Doe, a deer, a female deer

Yep, that's my Goose with her first ever deer.  She was so excited to harvest this deer on her own (sitting by Dad) and her first words after the shot were "Thank you Jesus!"  My man couldn't have been more proud of his daughter.  It was a perfect shot, a quick kill, a major accomplishment and a memory that neither one of them will ever forget. 

Friends like family

What a fun week we shared with our friends the Jeffries.  Friends since WAY back in college, is was great to reconnect.  We've actually been able to do this a few times over the years so they are certainly not strangers to the kids.  We took the week off of school so the kids could play, the men could hunt and the women could scrapbook a few pages while trying to keep our sanity!  It was a FULL house with all these people squeezed in but it was full of laughs, love, stories and food as well.

The boys got along famously and spent  many, many hours locked in their room with the Legos.  Most shocking was that there were no requests to play video games ALL WEEK!!  Unheard of!  Just don't expect to see the carpet on their bedroom floor - it was replaced with the Legos.

These two girls were the biggest surprise.  Boo is usually tagging along with the older kids and their friends but doesn't have many close playmates.  All week these two were off playing pretend happily and expanding their adorable imaginations.  Goose got into the mix as well but she really bounced between the girls, boys and even the adults (going hunting once with "Grandpa Skip" to keep him company).

Everyone is already scheming to see if we can make another reunion next fall.

Spiderman is 11

Can you believe it?  Time still marches on.  My Spiderman keeps growing up no matter what I think about it. :)  He celebrated his birthday a couple weeks ago with the family but he's waiting another 2 to celebrate with his buddies so he can have a sleepover - uninterrupted by early morning soccer games.  He's practical, just like his momma.

This photo cracks me up because it was taken after a sleepover the night before.  He kept insisting all day, "I'm not tired.  I'm not at all."  The next thing we knew, the sugar wore off and he was curled in this rocking chair in the most uncomfortable position possible, SOUND ASLEEP! 

Here I am with my boys at the annual "Mother & Son Stampede".  They had a good time roasting marshmellows, running obstacle courses, playing soccer and decorating pumpkins all while I cheered them on.  They were thrilled to connect with their friends but realized they are getting a little old for the activities. They really are becoming young men and I am proud to be called their mom.

I see this guy growing up in many ways.  I marvel when I look back and see all the adjustments and changes he's made over the past 4 years.  He's still as sweet as ever and I catch him calling me "Mommy" pretty often when others have graduated to "Mom".  Those days are numbered I'm sure.  As you can see, we have not tired of Legos yet.  If you ask him, he plans to be a Lego designer in Denmark when he grows up.   

Choose life

Sunday was the annual Life Chain and the girls and I were glad to participate.  The goal of Life Chain is to have believers pray for an hour while standing along a busy sidewalk with approved signs that support the sanctity of human life.  I've been blessed to participate for maybe 10 years now but the last 2 my daughters have joined in on the opportunity.  It really moved me to watch these two precious ones who adore babies and who want to do "something" to end the tragedy of abortion. 

I believe there is power in prayer and each year as I stand there and pray for our nation and our leaders, I pray for the people who drive by and see the hundreds of signs along the road.  I pray that those who may have experienced an abortion would find healing in Jesus' forgiveness.  I pray that those who may be facing a tough decision (or will soon be in that situation) will remember that EVERY child (even preborn) has a purpose for their life and IS a wanted child - by their Heavenly Father and by the many adoptive families waiting for a baby to love.  I pray for the people in those cars to see the signs and be moved to see that men, women & children from various walks of life find LIFE something worth protecting and defending.  I pray for the next generation to see the lies of the abortion industry and to work to end this tragic, evil  and immoral practice.  I pray for God's mercy on our nation as I know we deserve His judgement for legalizing murder in this way.  I pray for change.

I hope you may have seen a similar demonstration in your own cities and towns.  I know this is a National Event and maybe you can look into organizing the Life Chain in your area next year.  One thing I'm certain of is that YOU CAN make a difference in some way to choose life.  Over 45 million Americans have had their lives ended this way and that number continues to grow.  Take a stand, vote pro-life and pray to God that history will show that this generation would not stand by and watch a holocaust of our most vulnerable citizens but fought back and with God's power, undid this horrible tragedy.

our harvest

Our garden this year has been just so-so and yet, we have been able to put up a lot of different things for the winter.  Above our some of our grapes that turned into jelly this past weekend.  Below are the green beans that we picked from a friend.  They are sitting in our freezer right now. 

Sometimes I wonder if all the work is worth it, it would be easier to buy everything from the store.  I must admit though that there is a sense of satisfaction when I see the shelves filled with pickles and salsa and jelly.  When I remember the chats I shared with the kids while planting the garden, weeding the garden, picking the food, snapping the beans, squishing the grapes, shucking the corn, chopping the cucumbers, processing the pesto, (you get the idea), I realize we have built some good memories.  My kids have seen the work that goes into their food, they know what it takes to make it grow (our failed crops have taught us as well), and they can appreciate that fresh garden salsa tastes better than what comes from the store.

As is the case in many things in life, it's the process that teaches you.  It's not just about the end result.  I hope they will be able to look back on these "simpler times" in our family and see that it's not just about vacations or outings but about the time spent together, laughing and working toward a common goal. 

Now the shelves are stocked and the canning supplies are put away.  We transitioned this week to full-time home schooling.  A different type of lessons lie ahead and I hope I can see the forest for the trees.  That the process of learning is just as important (dare I say, more imporrtant?) as the information we store away.  That dates in history and names of scientific processes are not as important as the joy of discovery and the warmth of learning things together.  My prayer is that I will have more patience and give more grace this year than I have in the past.  That I will have a sparkle in my eye for my children and not a scowl.  Feel free to pray that for us as well. :)

baby time

This is our new adventure this year.  Nope, we haven't adopted again.  Not foster care either.  We've taken on a babysitting job for the school year and are treating it as a favorite school subject - child care training.  The kids love Baby L.  (who's only 2 months old right now) and only 2 weeks into this adventure, they are catching on real quick.  "He's our pretend baby brother".  Obviously, this isn't work for them, it's love and fun. :)

These are the best moments - SNUGGLES!  This particular sweetie is great at cuddling.  It's so tempting to spoil him with lots of cuddles and kisses.... so we do. :)  This is the best way to have babies, 9 hours a day with no night time feedings. 

Even the boys are getting in on this adventure.  They all understand that ALL will learn diaper changing and feeding, not a problem (as long as they are only wet and not DIRTY!).  The kids already miss him on the weekends and I have a feeling this will be strange when our "duties" are over next Summer.

Cheaper by the Dozen

It's been a busy summer - as always - but this summer Goose talked me into doing some community theater.  She loves acting and I figured that since she would be going to practice and need a ride, why not stay and act right along with her?  Well, we did accomplish some fun memories and sweet mother/daughter time BUT it was a much bigger time commitment than I bargained for. 

As you can see, Goose was one of the Gilbreth dozen named Lillian.  I was Mrs. Fitzgerald, the cook.  Both were small roles and yet still took as much time at practice as everyone else.  Our only break was in memorizing fewer lines.  Now Goose is asking to be in all kinds of plays and I'm now wiser and much slower to commit.