Silly November Things

We've enjoyed this November.  The kids are growing and changing so fast.  Here are some silly photos of what we have been up to.  This is Gwen and Zeke's favorite pass time after dinner.  They push each other in a laundry basket.  They also take Romy for a spin. :)

 

For Thanksgiving we are planning a skit involving 3 dragons (Gwen, Zeke and Romy).  This is Romy's dragon costume.

Ben has been growing a mustache for charity this month.  It is blond, so he's self conscious about it.  He went and got these stick on mustaches from the dollar store.  The kids had a good time with them... until they had to be pulled off.

I recently had some girlfriends over to put together a gingerbread mansion kit that I bought.  Let's just say I'm not gifted at putting together gingerbread houses.  Here was our mansion before it fell down.

I saved some of the decorations and made gingerbread houses with the kids out of graham crackers.  They did a fantastic job and theirs actually were sturdy.

This is Zeke's.  I told him it looked like a trailer or bomb shelter.

This is Gwen's.  She modeled it after the mansion.  She did an amazing job.

We still have this kind...looking forward

The Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving

It may be I am getting old and like too much to dwell
Upon the days of bygone years, the days I loved so well;
But thinking of them now I wish somehow that I could know
A simple old Thanksgiving Day, like those of long ago,
When all the family gathered round a table richly spread,
With little Jamie at the foot and grandpa at the head,
The youngest of us all to greet the oldest with a smile,
With mother running in and out and laughing all the while.
It may be I'm old-fashioned, but it seems to me to-day
We're too much bent on having fun to take the time to pray;
Each little family grows up with fashions of its own;
It lives within a world itself and wants to be alone.
It has its special pleasures, its circle, too, of friends;
There are no get-together days; each one his journey wends,
Pursuing what he likes the best in his particular way,
Letting the others do the same upon Thanksgiving Day.
I like the olden way the best, when relatives were glad
To meet the way they used to do when I was but a lad;
The old home was a rendezvous for all our kith and kin,
And whether living far or near they all came trooping in
With shouts of 'Hello, daddy!' as they fairly stormed the place
And made a rush for mother, who would stop to wipe her face
Upon her gingham apron before she kissed them all,
Hugging them proudly to her breast, the grownups and the small.
Then laughter rang throughout the home, and, Oh, the jokes they told;
From Boston, Frank brought new ones, but father sprang the old;
All afternoon we chatted, telling what we hoped to do,
The struggles we were making and the hardships we'd gone through;
We gathered round the fireside. How fast the hours would fly-
It seemed before we'd settled down 'twas time to say good-bye.
Those were the glad Thanksgivings, the old-time families knew
When relatives could still be friends and every heart was true.
Poem by Edgar Albert Guest, 1881-1959

Beki's shower and the start of Winter

Over the past few weeks I've been working on putting together a baby shower for Beki.  We had it this past Saturday and my only goal for the whole thing was I wished for Beki to have a good time.  I think she did, so it was a success. :)  I chose the "mommy to bee" theme because I thought it was cute and because they are waiting until birth to find out the gender.  I really enjoyed this theme!

I priced out someone else making cake pops...but it was just too expensive.  I tried them myself and they came out all right.  :)

The table.  Someone gave to me the honey jar on the left.  It was a perfect decoration!  We had a mini waffle station, quiche (crust and no crust), pumpkin pie, dipped pretzel rods, cake pops, fruit salad.  It was great.

Here is the mommy to be herself.  She's due January 22nd.  She is a beautiful pregnant lady. 

My mom crocheted little bees to make into a garland.  They were SO CUTE!

More people arrived after this photo.  The room was packed.

Opening presents. I think I'm the only one in the Midwest without boots like this.

The two Grandmas.  Beki's mom and Jeff's mom. 

Sweet three week Owen.  What fun these two cousins will have together.  I'm sure Romy will be in the mix too.  Sorry I cut Melody out of the photo, but you know... priorities. :))  I'm a proud Aunt!

flowers... makes any cold day nice in my opinion.

I copied this from a picture on pinterest.  I liked how it turned out.

My Romy has stopped nursing now and is beginning to speak more and run around more.  She is able to communicate almost anything.  In fact, she said the word "Hercules" the other day.  I know you all think I'm crazy, but she did.  Everyone laughed at me with Zeke because I said his first sentence was "I want a gumball", but it was.

My girls.

We also see lots of this... fit throwing.  It is so comical the third time around that I have to walk away and just laugh. 

My Gwen in looking so grown up these days.  I look at her and I think she is just beautiful.  She also says interesting things to me and says them in ways that don't sound like me anymore.  She is coming into herself and I like who she is becoming.

Fall Memories

A few weeks ago Gwen pulled her first tooth.  I always thought it was gross when parents saved their kid's teeth.  Um... I might have Gwen's in my jewelry box.  I couldn't bring myself to throw it away yet. 

Above the candy, above the dressing up and being with friends, the kids were most excited to go in a haunted garage our neighbor put up.  They had me drive by it daily.

Gwen's school Halloween parade.  Katie Beth is in front of her as a pink lego.

Her class party.  We hear a lot about this little boy, Gabriel.  Gwen really likes him.  She's holding a plastic bat.  From what you see on the desk guess what I contributed.  That's right, the orange. :) 

The kids and Ben.  Gwen was an angel, Zeke a robot, and Romy a pumpkin.

She made this pose when I asked to take her picture.  Nothing like a sassy angel huh?

This is total de ja vous.  Gwen wore this same outfit a few years ago and looked very similar. 

This was Gwen a few years ago...

Ben dressed in his soda bot costume he made himself. 

We fashioned a light in his helmet.

Kids at an apartment complex we minister to with an organization called Mission Southside.  We go there each week and meet people, pray with people and are hoping that we can start a Bible discovery group there and make disciples.  Things are in the early stages there, but we are covering this place with prayer.

I've been needing to use up my fresh herbs before frost hits.  This year instead of drying them I made different flavored salts.  I now have a basil salt and a rosemary salt.  You just put a cup of herbs with a cup of kosher salt... whir it in your blender or food processor, put it on a baking sheet and bake at 225 for 30 minutes.  Stir it halfway through cooking time.  You may ask... what do you use it for?  Primarily roasting vegetables or on tomatoes or on buttered bread... but the possibilities are endless. :)  Plus, when it is baking it smells heavenly.

Romy in Costco.  She loves stuffed animals.