Cookin' It Up

Last week we had the opportunity to cook a lot!   One dinner was shared with our sweet small group family, some dishes went out to others, and Saturday we feasted as a family with some dear friends.

In the past, Haleigh has been my "turkey girl."  This year Sophie and Mackenzie took a stab at the turkey prep too.  (Check Sophie's face when she touched the turkey for the first time!  Before it was all said and done she was elbow deep just like Haleigh.)

Mackenzie is my self-proclaimed "best kitchen helper."  Sophie and Haleigh would come and go, lending a hand with one or two dishes, but Mackenzie was there for almost every dish prepared.

Saturday finally came, Mark was off the work clock and settled in for some quality family time.  We slipped out to see the Muppet movie, finished up the last touches necessary to complete the Thanksgiving meal, welcomed our friends in and...

filled our plates!

Thanksgiving Feast with CC

Last weekend we headed out to Paris Mountain for a Thanksgiving feast with our coop.  There was lots of food, hiking, and even a flag presentation.

 Once all the scheduled events were over the kids just played and played, soaking in nature and friendship.

Next thing we knew, boots and jewelry came off... and the adults were playing too.  We had an absolute BLAST!

Thanking God for...

*the sinless life of Christ sacrificed for my sinful heart
*our church that preaches the Truth of the Gospel
*our church's children's team that teaches our kiddos Truth
*my husband, who strives to be Christ-like more and more each day
*my husband, who is crazy, fun, and simply my best friend
*my 3 precious miracles I was told I would never have
    *Sophie, her curiosity and excitement to gain knowledge of Christ, progressing beautifully on her violin, conquering fears, and gaining victory over struggles
    *Haleigh, her excitement for life, constantly praising God as she goes about her day to day, her giving heart that is counting down the days until her baptism
    *Mackenzie, her unique mix of strong will (that allowed her to grow without much food) with sweet and funny-it makes such an endearing personality, her prayers to love Jesus more, and how well she fits into the role of "baby of the family"
*Jesus opening our eyes to needs and a growing compassion to help
*Mark's job and partners
*precious friends new and old
*family able to stay close even though the miles stretch far
*our small group family, which walks life's joys and struggles together - what a ride
*our CC group who walks this homeschooling road together, bumps and all
*the men in Mark's life that keep him accountable and pressing closer to our Rescuer
*my AM2PM journey of blessings, challenges, growth, and friendships
*my roots and memories that "take me to the farm" on days I long to be with extended family and all kinds of family familiar traditional food as we linger around the table for hours
*the example of 3 ladies cooking and serving up holiday feasts that I now try to mimic in my own home
*our home, filled with love, laughter, and healthy life
*a pack of three little girls whose friendship mirrors my best friendships of sisterhood
*time to sit and soak in all the blessings seen and unseen and say "Thank You to God for this sweet life!"

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name.” Psalms 100:4

Rainy days...

are much less dreary with these

Friday's Fun Fieldtrip

A fellow homeschooling friend invited us to join her co-op group for the day.  We headed to Camp Greenville.  It was a beautiful day to be out in the mountains!!

 





The younger girls headed on a nature walk and collected "nature items" they later used to make a craft.

Meet Larry (Mackenzie's) and Bob (Haleigh's).

 During this time Sophie was with an older group discovering "Secrets of the Mountain" as they learned compass skills.

We all joined back up for a picnic lunch.  Afterward, my friend and I decided to let the littlest ones run in a field for a while as we visited.  Haleigh and her friends headed to learn about reptiles.  Sophie, get this... headed off to RIFLERY.  This may not seem like a big deal, but as soon as Sophie heard what her group was doing she became pretty fearful for her own safety, as well as mine.  She left the lunch area with her group and some very qualified staff who encouraged her it would all be ok.  When we met up with her she was in her third session, Archery.  I asked her how riflery went.  She looked at me with very shiny eyes and quietly said, "I actually like it- a LOT!"

During Archery Sophie hit the target twice and was very excited!  (And I was very excited for her ;)  It was so fun to watch her overcome some fears and gain some confidence in an area that completely out of her norm.

Haleigh wrapped up the day in an instrument making class.  

We all had a GREAT day and before we made it home they were asking when we could visit Camp Greenville again!


(Susan, thanks for inviting us along, it was an absolute blast!)

We celebrated a birthday this week!!

I can't believe our Haleigh is 7!

(This is my favorite picture of her from all year!)

As I flip through the pictures from Tuesday I realize we have some pretty funny Birthday traditions around here...

1- The cereal isle has been a repeated curse to us as we venture to do our grocery shopping.  I will only buy healthy cereal for the girls.  However, they long for the cool looking boxes filled with sugar.  One day I blurted out, "On your birthday you can pick whichever cereal you want, ANY cereal no matter how sugar packed it is, every other day I pick, with no complaints."  Let's just say the girls have held me to my promise with each passing birthday!

2- We throw in our homeschool perks card for birthdays.  Absolutely NO school on birthdays.  (Which is extremely helpful if a cake still needs to be baked and decorated before that evening;)

3-  The birthday girl gets to pick the activities of the day.  Haleigh's pick was PlayNation followed by dinner "absolutely anywhere you would like to go, anywhere you name it!"  Oh yes, we had dinner at McDonalds and she was a happy birthday girl.

4- The girl turning one number older gets to pick what she wants her cake to (hopefully) look like.  We only do a "bigger than just family" party every other year.  This was an off year.  I suggested a Lego cake since my girl is crazy about Legos.  She thought it was a great idea.  I was thinking, "How easy is this going to be, a rectangle with a few extra circles on top."  Then Haleigh came around the corner with a Lego Pizza Delivery Girl named Jamie.

Gifts were opened with a great deal of excitement.  This expression and squeals accompanied each gift.

5- Finally, perhaps the most cherished tradition in our house for birthdays, is the hanging of the streamers.  Haleigh couldn't call it a day until she had her picture taken with her new monkey slippers and her birthday streamers.

Haleigh, 
You are a priceless treasure to our family!  Your joy is contagious.  The songs of praise that float out of you as you go about your day remind me of what a special work God is doing in your heart.  I know this year will be special as you grow to love Him more and more.  You make us smile with your silliness and love.  Have a sweet year precious!  We love you!

Fall Blessings

 Have a blessed weekend with eyes wide open to His blessing that fall on us all daily!