18

 Happy 18th to our

Baker

Beauty lover

Walking partner

Parthenon loving

Gabby

Friday Funny

Gabby and Nate have the unique opportunity to work together in a little shop in our tiny hometown.  The kids make waffle cones, brownies, and gelato cakes.

(And for Gabby’s benefit: she’s not short [5’8”], he’s just very tall) 🤣

The other night they were on shift together as Gabby made a little cake, but was disappointed in how it turned out.  Nate offered these helpful words, “Well, that’s a cake I wouldn’t feel bad eating.”  Gotta love little brothers!

A sampling of other cakes she’s had a hand in, but not the offending one, though she told me she spent time fixing it.

20

Serving at our church (preparing for the move last fall) and now in the nursery

It’s been a big year for her—not all easy, but she’s worked so hard!

Glowing

A coffee and a puppy in the morning

With kitty, kitty

Ready to protect her new home

Heading off on the next grand adventure!  Excited to see you continue to learn and grow!

Happy 20th—cake to come!!

12

Twelve years with our Ellie

Grateful for her

She has her own sense of style

Joined me in Pi/Pa at AHG (Pioneers [middle school] and Patriots [high school])

Knot tying 

Walkover at gymnastics

She’s spent the past several months serving along side her brother at a local food pantry.

I hope this year is a great one!

Letting Go

 This week is one of big change.

Our second born is off to do exciting things.

As a home school mama, I’ve had the joy and privilege to be there for almost every first, but, like her sister before her, this is where we get to step back.  This phase is hers to own.  And I’m sure she’s ready!

We can’t wait to see all the ways she learns and grows.  We’ll be here, cheering her on!

Praying for wisdom, friendship, joy, and peace.

Double Wedding Ring Quilt Update

So I started a ‘little’ project back in early 2012.  I worked bit by bit on it until Ellie’s arrival in 2013.  After that it lived in a box under the rocking chair in my bedroom, then upgraded to the closet when we moved.

Then the ladies at our new church started a sewing group, just a couple of hours once a month for most of the past two years.

Today, 13+ years in, the piecing is finished.  The ‘sandwich’ is made!

Wonder how long it will take to quilt it….

Here are those old posts, for which I’m thankful to be able to pull dates and memories from!

https://notesfromamama.blogspot.com/2012/01/glutton-for-punishment.html?m=1

https://notesfromamama.blogspot.com/2012/02/sewing-sewing-sewing.html?m=1

Class of ‘25

 I seem to have blinked, and we went from this

To this:

We joined together with a gaggle of other homeschoolers to have a ceremony together—front row, closest end.

A quick reception afterwards

Got to see her boss out at an event on the way from lunch

Next stop…college!

15 1/2

1. What is your favorite color? Black or blue

2. What is your favorite toy? Switch 

3. What is your favorite fruit? Grapes 

4. What is your favorite tv show? Lego Ninjago

5. What is your favorite movie? The Mario Movie 

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? Suit

7. What is your favorite animal? Dogs

8. What is your favorite song? Free falling -Tom Petty

9. What is your favorite book? Steel Heart

10. Who is your best friend? Josiah 

11. What is your favorite snack?  Chocolate chip cookies

12. What is your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper

13. What is your favorite breakfast? Waffles 

14. What is your favorite lunch? PB&J

15. What is your favorite dinner? Tacos 

16. What is your favorite game? Risk 

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Kube

18. What is your favorite holiday? 4th of July 

19. What do you sleep with at night? Blankets 

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Diesel mechanic

17 1/2

1. What is your favorite color? Pink

2. What is your favorite toy? Elephant stuffie

3. What is your favorite fruit? Raspberries

4. What is your favorite tv show? Percy Jackson

5. What is your favorite movie? PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? Sweats

7. What is your favorite animal? Panda

8. What is your favorite song? “Lovesick”

9. What is your favorite book? Heartless

10. Who is your best friend? Lucy <3

11. What is your favorite snack? Cake cookies

12. What is your favorite drink? Coffee

13. What is your favorite breakfast? French toast

14. What is your favorite lunch? Pad Thai 

15. What is your favorite dinner? SKETTI

16. What is your favorite game? Spicy UNO

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Fire

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas 

19. What do you sleep with at night? Lucy & plushies

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Rich

Friday Funny (Overheard)

We order from Chewy.  With a dog, a cat, and nine chickens (and free shipping over a certain dollar value), we make large orders.  This week I ordered chicken feed—2 fifty pound bags, oyster shells, grit, and meal worms; our typical restock for the chickens, which lasts us 6-8 weeks or so (more on the grit, shells, and worms).  We also needed cat litter.  This led to Katie overhearing the poor FedEx delivery guy exclaiming, “How many pets do these people have?”

19 1/2

 

1. What is your favorite color? Yellow

2. What is your favorite toy? Camera

3. What is your favorite fruit? Lemons 

4. What is your favorite tv show? Brooklyn 99

5. What is your favorite movie? It: Chapter I

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? Green flowing pants

7. What is your favorite animal? Chaoyangsaurus

8. What is your favorite song? “Cat People” -Bowie

9. What is your favorite book? The Hunger Games

10. Who is your best friend? Gretchen

11. What is your favorite snack? Mott’s fruit snacks

12. What is your favorite drink? Diet Coke

13. What is your favorite breakfast? Mocha banana smoothie

14. What is your favorite lunch? Chicken Alfredo 

15. What is your favorite dinner? Hot wings

16. What is your favorite game? Bowling

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Swim

18. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween 

19. What do you sleep with at night? Heated blanket

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Esthetician

11 1/2

 

1. What is your favorite color? Blue

2. What is your favorite toy? Swing 

3. What is your favorite fruit? Mango

4. What is your favorite tv show? Psych

5. What is your favorite movie? Jurassic Park

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? Black dress

7. What is your favorite animal? Panda

8. What is your favorite song? "Psych Theme”

9. What is your favorite book? Stepsister 

10. Who is your best friend? Chloe

11. What is your favorite snack? Raspberries

12. What is your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper 

13. What is your favorite breakfast? Pancakes and bacon

14. What is your favorite lunch? Wrap sandwiches with Cool Ranch Doritos

15. What is your favorite dinner? Spaghetti

16. What is your favorite game? Exploding Kittens

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Swing

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas—it lasts 12 days

19. What do you sleep with at night? Piglet

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A gymnastics coach

Friday Funny

 

Nate telling about a dance he attended:

“Well, I was throwing grapes at {the sister of a Trail Life buddy}, but she kept missing.  I picked up the grapes off the floor, but then I couldn’t find a trash can.  So, I stuck the grapes in my pocket.  Thankfully, later I did find the trash.”

😶

Friday Funny

Proof of homeschoolers who sleep in, as we were hiking before daybreak:

It’s the opposite of dusk. -Nate

*Dawn.  It was dawn.*

Our Very Busy Week (and a Half)

December is one of those months, you know?  Our homeschool co-op was taking the month off, but life is still quite full!

We kicked off our very busy schedule with ‘school picture day.’  For many, many years I took the kids to a studio about half an hour from our old home.  There was a great photographer there named Sarah.  The kids liked her, she got them to smile, and took really good photos.  I started calling ahead to put us on the schedule when she would be there.  I’d always ask after her son (conveniently also named Nathaniel).  Time marches on and we moved.  Starting kast year we headed to the portrait studio closer to the new house (now it’s closer to an hour drive).  As I was making the appointment, Gabby mentioned we weren’t like to hear, “Stinky feet!” this year (one of the ways Sarah would get my littles to smile, when they were still little).  But when we walked in last week, who did we find, but Sarah!  It was lovely to catch up on this, Gabby’s last school picture day.

Nate saw the empty parking lot at the mall and asked for a chance to practice.  His sisters and I acquiesced.  He did quite well.  I will say, if you told me this mall, that I visited on Black Friday 30-ish years ago would be this deserted at Christmas time, I wouldn’t have believed you, but here we were!

Justin and Nate spent the next day hiking.  They opted for a spot that took a drive, but were our old stomping grounds, to get his 14-miler in.

Katie managed to have TWO flat tires in the course of an hour—we got the spare on, then en route to the tire shop, the spare popped.  Thankfully we never finished changing a tire ourselves. The first time a guy running a grating project on our road came by.  Then a fellow who was painting a mural at the local hardware store helped with the second.  The tire shop had to order for her, but they gave her a loaner to get her through!

They barely made it home in time for Nate to grab a shower and for me to whisk him off to practice for his upcoming music Christmas program.

Then, of all things, he spent the night in a shelter he made, as he’s trying to finish a badge.  Thank goodness for good gear and Hot Hands!  I woke him up at 6:15, so he must have slept okay—his water bottle froze though.  It got down to 22°!

The next day the fellows went hunting, but the deer won hide and seek.

On Sunday, our Gabby flew away to see her fellow.

We had a day of music at church—(not pictured, the children sang in the morning), then we had an evening of readings and carols in the evening.

Monday was concert day, in Virginia

And Tennessee.

Ellie had Christmas performance practice.

The youth had a Christmas Party.

We helped set up for some displaced Helene families for a Christmas visit.

They guys went paint-balling.

Then Ellie fell ill and missed the Christmas Parade and performance, but we got our gal back from Virginia.