A time of thanks..

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for all that the Lord has done in our lives. I have a lot to be thankful for this year-my husband having a job in an otherwise tough economy, having the freedom to homeschool, my son's amazing recovery from his accident a few months ago, and so many more things. I could fill up this entire blog and still have more to say! Unfortunately, I find that I often take these things for granted and don't remember to give thanks to God as much as I should. To help my kids remember all that God has done for them, they each made a tree of thanks. They write down what they are thankful for on each leaf and then stick them on the tree. Each one holds about 25 leaves, so they had plenty to write down. It was great to read all the different leaves after they were done, listing both little and big things. We displayed them so everyone could have a chance to see!
In getting in gear for Thanksgiving, we decided to make some yummy pumpkin muffins. These were a big hit, even to those who think they didn't really like pumpkin!

Each of the kids also decorated their own Thanksgiving cookie, complete with frosting and fall-colored sprinkles. Very creative they were!

On Thanksgiving morning, as tradition would have it, the kids decorated the Christmas tree while watching the Thanksgiving Day parade.

The kids also played pin the hat on the turkey during some down time.

We had a wonderfully yummy Thanksgiving feast, which I failed to get a picture of. But it was tasty! Unfortunately, we had a sick child this year, so were unable to share the great meal with any guests. After the meal, when all the food was settled, we had a dessert of caramel apple pie, made by my 10 yo daughter and me, and this turkey.... Okay, it's not an actual turkey, but a carrot cake with cream cheese icing, in the shape of a turkey! It was my first time making a turkey cake and it was pretty fun!

We had a very blessed Thanksgiving. I hope yours was, too!

Little dude's birthday

Yep...today my little guy turns 2. My baby! I can't believe I'm saying that, as we always seem to have another baby in our house by this point. But as it is, we don't, so he has to stay a baby for a while longer for me, and this whole birthday thing is just messing that all up! I let each of my kiddos pick their birthday theme. His choice? Puppies! He loves, loves, loves puppies. The kids and I did a search for a cake that most resembled what he wanted and came up with 101 dalmatians. It was a little more involved in making it than I thought, but I think it came out pretty well. He loved it, which made me smile..makes it all worth it!

He got lots of presents from family, which he was a little unsure of how to open at first.

But once he got the hang of it, he was on a roll!

Of course, he needed to take a little snack break with some M&Ms

Then finally onto the cake. He needed some help from Dad blowing out the candle, but it's official.....hes's 2!!!!!!!!!!

Grandma's visit

We had the wonderful blessing of my mom visiting from Arizona last week for 4 days. It had been over 6 months since we had seen her last, so everyone was looking forward to it! Being that it wasn't a very long visit, my kids took it upon themselves to pack as much as they could into those 4 days! Of course, Grandma arrived with a bag full of gifts..one of which was personalized little purses for all the girls (they love 'em!)

They spent some down time looking through photo albums and remembering all the fun times they spent together!

The visit wouldn't be complete without baking some yummy cookies with Grandma. They actually were very yummy-I had to sample one...or two...okay, maybe three!

Oops..this one is sideways, but you can see that they put Grandma to work giving hairdos! They also like to take their turn fixing Grandma's hair, though we just make sure it's not right before we plan on going anywhere. :-)

Here's the final group picture of everyone together--please don't ask me why the big kid in the back just couldn't brush his hair.

We had a great time with her-it went too fast, but all the kids got some great bonding time with Grandma, creating some wonderful memories, which is how it should be!

He did it!

My 17 year old-my eldest-received something wonderful in the mail today-his official GED certificate! He is officially graduated from high school and ready to move on to bigger and better things in life. He took the test about 3 weeks ago and was uncertain as to how he did, especially on the math portion (nope..not a math lover!). He was pleasantly surprised to see his results-97 on the lang arts/reading portion and 90 on the science. Yay! The math? Well, not out of sight, but definitely above passing! He was delighted. I am so proud of him for this accomplishment, as I know it wasn't easy. I am looking forward, with a bit of sadness also, to the next phase in his life-I do know that God has many wonderful experiences in store for his future!

Pie making

My girls have been asking to make some pies for quite some time, so this week we made a date to do it! They invited a friend over and got busy baking! I premade the pie dough and they rolled it out...

Peeled and cored a whole bunch of apples!

Mixed them with the filling, put on a pretty lattice crust, and after baking for quite some time, they had 2 freshly baked apple pies-yum! Dad even declared they were better than storebought! I see more pie baking in our future!

Worms, worms everywhere!

For science this week, we learned about worms-a great creature to learn about when you have kids! In order to get an up close look, I bought a container of night-crawlers from Walmart. First, we discovered which end was the head and which was the tail (they look nearly the same). After that, we tried touching their head gently with a cotton swab, determining that they are sensitive to touch. Next, we dipped the cotton swab in nail polish remover and then held it close to its head. It didn't like that odor at all and coiled back quickly. Even more neat was when we held the swab up to its tail or any other part of its body, it had the same reaction. You see, God designed a worm's body to sense odor all over, not just in one part. Cool, huh? After we were done, I let the kids each take a worm outside to look at it and hold it (nicely). Here's a big one..

And my 7 yo with hers. It's funny how the girls all had names for theirs!

For something fun, we made a dirt cake, complete with oreo crumbs to look like dirt and gummy worms on the top. It was super yummy and they loved both making it and eating it!

2 years....

Today marked the 2nd anniversary since my Dad's death. Over the last 2 years, I've come to realize that grief is a journey. Just like a physical wound, time does help healing, but a scar will still be left behind. I don't miss my Dad any less than I did 2 years ago, certainly not. But life, as it does, goes on for those left behind. At this point, it's important for me to keep the memory of my father alive both for me and my kids. Last year, we set off balloons to celebrate his life. This year, the kids each wrote (or drew) about a special time they had with Grandpa. With kids, you'd think their best memories would be about the big stuff they did with him. No, it wasn't like that at all. They remember the little stuff-when he pushed them on the swing, played with them, or just listened to them. Isn't that what life is all about anyway-the little stuff? The past two years have changed me tremendously-in some ways positively, and others I am not so happy with. In all honesty, they've made changes in all of us. I know that the Lord brings good from every situation, and even in the midst of grieving, I have seen it. I don't know how I could have made it through such a tough time without the Lord by my side. When I have needed someone to cry to, He has been there. The most special time of each day now is the time early in the morning when I spend with Him, pouring out my heart and feeling His love toward me. With each passing day, I'm able to think back more positively on the memory of my Dad. I have come to see just how much I was like him, which makes me appreciate him even more. Though it saddens me to think of the rest of my life without him, the time I did have with him here will be forever treasured in my heart. I love you, Dad.