Happy Thanksgiving!
So hard to believe the holidays are upon us again. It is so easy to be thankful for the big things...health, house, job, etc. I have been reflecting lately on the smaller things that I am very glad I have in my life.
Like.....
crock pots
gloves
my comfy chair where I sit every morning before the rest of the house stirs with my bible and cup of tea.
toilet plungers
my electric blanket (along with my bedspread and wool blanket - all 3 of which I sleep with every night)
light bulbs
drive thru pharmacies
running water
spray bottles
candles
technology

And can't ever forget the freedom we have along with my faith - that keeps me going when the going gets tough!

I spent 6 hours in the kitchen on Wednesday, so I would not have to do anything on Thursday. Sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and stuffing ready to go in the oven. Pecan pie already cooked. As is the turkey...found a recipe to do it the day before. So it is cut and ready to be warmed tomorrow. I can tell you I will never cook a 23 pound turkey again without buying one of those huge foil roasting pans. (A local business was giving away free turkeys, so that is why I had such a huge one). I managed to get butter all over the bottom of the oven and it took 20 minutes for the butter to burn off. Meanwhile the house filled with smoke and smoke alarm went off. Several fans along with open doors and windows finally cleared it out. So thankful I did it all on Wednesday, so I can just enjoy the day Thursday. Everything was homemade...down to the stuffing, pie crust and cream of chicken soup I used for green beans.

No plans today. Just hanging with the family, hopefully watching the parade, football and playing some games. We will see what other things the day holds.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, enjoy family and friends. I know I will! (B just asked me why I typed 'I know I will' when we don't have any friends or family coming over...I quickly reminded him that he is my family :-) )

It has been very quiet week!!!

Just a few pictures from last nights robotics class.

The robot is suppose to be programmed to roll up to the 'cow' and pick it up.

The younger two each have a birthday party on Saturday to go to. Other than that, not much on the docket for the weekend - besides church.

Teacher conferences were this past week.  All in all, just about what I expected.  Jbird's teacher made a very interesting observation.  He said that Jbird is amazing with math.  He gets concepts easily and quickly in his head.  (I am amazed when I do mental math with him and when I listen to him count money.)  However, his teacher was shocked when they took their first test.  Jbird missed about half of them.   Whenever he had a straight math problem (12-3=9), Jbird always got it right. However, when there was a word problem or picture attached to the problem, he usually got it wrong.  He explained it as when there is room for creativity in how you look at the problem, Jbird tries to go about it through the back door and gets it wrong. He said this works in some situations but can be very dangerous with math.  Something to watch for in the future.

Speaking of Jbird...after almost 1 1/2 years of school, he has finally decided that jeans are not that bad.  He has worn sweats his entire school year, until 2 weeks ago.  I think all his sweats were finally dirty and he had to wear jeans.  (I have thrown away 2 pairs of sweats so far this year because of holes in the knees.  I have found jeans are cheaper and easier to replace than sweats, so a welcomed thing at our house).

JR and I are starting to get things in place for him to fly solo and enter the world of self-employment the end of December.  God is going to bless this venture, I know it.  Just this past week, 2 different people approached him about opportunities that would be about 10-20 hours per week.  (He already has 20 hrs per week secured.)  One of them has presented an opportunity for us to bring on some work that would require employees on our part.  It seems daunting and overwhelming, but if we want a larger business (other than just JR) this would be a great opportunity to get our feet wet and would not require a long term commitment.  We have even been offered for someone to walk us through it all and help us lay it out, how to plan for employees, etc.  We meet with our accountant on Monday and then hopefully within the next 2 weeks, we can solidify (at least a short term) direction of the business.  Fortunately he has been in the resort community long enough that lots of people know him and are coming out of the woodwork when they know he is going out on his own.  It also helps that it is a resort community, so services are inflated and everyone is okay with paying that.  (As it is, some of the services he offers on the side he is already $10 below the going rate.)  Just exciting to see the potential.

No plans for the weekend - other than church.

Just a few pictures.....

I recently came across this picture and had to laugh. This was taken sometime late summer. We were heading out the door and I told the boys to get their shoes on. This is what I got. (Notice the wool socks with tennis shoes, not to mention the obvious - mismatched socks, one on backward and the shorts that are several sizes too long.)

On Saturday the weather was beautiful. The younger two were outside all day long. At one point they were across the street with some neighbor hood kids. I just cracked up when I saw JB sitting on his 'throne', watching over everyone.  (I think all the neighborhood kids were laying on the sidewalk just behind the trash can.  One of the girls had brought her blanket outside, so he decided to follow suite.)

We headed out on Sunday to try to get a picture for family Christmas cards.

Then we let B have the camera....it is rare that JR and I actually get pictures taken together....After some cropping, he took some pretty good pictures.

We started our foray into 4H. On Saturday we attended our first club. (There are 2 components...the clubs and then the projects. Everyone has a particular club they are a part of and then all the members pick different projects - which the projects are suppose to culminate with an entry into the county fair - if they choose to). The club meeting is all about leadership. They encourage kids to stand up and talk in front of others. The kids conduct all the business and they teach about Roberts Rules of Order. I was very impressed. The kids were given "I Move" cards that they had to hold up whenever they wanted to make a motion, then all would vote and it would either carry or not. The kids will take leadership positions and everything. This club is made up of mostly 9 and 10 year old. I was very impressed and learned some things of how to properly run a meeting.

B has decided his 4H project will be the first year robotics class. What little I saw, it was quite impressive. They have their own computer and robot kit. They meet twice a month and it usually takes 2 classes to complete a robot and program it. Then they take it all a part and start over again. JR stayed at the meeting with him and they just got home. B said, "I just have one word....awesome". He loved it. The guy that teaches it just loves it and is a very dynamic teacher. He gives them challenges and then they have to figure out how to put together and program the robot to complete the task.

This past week has seen us playing lots of games! B has taken a liking to Monopoly and with a little coaching, he just might beat me. I never realized all the financial wisdom you can impart to one while playing Monopoly. Yes, there is some chance to it, but also some strategy and planning. The first game he bought everything he landed on and realized he was spread too thin and did not have a monopoly of anything. The second game he learned more of the railroads, utilities and the different value of properties and has done well. We have not finished that game, it is waiting for us. Thankfully we have nothing this weekend, so hopefully we can finish it. We have also been playing Othello and Mancala. J enjoys playing cards and JB and I have played several games of Candy Land - thankful he does not get too bent out of shape when he loses.

We are still visiting churches. I think there are a few that are at the top of the list. There is one in particular that the boys really enjoy. Last week in Sunday School they learned how to make flowers out of duct tape. They were putting together some small flowers and attaching bobby pins to them either for your hair or as a pin. These will be taken on the upcoming mission trip to Haiti. They were quiet excited to participate in this and have told me they have to go back this Sunday so they can finish. Makes me excited to see them get excited doing a service project for someone else.

Heading into yet another quiet weekend. Maybe this will be the weekend that I complete some of those hour long projects that I can't seem to get done during the week.

A photo of the boys and I that JR recently took.....

On Halloween we set out with our 13 year old neighbor - he was assigned to run with the kids! The boys had fun. JB and JR did not last long. After they headed home, the rest of us met up with some friends. Then our neighbor and Jbird were done, so we dropped them off at home and B wanted more. Sure was fun for just him and I to hang out. (Side note, when JB was getting his costume on, he looked at me with a puzzled look and asked if Bumble Bees wear underwear. I assured him they did, he did not believe me, but decided to wear his underwear anyway)

On Friday JR got out and did some more hunting. He hiked for several hours and did not see anything. Then he drove to some friends property and saw a buck rather quickly. He dropped it with one shot. Then this morning, he took all three of the boys out to the same property and within 10 minutes, he had dropped a doe. So we have 2 animals hanging in our garage.

Looks like weather might be getting yucky again - although we did not get any of the snow they had predicted early last week.