Tree Trimming Fun!

Precious kids...and they smell good too!

Fresh from the tub!

The bottom heavy tree (must be a girl tree...hee hee)!

Picking out ornaments to hang.

Reed and Grandma Jane hanging ornaments.

Cassidy putting an ornament on the tree.

Can you tell she had fruit punch at dinner tonight?

We finished decorating the tree tonight! It took us 2 days. Yesterday we did tree assembly and lights. Tonight we hung all of the ornaments and trimmings. I actually enjoyed pacing ourselves. The kids were so cute. They "oohed and aahed" over every ornament.

In case you hadn't already figured it out, I'm not a very formal person. I'm guessing we won't win any Hallmark card moment awards with our fruit punch stained kids in all the pictures. I did get the cutie pictures after their baths though.

I was also so glad to see them hang all the ornaments in the one section in the front. How classic! Reed was so funny. He would see an ornament that he loved so he had to hang it on the same branch with another 2 ornaments that he loved. Or he would hang all three gingerbread men on the same branch since they were the same type of ornament.

Yes, I'm rearranging to even out the tree. I'll let you know if the kiddos notice!

Oh, Gobble,Gobble,Gobble Fat Turkey, Fat Turkey!

Us and what army is supposed to eat all of that food?!

We had a bountiful meal today!

Reed at his Thanksgiving party at school.

Cassidy at her Thanksgiving program. Her class sang the "Fat Turkey" song from which I stole the title. She was also chosen to be the last letter "G" in Thanksgiving. Her line was: "G is for Green Beans." And, if I may be so bold, she was the BEST "G" I've ever heard!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I rarely use this blog to write anything deep or profound... and yes, I know what that says about me! And I'm not really going to be deep or profound now, but I am going to share some of what I am so thankful for.

I have been trying to be more prayerful and introspective about my blessings over the past few days. I think I am especially guilty of sailing through my days without acknowledging just how amazing each moment is. I will never be accused of being overly sappy or emotional...dramatic, yes, emotional...not so much. And so, I think I just deal with each moment and move on without really relishing some things.

And the Lord has been calling me to take notice lately. So, I've compiled a list of some of the things I don't want to take for granted and I am thankful to God for.

1. Randy: He is such a great guy and I would RUN down the aisle to marry him all over again(He assures me he wouldn't be running the other way).

2. Healthy Reed and healthy Cassidy: These are two good kids. They are crazy energetic, but I am so glad they are happy, healthy and strong.

3. Our extended family: It is always difficult for me around holidays when our families are together without us. I question all the memories our children aren't going to have. But then I remember again that with modern technology, we are up-to-the-day informed with how everyone is. I love being able to talk to my family every day. The miles seem much smaller then.

4. Church family: There are those friends who "stand in the gap" for us. They love us, love our children, include us in their lives, send us on dates, laugh with us, share birthdays, sit at one end of our pew and bring a bag of goodies to distract the Cass, buy the right kind of bubble gum because they know the kids love it, help set up our tent in the dark, search for the perfect ballerina outfit, take Reed fishing and take pictures of the catch and my list could go on. We needed these people and the Lord has graciously given us a "family of friends."

5. Jobs: I have never taken for granted that Randy has a secure job that provides so well for our family...well enough that I get to maintain my status as a "lady of leisure" or, if you prefer,"chief pot washer and floor scrubber." I am also so very thankful that my family all have secure jobs in this time of great uncertainty.

6. Our country: Peaceful transfer of power from one party to the next is nothing to take for granted...just read the papers. Abundant food on the shelves in the stores, freely walking into worship, free public education, mail systems and the list could go on and on. For all that is uncertain and yes, a little scary, in our country - there is much more to be thankful and prayerful about.

7. Cars and a houseful of appliances: I am so glad we have working cars. I am thankful we have a house to live in. And I am REALLY thankful it is CHOCK FULL of useful things like: an air conditioner, a hot water heater, a dishwasher, an oven, a microwave, a washing machine and dryer. Seriously, if you take any one of those things away (there are more I'm not listing), I am in a MAJOR crisis!

8. my Vacuum cleaner: This one deserved its very own number just because I use it all the time. You all know we have ol' stinky brown dog in the house with us. I would go stark raving mad without my vacuum cleaner to suck up all the dog hair...just thinking about it makes me want to go vacuum.

9. our bathtub

10. Books: Mine and the ones I read with the kids each night.

11. The first 5 minutes of each morning with Reed and Cassidy...that's the only shot for cuddles!

12. Bedtime prayers and scriptures: We've been working on this one and I LOVE IT! You should just hear Cassidy say it...adorable! "The Lord you God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17"

13. Chocolate chips

14. God: The giver of all things, including His only Son (John 3;16). The author of a costly plan to save me even though He knows I am not only unworthy, but frequently ungrateful(Romans 5:8). The creator of the amazing world I live in who not only invites me to talk to Him, but longs for communication with me (Jeremiah 29:11-14). Above all else, for there is nothing without Him, I am profoundly grateful to know God, to be known by God and to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Well, there are some of the things I am thankful for. It is definitely a rewarding experience to write them down. There are more I could have written down and more I will think of and wish I had written down. I am ABUNDANTLY blessed: "...A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured in your lap. (the middle of Luke 6:38)."

Recovering Chairs

Seatless chairs
Randy, a.k.a Mr. Perfectionist, hard at work.

The beautiful finished product!

A priceless family photo!

Okay, so maybe this should have been done 3 months or more ago...no maybe about it. Our dining room chairs, inherited from Randy's Grandma Ruth, were in DIRE need of new seat covers...try the seat covers were approximately 40 years old. Now, don't get me wrong, the age wasn't the problem...it was the fact that one was ripped up. And, maybe...just maybe, had been ripped up for months and months.

So, anyhoo...we finally "bit the bullet" and decided to CARPE DIEM! Therefore, after only, 2 trips to the fabric store, 1 trip to Lowe's, 1 trip to ACE hardware, and 1 minor flesh wound (mine) the chairs are DONE. And, if I may say so, they look mighty fine.

May they last another 40 years!

P.S. You HAVE to click on the family picture to enlarge the image! You don't want to miss the full effect of Reed's disgust with this photo session. Can you tell he is ROLLING HIS EYES?! The twit! Oh, by the by, this was one attempt to get a decent family picture for Christmas cards. So I'm giving you fair warning: Don't set your expectations too high!

Student of the Month

Reed's picture on the bulletin board in the Multipurpose Room.
Reed and the Principal, Mr. Flynn. The Boy's Choir performed following the
awards presentations...that is who is in the background.

On stage with his certificate.

Reed, Mommy and Grandma Jane

Reed and Daddy...don't they look great?!

Reed and a classmate were chosen as "Students of the Month" for their class. The ceremony was today. He was very happy that his Dad and his Grandma Jane could be there to see him get his certificate. We are quite proud of Reed. His teacher wrote some very nice things about him that the principal read before giving Reed his certificate. What a good kid!

Gender Roles

Reed came in my room to show off his weapons,

so I asked him to stop for a picture. This is what I got.
Cassidy had a friend over on Friday. The girls spent 4 hours playing
dress up and babies. They were SO cute!

If you watch my kids role play for very long, it is obvious there is no gender confusion going on in my house. Now, don't get me wrong, Cassidy is one tough little girl...but she is going to look good stompin' in the pond or wrestling her brother to the ground.

Aren't they cute?!?

Final Count: 17 Bluegills and 1 Giant Carp

Happy Reed...unhappy bluegill.

On Tuesday, Reed and Cassidy spent about 2 hours at Paul and Lori's house while Randy and I made a quick exploratory trip to Toys-r-Us. While we were gone, Paul took Reed fishing at the pond in the center of their subdivision.

There we were, perusing the baby doll aisle, when Randy's phone rings. On the other end is an excited Paul telling us that Reed caught a 20 pound carp on Paul's ultra-lite pole all by himself. Reed explained later that his arms really hurt by the end, but that it was totally worth it.

When I went back over there to pick up the kids...(yes, Reed was crying because he had to quit fishing - how is it I got stuck with that stinky job?!?)...the guys filled me in on the final tally...17 bluegills and 1 giant carp.

Needless to say, Reed was on cloud 9! They didn't get a picture of the carp, but we have some shots of some HUGE bluegills!

Hillsborough River State Park

The launch

A beautiful November day on a beautiful river

The hawk. I thought I had some better close up pictures, but they were all blurry.

A little blue heron and a turtle sharing a log.

Randy carried each of the kids over to inspect a

little tree frog warming up on a leaf in the sun.

The little tree frog warming up.

We spent another enjoyable weekend at Hillsborough River State Park. I must say though, it was pretty cold each night. The days were gorgeous and warm, but about 4 AM was pretty coldy! Needless to say, I slept well in my own bed last night.

I've already got the first load of laundry in the machine this morning...there is a mountain of laundry. Everything we took smells strongly of campfire, so even the blankets and such need to be washed. Yeah for me.

The only pictures I took were on our canoe trip on Saturday. We enjoyed a beautiful lazy trip up and then down a stretch of the slow moving Hillsborough River. We saw a number of interesting things, but I think our favorite was the hawk eating a snake. (If we were Aztec or Mayan, that might mean we were destined for royalty or at least royal enough for some hot cocoa.) Reed, the lover of reptiles, was quite upset that the hawk was eating a snake. In his mind, snakes are much higher on the "cool list" than hawks and, therefore, should not be prey.

I'm glad we went and glad to be home...the mark of a success camping trip. I considered, briefly, letting some of the air out of the air mattress or dripping water on Randy's pillow to make his tent experience REALLY awful in an effort to boost my campaign for a pop-up camper. But it would have upset my night sleep too so, obviously, I couldn't do it. The cold nights and restless kids did help my cause some. We'll see.

Fall Party

Working on a gift for the widows at church.
Egg relay races

Paper airplane contest

Decorating cookies

Yes, Cassidy is wearing her Halloween costume again.

Yes, I let her.

Soaking wet Reed with his prize.

The face of success!

Reed gearing up to get his apple

Randy is "showing them how to do it."

He went first...definitely the least icky place.

Randy and I hosted a Fall party for the kids from church today at our house. We invited all of the kids from Middle School and below. Before you award us too many stars for our crowns though, that really only amounts to 18 kids total. We had 4 families plus ours attend for a total of 8 kids and 9 adults. And we had a lot of fun. Bobbing for apples was the #1 hit...go figure!

Halloween: From the Beautiful to the Spooky!

Ballerina Cassidy

Isn't she just gorgeous?!?
Yes, I'm her Mom!

So cute...I had to post another picture.

Her grandmas will thank me.

The making of a mummy.

Wrapping his head.

Reed's costume was slightly labor intensive.

He was very patient as we "mummified" him.

Trick or treating at our neighbor's house.

The annual Halloween picture.

To get the full effect, you should click on the picture to enlarge it.

Halloween was so fun this year! The kids have been excited all week and were so happy to put on their costumes and go Trick or Treating! I got them all "duded up", watched them go next door and then sent them on their way...with their DADDY! Yep, I stayed home and passed out candy to other people's children. And I liked it!

It has come to my attention from past year's experiences that I have a major Trick or Treat character flaw. I'm not sure if it comes from some highly competitive gene or that I am too tightly wound(say it isn't so?!) or some combo of both, but I have to FIGHT the urge to constantly hurry the kids along so we can hit all the houses BEFORE all the other kids do!

Now, that is truly pitiful.

I don't want the candy. I don't want the kids eating the candy. But I sure don't want someone getting all of the unwanted candy before my kids can!

I told you...CHARACTER FLAW!

So, I decided it would be way more fun for all involved if "Crazy Mom" stayed home to pass out the candy and "Nice, calm, normal Dad" took the 2 cuties on their way! And I was right. I had fun...I love seeing all the costumes. The kids had BIG FUN! And Dad had fun (or was, at least, enough resigned to his fate to not complain).