November in a Nutshell

November came in like a lamb and went out like a lion, a big, growly lion. We were spoiled with temps warmer than I ever remember for this time of year. I'm not sure where the month went. One day it is 11-11-11 (I love days that have quirky numbers!) and the next day it's December. The month snuck (sneaked??  Is it sneaked or snuck?!) by without regard for my desire to leisurely enjoy the holiday season. I'm digging my heels in and holding tight onto the tail of December to try to slow it down a bit.

 I love the look of snow! It tells of cleanness and purity. It hides the depressing dead of late autumn.

However,  I'm not a fan of snow covered ice. We had our first ice/snow storm of the year. We were fortunate to keep our electricity. Some of our neighbors weren't as lucky and were without for 36+ hours. This day also happened to be a memorable one for my sixteen year old.

He scored the coveted ticket of freedom. Well, semi-freedom. He took his driving test while the ice started to fall from the sky. What a brave instructor. I think I would have been cancelling if I were her.  This is what our road looked like when we got home.

Not ideal for a newly licensed driver. Or a seasoned driver.

Faith loves to climb on furniture and see what's going on out the window. She was in awe of the snow.

Baby girl likes to do her own hair too. I appreciate the headbands more than her brother's underwear for hair accessories. She'll dig through clothes baskets to find underwear to put on her head. Should I be concerned?

We celebrated Court's birthday mid-month. Okay, we didn't really celebrate, but we did sing to him (I think) and he got cake.

He's loved. Speaking of love, we also celebrated our 17th anniversary in November. Seventeen years?? I don't know how that is possible when it was just last year that I was 17. Wasn't it?

picture taken by Apryl Deeter

Another highlight of the month was getting to go out with my long time (as in since 4th grade) best friend Sheila. Since she lives in Colorado, we only get to see each other once a year when she comes "home" for a visit. I'm so happy that her husband landed an awesome job 2 hours away and they are moving next summer! How appropriate that our date was going to see a musical!

I had such a good time. And I am all the more wiser now since she taught me how an expert orders at a coffee shop!

For one reason or another it has taken over a week to finish this silly little post, from internet problems to busyness to forgetfulness.

So long, noviembre! (Isn't it bizarre that months aren't capitalized in Spanish??) Your holiday is one of my very favorites. Although this year it seemed to come and go without big fanfare, my heart is overflowing with thankfulness. 

I'm looking forward to all December has to offer. And of course celebrating the true meaning of the season. 

It's easier to spread Christmas cheer when you are dressed the part. 

Bring on the jingle bells!

Saturday's Magic

One of the most difficult things about being a mom to six kids is dividing my time between them. I'm constantly being pulled in all different age directions, from supervising driving skills to teaching how to make bunny ears with shoelaces to keeping toddler destruction under control (impossible with my active girl!). Sometimes a couple of little ones get lost in the shuffle of busyness.

I love doing fun things as a family.....with ALL the kids, but it is getting harder with the age division of interests. Do we play Euchre or Uno? It's like when a big kid is shouting "Hey, watch me, Mom!" on the high dive and I'm stuck in the kiddie pool. (true story) Sometimes my kids do all agree on something fun together, like The Farming Game.

Funny how Faith just sits there like she is part of the game

I hate dislike that game. Who wants to play a game where you owe the bank tens of thousands and are always in debt? Sounds like real life to me. My kids know that as nice as I am :-) I will never play that game with them.

And sometimes I catch my big ones joining in on a make believe adventure with the little ones.

It makes my heart smile.

I'm letting go of the concept that all of my kids need to be present in order for us to enjoy family time. My preference is that we all play together but I'm coming to realize that it is okay if a big kid or two wants to stay home instead of going to the park with the little ones or whatever else we choose to do.

Today I invited all kids to go to town for some entertaining family time. Only two were excited about going. (Mostly because I had no details. For some reason big kids like specifics.)

So, I took my only two brown-eyed babies and headed out. Side note: The awesome thing about having kids with a wide age range is the babysitting. We don't (or try not to) take advantage of them. Really they love to babysit and ask to. Seems weird, huh? Don't let their innocent, teenage looks fool you. Free television and snack privileges come with babysitting in this house. Oh, and no other chores for the day. Good incentives. I hope they will always treasure the special bond they share.

Our charming town was celebrating the beginning of the holiday season. There were all kinds of fun activities. And did I mention....everything was free? One thing we were for sure doing was going to the movie theatre to catch a show.

It was a bonus that I had been wanting to see this movie. I was disappointed to learn that I wasn't missing much. (Sorry to all of you who love this Christmas classic.) Maybe had I not watched the movie through Corbin's eyes I would have felt differently? My 5 year old doesn't need the example of bad-mannered kids. (I'm sounding all prudish, aren't I? If you would meet my spicy little guy you would see that he shouldn't have that encouragement.)

After the movie we went on a game hunt. We walked from store to store to play carnival-like games and fill our lists with stickers.

There was to be a drawing later in the evening. Four kids would win $25 to spend at any merchant in town. Emmaly was one of the winners! I was overjoyed that my big-hearted girl won money for herself. Whenever she sees a bucket or coin jar for charity she gives all or most of the money in her purse. She doesn't usually have more than a dollar or so but she is very generous with what she has.

Guess how she is spending her newly won money? Christmas presents for her brothers and sisters. I love this girl.

The day was beautiful. The quaint town was decked out in her Christmas finest.

I had the most delightful company.

I'm not quite ready to celebrate the Christmas season since Thanksgiving is over a week away. And I [heart] Thanksgiving! It's a time to reflect on all our blessings and offer thanks to the One who makes all things possible. It's a time to get together with family without materialistic expectations. And the food..... I'm sure I don't have to tell you about the feasting! But right after Thanksgiving Day it is exciting to anticipate the coming weeks.

 After our trip to town we came home and continued our play day.

After the sun had said farewell we headed back to town to watch the nighttime parade and attend the Miracles at Main & Market Streets. We ate homemade (from the Amish community!) cookies, drank hot chocolate, huddled around cozy barreled fires, lit candles and sang songs. What amazing people fill our neighborhood. It was a magical day.

Pigtails, Parades and Prayers

I just love that mischievous little face. And pigtails on a tot....be still my heart.

I can't get enough of sweet, little bare legs and shoeless toes. I'm guessing the days of bareskinned babies are becoming few and far between. And just maybe gone altogether. I'm almost accepting. After all, summer is about to pass her winning crown on to autumn. I'm not anti-fall, I just want to let summer have her final moments in all her glory. Let her take her last walk with dignity. And if autumn would share the stage with summer for a while longer I would welcome her orange colors and breezy days all the more!

One of the first signs of the new season to me is the Apple Festival. I love a small town gala! *I feel like I have to say this in every post.....these pictures were all taken with my phone. So, excuse the quality! Especially a couple of the blurry ones that I just couldn't leave out!*

Getting ready to watch the parade.

Do you want to know the secret to scoring big on candy during a parade? Sit at the front of the parade route. Holy cow, they got candy! I'm a mean mom that makes them combine all the goodies. No filling your pockets and your own bags, all the candy in one bag. Not because of fairness but because I want control over the candy jar. Okay, maybe a little bit because of fairness. I am a middle child, after all.

So is she. She would like to do everything her big sisters do. She doesn't think there should be different bedtimes or other rules that make her life less fun.

Cousin A driving his dream 

This was the guy who was a finalist on America's Got Talent last year. He did a good job and was such a nice guy. He invited one of Austin's friends to ride with him during a show after seeing how well he rode. It was refreshing to see a "famous" person willingly share the limelight.

Emmaly with the 2 bikers

What you can't see in this picture is E's little head wound..... Court and I rarely go out on dates. (Something I REALLY want to change!) We left the 3 little ones with Kodi. She does a great job and I can't complain about her rate. (free!) :-) About 45 minutes after we left we got a phone call from her that Emmaly's head was bleeding and Kodi was sure she needed stitches.  I called my brother who lives 2 miles away to go check on her until I could get home. When I got here here's what awaited me:

What do you think, stitches or not? I knew it needed something and was really not wanting to spend another 3 hours in the ER for the second time in one week. (Kidney stones are a pain, just ask Hubby.) I called our family doctor (whom I LOVE!) and asked what he thought of me trying to glue a smallish head wound that could probably use stitches. He gave me the okay since it wasn't deep and was done bleeding. I went to the store to buy Dermabond with no success. I called him back and he said Krazy glue would be fine. He told me how to glue it and said he would even meet me at the office (It was after 8:00 pm) if I needed his help or if the glue didn't work. Did I tell you I love this doctor? The glue worked enough. I'm sure staples would have made a smaller scar but it will be covered by hair anyway. I'm sure you are wondering how she got that lovely groove. She was the victim of her little brother's retaliation. It involved a wooden block and a curve-ball-pitch.

These two fight? It doesn't even look possible. :-) Corbin has gotten every toy in the house taken away. He gets to earn them back. Funny thing.....this afternoon I spotted him playing with two batteries. Have you ever heard a Duracell rev it's engine? Who says we need matchbox cars? Emmaly kissed him on the cheek as he took a rare nap today and whispered, "I forgive you for hurting my head." Melt a momma's heart, why dontcha?

Also heart melting is what I saw this morning in church. Our church had the honor of having it's services at the Apple Festival. 

There is just something about worshipping together outside in the crisp air under a tent. Even with my attention being divided between Pastor Tom's God-breathed words and making sure Faith wasn't spilling my hot apple cider, my heart was filled with the Spirit. 

We have some awesome spirit-filled teens in our church and I'm blessed that 3 of them live under my roof. (see, how can I not share this picture even in all it's blurriness?)

It has been a long week with getting in the routine of school, sick husband, volleyball and basketball games, meetings, shopping, town festivities along with all the work it takes to keep a household functioning. I'm tired just thinking about it. Or maybe I'm tired because it is 1:30 am. My me-time has come to an end. I should have been in bed long ago so I am ready to get up and do it all over again. May my spent time be glorifying to you, Lord.

School Days, School Daze

This morning the big yellow bus little red mini van dropped off a load of precious cargo to a brick-and-mortar school. A, B and D  knew the drill. Two of the three were very excited. I'll let you decide who wasn't as thrilled. (This picture may give you a hint.) This year we added E and C to the attendance roster. One of them was also super excited. And the other one had no interest in going anywhere. What is it with the boys in this house?? It wasn't as bad as I feared it might be. As I told you in the last post, C is a mommy's boy and wants to be with me all of the time. He got to spend the first hour with A in the library so it was a lot easier to say good bye to Mom.

Look at this little guy. He can barely reach his locker handle to open it. Maybe he's right, he should be home with his mommy.

Look at those cheeks; super kissable. I kissed him goodbye outside. I didn't want him to have the chance to say he couldn't kiss me in front of his new classmates. My heart wasn't ready for that. There were no tears from any of us. I knew they were in good hands; safe and secure.

E has been counting down the days. She is the keeper of time in the family. "How many hours until....?, How long will we.....?, What time will it be when...?" She had a great day and said that she loved her class and she loved her teacher and she loved her lunch. :-) She is an easy one to keep happy. Baby F was not a happy camper that she couldn't stay with the big kids. She cried the entire way home.

We had our own special day planned. Well kinda. We were going to meet Daddy for lunch. We also ended up dining with Grandpa and Grandma.

I love these two! Little F has them wrapped around her finger. They don't object to baby backwash and slobbery french fries. We also ran a few errands while we were out.

A, B and D all enjoyed catching up with their friends. (I really did take pictures of them too. Phone camera plus bad lighting equals blurry and grainy pictures.) C on the other hand.... I asked him how he liked school. He said, "It was dumb. I'm not coming back." (I'm just sure his dad was like this at 5!) I asked why he thought it was dumb. He said, "We sang a song about a cow waking up in the morning and saying it's a good day. Cows don't talk. It was dumb." This kid cracks me up. He was mad that his school supplies had to stay in his desk and he couldn't bring them home. I explained that everything needed to be there for next week. He said, " You need to go get them because I'm not coming back next week." Yep, his father. The only explanation. Friday school took every last bit of energy from him.

When he awoke two hours later he saw things differently. School wasn't so bad after all. It may have helped that our favorite summer meal was served for supper. (Prepared by D!)

Seafood taco salad! The events of the day always seem to be a little brighter when feasting on yummy food and being surrounded with unconditional love!

Summer's End

I see the summer coming to a close. I'm almost okay with that. Almost. Tonight the air is fresh and crisp. I even had to shut the window to keep it from nipping at my bare arms. Love these summer nights! We had some family bike rides this weekend.

We went nowhere in particular; just rode around enjoying the weather, exercise and each others company. Mr. A. likes to ride way ahead of everyone deciding the route we take. He likes to be in charge. Must be an oldest child.

C wanted to ride his bike too but we talked him into the buggy so we could go at a faster pace. Later he decided that he was fully capable of pulling the buggy with his bike too. It was harder than it looked so he hooked it up to F's little 3-wheeler.

Success! F thought she was pretty special being escorted around in her carriage.

We weren't all able to ride bikes at the same time. A couple of bikes need some mechanical attention. That was fine. We rode in shifts. Something being a part of a large family teaches a person is taking turns is a reality of life.

Taking turns is a good thing. Especially when it's not your turn for dish washing! Or picking up the living room.

I think it's her turn. We were too busy playing soccer and tag. All kinds of tag; cartoon tag, geography tag (seriously! my oldest even thought of that one!), toilet tag (don't ask), freeze tag, tunnel tag and A's favorite, tackle tag. That one didn't go over too well. I used to think I was fast. I'm not. My kids would stalk me out the way a lion does a wounded wildebeest. They have no mercy.

At least this one loves her mom. She wants to be everywhere I am. I guess this little guy does too.

This is what he does EVERY time I leave and he isn't able to come. He cries and says he'll miss me so much. He has to get at least one hug and one kiss. Then he gives me the "I love you" sign until I drive away. Very sweet, huh? Actually, it is very tempting to just sneak away so I don't have to go through this 5 minute, tearful goodbye. And why don't I just take him everywhere with me you ask. Take him to the store with you one time and you will never ask that question again. I promise. I decided to sign him up for Friday school this year. We'll see how it goes......

That is him ON the desk. You can join me in praying for his teacher. School starts this Friday for the enrichment school. It starts Tuesday here at home. Yep, fall is in the air!