Time for Graditude!

I love Thanksgiving. It seems to be one of the few holidays that doesn't get commercialized, and unlike some holidays doesn't stem from commercialization. Don't get me wrong, I love Halloween and Christmas. Now that I'm married and have children, I even like Valentines Day. But there is something very pure about Thanksgiving. I love the food, the history, and the ability we have to remember our blessings.

Lately, I have really enjoyed my time with my kids. When I started back to school, my intention was to find a job after graduation. Well the job market in education is very dismal. At first I was heartbroken! But now, I seem to enjoy things more. I think, If I had been working, I couldn't go on a field trip with my son. I wouldn't have seen my daughter's progression in gymnastics. (Now she will never be a star gymnast, but at least she will now hold onto a zip line and fall into a pit.) I would have been way to stressed to help my kids with their homework. I miss the time I had in the classroom, and this stay at home mom thing is hard, dang hard. But I appreciate the time I have with my kids. I really do. So for my six things I am grateful for:

Each of my children x 2.

The Great Wolf Halloween!

I wanted Halloween to be extra fun this year because we were not going trick or treating on Sunday. Well thanks to my husband picking up an extra trip--we succeeded!

When we arrived it was into our swimsuits, and then off to the water parks. Everyone loved the slides. GG found one she particularly loved--and we went on it again and again!

After swimming/sliding, it was off to the Halloween contest, story hour, and a little bit of trick or treating at the water park.

Look who won! Yes, our very own Harry Potter!

GG and Anakin (Harry Potter 2) took on Wiley the Wolf!

Waiting in line to meet thw Wolf.

Harry with the Sword of Griffendor and Anakin with his Phoenix Wand.

The second night we went trick or treating again, but skipped the costume contest and story hour. The boys wore their dinosaur costume for the second night!

He is way too cute to be scary!

The kids slept in their personal log cabin!

Then we woke up, packed and made it back in time for church. We had a nice evening in the dark--reading Harry Potter, eating cookies, and just enjoying each other. It was so nice not to brave the cold.

I smiled almost the whole time--it was nice just to be together and have lots of fun!

Fab Five!

1. How Tall Are You?

I love these little signs! We had a five day weekend, and had a great time. We went swimming, picked apples, played at the pumpkin patch, and of course stood next to lots of how tall are you signs. So how tall are you this year?

2. Beautiful Apples!

Luke has wanted to pick apples all fall. We finally went to one of the many orchards and picked. They are so juicy and sweet!

3. Just Close Enough!

My little girl loved looking at the chickens, but not too close. At least I don't need to worry about her getting nipped on the fingers. They were beautiful.

4. Fall Walks

We've had some beautiful fall weather--and took a lot of nature walks. I've been trying to read books to the kids on fall. I just wish we had a lot of trees in our yard, so we could make huge leaf piles. I always loved playing in leaves as a child--so fun!

(By the way, I took the picture of the map, just in case we got lost on our walk. It happens quite frequently!)

5. Always Be Prepared

Not a boyscout, but already knows how to prepare. When he wakes up in the morning, all he had to do was take off his pj's--then he was ready to play on the computer!

Another Year. . . . Another Birthday!

This is his angry face--one he displayed throughout the birthday pary! Sometimes, I am not very good about listening to this boy, and I mean really listening!

Last year we had a wonderful birthday party at the pumpkin patch! This year, my 6 year old just wanted a party at the house, but I pressed this party. Well everyone had fun except the 6 year old. Do you think I will learn my lesson and not pressure my kdis to do things--probably not, but oh well. I am glad he was able to have so many of his friends from church, and two friends from school enjoy this great place!

Now this was the party he loved. He had his two favorite families over to celebrate. Legos were scattered all over the floor, pizza and cupcakes were enjoyed by everyone, and if I had really listened, we wouldn't have suffered through his grumpiness of the other party.



We are all still adjusting to school. He is in kindergarten--which in this district means that they work hard for the two and half hours they are in school and are completely exhausted at the end.



He has decided he wants to be a movie maker or a bee keeper. They studied all about bees in kindergarten (sqeezed in between the phonemic exercises), and went to visit an apple orchard in for a field trip. He had a lot of fun!



He is still rock climbing, swimming, and playing soccer. He loves playing with his brother, listening to books.



One day as we were driving by a park, he started narrating a story.



Yesterday, we went to a park, but it was no ordinary park. It was a robot park. He practices his brother's time tests with him. So all and all he is doing fine. Just need to help him express his frustration in other ways besides grunting and crumbling up paper.



Yikes!

Monarch Butterfly

Last month we found a caterpillar at the State Park near our house. We had the pleasure of watching go from larva, to pupa, to adult right before our eyes.

When we first brought home the caterpillar, we couldn't believe how much the caterpillar ate. It really was a very hungry caterpillar, eating through the leaves of the milkweed.

When it was ready to change into the chrysalis, it escaped out of our fish bowl, and crawled up to our ceiling. We "rescued" it from the ceiling and placed it back into the bowl.

The caterpillar formed its J, then turned into the chrysalis. We kept watching it change and become clear. We didn't get to see it hatch because we were at church, but we did get to take it outside and watch it fly away. It was starting its journey to Mexico. Whether that butterfly made it, or helped future generations on their way, we will never know--but we did have magic happen in our home. That is enough for now!

Three First Days of School!

Here is our oldest! He started at a new school. We weren't happy with our neighborhood school, and luckily we were able to transfer him to a new school in the district. He loves it!!!! I am very happy with the change.

He started on August 24th.

This is our very cute middle child. He and his daddy planted this tree together. I don't particularly love our house, especially that it is next door to a race track. I always talk about moving, but this kid doesn't want to leave this tree. The sweater he is wearing is the same sweater his daddy and older brother wore on their first day of kindergarten.

He is having a hard time adjusting. Two years ago the district switched its curriculum, and now the teachers have to follow a very strict regiment of phonics training. It is good--but those poor kindergartners sit for far too long. They spend too much time on skills and not enough time on purpose. He seems to need the rest of the day just to recover! They have school for 1/2 a day, but they work and drill and work and drill for the entire time!

Now two boys go to school!!!

Finally GG, she started school on the 26th. She goes two days a week. I think it helps, but it isn't enough. She really needs a five day program. I am trying my best to supplement: we will go swimming on Mondays and we are taking a gymnastics class on Wednesday together. I love spending that time with her! It helps to fill the heartache of not getting a job after all the hard work!

Now all three go to school.

So that means I have 5 hours a week with no children--what to do. I've been taking Pilates class which is fun, and starting in October I will volunteer in Anakin's class. I hope to help in Luke's class as well.

Everyday I have to remind myself to find joy in the journey, and to have faith in the Lord's timing, not mine.

These three kids certainly give me joy--and it is definitely a journey!

Day Trip!

As summer winded down--we wanted to have one last adventure. We decided to ride the train into the city and go to The Field Museum on their free day!

Little did we know that everyone else had the same idea! The Field was very crowded. We did have a great time--especially in the kids area at the end of the day!

Goodbye to summer--and hello to fall!