Giving thanks

What a wonderful Thanksgiving!  It was great to see family and friends.

 

 

 

 

All the family.......except Auntie Fishie!  We missed you, but you were busy saving lives. 

 

 

Do you wanna build a snowman?

 

Meme had the kids build a cute snowman out of marshmallows and other treats.  It was funny because Carter and Ava made cute little creations, while Dawson just had two marshmallows on a plate (he ate the rest of it.)

 

 

 

Although we didn't get to see Aunt Margie for Thanksgiving, we did travel down to her house later.  Dawson received a remote control boat for his birthday from Nana, Meme and Bob Bob.  Aunt Margie graciously allowed Dawson to try out his new boat in the bathtub.  What a great Aunt!

 

 

Although Meme and Bob Bob's road is starting to look better, there are still some construction vehicles hanging out.  So we took a walk to explore the "Might Machines."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!  We are so thankful for our family!

More from November

More pictures and stories from November:

Occasionally I can get my phone to take a picture that I really like, and this one is it.  The weather this month has been spectacular and the we have been soaking up every last bit of sunshine.

Nerd alert!  I was so happy to find this animal print sweater, which matches one that Ava already had in her closet.  We get to be twins!!

We were talking Thanksgiving, and this face depicts Ava's feelings on turkey.  She is a ham only girl!

Hooray for Carter!  Student of the month for November!  

I took the kids to the library for some new videos for our trip.  I wasn't planning on getting new books, I really didn't think we would have much time to read them with the holiday.  But they were insistent on picking new books!  I love that they can't even wait to get home, we usually spend twenty minutes or so reading at the library before we leave.

One of Ava's favorite spots:  she loves to take all the pillows off the couch and make a cozy nest back in the corner.

Our Life

 

Just some little recent stories:



 

• Our kids are up to their normal bedtime switcheroo, Ava has decided to sleep in the pink room now.  This leaves Dawson alone in the yellow room.  He hasn't been very happy about this, but it seems to be working in the meantime.  Now we have three sound machines humming upstairs and here is what you can hear:  pan flutes, campfire, rain, thunderstorm and white noise all playing at once.  It's pretty funny to listen to!
• Thankfully Carter has adjusted to his braces.  He is no longer walking around with a wad of Kleenex in his mouth, so we are making progress!

 

 

 

How about the beautiful weather we have been having?  We have been spending afternoons outside every day.  Dawson and I took Shadow to the dog park this week.  Dawson had a ball picking up acorns and putting them into a dump truck.  Shadow had a ball chasing other dogs around, she is a crazy fast runner and was leaping over other dogs that were bigger than her!

 

 

 

 

Miss Ava at her Explorer Girls meeting.  They made blankets to donate to a shelter for abused women/children.  She had such a great time with the other girls. 

 

 

 

Preschool Thanksgiving Performance

On Friday Dawson had his Thanksgiving Performance.  He was so adorable telling me "Mom, you are going to be amazed at how good I am at singing these songs."

I was amazed, he sang loudly and did all the movements.

What a little ham!  Don't you love all the cute little thanksgiving outfits?  I tried to convince him of wearing something a little more festive, but when he came to me dressed in his camo pants and said "Mom, do I look handsome?"  Of course you do little doc, camo pants it is.

If you are looking for some festive Thanksgiving songs, this little guy is your man!  It was so fun to get to see you perform!

First Confession

Today was a big day, Carter had his first Confession.  We have been preparing for this for a couple of months now and he knew his prayers by heart and we have been discussing the ten commandments and reading multiple examinations of conscience.  He was nervous before confession, but afterwards he can running over to me with a huge grin on his face.  He was so proud of himself, as he should be!

As you can see from this picture they did not use the confessionals, but instead the children sat with the priest at various locations in the church.

Later the afternoon he was speaking to me in confidence and he let me know that he confessed to the priest that he uses drugs.  "You know, like my inhaler and tylenol and epi pens and things like that."  Apparently one of the examinations of conscience had mentioned that drug use was a sin.  Then we had a long conversation about the differences between legal and illegal drug use.  I had such a hard time keeping a straight face because all I could think about was the Priest hearing the confession from the eight year old concerned about his drug use.  I wanted to share because I thought this was humorous, but please don't mention this to him because it was a private conversation between the two of us.

Carter boy,  we thank God every day for the amazing blessing you are in our life.  There was A Parent's Prayer they passed out during Confession and I love it so much I want to put it here on the blog as a reminder for me:

Loving GOD,

You are the giver of all we possess,

the source of all our blessings.

We thank you and Praise You.

Thank you for the gift of our children.

Help us to set boundaries for them,

and yet encourage them to explore.

Give us the strength and courage to treat

each day as a fresh start.

May our children come to know you, the one true GOD

and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

may your Holy Spirit help them to grow

in faith, hope and love

so they may know peace, truth and goodness.

may their ears hear your voice.

may their eyes see your presence in all things.

May their lips proclaim your word

may their hands do works of charity.

may their feet walk in the way of Jesus Christ,

your son and our Lord.  Amen

Braces!!

On Monday Carter had his braces put on his front teeth.  

He looks like such a big kid!  We are still in the adjustment period and it's hard for him to chew.  He has had a lot of yogurt and soup the past couple of days.

But it means that I have brought him soup for lunch the past two days.  From what I understand the first two days are the worst, so we should be on the upswing from here.

But he had a great time today wearing his uniform to school and assisting at the flag ceremony.  Thank you to all the veterans!

Our week and some tidbits

Dawson's favorite book lately has been Scooby Doo and the Creepy Chef. We have read it nearly ever night for weeks.  He has decided to emulate the creepy chef by running around talking in the same sing-song rhymes as the creepy chef yelling "ha ha ha and ho ho ho" or "Tra la la."  He even picked up two balloons and told me he was going to beat me with his egg beaters ( just like the creepy chef.)  

He is so proud of himself!  He learned to do the monkey bars, just like big brother and sister!  

This poor kid had three teeth removed under sedation.  He bounced back so quickly and I think he really enjoyed the ice cream and Scooby Doo marathon.  I cuddled with him on the couch for most of the day because in his groggy state he kept touching his wound, which the doctor did not want him to do.  So I had to keep a close eye on him.  But the minute I would get up to use the restroom or get a drink, he started pulling out his stitches!  

Carter has been eagerly anticipating Veterans Day.  We have had a countdown going and the first thing he says to me when he wakes up in the morning is "7 days until Veterans Day.........6 Days until Veterans Day............5 days until Veterans Day."  The reason for his excitement?  Well, the cub scouts wear their uniforms to school and get to do a flag ceremony.  He loves to show off his uniform!  And just in case you were wondering there are only 3 days left until Veterans Day.

On Friday I went to watch and participate with both kids in the Race for Education.  When I spotted Carter he was happily wandering around the track with his class.  Ava was in a clump of little girls all holding hands and walking together.  She was also invited to a birthday party this week and it cracked me up because she has had her outfit planned and laid out at least four days in advance. 

Ava has taken to carrying pinky......in her pajama pants.  I had to take the above picture to clearly document the bulge.   


And now:  time for a Sunday night dance party!!!!