It's raining...it's SNOWING...

Yes, I do believe the weather folks told us we would not be getting any snow in our area.  And, yes, that does make it almost a guarantee that we will! :) Currently, about 2-3 inches on the ground...and still coming down...!
The boys (especially Joe) were excited to go out and play in it.  And, being a nice WET snow, it was perfect for throwing many snowballs! 

Just before we were heading in, I yelled to the boys (who were pulling an empty sled while running around) to head around the barn one last lap before we headed inside.  Yeah, I forgot the garden was under the snow (i.e. 2 days of rainy mud). Joe got stuck and as he tried to get out, he kept falling down because his boots were sucked in and stuck.  Jake couldn't get one boot out because his boots are loose enough that his foot kept coming out.  Ugh!  Needless to say, they were a muddy mess.

We took a trip to town after all of this--which (I realized on the way home) gave the boys their first real ride in the snow. In Tennessee we would play in the snow before/until it melted...not wasting time driving around in it since it usually melted in a few hours!  So, tonight the boys enjoyed seeing all that they could see and viewing the Christmas lights.  Papa will enjoy seeing the lights reflecting in the snow tonight when he gets home from work! If it ever stops snowing, I'll snap a picture and post it!

Exercise with Dad...never again?

On Sunday afternoon, Josh took Jake to the Fieldhouse with him while Joe was taking a nap.  Jake wanted to do some exercise (after watching the swim team the day before). So, Josh decided to have Jake do a similar med ball workout before they shot some hoops.  Here are a couple clips to show how that went! :)

Oh yeah...as a side note...it's an 8 lb. med ball he's using here!

HighLIGHTS from last week...

   Mama and Papa have great tradition in their Christmas decor routine.  So, the day after Thanksgiving consisted of Mama pulling out tote after tote from the basement...all filled with Christmas decorations for the house.  I'm not sure how much the boys helped...but they (especially Jake) did enjoy discovering all the various goodies that each tote held.  A lot of the items are things that light up.  So, there was great expectation and excitement for the sun to go down so the lights could be turned on.
   Meanwhile, while Mama was busy lighting up the inside of the house, Papa's job was to cover the house, the yard, and the bushes with lights.  (It was a sunny, warmer day. So, he lucked out with that.) This job included trips to the roof to hang the icicle lights.  And both boys ventured on the roof with Papa to see what they could see.
   Now, as dusk falls each night, the boys delightedly scurry around the house with Mama to allow everything come to light!

Thanksgiving...

   What am I thankful for today?

   I think I can sum it up with a simple statement (otherwise I can ramble to you for hours if you'd like the long version).  I'm thankful that God is teaching me to be thankful in all circumstances...allowing me to recognize and challenging me to recognize how very, very much I really do have to be thankful for everyday of the year! 

  Thank you, Lord, that the ability to give thanks stems from your great, unchanging love that extends grace to me every moment of every day.

Great Quotes of the week...

   Papa had asked Joe if he wanted to go for a ride in his truck.  "No, I'm helping Mama clean toilets."
Later, Papa was telling Joe about the combine and tractors he saw. "Really, where were dey?", asked Joe. "Boy, Joe, you missed out on seeing those b/c you chose to stay and clean toilets with Mama!"  Daddy piped in saying, "Yeah, you'll learn that it's always more fun to go with Papa.  You never know when you'll be able to drive tractors, four-wheelers, or the truck.You might have fun playing with Mama now...and she knows she had better enjoy the time you want to play with her, but eventually you'll know to go do stuff with Papa as you get bigger." 
Jake replied with, "And then Papa will come live with us boys!" 



   After Joe woke up from his nap, he wanted to go outside. It was a bright sunny day, but very windy and cold.  I told Joe it was very cold out, but that he could see if he wanted to go out and play.  Joe went to the door, opened it a few inches and quickly responded..."It's too cold. I not go outside!"
   I guess experiencing something is the best teacher! :)


   On Wednesday, we went to a friends' house to play.  As we left, we were sent home with some chocolate chip cookies for all of us to enjoy (6 to be exact).  Joe took the initiative to be in charge of the container.  But little did we know how much he would guard and delegate its contents.  Both boys told Papa not to eat all the cookies and Papa said he would try not to.
   On Friday morning, Papa teased Joe saying, "Boy those cookies sure were good."  Joe was at the sink helping rinse dishes and froze in his position with a very serious look on his face.  Papa went on about how good the cookies were and Joe looked at him and asked, "Did you eat all dem?"  Papa said, "Oh yeah, the ones in the red container...and they were good!!!"  Joe paused and thoughtfully said,  "Let me see the container!"  I picked it up off the counter and barely shook it. With no noise coming from it, Joe looked concerned...until I opened it for him to see the 4 cookies still there.  Joe looked at Papa (in delighted relief) and said, "You were teasing me!" 

V S P

   We haven't gone on any field trips lately. So, I suggested that we go somewhere on Saturday.  Jake told Mama..."We're going to go away all day so you can have the house to yourself since you don't have to work." And later while praying, "Thank you that we can go somewhere tomorrow, all day, so we don't have to be bored at the house all day!" (I guess he has forgotten that he is the one who has wanted to stay at the boring house and play with his boring toys!)
   After scouting out some different places to go, I finally settled on Versailles State Park.  So, I packed the car with some food, some library books, bikes, balls, and 3 kinds of coats for each of us (still not used to how the weather feels).
   We traveled past lots of harvested fields as well as a few that had combines and tractors out working. The boys were delighted to see farm equipment in use and parked on people's property. "We've seen a lot of farm stuff, Mom", says Jake. "That's cool."  And, of course, Joe constantly was talking in a high pitched excited voice..."Mom, I see a tractor over dere."
   At one point while driving, Joe says, "Mom, I want to show you something.  Can I show you?"  "Well, I'm driving Joe so I can't turn around. "  "Maybe I can show you when we stop."  "Yeah, that would be fine."  "Mom, can you turn around and look at this?"  "Well, Joe, I'm driving."  "Can you just pull over and stop?" Jake (the cautious one) pipes in with, "Well there isn't really anywhere safe to stop right now."  Joe proceeded with..." I like dis dirt bike, and dis one, and I like dis one, and dis one..."  He was looking at the racing library book and wanted to show me his favorites...NOW!

   Once at VSP, the boys hopped their bikes to take a little ride. There was hardly a person to be found, so they enjoyed riding in the road for a little while.

   Then, we took a short hike (which always includes picking stuff up to throw in any water that might be nearby)...   Here the boys found some holes in the ground from some rodent and decided to stuff the opening with leaves..."so the big worm can't get out," says Jake.  (The hole openings were at least quarter sized or more...which I pointed out would be an enormous--not big--worm!!!!)

This was followed by kicking around the soccer ball (or just tackling...from Joe's perspective).

   And, then we found some leaf piles...in which Joe (who LOVES running through leaves) immediately jumped around tossing leaves followed by laying on his back and saying, "I make snow angel."--which he did proceed to do with leaves.

We finally found the 3rd playground......where the boys enjoyed their favorite--the tire swing...

...and Joe had a blast "popping wheelies" on his pretend dirt bike......and the boys paused long enough in their motorcycle and 4-wheeler pretend races for some pictures...

...Joe waits for his turn in the race...

Then, we ventured toward a trail by the water where Joe quickly found "a disc" and proceeded to drag it behind him along the path...for like a half mile...

  However, as we exited the trail to head back to the car, Joe promptly dropped the stick to leave it behind saying, "We can't fit it in the car."  Yet, moments later, he found this...and wanted to take it in the car (thanks to Jake's prompting)...

Oh, and a slight detour on the way to the car...finding a ton of leaves caught under and between the picnic tables...

I'm surprised we didn't find any leaves in the boys' clothes once we got home.

Overall, a very fun fall day!!!!!

Running errands

   Jake was going to town with Papa (probably b/c Papa was going to the bank...and last time at the bank, Jake got some candy).  Anyway...I asked Joe if he wanted to go run errands with me.  His response...a peppy, "sure!".
   So, Joe and I hopped in the car and headed to town to mainly drop boxes off from church to some local businesses and then head to the library.  Joe was sporting his sunglasses as we went from business to business (even though they sat on the outside of his pulled up jacket hood).
   When we got to the library, Joe didn't want to go in.  "Can I just stay in the car while you go in?"
So, I reminded him we could check out a tractor video I had seen the other day (he has watched all 4 of our John Deere videos this week and is wanting to watch them again).  This got him into the library...where he walked around with his hood up, chattering away about books and videos.  As I was putting returned videos on the counter, he was scouting the video section and quickly came back to me saying, "I don't see it, Mom. They don't have a tractor video."  So, I went around to show him the spot I had seen it and there it was.  "Oh, there it is, Mom.  Thanks!" He took it and held it under his arm along with a Mega Truck video saying, "There it is. There is the tractor video. Can we watch it when we get home?" (over and over).  I chose another couple videos and told him what I had picked.  He had little comments along the way for those too..."Oh yeah. Sure. Sure!"  Then he was ready to go check out.  So, I reminded him we could get some new books.  "I don't want any."  "You don't want any new books to look at and read the next few days?  How about some tractor books?"  "Sure, let's get some tractor books! Where are they?  I don't see any tractor books, Mom.  Oh, look at this one,  and this one.  Can we get this one?  And this one?  How about this one?" (You get the idea!)  Then I suggested we look for some non-tractor books.  "Sure" says Joe.  And after picking out several from one spot, we stood up and Joe says, "How 'bout we look down this aisle?  What about this one?  (pulling random book off shelf)  And this one looks good (pulling another random book off the shelf)."  He got a couple more using this method...and then my bag was more than full.  So, we went to check everything out.  He put his tractor video on the counter, waited for it to be checked out, and then wanted to hold it again. Once all the books were checked out, the librarian held the receipt up and measured it against him...and it was taller than he was!
   When we got back to the car, he climbed in with his video "Thanks for the tractor video." and clutched it asking, "Now we go run errands?"  I said, "Yes, we have a couple more."
   We dropped another package off (which he wanted to carry probably b/c it had candy canes on top...hoping one would fall off, I'm sure).  I asked if he wanted to go into Walmart to look for some gloves. "No, I don't want to." We discussed this--with no change of opinion--and then headed to the last place we needed to drop off a package.
   Once back in the car, he says, "Now we go run errands?"  I said, "We have been running errands." "No, I want to go where we went last night (which could mean 3 months ago) with Daddy." "Ok, well, where was that?" He answered me with some long response that made no sense. So, I further asked, "Can you tell me where it was or what we were doing?"  He replied again with some long response that still made no sense.  Then, I asked, "Did you think that 'run errands' means we're going to run around?"  "Yeah" he said with a "duh" sound in his voice.  So, I had to explain the difference between running errands and running on a playground.
   By the time we got home, he had fallen asleep in the car and our plan to go to the playground to run had to be put on hold. Later, he was explaining the difference to Papa..."Run errands is when you go drop boxes off at different places. Run is where you just play."

   

Settling in

   After a week of settling in (and constantly playing hide and seek with boxes as the boys ask for something and I try to figure out where in the world it might be), things are starting to fall into a rhythm. (well, sort of...since having two young children doesn't really allow for much predictability! :))
   We have begun to look for a house... still looking...patiently!?!?!?!  And we've begun to plug into church...finding all sorts of gems to be a part of as a family! The boys have enjoyed getting to play with boys and girls their age. (I am especially glad for lots of boys their age!) Both boys are excited about going to church already...probably b/c they are stuck with mom otherwise. Although, Jake has commented more than once that he has not made any friends yet. How do I explain to a 5 year old that relationships take time...? :)
   We enjoyed a warm weather day with a picnic lunch at the park where we played on the playground, rode bikes across the blue bridge, threw rocks in the water (except the ducks thought it was food), ran through the leaves, and tossed them in the wind.  Fun afternoon for sure...

    Can't forget the trips to the library...we are excited to now be able to check out 100 books at a time.  I know, it sounds funny, but when we've been limited to 18 I now feel so free!  (Kids books can be so short...and reading them 10 times in a row is not very exciting for the adult!)
   We also got to go to the library for a great homeschool class (Science in the Kitchen) where Jake (and Joe) got to get messy with other kids.  Jake was so excited and so motivated leading up to the class.  He sat down on Tuesday afternoon (while dinner was being fixed) and colored a picture very carefully...saying "I need to practice since I'll be doing schoolwork with other kids the next day!"  (I must admit his coloring was impressive compared to former coloring!)

Needless to say, the class was very fun for both boys.  Joe got more messy than Jake (no surprise there), but Jake loved the interaction! 
   I'm reminded that we are designed for relationships.  I'm grateful for the relationships developing and all that are yet to come!

First time fishing...

   Sunday afternoon...what is it good for?  Well, today (after time for rest), Papa had a treat for the boys. He had found the fishing poles, gotten new bobbers, dug up worms, and asked the neighbor if we could fish in her pond.  So, when the boys got up from their nap, we headed in the back of Papa's truck to go fishing in the pond...a first for the boys!

   The chance to practice casting a line at Bass Pro Shop paid off b/c Jake did well at this.  He patiently stared at his bobber...noting any movement.  And it didn't take long for a bite.  I think he actually had 4 fish on his line through the course of our time there, but only 1 was actually caught.  It was a good sized fish, too...so Mama helped pull it in.  Jake was a little concerned about what the fish would do (having just watched the fish Mama caught flop around on the dock after Papa got the hook out and accidentally dropped it before getting it to the water)...so he refused to get near it for a picture.  But a few minutes later, he was determined to catch another fish so he could get his picture with it!

 

   Meanwhile, Joe's interest in fishing lasted about 30 seconds.  So, he spent the time exploring in the grass, scaring us as he jumped on the dock (and climbed to and from the boat tied up), finding sticks to fish (for pretend) with, etc!  He found a rather large stick with multiple branches coming off of it and he declared it was great for roasting marshmallows...for all of us! :)

   As Jake and I rode back to Papa's in the back of his truck, I asked what his favorite thing was... "All of it", Jake replied.  So, I asked what he didn't like... "Not taking my picture with the fish," he said.  I reminded him that being cautious is okay and that I wished we had been able to get a picture, too.  But we'd get to fish again soon...!  Hopefully we'll have another warm enough day to enjoy doing this!

   I enjoyed seeing the beauty of nature...reflections of colorful leaves and the sun, hearing the combine and tractor harvesting nearby, watching the ripples of water where fish neared the surface, listening to Joe as he blazed trails through the grass exploring, and hearing Jake delight in every movement of the bobber! Creation is a beautiful thing that we are created to enjoy and I'm glad I got to enjoy it fully this afternoon!

Bears cookies

   Grammie and Grandpa took a trip to Chicago this past week.  Since Mama and Papa's is an easy stop on the way, we were able to see them for about an hour.  Grandpa (a Minnesota fan) showed his love for his grandsons by purchasing Chicago Bears cookies from a family favorite bakery in Chicago.  The cookies were delivered personally with love...and eaten with great appreciation.  I didn't show the cookies to the boys until after dinner that night. The boys were delighted to see the cookies...and Jake even commented in the midst of his bites... "Good thing Grandpa didn't buy us Vikings cookies. We wouldn't have been able to eat those!" Joe piped in with, "Yeah, we need to say thank you!" Thus, the boys realized how much it took for Grandpa to buy the cookies for the boys! :)

   Joe managed to wear a lot of his cookie...and needed an immediate shower.  But promptly after his shower he asked, "Can we call Grammie and Grandpa to say thank you now?"  He enjoyed telling them what cookie he ate and what colors were on it, etc!  And he was sure to let them know how much he enjoyed eating the cookie!
   Simple pleasures...they go a long way!