Ornament Exchange

This is the cute ornament that was sent to me by a cyber-friend. Thanks so much, Chista, I love it. We are hoping to get our tree tomorrow and I can't wait to give him a special spot.

This very cute snowman ornament was given in another on-line ornament exchange by Robyn. I just really love him. He is so adorable. You can't see it, but it has wonderful glitter on it that catches every little bit of light. It is so pretty at night. Thank you so much.

We love to Read

We are a very "bookish" family. We love to read and spend a lot of our free time reading or looking at books.

One of the frustrating things when the new kids came was they did not really like books that much. Their attention span was very, very low and they had a hard time even tolerating short picture books.

Gabe loves the new found

freedom of silent reading

After nine months home, they are doing so much better. They enjoy being read to and will often sit and look at the many picture books we have. Rachel and Dan especially are doing well. Hannah is still somewhat reluctant to sit and listen to stories, but we are hopefully that she too will come around. It is a great encouraging to us.

Rachel especially enjoys looking at recipe books

Dan really loves the picture books

We had a very lazy morning today. Everyone is still recovering from our late night on Monday and Bri from his jet lag. It was nice to take things slow and easy. I had told the kids we weren't going to do school on the days Daddy was home, so they had a day off.

We had intended to get our Christmas tree, but the very rainy weather changed that plan. We'll shoot for Saturday. I would have liked to have our tree up sooner, but with Bri being gone, it didn't work out. We get our tree fresh and like to do it as a family.

After lunch the rain settled down to a drizzle. Brian and I went over to Deb and Dave's house to pick up a bureau they offered us. We are very short on storage space and the new kids have been keeping their clothes in plastic bins. This bureau is going in the girls room.

We stayed and visited for a bit. They have a new 8 month old baby boy they recently adopted. He is so cute. He has a vision problem, which makes him cross his eyes a lot. It gives his face the cutest little goofy look. He is adorable.

I love visiting with Deb and Dave. They are such an encouragement. They have four birth-children, the youngest is 19 and three adopted children...7yo, 4yo and the baby. They are older than we are and still making room in their homes and hearts for these special children. They really help me keep my perspective when things get a bit crazy.

We moved things around in the girls room to make space for the bureau and cleaned up in there while we were at it. The room is not big at all, so it is a challenge to fit a set of bunk beds, a toddler bed, two bureaus and two bookcases in there. We managed it somehow.

Brian made spaghetti for dinner (he loves to cook). After dinner he and I tackled an ugly pile of papers, magazines and catalogs that had accumulated on a cabinet in the kitchen. I don't know how these piles grow so quickly. I think they are breeding when we aren't looking. Some days I think I need a shovel and wheelbarrow to work on the clutter in the house.

After the Littles went to bed Bri, Bess and Gabe watched some of a movie. Gabe and I are finished up with Pinocchio and we haven't picked a new book yet, so no reading tonight.

Pinocchio

Gabe and I finished Pinocchio this week. Bess and I had read this story years ago when we were doing Sonlight Curriculum and it was fun to read it again with Gabe.

This particular version or translation is different than the one I read to Bessie and it was extremely good with a lot of wonderful old language that gave the book a richness that the previous book did not have. There were a lot of words that I didn't even know, but we enjoyed looking them up and comparing the meaning to what we thought they meant.

The illustrations were really funny and added to the story. This was a very enjoyable read and was a special time for Gabe and me.

He's Home!!

After our late night at the airport, everyone slept in this morning...at least until the newspaper called to ask if we had gotten our paper today...ugh! Dan is a light sleeper and if Dan is up, everyone is up. He is not a quiet little guy.

We had a good morning. Everyone was very excited that daddy was coming home. We did some last minute picking up of the house and then headed back to the airport. Traffic is much lighter at midnight than at 10am. We still made good time.

Brian's flight was a bit late, but not too bad. The kids enjoyed running around in the observation room (no one else was there) and visiting the exhibition area. Our airport has a little area off the observation room where they display works from local museums and such. This time they had a great display of prepared animals and birds. It was very cool and the kids thought is was great.

After Brian arrived and lots of hugs and kisses, we collected his significant luggage (he has a lot of cold weather professional gear). I remembered to bring the stroller in...not for the little ones, but to carry Bri's heaviest bag. We hit the highway and headed out of the city. It was so good to have Bri back with us.

The afternoon was spent catching up on what's been going on and hanging out. Everyone wanted Bri's attention, including me!

During this trip Brian was able to take some time to do some hiking in New Zealand. He said it was gorgeous country and was like falling into "The Lord of the Rings".

Bri on the south island of New Zealand

Gabe was very tired and at some point went upstairs and slept for a couple of hours. I hope it was just because he was so fatigued and not that he is getting sick. He missed dinner but didn't seem to mind. He snacked after he got up.

Bessie, Gabe and Bri watched a new Veggie Tales DVD.

Not home yet!

Quick update...put the kids to bed, got them back up around 10pm to head to the airport. Waited in airport for an hour and then found out one of Bri's flights was late, so he missed the connector. I knew this was a possibility, but didn't want to leave Bri hanging at the airport, so decided to go anyway. We were disappointed, but this is not unusual. We are never really sure when he is going to be home, until he is actually there.

The kids had fun taking our late night road trip and they were all very good.

We'll try again tomorrow or I should say later today as it is 1am.

Quiet Week

Brian did call this week. It is difficult for him to find the best time to call. He likes to talk to the kids, but this week it was 10:30pm before he could get through. He should be coming off the ice today! Woohoo! That always signals the beginning of his journey home, which still takes several days, but it seems like he is "on his way".

This week has been pretty quiet. Not much going on. We were able to get some good school done. I still haven't decided whether we are doing the Christmas Symbols lapbook or not. I also have a lapbook for the Littles to do. Guess I need to decide soon.

The weather has turned and is significantly colder. We have had several days with snow, but nothing to amount to much. The kids have enjoyed playing in it, but not on Friday as it was very, very cold and quite windy. The high temp yesterday was only 21 and we had 11 degrees when we got up.

We had Bessie's piano lesson on Wednesday and visited with friends on Thursday afternoon. The kids had a great time. With six kids (I don't count Bess, she is more adult then child and usually sits and visits with the ladies) we never know how everyone is going to get along. They did wonderfully well and it was a great visit.

When Brian is away, his chores still need to get done. This includes hauling wood for the stove, taking care of the chickens and keeping the birdfeeders full. It takes me 30-45 minutes to do these jobs, longer if the weather is cold as the chicken water will be frozen. We have 10 birdfeeders and they are high enough that I have to use a step ladder to fill them. Most of the time I don't mind doing these things as it gets me outside, but it reminds me daily of all the many things Brian does.

Today we went to the library and the feed store. I left my lights on while we were in the library and when we came out the van wouldn't start. I felt like weeping, but didn't. I knew that if I turned the lights off, the battery might recover enough to start. I told the kids to pray and we sat in the parking lot for 10-15 minutes. Praise, God!, it started. If it had been as cold as it was yesterday, I don't think it would have started without a jump.
Brian called while we were away! I didn't think he would call that early, but he and some of the other guys were going fishing and they needed to head out early. Hopefully he will call tonight when they get back.

The kids are watching a video they got at the library.

Winter Visitors

I love to birdwatch. I don't get to do too much away from home these days, but with our many birdfeeders, we get a good variety of birds right in our yard. It sure makes the gray winter days brighter.

Snowy Monday

Our weather has taken a very drastic turn. It is only in the 20s today and quite windy which is making it seem so much colder. The woodstove is keeping things nice and toasty...at least in that end of the house!

We had a good morning. We got quite a bit of schoolwork done and the kids had a fun time playing out in the snow. It is getting easier to coordinate the kids with their schoolwork. I can usually do at least two of the kids at the same time even if they are doing different things. Dan has gotten better at keeping himself occupied while I'm working with the kids.

Dan loves the toy cars

I've been staying off the computer in the mornings with hopes that Brian will call. He has a window of opportunity twice a day, so I try to keep the line free at those times. We haven't heard from him in three days. That is really not that unusual, but he tries to call everyday or so if he can.

This afternoon Gabe and I made a trip to the post office and a stop at the grocery store.

Bessie made taco salad for dinner. It was a big hit with everyone but Gabe. He is quite picky at times, but doesn't seem to mind eating PB & J.

Snow Squall

When we got up this morning the ground was white. The kids were so excited. After an incredible warm spell for late November, it was strange to see the white stuff.

It didn't last long, but later in the morning, a quick snow squall ran through. A heavy burst of large snowflakes quickly whitened things up again.

The kids ran outside with just jackets and hats and enjoyed a few minutes of fun in the snow.

Wintery weather at last

Dan trying to catch some flakes
Gabe having a snack
Hannah quickly added mittens
Rachel is all smiles