Another week has dawned into a beautiful sunny yet very frosty day, Caleb has been dropped off at school with the strict admonishment not to lick anything metal.

The boys are delighted with the frost on the ground because it is just like snow they said. Small, white and on the ground, okay.

Caleb is still doing ok in school. He surprises me with little songs that he sings and then says that he learned them in school... because when I asked him each day what they did, he says nothing.

Jockey is happy with his new socks. He had to be convinced that they would help him run faster. He's so into trying to be a big kid and keep up. One day Mike told him that he was too small to do something, and immediately he shut his eyes and prayed to God that God would make him grow big. Cute. And Joshy is praying more and more, but without fail, he begins his prayers for God to help him not to get stages or to get owies.

Thanksgiving dinner, we will happily spend at Grammy and Papa Dahl's house. And the boys will be spending the rest of the weekend with them too! I haven't told the boys yet because I won't hear the end of the questions and excitement until Thursday. And I don't have that kind of patience. All I know is that I should pack swimsuits for sure!

Also, I just wanted to share something that I ran across last year which really meant something to me. It really put Christmas in perspective. This is going to help me to remember to carve out some time to find quiet moments to reflect and absorb the gravity of the holiday meaning, not just get caught up in whirl of busy-ness, the plans, the "have-to's" of groceries/gifts and parties. I'm grateful that I remembered this from last year, so I wanted to share before the holiday was a moot point.

I love the reverance displayed by one of the icons of our world to the Ruler of our world.

This is the perspective we have taken with our sons. Santa is a memory of a man who displayed obedience Christ when called to give and bless others just as Christ did for us.

God Bless your Thanksgiving.

Well the weekend is upon us.

We've braved school, stages, Sparks, Cubbies, MOPS, Leading MOPS crafts, homework, my work, daddy's work, city coucil meetings (Mike attended to help prevent Breed specific language in the new dog control laws; Cane Corsos were unbelievably and foolishly on the dangerous animal list) and weather this week. Hopefully the weekend will lend a bit of wind down time.

I just had to share these pictures. I'm a sucker for color and there's nothing like what nature displays for us.

Wednesday night (facing EAST, if you can believe it):

Thursday morning:

This sunrise was gone in the 5 minutes I took to shower. It reminded me of how quickly life changes, children's phases, problems or even good times are over so very quickly. Stop and take a moment to see it because if we walk past and jump in the shower we'll miss something great.
Spectacular sunrises and sunsets are one thing that this city (Monroe) unexpectedly always offered us. I'm SOOO glad I got the kids to the park this week before the rain came in.

Jockey is still a "super fast ninja turtle" running around dressed in his BUZZ costume. He is insisting he is a big boy, even at bed time and that means he is tearfully protesting pull-ups. But after two nights of issues, we are now pulling rank and insisting on him wearing them.

Caleb is still in love with shooter. He goes out and sits on the edge of the hutch with the door open and interacts for 10-15 minutes at a time. (That's a long time doing anything in Caleb's world.) Caleb had three days with stages in them this week. We are hoping to get back on track soon starting with Thursday (a successful no-stage day).

My work is back under manageable hours, much to my (and Mike's) relieve. And I'm settling in at the store(s) that I visit most and they are getting to know me. It makes it more comfortable to walk in and get right to work, and I know the routine for each store and can work much faster now too.

So that's it for night now. Hope your weekend is looking fun and eventful or relaxing and uneventful, what ever you choose.

And another week begins....

I'm happy that it isn't raining today. This means that Caleb can be dropped off with a little time to play and get his wiggles out before school actually starts. I think he needs this time and in the winter I know it will be rare. So for today, I'm happy about the non-rain. And I suppose that I should be happy that it is light enough to play, I'm sure the winter will bring a dark 8:30 AM. This week also marked the beginning of a slightly longer school day for Caleb. He will now get out 7 minutes later, at 11:32. I'm not sure what that gets us/him. But the tricky part is now picking Joshy up at 11:30 and trying to get to Caleb's school in 2 minutes. (Before I had 5 minutes to commute between the schools and half the city.)

Great news report: Caleb has been without Stages (discipline at school) for over 2 weeks now!!!! He is doing great and really is proud of himself. I'm happy that he has found success and likes the way that that feels.
Mike visited the classroom as a volunteer, and Caleb really is one of the better behaved and focused students. While I was shocked to hear that, I am pleased that all the work that we went to earlier this school year has actually paid off.

Joshy is back into the housebroken habit. It is such a relief. He's very happy with himself, he also has out how success feels. He's a big boy and no one can tell him different. Of course, he also insists that he is a "super fast" ninja turtle. Yes, he is still saying super fast for everything, running, writing, walking, spinning (on the LIFE board game wheel).

We went to Papa Bill's house for dinner on Saturday. Joshy and Caleb insisted on getting into costume. They were so excited that they put their costumes on before NOON, and even took naps in the costumes (and Caleb slept in his shoes) so that they would be all ready when it was time to leave. Joshy attended dinner as Buzz and Caleb went as Spiderman, of course, by the time dinner actually rolled around, Caleb was in normal clothes and Joshy had stripped himself down to underwear (he hasn't worn clothes under the costume).

Well, time to get everyone up and dressed for the day.
Have a great week.

We are back from camping. We left in the drench of rain which threatened floods, and yes, it did finish up Friday that way. The bright spot of Friday, we saw 6 deer before we even got into our campsite! The rest of the trip was clear & sunny (or partly sunny). There was of course wind, but it only rained after 9pm when we were already tucked into the trailer for bed for family movie watching. We were visited by Grammy and Papa Dahl Saturday morning. We made it to the Farmer's market which was inside this time. We made it into Burlington, we surprised the kids with seeing the new movie "Madagascar 2" (we had coupons, so it was 100% free), we stopped into Michael's crafts for my benefit, the Christian Book store. We took evening walks and soaked in the moonlight. I tried to teach the kids about night vision (when it's dark at 5PM, this is a good skill to have). We drove around and saw neat old houses, Mike and the boys got into the community pool during and open swim time. I was able to wi-fi check my email and clear up somethings for my work (yes, it is actually turning into a real part-time job averaging about 4.5-7 hours a week, I wish someone would have told me this ahead of time, but I'm told it will slow after the new year.) Most notably, we discovered a new hike/lake: Lake Whistle. It was about a 3 mile round trip hike in. It was beautiful, if a little muddy and windy. It was peaceful and despite being only 10-15 outside of town, it really felt like we were hours into the woods. I can't wait to see it in the glory of summer. Overall, we were amazingly blessed with clear days and the 4 days of no school and no work to use on Camping trip in NOVEMBER! (This means we will not be out of town this year for Thanksgiving, does this mean I have to learn how to make a Turkey? I've avoided it for 10 years... doesn't ham sound nice? Regardless, Caleb is all about the pie!)

We are back and have plunged right in to the routine. Caleb's back at school, dreading homework and naps. Joshy can't wait to get back to school, but he doesn't have any until next week. I worked today (with Joshy). I work nearly 8 additional hours in the coming 2 days. We have Awana tomorrow, and the rest of life keeps chugging along too.

So, it's time to go make dinner, and make sure that the family world turns on an even axis too. TTFN.

I had forgot to mention about the fall carnival that we attended. The boys had a very good time. They ran around excited, they jumped in the bouncy houses, they played all the games that they could find. They of course got candy. But other than the mundane happiness expected of such an evening... there was a hilarious unexpected item. Joshy would win that they would give him candy. Occassionally it would be wrapped in pink or swirly red, he would say "That's girl candy" because of the pink wrappers. I thought that that was cute and worth remembering.

Also, last night during the election. Mike and the boys were watching the tv. Caleb said, "that guy has big ears, and that guy has big ears, and that guy.... Daddy, are we electing elves?" I thought that was soooo funny. McCain didn't win (not that he was ever my very first choice, I'm truly a liberatarian, as little government as possible type of person), but at least I WON at Bingo!!!! Can't will them all, but at least the $ will help pay a little of the rising taxes to come. Or optimistically speaking... Christmas presents.

So have a great week. I'm certainly busy with my job and going camping for the weekend!

Another week begun brings another month.

Fall is still out in a bloom of color. I don't like the dark much, and I can tolerate the rain. But I really like the frenzy of colors. I like them on the trees like enormous color puffs. I like it when the leaves fall into a blanket that I like to think of as colorful snow. I like to sit quietly and listen to the wind and the or the periodic fall of a leaf, it's almost as magical as the sound of snow falling. I hope to share this appreciation with my boys. Joshy will love the colors as he is showing lots of interest in artistic things. And Caleb will like the rough and tumble in a pile of leaves and maybe the smell since you can't help but smell like fall after you've rolled in it.

We took an evening walk in the dark, the cold and the rain. The kids had a blast because it was a perfect time for flashlights. We arrived home and plunged into cups of warm cocoa garnished with today's find of Dye-free Marshmallows (for the incredible $1 a bag, rather than the 36 for $ at Whole Foods.)

Now the kids are tucked into bed and hopefully getting good rest for their school tomorrow.

We worked with them on homework tonight. Again. It sometimes seems as if we are doing more with Caleb than what he's doing at school. (Thank you Grammy and Papa Dahl for the great workbook from Costco!!! Excellent!!) He is still doing great and not getting stages at school, too.

Joshy has decided that he has to do everything "super..." He wants to run "Super fast", he wants to walk "super fast". He wants to be "super cool". He is saying all sorts of things with extreme enthusiam... "oh my gosh, that's so cool".

There was something else I was going to put on here, but I forget. I'll try to remember tomorrow.