pics

Todd bought some size L shirts!!

Fri. "Fun Girl Day" (with a guest):

We went to library storytime for the girls' age

Then Todd met us for lunch (wehad Applebees healthy menu)

 The boys' violin class:

 Tonight Abbie ate food for the first time! Only a little actually got in her mouth:



pumpkins gave me a new perspective

In Oct., we got some pumpkins, and I let each of the boys pick out "their" pumpkin. At our first feast activity, I brought the pumpkins for decorations. After the activity, I was just going to leave them in the woods for the animals to eat for the winter:) since we didn't need them. Another mom asked if she could take them to roast the seeds and I said yes, because I was going to leave them anyway. We didn't need pumpkins after Halloween. When the boys saw the other family's kids carrying "their" pumpkins into the other family's car, they got so mad! Todd and I tried to tell them that we were just going to throw them away anyway, so we said they could have them. Todd was trying to be nice and offered to give them money for the pumpkins. The boys said that all they wanted was the pumpkins and went on whining and complaining about it for a while.

That night Todd and I were talking about how the boys have ALL these things we do for them, and instead of being grateful, they were SO upset about these pumpkins. They couldn't just move on. I asked them if they had fun at the first feast (Todd and I spent a lot of time and money on that activity, and so did the other families), and they said no, because they lost their pumpkins.

Little did they know that the pumpkins weren't really "their" pumpkins anyway. They were given to them, but I decided when it was time to throw them out. They would have rotted in the snow outside anyway. I know more than them. I know when it's best to take them.

That's when I thought, maybe that's what Heavenly Father feels like with us. I had read a blog about a mother whose little 18 month old girl had died and thought about this post she wrote: http://patrickandashley.blogspot.com/2010/09/answers.html
Maybe Heavenly Father thinks that we don't see all of our blessings when one is taken away. But it wasn't ours in the first place, it was His to take away, because He knows what is best.

That's one of the lessons I get from the pilgrims and indians thanksgiving story. Here half of them had just died, and they were having a feast of thanksgiving for the blessings they had received.
I love Thanksgiving and being able to focus on gratitude. I want to try and keep the gratitude spirit through Christmas as well. We'll write thank you letters to Santa.

First Feast

This year we had a "First Feast" with our homeschool group. First Feast is where we have a feast like the pilgrims and indians did for the first thanksgiving. We have authentic food and activities. It was a ton of fun, and the weather was perfect!!

You should have seen the food! Tons of food, with lots of variety!!

 Playing stool ball (with a bale of hay instead of stools). Katherine is sitting on our "base":

Playing stool ball:

Alex got cut on his finger and wailed:

archery:

corn husk dolls:

Nathan writing with a quill and ink:

Nathan's man corn husk doll; and Katherine eating the raw corn cob:

Lots of fun!!!

the fierce dragon

The boys just got on their knight armor, helmet and swords and were "defeating" a bee that got in our house. They smooshed it and said they defeated the fierce dragon! Silly boys.

Our first concert!!!

Our Halloween concert for you. We are dressed up as a nudist colony for Halloween:). Happy Halloween!

Maybe we'll be a musical family!! OOOO that would be fun!!

Sunday journals

Sundays are journal writing days. The boys have to write as many sentences as their age. Here is Nathan and Katherine writing in journals.

fun girl days!

One of the books I got at the library for Katherine was "Dance Tanya" about a little girl doing ballet. After we read the book, we watched ballerinas on youtube. Katherine was mesmerized by the ballerinas! On Fridays the boys have school at Liberty Academy, so Fridays are fun girl days!So for our first fun girl day, we went to get Katherine some "dancing clothes", ballet shoes and a ballerina backpack. She picked it all out. The lady there told us about some places that do "mommy and Me" dance classes for her age, so we signed up for a dance class. Last Tues. was her first day and she really loved it! I thought she might be shy, but she wasn't at all. All week she's been asking to go dancing again.

 Our first fun girl day, after we got her dancing clothes, we went to out to lunch and shared a fresh basil pizza. Then we went window shopping at Michaels and I got a wood dollhouse to make for her for Christmas.

 This past girl day we went to Barnes and Nobles. I brought our little Halloween teacups, and had them put our hot chocolate and whip cream in our teacups and we had cute little autumn treats and read Halloween books:

Then we went window shopping at a toy store and we played with the toys they had out to try.

I can't wait until the next fun girl day!

Our Oct. activities- backwards

Halloween:

Every year we go trick or treating at Todd's grandparents' house:

 It was raining and I told the boys they could go trick or treating if they wanted, but I was waiting until it stopped raining. They went outside, then went right back in. It stopped raining not too long after that, and they went trick or treating for a long time and got 2 1/2 pounds of candy each! I stayed in the car and drove with them. The girls stayed at the grandparents' with Todd.

 From 3-5pm we went to the homeschool Halloween party and did a healthy trick or treating- only trinkets, raisins, pretzels, etc. We had a soup dinner there and games for the kids:

 Mummy dogs in coffins (turkey dogs):

 The "Award Winning Halloween Cake" that was healthy-ized this year.

 One day I decided to make homemade pesto. Todd was gone. I felt so domestic! Nice garden tomatoes (thanks Secelie!):

 Our homegrown basil, olive oil from Napa, and pinenuts....see a problem?

The result! I was so proud! Todd came home and asked, Did you shell the pinenuts?......oops. Reason 587 why Todd is the cook in our family.

Our Oct. uniforms. In Oct. we all wear our Halloween clothes pretty much every day.

 Painting pumpkins:

 Our tradition of our Halloween service project. We stuff treat bags to give to the United Way to take to hospitals, shelters, etc. for kids who can't go trick or treating. It's easy for kids to do, so we've done it every year. We did it with boys club at the park, so the kids could play after we made the treat bags. We made about 60 bags, so each kid got to take one home. We also had apple cider for the boys (and moms).

 Katherine was holding up the assembly line a little, and Nathan thought that was so funny:) :

P.S. Guess what my mom did for Halloween? She needed master gardener hours to keep her master gardener title, so she called the office and asked what she could do, since it was the last weekend of the month. The lady said she could do something for "office hours." So last night, my mom was part of a haunted hayride. She held a butcher knife and pretended to chop a guy's leg off, and then she threw a fake leg at the people on the hayride. That's what she did for "master gardener" hours! I laughed and laughed and laughed! Then I told the kids, "Guess what your Nana's doing for Halloween??"

P.S.S. This year we started a new tradition. The kids can eat a few Halloween candies, then they put out their trick or treat bag with candy in it for the "witches". During the night the witches take the candy and leave money in their bags.

P.S.S.S. Today we are making "happy potion" (rootbeer). This picture is after we drunk most of it.

Todd made this for dinner- bloody brains (meatloaf), ghost mashed potatoes and goblin toes (edamame)