Our Christmas tree outing

We set off Thanksgiving weekend for our annual Christmas tree hunt. We have found a forest service road that has a ravine about 1-2 miles in that has lots of trees within 100 yards of the road. So, the last 4 years we have harvested our tree from that area. We know the road and the area well. We were excited because this year my mom was here and was going to experience her first 'cutting down a Christmas tree' experience.

Because we got rid of our 4 door 4WD, most of us piled in the van and drove to the forest service road. There we met JR and we all piled into his 2 door 4WD Toyota pickup. The three boys in the small area behind the seat,


Granny in the front with JR and I climbed into the bed of the truck with all the snow. Away we went. As we approached our turn out where we park, we realized the road had not been fully plowed and there was a lot of snow on the shoulder of the road. There were some people coming up behind us, so in haste to get out of the way, we pulled off on the left side of the road so they could pass. Well, here was the result......

So, JR stayed behind and fought with the chains and the truck while we played in the snow (see us in the background of the above picture-the clump of trees in the upper right is where our tree came from). We brought a sled for JB, who loved it. Poor guy, it was the first time he had a snowsuit on and he could not move much.



B found a great tree and I retrieved the saw, cut it down and drug it out.

Yes, by the time we finished playing and I got the tree down to the road, JR had gotten the truck out, but only after an hour and 15 minutes of digging, cutting down branches for traction, digging, inching forward and backward, more digging, taking the chains on and off, digging and praying. For some reason we did not have the shovel in the truck (digging by hand) and JR had not worn snow pants. Needless to say he was soaked so he headed back to the house with JB, while we took the other two sledding.



J's hat kept sliding down over his eyes but it did not stop his smile

Caught B's wipeout on film

Consoling him before we decided the day had had enough adventure and energy spent. We needed to head home before someone got hurt.


(for some reason having problems now downloading, so will post the rest of the day and pictures hopefully tomorrow.)

Thankful

Thankful for a God who knows me better than I know myself.
Thankful for a God who knows my every thought and still loves me.
Thankful for a God who always has my best at hand, even though from my viewpoint it does not appear 'best'.
Thankful for a God who is a refuge and hiding place in the storms of life.
Thankful for a God who is big enough to handle my questions, fears, anger, doubt.
Thankful for a God who is slow to anger.
Thankful for a God who always offers His forgiveness.
Thankful for a God who will never leave me or forsake me.
Thankful for a God who knows my every need before it is spoken.
Thankful for a God who promises me eternal life.
Thankful for a God who created the universe yet is concerned with little ol' me.
Thankful for a God who loves me without conditions.

Ketchup, zippers and poppy seed

Winter is here. I was out this morning and it was 11 degrees, blowing snow and about 3 inches on the ground! This afternoon took the boys to Mickey D's to run and play. I think they did more screaming and laughing than anything!
Jbird is so proud of himself. He can now zip his jacket by himself!
Went up to B's class on Friday. I just love hanging out with them. I love being called B's mom. Some of them were horsing around on the playground before lunch, when they were suppose to be lined up and quiet. I had made a comment that the first part of the line should go on inside to lunch and the other half of the line should have to stand out in the cold for a little longer. The aides overheard me and thought that was a great idea. They asked me who it was that was not in line. I told them from B and backwards. B was not too happy with me but I told him his mom 'ratted' him out.
A few days ago we headed to Burger King, JR's restaurant of choice. For the first time, we let JB dip french fries and nuggets in ketchup. He thought that was very good. The next day I gave him some chicken with some ranch in the side of the bowl. Before I knew it, he had dumped all the chicken out and was licking the ranch out of the bowl. For most of this week, he has had some diarrhea on and off. I thought it was getting better. Oh no. While he was eating in his chair today, he had a blow out..... all the way down his pant leg and onto the floor. What was really bad, he had 2 poppy seed muffins for breakfast. It was gross - the pick him up by the armpits and carry him at arm length straight to the shower gross.
JR attempted to start on the elk today....did not go according to plan. Thankful for the meat that will soon be in the freezer (or if the weather keeps up, can store it in the back yard) but ready to get rid of the yuck smell in the garage. It will probably take the better part of 2 days to process it. My mom just might get in on some of the action, as she arrives on Tuesday.
Been trying all week to get some video downloaded but maybe a project for Monday. Off to lay down with the boys and then take a bath and read a book.

The elk

JR camped out last night and then got up early to hunt. I don't know much of the details, but he got a bull elk and a doe. He was about 2 miles back and it took a long time to cut it up. He did not get the elk very far, so ended up calling some friends who came and helped him with the quarters and JR gave them the doe!

Christmas photo

I am so wanting to use this as our christmas photo, but will just post it here for all to enjoy! He did calm down and we got a good one later on!

school

Yesterday I went into the classroom. B's teacher has volunteers lined up every other week to come in and help with 'stuff'. Usually time consuming projects the teacher has to get ready for the kids to do. I have never really had a teacher as a good friend, so I don't know the time that goes in to preparations, decorating room, changing out seasonal stuff, etc. Every day after lunch the class sings a song about loose, wiggly, lost teeth. Any student that has lost a tooth has the opportunity to tell the class about it and then they get a gold chocolate coin. B is one of two who has not lost a tooth yet. I also heard, while I was in the classroom a few girls walking around the room singing the "k-i-s-s-i-n-g" song. I sort of smiled, as I thought back to those days. Then I heard the teacher tell them that that is teasing and is not allowed in the school. Sad, how things have changed.
JB has been waking up before the others lately. When he wakes up and does not hear any other noises, he just lays in bed and laughs and babbles. Not sure what he is laughing at but love hearing him. However, when he hears any sounds of someone up, you can hear him scramble to his feet and start whining for someone to get him out. Have noticed some eczema type spots on his back. Jbrid gets these when he eats dairy and eggs, so not sure if we have a third boy allergic to dairy (milder allergies, but none the less).

B has started taking spelling tests at school. So interesting to be on this side of it and see how the fundamentals are taught. He has always spelled the words right but always gotten docked for how he wrote his letters. This week he only made 2 mistakes and that was mixing up a b and d. He was so excited when he showed me he spelling test. He gave me a huge hug. Makes all the practicing at home worth it. He is getting fluent at reading. He still tends to do much better when he is reading word lists, versus words in a book. He still tries to look at pictures and guess the words. He has also been eating a lot these days. Sometimes I look at him and try to determine where he put all that food - just an indication of what is to come. We are also working on counting money. I did not realize what a chore that would be. For a kid with amazing memory, he has a hard time remembering what is worth 5 cents, 10 cents, etc.

Jbird is growing too. I have already pulled out his 4 year old pants. (He will be four in March). One pair of pants is cargo type. They make him look so grown up, knowing his legs are long enough for pockets on the side of pants. Last night a friend of ours was having a CD Release Party (she just made a CD of Amy Carmicheal poems). She gave a mini concert and the boys had never been to a concert before. Jbird sat there with his ears covered saying how loud the music was, yet he fell asleep in my arms. Afterward they had cookies and I could not even get him to wake up for that. I found out he is getting too heavy for me to carry great distances.

Off to run a few errands and try to get the 'christmas' photo.

Miscellaneous

B's joke for this week, which he tells every day is "why did the bird fly south?"....because it was too far to walk. Two tough questions he has asked recently are "is Santa real?" and "how do you grow hair on your chest?". I understand the Santa comment with the holidays here, but the chest hair.....



JB is starting to initiate walking. If you ask him to stand up and walk, he proudly shows off his 6 or 7 steps before crashing to the floor in squeals. He had speech today and she could not get him to communicate with his hands but he did make a lot of vowel sounds, but not really any consonants. He sure is babbling a lot at home.



Jbird and I have gotten lots of couch time the last couple of days. He likes to watch PBS and I sit with him for a few minutes, holding him and playing with his hair. It always works---he goes to sleep and then I just sit and hold him. That is one thing I like about the winter. When the weather is warm and sunny, I feel bad being inside but when it is cold out, just bundle up under the covers and hang out. His friend Johnny is over right now. I just love to hear them talk amongst themselves. Recently John asked Jbird if Jbird dreamed about him. They are both into the 'you cheated' stage. Johnny was trying to convince Jbird that he was strong. Jbird would have nothing of it...telling him he was not strong enough to lift a heavy box. Johnny said 'yes, I am....see' to which Jbird turned around and said 'i am not looking'

The laundry is done for the day and I have actually emptied the ironing basket. Off to do a few more projects while JB is napping!!!!



Friday I am headed into B's classroom, always look forward for opportunities to get to know more of the kids.

Snowfall

As you can tell from the pictures...the snow is here. Why is it dark in the photos? Because it was 6:30 in the morning! I sure hope they will be this gung-ho when they are preteens to get out and shovel. B actually wanted to go outside at 5:45 but I told him it was too early to get out of bed. At what age do they start wanting to stay in bed and not insisting that the whole family gets up when they do??

Yes, seems like daylight savings time has confused their little bodies. They are going to be just fine, but waking up an hour early. I sure hope it stops soon!

One of Jbird's favorite things to say these past few days...he was walk up close behind me and say "so, mamma, how are YOU today". So precious. We have also been working on being a servant around the house. The most favorite way to serve our siblings....bring them their toothbrush with toothpaste on it. Whatever it takes!

B got a 'dog tag' yesterday at school for perfect attendance this quarter. He was so excited. He saw me across the school yard and came running to me saying guess what I got today. Oh the little things that so excite him.

Snow is coming

We are in the 60s - AGAIN. However ***sigh***, it appears it will all come to an end tonight. Snow is forecasted for tomorrow and into the week. It is hard knowing this is the last day above 40 we will probably have in the next 4-5 months. One person that is excited, is little Jbird. He wants to build a snowman. I am ashamed to say that I have never been a 'let's bundle up and go outside' kind of mom. So, my kids have never built a snowman. However, I vow to make that different this winter. We will build snowmen, snowangels and I plan on even initiating sledding. Now that the boys are getting older and don't require carrying them up the hill (JB is the exception)!

JB is taking more steps but still prefers to crawl. He needs to hurry up though....almost all of his pants have holes in the knees. Yesterday I was doing some work upstairs and knew it was quite downstairs. However, I was hopefully. I should not have been. When I got down there, JB was standing on the step stool, with a pile of honey and pecans on the counter. Needless to say, he was enjoying his sweet dessert. He now has his first psuedo word. He says "pa" for up.

It is amazing what entertains the boys. They found some kid magazines and decided they needed to cut out pictures and decorate the doors in the house. A few magazines, scissors, step stool and tape kept them busy for an hour. I took the following picture. I tried to get them to smile but Jbird informed me that he was not going to turn around because he needed to focus.


The days have been so nice this week we have spent time outside riding bikes and playing tennis, basketball, football and soccer. Whenever Jbird wants to go outside, he will say 'it is such a gorgeous day, we need to be outside....'

I have managed to keep my laundry room clean for a week. No clean clothes laying around but everything put up. It is probably anal, but I think I have come up with a system that works for me. I wash pants, underwear and pajamas on Monday and I wash shirts, socks, towels, etc on Thursday. I load up the washing machine the night before and put it on delay start so that it starts early in the morning. The first load is ready for the dryer about the time I wake up and then I switch it out and start the second load. Most mornings, all the clothes are clean by the 9am. I find I am more motivated to fold the laundry right away when I am folding like articles of clothing. And I don't have to think throughout the week 'I need to do laundry'. It is working for me.

JR went out hunting yesterday and did not see anything. I think most hunters are waiting for the snow to fly to bring the animals down. Less than 3 weeks left of the regular season!

Off to enjoy our last warm weather until probably mid April or early May.

Teacher Conference

(I know the grandparents like updates, so will try to post more often - but might be nothing but the mundane...)
I put hard sole shoes on JB for the first time and he did not like it. He very seldom has on shoes and when he does they are soft soled. He just takes socks and shoes off. With the colder weather and snow coming, trying to get him used to it, but quite the battle.

Jbird has been exhausted of late. Actually all three boys were out by 7:00 tonight.

Had B's teacher conference today. I found myself more than once laughing at what the teacher said, cause it is so B. They have all the kids in first grade divided up into 3 different math and reading levels and then each teacher is assigned a different level (so their homeroom teacher might not be their math or reading teacher). B is at the low end of the first level in reading and at the high end of the second level in math. Seems that he puzzled the teachers initially in reading. He often guesses at words, instead of trying to sound them out. Your first thought is that he cannot read but he does fairly well. With familiar words he is a great reader but with unfamiliar words, you never know what you are going to get. They had the hardest time finding an appropriate reading group for him. I asked her if she felt like he was going to be one of those students that knew the material but did not test well and she said possibly, something to watch for. One of the comments that she added on the report card was that 'B is a fun, enthusiastic learner and adds much to the discussion but needs reminders to talk less and work more. He also struggles with other children who aren't following directions and becoming very concerned for them and making his concerns known.' Just cracks me up. So when I got home I told him what she had said about his volume in the classroom and needing to be concerned for just himself. A few minutes later he felt the need to tell me something about J and I reminded him that we are working on being concerned with just himself. He made it very clear that he was only working on that at school but that at home he could worry about others.
Oh, I am so excited to see what path God has for this guy! He has such a strong personality and an enthusiasm that is contagious!

Candy Galore

It is November 3 and I am comfortably wearing shorts!! The best fall anyone around here can remember!

We always end up with so much candy. I think I have finally gotten smart this year and figured out how to handle it so it does not cause huge issues in our house. Because of B's recent 'choking' on hard candy, I pull out all hard candy and then other candy that would not melt (suckers, nerds, etc) and put them aside to put in our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes! This way kids who never have candy can have some of ours and I don't have to buy candy. (I also told someone recently that I have never bought candy for Halloween. We get very few trick or treaters and if some come after we get home, I give them some of my boys candy - I am learning to be frugal!


I always use to hear 'can I have candy'. So I decided this year they get 3 pieces of candy (I figure three of the small pieces is still smaller than what they would get in a regular size candy bar/package). Every morning, once their beds are made, pajamas put away, they are dressed for the day and brush their teeth, then they can pick out their 3 pieces of candy for the day. They can eat it whenever they like, but fortunately, they are learning to space it out and save one for morning, afternoon and after dinner. This works out great because I don't hound them about getting dressed and they are learning to ration their candy and not eat all at once.


Was outside with J today. I was on the ground holding the football and was amazed that he can actually kick it with some distance. His coordination and balance has always amazed me. He is convinced there are touchdowns in baseball and that in football you say 'ready, set, go' instead of 'down, set, hut'. No arguing with that guy!

Speech went well today. She is focusing on playing with JB and finding out what sounds he does make. She worked with him some on 'more' and how it is used. She did notice, which I had never noticed, that he does put his hands to his chest when he is trying to say/indicate 'me'. So we are really praising whenever he uses any sound or gesture that is close to what it should be.

Halloween

Saturday we went to a local high school football game - one of the small rural towns is in the playoffs. The boys enjoyed it. They did not know what to think about all the screaming people and the cheer leaders. JB enjoyed the band. JB sat very quietly in my lap, while the boys stood by the fence (we were on the first row of the bleachers). Half time I put JB down to let him move a bit and it was all over. He knew then that he did not have to sit, so corraling him the rest of the game was hard. At one point, he crawled over to the chain link fence and soon found himself a few inches off the ground. He had figured out climbing up and had a very firm grip. I would have loved to have seen how high he would have gone, but did not want to alarm any of the other parents, who had already called B off the fence.

Sunday we went to B's last soccer game. The team we played Sunday was the team we played at the beginning of the season. We got creamed that first game. Their coach is very competitive and pushes his boys, too much so in my opinion. So, was quite surprised to see us score first. Twice during that first quarter the other team flat out blew it on what should have been hands down easy, run away goals. I could not believe how frustrated the other coach got. I was so hoping, and should not have been, not that we were going to win, but the other team would lose. We ended the first quarter up 1-0. Then in the second quarter, the other team scored 5 times in 8 minutes. I have no idea what the end score was, but it was pretty one sided. At the end of the game, our coach gave the boys medals. As he put B's medal around his neck, he told B he was an animal out there and played really well, if he could just learn to kick the ball in the right direction. We all laughed. I could not believe how aggressive he was, charging the ball the whole 8 minute quarter. He was one kick away from making a goal.

We then headed to the mall to trick or treat. Total chaos. One store was out of candy so they were giving away perfume samples. When we got back to the car, J decided to spray his perfume all over the car. We then headed to a church fall festival and then hit a local neighborhood for some door to door. I did not even get a picture, but B was Spiderman, J was Jedi and JB was a dog. Time to hit the stores this week for deeply discounted costumes for the dress up box.

JR got two does while hunting Saturday. He was on private land and got them fairly quickly because he was home by noon and the ranch was over an hour away. He said that at one point he started to take a shot and for some reason did not. As he got closer, he realized there had been a hunter hiding in the trees in the exact area he was eyeing some deer. God watched out for him.

Yesterday I ran into a casual acquaintance. I had seen her 2 weeks ago and we exchanged phone numbers but I had forgotten to call her the next week. Anyway, she asked me if I did bible studies and I told her yes. Then she said that maybe we could do one together. An open invitation! (thinking about Marquis' mom and this gal together....)

JB starts speech tomorrow and I have B's teacher's conference on Thurs. Will be interesting!