflower was named Christopher Jones, which is the name of one of my nephews.

Brian arrived home around nine, spent a few minutes with Gabe and then headed downstairs to install a new CD drive in the kids computer. We have been without the drive for a few weeks. The kids will be thrilled to be able to play their games again.

We had a pretty normal Sunday morning...lots of bustling around before church. I forgot to put the shoe boxes together for the Operation Christmas Child boxes, so I was running around finishing that up this morning. Thankfully, we have gotten into the habit of getting everyones clothes ready on Saturday night.

We had Sunday school and church services. Bessie and I had nursery today. I really don't enjoy nursery, but it is a requirement if you have a child in nursery to take a turn every month or so. Oh well! I'm done now until at least January.

It is a very cool, gray and rainy day out today. The temp is only in the 40s.

We had a light lunch and then everyone went their seperate ways.

The kids sat at the table and colored. Brian took a short nap and Bessie played on the computer. I sorted kids clothes. We have several people that give us clothes and I try to go through them as soon as we get them.

The Littles were tired tonight, so they went up a little early. One of our local channels is showing old Star Treks (Capt. Kirk old) on Sunday nights, so we watched that. Gabe thinks they are very funny. He is so used to the high tech Star Wars type shows.

Sunny Saturday

Another wonderfully warm day today in the northeast. I am loving this extended period of warmer weather.

We took advantage of the nice weather to get some things done outside. We washed some windows. It takes forever to wash the windows in this house because they are the old multi-pane type. Add the triple-track storms and it takes about 30 minutes to do one window with Bri working outside and me inside.

The kids had a lot of fun playing outside again today. The Littles are going to be in for a shock when more seasonable weather shows up.

Bessie made some face paint and everyone had a lot of fun with that.

Gabe as Darth Mull

Bessie makes Dan a "bear"

Brian scraped and painted the front door casing. The house has vinyl siding (which we hate), but there is still some wood trim in various places. The front has a large wood frame around the door and windows.

Bri does some painting

I painted the two side doors. The doors have been white ever since we moved in ten years ago and I have always wanted them red, well today was the day! They really look great. Brian, Gabe and I took a quick walk.

The kids were very dirty from their day outside and playing with the face paint, so after dinner, everyone took a turn in the shower. What a production line!

After the Littles were in bed, we played a couple games of UNO Attack and Candy Land. Gabe has made our game board more interesting by adding Lord Licorice and Gloppy game cards and also adding a few more short cuts.

Dan was up several times in the night. Not really sure why, he seems fine this morning, no sickness or anything. Brian and I are both so tired. Of course, it doesn't help that I was up reading until 1:30am.

Things were a bit slow getting started this morning because of the night time disruptions. Gabe and Bessie tend to get woken up when the Littles are restless. Gabe feels a little warm and has a stuffy head. I hope he isn't coming down with a cold.

Brian went right to work in the Family Room and got all the walls sanded. What a messy job that is. There is sheetrock dust everywhere in there!

Later in the afternoon, Brian and Bessie went on a grocery store run. They opened a small Haniford Shop n' Save about 15 minutes up the road. This has been wonderful for those quick runs.

After they got back, Bessie, Gabe and I went to WalMart to finish up our Operation Christmas Child boxes. We will pack them up and have them ready to bring to church on Sunday.

Bessie, Gabe and Bri finished watching Gettysburg tonight. Gabe was really into the whole battle thing, but commented that it was really very sad. We have not studied this period in any depth before and we are having a lot of great discussions.

Better Day

Today was a much better day. Brian had the day off and I know that has a positive effect on my mood and the kids also seemed better today.

It was very warm today...near 60 degrees with some sun.

Brian has a long list of things he wants to get done this weekend. He had a good start today. He replaced some glass in a window in the front hall, did something to the van (replaced sparkplug wires?) that stopped the skipping, scrapped and painted the upstairs bathroom window and caulked around the chimney on the roof. He even managed to fit in some time to take a nice walk with me and make dinner...what a guy!

I puttered around the house doing this and that, made a run to the post office, worked on some music for choir, looked at some mold Bessie has been growing for science and of course, did some laundry.

The Littles spent most of the afternoon playing outside. It is so nice that the weather is staying warmer.

I had choir tonight. Gabe came with me. I really don't understand why he always wants to go. He sits in the back of the church with his portable DVD player and watches a movie. I think he likes the mommy time during the drive...he'll talk and talk. We did a complete run through of our Stars and Stripes performance. It sounded really good tonight. I have a solo part and I missed my cue last week. Tonight I was ready!

Bri and I relaxed and watched some TV tonight...CSI was on. It is one of the few shows I like to watch on a regular basis.

Art Curriculum

We have been using Art Through Children's Literature this year and it has been a very good choice for us.

This is what the back of the book says...
"Inspire students to create their own masterpices! The projects in this book, based on the exquisite illustrations found in Caldecott Award-winning titles, guide students to create art with qualities similar to those found in such beloved books as Make Way for Ducklings, Owl Moon, Jumanji, and Where the Wild Things Are. The activities employ a variety of media-pencil, crayon, marker, colored pencil, chalk, stencils, collage, watercolor, tempera, color mixing, and printmaking-and teach children about basic art principles and such art elements as line, color, texture, shape, space and value."

The kids have been enjoying it and it is very easy for me to implement. The Caldecott books are readily available through our library system. You can pick and choose the medium and/or art element you want to teach and then pick the book that will illustrate it for the kids. I have been working right along with them. The book says for grades K-6, but our 14yo dd who is in 9th grade is enjoying it as well.

Not much improved since Monday. I guess it was just one of those blah weeks. Nothing terribly exciting, nothing terribly tough, just bumping along through our days.

It rained all day today and was quite foggy. Thankfully it wasn't very cold, although the kids are just waiting for that first big snow.

We have settled into a much better school time. Everyone was quite cooperative this week, which made things go so much easier.

Bessie had piano today. I dropped her off and Bri picked her up on his way home. He stopped and picked up lumber for the Family Room. He took tomorrow off and has Friday off for the holiday. He is hoping to get a good chunk of the Family Room done. He has to sand the spackling and work on the trim. He still thinks we will be able to move in before Christmas. We are going to hold off on the flooring until spring, but everything else should be done.

We are seeing some definite regression in the Littles behavior. Actually, I think it is a good thing as they are working through different griefs and emotional phases, but it makes it tough to have children of a chronological age acting much, much younger. I know we will work through all this and come out the other side a whole family, but this week I was not on my best game and there were plenty of times I just wanted to retreat to my room and hide from it all. Thankfully, God is ever faithful and just when I felt at the end of my rope, He gave me some more...maybe just a little more, but enough to hold onto.

Today was one of those days where it seems like nothing went quite right, but it was hard to put my finger on what went wrong. Like everything was just a half note off all day!

The kids were a bit grumpy and I'm sure I was too. We didn't get as much school done as I like for a Monday, but we got some other good things done. Oh well. I think part of the problem is that Brian worked this weekend. We all look forward to days when Bri is home. I always feel refreshed and the kids get to spend extra time with him too.

I did make up a couple of preschool activities today. That was fun and hopefully the kids will like them.

It was a really nice day out today, a bit warmer, sunny and not much wind. I booted everyone out and the afternoon went better with a good "airing" of the children. Bessie went for a run. She is building up her stamina and working on extending her time and distance. I think she has it in her mind to run a 5K race.

Monday is usually Bessie's night to cook dinner (at her request). Brian was flying late tonight so she made her mac and cheese. Brian doesn't care for it as much as his mother's recipe which has tomatoes in it.

I took a nice hot tub and then snuggled with Gabe.

I just finished reading Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit by Teri Maxwell. To say that I don't feel very meek or quiet in my homeschooling or in any other area of my mothering right now is an understatement.

This book had some good ideas on how to improve areas of your life to create a calmer environment and thus make it easier to be meek and quiet. And where these ideas were good and the basic idea of the book is good, I was searching for something that gets to the heart of matter...why I don't have a meek and quiet spirit. For me it isn't that my house is unorganized or that my kids aren't on a strict schedule, it is because my heart is not in the right place.

As a start, I enjoyed this book and toward the end I did feel she touched on a few heart issues. I'm still searching and working toward being a better mother, a mother with a more meek and quiet spirit.

Rocket Launch

Brian ended up getting home early from work. He and Gabe decided to launch their rocket. The corn field across the road is harvested, so they headed over there.



They had two successful launches although the second one had a partial chute failure. Apparently there was not quite enough packing and part of the chute got a bit singed. Brian has part of a real parachute out in the garage and I am going to make a new one for their rocket.

The kids enjoyed it, but I think Bri and I got the biggest kick out of it!

Activity Bag Swap

I signed up for Bridget's online group for Activity Bags for preschoolers. It took me a while to come up with an idea, but I finally settled on a bean bag toss activity.

Brian had to work today, so after church I dug out the materials and brought my serger downstairs and started putting the kits together. Bessie helped me by loading the bags and of course the Littles had to help by playing with all the bags!

I love my serger!

We made nine of the kits today, so we are well on our way to the twenty that we need.

Dan preforms a little QA on the bean bag toss

Quiet few days

The last couple of days have been pretty quiet, nothing too exciting.

Yesterday we did school in the morning and then went to visit friends. We don't get out and visit as much as we used it and we all had a good time. Dan was not happy with their large dog, but they put him downstairs.

They have a very nice yard that at one time was highly landscaped. I got some great ideas for new garden features. In particular is a very nice pond/stream system. I always thought our yard was too flat for something like this, but their yard is also very flat and the pond looks great. I'll have to get Brian to go over and take some notes and start making plans. He will love a project like this. I am so glad he enjoys doing the heavy part of gardening.

Today was a very lazy Saturday. Brian had to work, so the kids and I were running solo. It was quite cool today and overcast. It looked so winterish. Brrrr!

We headed to the library this morning. We got quite a few more books for our Civil War study and found a couple of videos that will work well. The Littles like to each pick out a book or two and Gabe found some of his favorites to check out again.

The rest of the day was spent in leisurely activities of one sort or another, reading, stitching, computer, Nintendo, dress up and other play. Bessie was ambitious enough to go for a run.

Brian brought home KFC for dinner. Bessie had requested this as her birthday meal but with the change in plans last week, we didn't get to it. As unhealthy as it probably it is, it is also a family favorite.

Brian took the day off today. It is always so nice to have him home during the day.

The snow didn't last long at all. The sun came out and within 1/2 hour or so, the snow had melted.

We had a good school morning. Gabe did math with Brian and was ever so much more cooperative for him. Maybe I should have Gabe wait until Bri gets home from work and he can do math with Dad.

I was trying to work with Rachel and Hannah together, but I've realized that Hannah really needs more pre-K type work where as Rachel can do K work. Splitting them up worked much better. It has taken a while, but I think we are finally figuring out just where all the kids need for their studies.

Brian and Gabe worked on model rocket today. One of the projects in our TOG book was to build and launch a rocket and they were finally able to get started on it. I can't wait for the launch. Our family used to build and launch rockets when I was a kid. It was a big thrill.

Gabe discovered that something bigger than a bug had gotten into our bug trap experiment. The cans were empty of their bait. It was probably a mouse. Oh well, the weather has turned cold enough that I don't think we are getting much bug movement anyway. We'll have to put it on the back burner and try again in the spring.

Bessie and Dan had doctor appointments this afternoon. Dan's was just for a shot. Bessie had her annual physical. Everything went well with both. Dan, of course, does not like getting shots, but he recovers quickly. Bessie is nice and healthy and doing great!

Brian headed over to his dad's this afternoon for a visit.

I had choir practice this evening. We have a couple more weeks of working on Stars and Stripes. We also did a little bit of work on our Christmas Cantata. Gabe went with me. This has become a weekly event for us.

During the drive tonight we talked about smoking cigarettes (the topic came up because Bessie was discussing it after her Dr visit) and about how hard it is sometimes to say no when friends want you to do something, even if you know it is wrong. It is amazing to me how he makes connections...he likened the discussion to when Larry (from Veggie Tales) was walking around with an oven mitt on his head because it was suppose to be cool and everyone was doing it.

First Snow!

We had our first visible snow today. We have had a couple of days where we had snow flurries, but it didn't stick. It was so pretty this morning. It won't last long as the sun is coming out, but it was so nice to see.