Testing.....testing.......

Amy
Sarah
Theo
Marty
The new "ranking belts" Check out how loooong those belts are, too!

The kids all tested Wednesday night for their yellow belts in Tae Kwon Do. Boy, were they proud to achieve them! They take it very seriously, and practice a lot. We are very proud, too.

No substitute teacher available

when Mama was sick, so we made play dough and talked about caves.

Mittens, mittens, everywhere

but never a pair.........

I knit these 40 mittens (and a few more) for part of our Christmas gifts this year. On a wreath, I will attach a mitten of the appropriate gender for each family member in the family who will receive the wreath. I think they will be cute, and I hope they go over well. Maybe I'll get finished pictures posted too.

A good hiding place

health report...

Matt is still healthy. Theo is still feeling a bit "if-you-look-at-me-wrong-I'll-melt-down" under the weather. Marty seems to be feeling great, albeit, loudly. Sarah has a drippy nose and slight sore throat. Amy fell asleep on the couch at 8:15 (unheard of). As for me, my ears are better; it's just a cold, and will take time to get through. We had a light school day today after which we made and played with lots of play dough and read stories.

Thanks for the prayers--they are working.

We're all getting sick around here

Marty was sick on Thanksgiving. Theo's cold is at the worst part and he went to bed (on his own) at 7pm. Amy has been snuffling all day and feels icky. Sarah wondered if she'd be well enough to go to Mass tomorrow since she feels rotten too (she's getting a cold). I have a very sore throat and both ears hurt. So far, Matt is well, but I did hear him sneeze today.

It surprises me to be sick when the weather is so nice. Actually, today it was cold (45*--I know, it's all relative, and my relatives are freezing!) but the sun was shining all day. I guess winter "bugs" know when it's winter, no matter what the weather. Please say a prayer or 2 for us, would you? I'll keep you updated. Thanks!

Thanksgiving doin's

Act 2 of the playMichael looking a tTheo's lapbook
Scott and Amy
Oops! Sorry Stacy!
Lots of good food, too!

Fall colors

I loved these
Aunt Ruth's driveway
and her yard
Marty was thrilled to find these "little" pinecones

I wish

for all of you a .......

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'll just say I'm sorry first....

This is what our part of the world looks like today, the day before Thanksgiving.

I heard it's snowing in Iowa.

It's also blowing in Iowa.

It's also very cold in Iowa.

I wish I was there.

Today, I have an ache inside my heart. I truly didn't think I would be sad here at the holidays, and this has caught me off guard. I keep thinking of that cozy feeling of watching the snow and knowing your family was all going to be together tomorrow, safe and warm inside. I know, we would worry if everyone could make it, and we would worry that the roads would get bad. We would be complaining about the cold, the snow, the mess.

Natives to this climate are feeling happy and thankful, and are preparing for the holiday. I know this because I was just at Wal Mart...they are preparing, I can assure you! Tomorrow, we will travel north to Matt's aunt's house where we will have a great day, and a lot of good food and fun, I'm sure. I just wish it was cold......and snowy......and.....

Iowa.

Remember, I apologized first.

Something pretty and something funny

Here's the pretty:

We received this beautiful bouquet yesterday from my favorite sister. Thank you Le-Le--it's so pretty! Click on the picture to read the poem we are memorizing for November.

Here's the funny:

But Mama, we DID put the clip on the popcorn!

Craft of the week

Over at the 4 Real board, members are hosting the craft of the week every Monday. Guess what? It's my turn! I am so grateful for the ladies at the 4 Real board and all the support and inspiration they have given me this last year. So in the spirit of gratefulness, here we go.....

You will need: big paper, paper plates, scissors, pencil, fall colored paints, paintbrush, sponges, clothespins, and some sort of leaf template. I made mine from leaf rubbings glued to cardboard. Not pictured, but needed, is fall colored paper (red, yellow, orange).

First, draw a rough tree trunk shape and paint it brown. Then, clip a clothespin onto a piece of sponge, and use that to stamp "leaves" onto your tree. Just be random about it. (You can click on the picture to see the "sponge brushes" better).
Trace and cut out lots of leaves. We used 3 per person.
Lay out the leaves on a towel and spray them with water, front and back. Don't soak them, just a spritz will do. While they are wet,crumple them up in your hand, then carefully smooth them out again. This gives them a realistic look, and the kids think it's cool, too! Let them dry.
Have each person write something they are thankful for on a leaf, and glue them to the tree. We hung ours on the wall to enjoy. Other years, I have given a leaf to each guest to write on, them clipped them to a twine garland strung across a doorway in the dining room. Either way, they are fun to make and pretty to look at.

I hope you all have fun with this craft, and I hope you all have a Blessed and

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jacket factory

Finally I have finished all the jackets. Actually, I have made 5, but one child, (whose identity will remain secret), didn't like the original color choices. There is a happy little girl out there wearing a pink and orange version of the aboove jacket, and there are 4 happy and warm kidlets here.

Also, please note the denim jumpers the girls are wearing. I made those last night, and they found them hanging in their closet this morning before mass.

Lap book information

AfterI posted those pictures, I thought maybe I should have been more explicit. All the little books inside the lap books open to reveal the information we learned. Later I'll take more pictures and you can see what I mean. Anyway, there's a lot of stuff in each one!

More lapbook photos

Amy's, completely opened.
This shows Marty's and Theo's at the first opening. TBird's, completely open.
Marty's, completely open.

We had a lot of fun with these, and learned a lot. The kids are putting on a play on Thanksgiving, using some of what they learned. With a little math everyday, we cover it all.

We love this kind of school!

Thanksgiving lapbooks

We have been busy the last 2 weeks studying the Pilgrims and making our Thanksgiving lapbooks. This shows the fronts of all 4.

Top: Marty's and Amy's

Bottom:

Theo's and Sarah's

This is Amy's as first opened.

Sarah's, opened.

Amy's , completely opened.

Sarah made these cute pilgrims and indians with her fingerprints.

Scenes from our lives this week

Theo's part of the conversation with Aunt Lynn on Sunday night.
This is "the boat."
Apparently they like the bread I baked...
It was cinnamon bread and Sarah liked it!
And finally--What is wrong with this picture?

Well, let's see. Could it be that there are kids making mud pies? No, that's pretty normal kid stuff. Could it be that they are wearing a mixture of summer and winter clothing? No, that's pretty normal around here, too. Hmmmmmm...................................

Oh, yeah, it's November 14th and it's that warm outside.

That's just too weird.

Just me, again.

Please note: no prednisone for 9 days; 2 hives. Pretty good totals, huh? By the way, that picture of me eating bread is referring to spelt bread, made in my kitchen, by myself. It was soooooo worth it.

Tonight we started the "boat." As in, the Mayflower. The kids are putting on a play for Thanksgiving, and naturally, we needed a boat. It is large--it is very cool. It has a gold anchor. We are proud. We aren't necessarily true to life--you know, the gold anchor bit--but, we are proud. Photos and maybe even a movie to follow in the future. Please, try to remain in your seats.

Me

Eating bread. First time in 27 days.

Enough said.

ABC's of a Farmer

All Saints Day Party

The Saint Walk--we did this one and played When the Saints Go Marching In
Candy consumption in progress
Playing Red Rover--it was the Saints versus the devils
This is Mary Terese. She just tickles me everytime we see her.
What a fun time we had! There were 9 moms and 50 kids!!

WaterTreatment 101

Eeeeeeeewwwwwwwww........
Can you tell what Sarah and Amy are thinking?
But, no matter how baaaad it is, we must investigate.
And as a side note, wearing your winter boots makes everything nicer!?!

The owners of our house agreed to pump the septic tank last week. Good thing, too, since it was FULL. Of course, I used it as an opportunity to teach something. We learned how big septic tanks can be, where they dump the stuff they pump out, how many tank loads will fit in the man's truck, and exactly where our septic tank is. Very interesting, and, very smelly.

I think the guy was impressed with how much the kids already knew about water treatment. They were going on and on about how that stuff looks like the "chocolate milk tank at Papa's work" (aka--oh nevermind, you don't want to even know what the chocolate milk tank holds). Then they proceeded to tell the guy how "Papa does that, except he's the boss so he really doesn't do that stuff." Hey, we're nothin' if not honest.