Our Christmas

Christmas Eve was spent with my parents, opening their gifts, watching White Christmas, and chowing down on cookies, sausage and cheese, eggnog, and hot cocoa (ugh!  I’m full all over again just thinking about it!)  Surprisingly enough, we went to bed at a fairly decent hour.

Unfortunately, I woke up at about 5 am, feeling absolutely miserable.  I got up to get some water, hoping that I just had a dry, scratchy throat, but sure enough I just began to feel worse with every passing hour!  That aside, we had a great Christmas morning!

The older boys woke up at 6, along with Mom, Dad, and Grandma.  Sweetheart Girl wasn’t too far behind, and we woke the twins at about 6:30.  We were hoping that since we woke them up early, they would nap early so we could make it to dinner that afternoon at my grandpa’s.  It worked!

Grandpa was also feeling sick, and I didn’t have the heart to wake Twinkle, so we let them sleep.  I guess it’s kind of wrong to do Christmas in shifts, but that’s what we did!

By Saturday evening, I was sooo sick, and I had to go to bed.  Daddy-Man was SUPER Daddy-Man and gave everyone their baths and got everyone into bed.  Not only that, he got everyone ready for church the next morning while I slept away!  No kidding, that’s not a small feat for a pastor on Sunday morning!

I pretty much stayed in bed all day Sunday, but by Monday morning most of the achiness was gone.  Sweetheart Girl got strep Monday, and I’m fairly positive that’s what I’ve got, too, so we’ll see if it passes on down the line!

The First Christmas

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
                                       Luke 2:1-20

Merry Christmas

‘Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house
Not a creature was praying not one in the house
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the east there arose such a clatter
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter
Away to the window I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray
I knew in a moment this must be the day.

The light of His face made me cover my head
It was Jesus, returning just like he said
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth
I cried when I saw Him, in spite of myself.

In The Book Of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man
He spoke not a word as he searched for my name
When He said "It's not here" my head hung in shame.

The people whose name had been written in love
He gathered to take to His Father above
With those who are ready He rose with out a sound
While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees but it was too late
I had waited too long and this sealed my fate
I stood and cried as they rose out of sight
Oh, if I had only been ready tonight.

In the words of the meaning is clear.
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call
We'll find that the Bible was true after all.

                              ~Author Unknown

As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, let us not forget that He did not stay a baby in manger!  He grew to be the perfect Sacrifice for my sin and yours, and He will one day judge the world!

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.            Philippians 2:10-11 

The Annual Christmas Photo

I think my children believe the camera will steal their souls or something!  This is what we came up with this year :)

I do what I can…

Uninvited Guests

It’s bad enough we put the wise men in our nativity scenes when they didn’t come around until a couple years after Jesus’ birth!! 

Who are these guys?!?!

Awesome McAwesome put his Mars Heroes up the other day (and they’re still there!), and he’s been quite pleased with himself since!

I feel I must point out that the Mars Heroes are good guys- two are watching the baby Jesus, and the other one is standing guard.

I don’t plan on them being a part of this scene next year!

Answers to Saturday Sillies

Here are the answers to yesterday’s Christmas Carol Trivia!

1. Nutcracker Suite

2. Little Drummer Boy

3. Deck The Halls

4. Silent Night

5. Noel

6. All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

7. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

8. Joy to the World

9. 12 Days of Christmas

10. Do You Hear What I Hear?

11. Up On The House Top

12. Away In A Manger

13. Go Tell It On The Mountain

14. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

15. I Saw 3 Ships

16. Hark The Herald Angels Sing

17. Carol of the Bells

18. As Shepherd's Watch Their Flocks At Night

19. Let It Snow

20. We Three Kings

21. Oh, Holy Night

22. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

23. All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

24. We Three Kings

25. Silver Bells

26. O Little Town of Bethlehem

27. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

28. God Rest You Merry Gentlemen

29. I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

30. Frosty the Snowman

31. Peace on Earth

32. Oh Come, All Ye Faithful

Saturday Sillies- Christmas Carol Trivia

Yes, I admit I’m one that would play Christmas music year round if I thought I could get away with it.  But alas, most of society doesn’t share this opinion so I hold back.

Can you figure out these popular Christmas Carols??

1. The apartment of 2 psychiatrists.

2. The lad is a diminutive percussionist.

3. Decorate the entry-ways .

4. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis.

5. A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.

6. Present me naught but dual incisors for this festive Yuletide.

7. The smog-less bewitching hour arrived.

8. Exuberation to this orb.

9. 288 Yuletide hours.

10. Do you perceive the same longitudinal pressure which stimulates my auditory sense organs.

11. Stepping on the pad cover.

12. Far back in a hay bin.

13. Leave and do an elevated broadcast.

14. That exiguous hamlet south of the holy city.

15. Behold! I envisioned a trio of nautical vessels.

16. Listen, the winged heavenly messengers are proclaiming tunefully.

17. A joyful song relative to hollow metallic vessels which vibrate and bring forth a ringing sound when struck.

18. As the guardians of little woolly animal's protected their charges in the shadows of the earth.

19. Frozen precipitation commence

20. Monarchial triad

21. Oh, member of the round table with missing areas

22. Vehicular homicide was committed on Dad's mom by a precipitous darling

23. Wanted in December: top forward incisors

24. We are Kong, Lear, and Nat Cole

25. Cup-shaped instruments fashioned of a whitish metallic element

26. Oh small Israel urban center

27. Our fervent hope is that you thoroughly enjoy your yuletide season

28. May the Deity bestow an absence of fatigue to mild male humans

29. Natal celebration devoid of color, rather albino, as a hallucinatory phenomenon for me.

30. Obese personification fabricated of compressed mounds of minute crystals.

31. Tranquiltiy upon the terrestrial sphere.

32. Have hitherward the entire assembly of those who are loyal in their belief.

Christmas Gifts- Episode Five

Whew!  It’s almost midnight, but I just finished Twinkle’s gift so I’m just going to post real quickly!

Deciding what to do for her took forever!  The only easy thing I could come up with was a blanket, but I happen to know that a friend is giving her a blanket so she hardly needs another!

I almost just gave up and went to the store to buy her a toy, but instead…

Click here for this tutorial.  The dress is made from a thrifted pillowcase, and I used ribbon instead of the bias tape.  I recommend using the bias tape!!  The ribbon was a pain.

And click here for this one.  I’ve made a few hair bows before, and I’ve been anxious to try this one out.  So cute!  This site has a couple more that I want to try out later.

Now…what to do for her birthday one week after Christmas…

Alright, one more Christmas gift to go…that one depends a bit on the hubby and he’s been incredibly busy, so I have a feeling it’ll end up being pretty last minute ;)

Christmas Gifts- Episode Four

Here’s one of the twins’ presents.  It’s a bean bag toss game!  One spray-painted cardboard box, some felt for the eyes and teeth, and some cloth and filling (I ended up using rice) for the ‘bean’bags equals a lot of fun…I hope :)

I’m still deciding if I should address this to either Minion 1 or Minion 2, or if I should address both gifts to both boys.  They are definitely entering a possessive stage so single ownership could lead to fights…but is it totally wrong to NOT give them individual gifts yet?  They’re only two…

…But my main dilemma with this gift is…

How do I wrap this?????

I Heart the Mail Carrier!

Don’t you just love getting packages?!  The FedEx guy just rang our doorbell, delivering the gift I bought for Daddy-man.  I LOVE it!!!

On the off-chance he’s reading this (he’s under orders not to), I won’t say what it is, but it’s one of the few times in our almost 10-year marriage that I saw something and knew right away that I wanted to get it for him!  Usually, Christmas, birthday, and anniversary times roll around, and I have no clue!!

While passing time on my flight to Hawaii, I browsed the Sky Mall magazine and found it!  I was able to get a little extra money, shopped on amazon, used two $5 amazon e-gift certificates (thank you Swagbucks), and got it at a steal!

If you’re really that curious, here’s the link to see it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001FVRUFQ/ref=sr_1_6_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1291787067&sr=8-6&condition=new

If you know my husband, you know he’ll like it!  I think it’ll be great in his office!  Because I don’t want it in my house :)

About an hour ago, our mail carrier rang the doorbell, delivering some way cute Croc shoes I got at a steal for Sweetheart Girl.  Two pairs (I bought a bigger size for later) plus a jibbitz (a charm for the shoes) for $9.48 shipped!  Here’s what they look like: http://www.crocs.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-crocs_us-Site/default/Search-Show?q=gabby

If you know Sweetheart Girl, you know she’ll LOVE getting new shoes…it really must be born into some girls- she’s loved shoes since she could make her opinion known!

I still have a few homemade gifts to post about, and I promise they’re coming!  I finished one more but still have two to go.

Pictures That Make Me Smile

One of the gifts I’m making for the twins is a matching game with pictures of our family.  So today I went through all of our pics from this year, and I came across several that just made me smile!  Don’t get me wrong- I love all the kids pics, but sometimes you get some that are just a little extra special!

We took the kids bowling for the first time ever, and Hero never could bowl without his mouth open!  Most of the time his tongue was hanging out!

Sweetheart Girl had so much fun tossing leaves, and the delight on her face makes me smile :)

Twinkle has been the happiest baby, and every morning we woke up to this face (but maybe not this hair!).  She’s almost one year old now, so her grin has changed a bit, but she still always smiles at us in the morning!

Awesome McAwesome accepted Christ on Father’s Day this year.  I love this pic of my husband baptizing his 2nd son!

This was the Minions’ 2nd birthday, and I just love the mischivious grin on Minion 1’s face.  He’s wearing orange.

Come on, this one’s obvious!

Sweetheart Girl’s first time singing in Patch the Pirate Club.  Tell me she’s not the most adorable sailor ever!!

This one was taken about 4 hours after Minion 2 fell and knocked his tooth out of his mouth!  It’s a miserable story, but he’s a trooper!

Twinkle spent at least a month doing this constantly!

They’ve only done this twice!

This picture makes me smile because of the story behind it.

The ‘men’ were out chopping down a tree, and McAwesome didn’t want to help.  This is his pathetic ‘Please let me in’ look.  I didn’t let him in.

Sweetheart Girl loves her boots!

There’s a story behind this one, too, but suffice it to say, McAwesome wants a mustache ;)

Minion 1’s arm around Sweetheart Girl makes me smile a mile wide!

Because Daddy-man and I so rarely get a picture together…though neither of us actually like the way we look in this one…

On the other hand, I actually like the way I look in this one…if I could photoshop the red nose :o)

And, finally…

This one was taken on my hubby’s cell phone camera and is a bit blurry, but if I could be left with only one picture of Twinkle, this is the one I choose!  Daddy-man and I smile and laugh every time we look at this face!!

Christmas Gifts- Episode Three

Alright, here it is!  Sweetheart Girl’s Christmas gift (well, half of it).  Click here for Episode One and here for Episode Two .

Eggs sunnyside-up, bacon, and silver-dollar pancakes

How about a sandwich and chips for lunch?

Mmmm…ham, turkey, and cheese with lettuce and tomato

And, of course, PB & J- a staple around here

All that and a bag of chips?

Ruffle Chips!

Drumsticks and broccoli for dinner

I’m loving it!  I freehanded pretty much everything, but got all the ideas from various websites:

http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-felt-food.html

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/03/09/felt-brown-bag-lunch-tutorial/

There are a ton of ideas out there- I could have made more, but Sweetheart Girl’s birthday comes up quickly after Christmas.  If these foods are hit, I’ll work on more for her birthday.  Maybe some of these…

http://www.onecraftyplace.com/2009/02/27/felt-food-tutorial-round-up/

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/build-a-cake-play-set-923565/

I stayed pretty two-dimensional, so maybe I’ll branch out next time around. 

Along with the foods, Daddy-Man and I are working on a little stove for her.  That will be another post…

Christmas Gifts- Episode Two

Wow!  I can’t believe I posted Episode One way back in September!  I wish I could say that I’ve been working on projects and just haven’t had time to post, but…

Well, I have worked a little bit, but I‘ve mostly been procrastinating!  However, Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and I’d better get my rear in gear!

Next up…Superhero Masks!  These will, of course, be going along with the capes that I’ve made for Hero and McAwesome.  I decided to make double-layered masks, so that meant that I’d need differing, yet proportionately similar sizes.  They were not hard at all, but I did figure that I’d better take my time and actually work out a pattern for this project!  I admit that I’m a freehander with very little artistic talent- you’ll see what I mean in my next post…

After much drawing, erasing, drawing, erasing, and drawing again, I ended up with these.  The trickiest part was knowing where to put the eye holes!  I thought I’d have to measure the boys in their sleep, but I was able to do it today.  Surprisingly, when I told them it was just something I was working on, they didn’t ask any more questions! 

Step One:  Pin the pattern to the felt on the fold and cut out the outside.

Step Two:  Trace the eyehole, unpin the pattern and cut out.  I found that re-pinning the felt together after removing the pattern made going around the corners smoothly a lot easier.

Step Three:  Repeat with all pattern pieces.  Adjust individual pieces as needed.  My top layer needed bigger eyeholes.

Step Four:  Measure elastic and sew to the back layer ONLY.  I cut a small rectangle of felt to cover the elastic so it would not be too rough on the boys’ skin, but you could certainly skip that little step.

Step Five:  Pin both layers together.  I highly recommend using plenty of pins!!

Step Six:  Sew it up!  Sewing stitches around the eyeholes adds a little extra dimension!

Ta-da!  I can’t wait for the boys to try them on.  I think they’re going to love them!

Trouble with Two-Year-Old Twins!

This is only one of many reasons, I’m sure, to not break the ‘No food in the bedrooms’ rule:

*sigh*  I was just trying to buy myself a few uninterrupted moments so I could work with the older kids on their schoolwork…

When I found out I was having twins, I kept reading, “What one doesn’t think of, the other will!”  I guess this is what they were talking about :)

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Well, we had a great Thanksgiving with my parents.  The kids and I drove down after church Tuesday night (we moved the service for the holiday) and while the boys came back up last night, me and the 4 little ones woke up early and drove back this morning!  Thankfully, all our church clothes from Tuesday night were perfectly fine for Sunday morning!

We did all the traditional stuff for Thanksgiving that most do, so I won’t spend too much time on that.  But I found a poem last week that I liked so I thought I’d post that!

Thanksgiving
(Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer)

Let us give thanks to God above,
Thanks for expressions of His love,
Seen in the book of nature, grand
Taught by His love on every hand.

Let us be thankful in our hearts,
Thankful for all the truth imparts,
For the religion of our Lord,
All that is taught us in His word.

Let us be thankful for a land,
That will for such religion stand;
One that protects it by the law,
One that before it stands in awe.

Thankful for all things let us be,
Though there be woes and misery;
Lessons they bring us for our good-
Later 'twill all be understood.

Thankful for peace o'er land and sea,
Thankful for signs of liberty,
Thankful for homes, for life and health,
Pleasure and plenty, fame and wealth.

Thankful for friends and loved ones, too,
Thankful for all things, good and true,
Thankful for harvest in the fall,
Thankful to Him who gave it all.

Oops…

Well, if you saw the pictures yesterday, you might be wondering what happened!!  On Tuesday at about 3pm, a couple of teenagers crashed into the brick wall that borders our back yard.  Poor kid is seventeen and without a license.  Busted! 

My guess is that he was speeding through the curve nearby and lost control.  It’s 25 mph (it’s a residential zone, people!), but people fly through there.  It’s downright dangerous at certain times of the day- teens and SUV moms are the worst offenders.  Sorry if you drive an SUV, but you can guess my meaning by that.

Praise God, the back part of our backyard is fenced off for the sheds and our landlord’s camper.  The kids are never back there, and I’m rarely out there.  As it happened, I was vacuuming and listening to my MP3 player at the time and didn’t even hear the crash.  When I turned the vacuum off, McAwesome looked out the sliding glass door and said Mr. Landlord was here.  I looked and thought, Ummmm…no. 

I went out and the two teens were already out of the truck.  They said they were okay, but the passenger had cactus in his arm and chest (the passenger’s door was in the cactus).  I went inside to get some gloves to help pull the cactus out, Hero called Daddy-man, and when I got back outside, one sheriff’s car was there and another was pulling up.  Within minutes, my husband, an ambulance and fire truck were on the scene. 

So that’s what happened.  I’m not sure yet about how things are getting fixed, but that will come.

Oh, and last night our church van was in an accident!  No one was hurt, but everyone was pretty shook up.

So…not really in the mood to drive any time soon :)

Wordless Wednesday- I’ll Explain Tomorrow

Successful Outings with a Large Family- Part Two

Mom, can I have this, puh-leeeeeeeease?!

I need it!!!!!

I want it!!!!!

Waaaaaahhhhh!!!!!

Ugh, my head hurts just thinking about this!  I think every child is going to ask for things at times.  They don’t understand the value of a dollar (or $50, for that matter), they don’t understand a budget, etc.  But I definitely cannot handle my kids asking for stuff every time we go to the store!  We certainly discuss how to be good stewards of the funds God has given us, how to choose to spend wisely, and the like, but when it comes down to it, I employ this next strategy to keep the “Can I haves” and “I wants” at bay.

Tip Number Two for a Successful Large Family Outing:

DEFINE THE TRIP’S PURPOSE

Before we go into the store, I tell my kids exactly what we are looking for, and I tell them that we are not buying them anything.  I like to give them things on my list to look for, and I try to let them make choices whenever possible.  For example, if I know I am going to buy juice, I’ll allow Jackson to choose what kind we get.  I find that giving them a job and a purpose gives them less reason to focus on the things they want. 

Sometimes, I am able to get them a treat (whatever it may be), and I also try to tell them that up front.  I prefer to tell them beforehand, again, to make expectations clear. 

Nothing too earth-shattering here, I know!  It used to be easy to make a run to Wal-mart for a few things, and let them browse the toy section for a while.  It’s not so easy to do that now, especially with twin 2 year-olds!  Now, I am asking for trouble if I don’t make myself clear from the beginning!

BTW, this is extra effective if you make the occasional trip that’s just for fun with few expectations!

A Great Freebie!

Just thought I’d let you all know about this great resource that has just been released from The Old Schoolhouse.

It’s chocked full of Christmas traditions from around the world, recipes, and decor ideas.  Click HERE to get it!

Successful Outings with a Large Family- Part One

Wow!  Are they ALL yours?

Boy, are your hands are full.

I don’t know how you do it- I never could!

At least they’re so well-behaved; You’re sooo lucky!!!

We got the stares occasionally when there were only 3 kids.  After that, we had the twins (and everyone finds twins fascinating), so we were stopped regularly with 5 children in tow.  But now there are SIX!  Now, I mentally prepare myself for the craning-necks, the bulging-eyes, and the extra ten minutes devoted to talking to folks about our family when we make an outing.

Ready for the truth?…I love it! 

We’ve all seen ahem…heard the other families in the store.  You know, the screaming children, the screaming parents, the whining children, the placating parents.  Normally, you see that occur with families of 1-3 kids.  Can you imagine if you had 6 children?  Absolute madness!  Now, I understand all kids have their bad moments, but you can tell the difference between bad moments and bad parenting when you walk all the way around the store, meet up with that family again 30 minutes later, and the kids are still screaming!

A large family cannot afford to have that kind of chaos going on.  Not only will we be unable to accomplish anything, we will be displaying a horrible example, and we will open ourselves up to all sorts of comments and judgments that ought not be said of us.  Believe me, carting 6 kids around opens us up to enough comments already- we don’t need to give them more fuel for the fire!  I’ve learned a few things by now that help us to have successful outings.  For me that means no whining, crying, or yelling…on my part :)

I’m going to assume that proper training is going on at home, so I’ll be mentioning practical things that have to do with the outings themselves.  Since most people feel free to make comments about my family, the types of comments I receive are good indicators of how the trip went.

Only once have I gotten a truly rude, ‘it’s none of your business, buddy’-type of comment.  I find that most people are genuinely fascinated and curious, would like to make conversation, and don’t even realize that they sometime make comments that could be considered rude, nosy, or offensive.  I mean, let’s face it- large families are not the norm, and people don’t even remember the days that they were the norm.

While I find the ‘large family comebacks’ that you can find on the internet hilarious (if you have a large family, you’ve read them!), I would never actually say any of those things.  The above comments are the most common I get, and they are perfectly fine with me. I believe a merry heart and a friendly countenance go a long way.  After all, strangers can only go by what they see, (since I’m not likely to take any of them home with me), and I discovered a while ago, that if I look like a tired, haggard mom of six, unruly children, I will be looked upon and treated like a tired, haggard mom of six, unruly children.

Tip Number One for a Successful Large Family Outing:

APPEARANCES MATTER

When I am preparing to take the kids out, I prepare myself, as well.  This means I am wearing nice clothes, my hair is brushed neatly, and I at least have mascara on.  I don’t wear my ‘it’s seen better days so I don’t care if the baby rubs her snot-nose all over me’ T-shirt.  I don’t wear my ‘I just rolled out of bed and threw my hair into an elastic’ hair.  Neither do I get myself into my ‘Sunday best.’   

I find that if I feel put-together, other people see me as a put-together mom.  And it’s a whole lot easier to talk to folks and steer the conversation toward the Lord, if I’m not berating myself in my head for not bothering to wash breakfast off of my face!

The same goes for the children.  Everyone needs to be presentable.  I certainly don’t dress them in trendy, designer clothes unless I found them at the thrift store :)  Sometimes the boys’ pants have holes in the knees (isn’t that trendy?), I don’t iron their clothes or shine their shoes, but the point is that we don’t look like we aren’t taking care of our children.  In case you’re wondering, I have allowed Sweetheart Girl to go to the store in dress up clothes.  That’s cute……right?

No, we aren’t always at our best, but, honestly, I can tell a difference in those trips- even if it’s just in the way I feel.  Quite frankly, if I feel a trip has gone horribly, then it has gone horribly!  And don’t we all know that the one time we go out looking sloppy is the time we see people we know?!

So let me encourage you fellow moms!  Don’t allow yourself to play the sloppy mom card!  Take the 5 minutes you need to make yourself presentable.  After all, we say that the Lord has given us our large family.  Some say that everyone should welcome many children into their own families.  Let’s not give them one more reason to disdain that thought.  Let’s show them that it can be done, and with joy!

Jumping in a Pile of Leaves

A few artificial leaves, some pillows, and a blanket make for a great leaf pile!

  

Our fun ended as most things do around here…with a wrestling match!

Happy Autumn!