What's Up Wednesday (11.24.21)

 Today I'm linking up with Shay and Sheaffer for the November edition of What's Up Wednesday!

Here's a snapshot of our month so far!

WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK:

On Monday night we ate at my parents' house to celebrate my nephew's 9th birthday!  We had ham and onion-potatoes and asparagus and of course cupcakes and ice cream!  My Nana got to come over as well, and it was a fun time!

WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

Oh periodically, I get stuck in a rabbit hole and get lost in memories of when my kids were little (and they're not even that old!).  I struggle a lot with the second half of 2014 and most of 2015 because I was on autopilot trying to survive and keep my son alive.  I reminisce a lot over pictures and blog posts I wrote during that time because it helps me remember that I did live and so did he, and that we did make memories even if they're hard to remember.  

I'm also working on decluttering (and by "working on," I mean thinking about when I'll start decluttering). I hesitate to throw out any craft my children make because I'm afraid I'll be tossing the memories too, and this is something I'm working to overcome. 

WHAT I’M LOVING:

I'm loving this week off of school! It was exactly what I needed for a heart reset before I finish out these last couple weeks of school before Christmas!

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO:

My mom and dad are keeping my nephews this week until their parents arrive for Thanksgiving festivities, so we've been having lots of cousin playtime!  

WHAT I’M DREADING:

This week I'm not dreading anything.  I'm trying to really enjoy my time and relax.  Most of my Christmas shopping is finished and I'm working on savoring the moments and making memories. 

WHAT I’M WORKING ON:

I'm working on a personal reading challenge I set for myself for this week off of school and I'm halfway there!  Another thing I'm working on is the willpower to exercise!

WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT:

This season of the year!  Watching the magic of Christmas through the eyes of children is such a fantastic experience and I'm excited for this season to be upon us once again. 

WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING:

Aaron bought the first season of Wallykazam on Amazon Prime for Avery, so the kids are fully enjoying that show.  They've also watched the new Home Alone on Disney Plus several times.

I'm trying to watch several of my Candace Cameron Bure Christmas movies this week.  So far, this month I've made it through three. 

I set a challenge for myself to read four books this week while I'm off.  I've made it through two and I'm working on book three right now. 

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO:

We LOVE Christmas music!  I have an app on my phone where I can make playlists, and I have one labeled "Christmas" and that's what we choose from when we're in the car.  Each kid has their favorite song & artist and we rotate who gets to pick songs when we drive.  Sometimes we'll even play the songs through a Bluetooth speaker at home in the kitchen.  This music makes us feel so joyful!  A few new favorites this year include Love & the Outcome's "Christmas Lights," Cochren & Co.'s "Christmas with You" and For King & Country's "Little Drummer Boy."  Our favorites year after year include Pentatonix "Little Drummer Boy" and "Mary Did You Know" and Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and all three versions of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (By Thurl Ravenscroft, Tyler the Creator, and Jim Carrey).  

I plan to write a post soon about the Christmas songs that can bring me to tears based on their messages! 

WHAT I’M WEARING:

This week has been all about the clothes that I cannot wear at school.  Today I'm wearing my "You're Killing Me Smalls" shirt. 

WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND:

Hopefully nothing!  I like to have a calm weekend before heading back to school after a break, so I'm hoping this weekend is calm!  We will decorate our church for Christmas on Sunday, but other than that I want a blank schedule. 

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

All of the Christmas festivities!

WHAT ELSE IS NEW:

Not too much.  I have something on the horizon beginning in the next six months, but I'm trying not to overwhelm myself by talking much about it yet.  We're also busying ourselves with getting our house ready for a potential sale if we find land that we'd like to build on, so I have a few tasks that I'll need to do over the next month or so. 

That was fun!  

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Impromptu Santa Visit

 On a spur of the moment, Aaron and I decided to take the kids to see Santa on Tuesday evening!  I was curious as to when Santa would be appearing at the Bass Pro Shops, and once I found out that he was there pre-Thanksgiving, I checked the reservation options and booked a quick trip.  

At the boys' school this week, Santa will come but only the kids who pre-pay for pictures get a chance to see Santa at that time.  I've paid for pictures the past several years, but the boys said they preferred not to do that this year so I made sure they knew it meant they couldn't see Santa at school (I'm not a fan of the policy that says you have to pay to see him).  

Since the boys decided not to participate in the school event, I told them I'd make sure we got over to Bass Pro to see Santa when he was in town.  Last year we did not go see Santa at Bass Pro since a sheet of Plexi-glass separated him from the kids, and we thought it was a weird set-up overall.  This year, however, I was prepared for the Plexi-glass sheet and I prepped the kids that it might be like that if we went.   

Once I found out that Santa was already in town, I wanted to get in a visit for the kids before the school Santa arrived.  I figured this would soften the situation if they knew that they already had a chance to see Santa (just in case they were sad on the day when Santa came to school and they realized for sure that they couldn't see him).  Tuesday worked out for our schedules, and we surprised the kids by taking them on this spontaneous adventure!  To our surprise, there was a wooden bench set up in front of Santa, but no Plexi-glass!  Avery was present, but was too nervous to take a picture or sit on the bench, so I held her just out of the camera's frame of reference.  

Santa was very personable and engaged with all three kids.  All three kids came away feeling light-hearted and that they mattered to Santa, and this was my goal and I am so impressed with Santa! 

Afterwards, we played with the toy set-up a little bit before heading home for snack.  

It was a special fun trip!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba 

Pumpkin Carving Recap

I'm realizing today that I never shared the photos from our pumpkin carving! In mid-October after going to the pumpkin patch (twice) we invited my mom over to carve pumpkins with us. I made a spooky dinner (pasta and meatballs to look like eyeballs), then we headed to the backyard to carve. 

Michael wasn't so sure about the pumpkin insides, Noah dove right in, and Avery had a fit for 40 minutes and suddenly was fine and wanted to carve (which meant we had to refill her pumpkin with the seeds so she could remove them herself).  All three kids work on their own designs. They draw the outline with a Sharpie, then use the pumpkin carving kit to saw the pieces out. A few nights later, my mom gave me some tealights and I took the kids outside at dark to see their creations lit up. All three kids chose "spooky" faces.  

We had a great time doing this, and the pumpkins lasted for about 2 weeks- the perfect amount of time before November arrived. 

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Three Things- Fall 2021

Last night before going to sleep, I read back through some December posts of years past. I was reminded that this blog is meant to be a memory keeper and that I need to stop worrying about topics & just write. So today I thought I'd give an installment of three things about each kiddo. 

Michael: 9 Years 

-Michael is making huge strides with his independence. Since he has Type One Diabetes, he must count every carb and administer insulin prior to eating meals & snacks. That being said, he didn't get to have the normal progression of kid independence (like waking before parents & eating breakfast while watching cartoons, etc.). I never want him to feel the burden of Diabetes before he's ready, so we've slowly introduced tasks and worked with him on them (like carb counting & how to use and trust his insulin pump). This summer he began practicing lots of tasks and this fall he's really blossomed into being able to take care of things like Breakfast & snacks. This makes him feel independent, which in turn makes me feel happy. 

- Michael has the best laugh but this true expression of joy doesn't show itself often, so when it does show up I am inclined to continue letting him do whatever it is that's bringing the laughter. Like his mother, uncle, and grampa, his eyes disappear during true laughter and it's fun to see that trait show through. 

-He has maintained his reader status and will fly through books super quickly. I ask him sometimes if he remembers the content (thinking for sure he wouldn't since he went so fast) but he actually does! Hopefully he'll never lose his joy of reading. We have big plans this holiday season to read Christmas books together in the evening. I think Christmas season can start today. :)

 

Noah: 7 Years

-Noah is full-on set in his police officer pretend play. This is absolutely his favorite thing to play, and he'd much rather play pretend than watch a show or play computer games. He is fully committed to his role & will wear costume pieces or turn random toys into the police items he feels that he needs for his game. It's very interesting to watch his creativity. 

-Noah has maintained perfect behavior at school for three years running. He has only received the highest behavior marks from the first day of kindergarten through present day. He tends to save his emotions until he gets home.  Although this is exhausting for me, I understand that this is his safe place where he can exhibit his feelings. 

-Noah loves things in a big way. He jumps up & down with excitement about life's simple joys. Making cookies? Noah jumps up & down. Having a pot luck at church? Noah jumps up & down. Able to walk down the aisle at Dollar General and look for Christmas list items? Noah jumps up & down. He's been this way since he could first jump and it's one of my most favorite qualities of his. :)

Avery: 4 Years

-Avery began ballet class this fall and has LOVED it! She looks forward to dance class and enjoys watching YouTube tutorial videos in the meantime. She had her first community recital performance a few weeks ago & did so well! It was SO much fun to see her perform and to love what she does. 

-She's quite the negotiator. If she says "four stories & a song" and we counter offer with "two stories & a song," she'll act like she's doing us such a favor by saying "okay...three stories & a song." She has a plan for everything and in her mind, it's a very simple thing for all aspects to go according to her plan. If she asks for a toy and I say "no" because it's too expensive, she'll day "ugh, just hand them your card & pay for it. You don't have to have real money." I'm interested to see if she uses negotiation skills in her career one day. 

-Avery loves girly things like playing dress up, pretend coffee shop, Barbies & baby dolls. I LOVE watching her showcase her playing skills! She's becoming interested in wearing a small bow now & then, and she's working very hard at picking out her own outfits and dressing herself daily. 

These kiddos are such a blessing! I love being their mom even in the difficult moments & through all the tired stages. I cannot imagine life without them & it's part of my motherhood calling to lead them to Jesus so that I'll never have to know what life without them is like. 

Aaron & I are doing well ourselves. I'm looking forward to the breaks that come with the holiday season. He's handling work schedules fantastically, as he always has.  He's mastering the art of Asian style meals & we're all reaping the benefits of that! We're both excited for the holiday joy & watching the magic of Christmas through the eyes of our children. 

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Fall Photo Roundup

 My photos uploaded in reverse order, so this will be like a backwards walk through our recent fall events! (Any overlap of pictures from my previous posts is purely accidental since I did not sort back through to verify "picture originality to post ratio.")

Yesterday was a virtual learning day in our county (although school staff had to report to the buildings)...  Anyway, Noah's teacher compiled a cute little packet of information for him to work on and his final worksheet was a coloring page for Veterans Day.  He loved his drawing so much that I just had to capture on camera. 

Our very bountiful fall mantle.  Something from every kid is up there.  From right to left (starting after the heart photo)  the sunflower chalk pastel drawing is from Noah's art class.  The scarecrow with the sunflower hat is from Michael's art class.  The next scarecrow painting is from Noah's class.  The purple popsicle stick pumpkin face is Avery's from a year ago.  Since it's November, I added my Gather banner under my felt leaf garland. 

To prepare for teacher in-service yesterday, I wore my comfiest Christmas shirt (I run on coffee and Christmas cheer).  

Aaron took the kids to my mother-in-law's house a few minutes before I had to leave for work, so I enjoyed some coffee and silence.  Also, the two laundry baskets describe my life this past week.  Both are clean clothes.  One is folded, one is not.  As of this morning, all clothes are folded and nearly all are put away!  

You might teach high schoolers if this is something you have to write on your electronic whiteboard.  

I attempted a fishtail braid for Wednesday.  It lasted three minutesd before I decided that a pony tail was a better option. 

On Sundays, Aaron has worship team practice before church and the kids and I hang out in the nursery.  It gives Michael time to play with city wooden blocks, Avery gets to boss around her brothers (not really) and Noah gets to relive his glory days of the ride-on-car. 

Our downtown area is preparing for Christmas and this gigantic Christmas light ornament is fun for the kids to run around in. 

Avery pretended to sleep on a Sunday morning. 

I tried styling her hair before church a couple weeks ago, but she took down all styles before we walked out the door.  She's slowly adding in a bow on her own during the days to keep her hair out of her face. 

The kids tried making caramel apples with Grandma Chips one Saturday.  The caramel didn't stick but the memories were fun!

Avery knows I sleep with an eye patch, so she took one of her headbands to create her own eye patch.  Obviously, it's working well. 

We found another cute spot to take photos downtown during their fall decoration days!

She chose her entire outfit-- t-shirt, overall dress, floral sweatpants, cowgirl boot, felt hat. 

Noah and Avery found a cute downtown decoration while Michael was in art class one evening (pre-time change). 

Pumpkins were suspended from trees with fishing line. 

Noah pretended he was holding up a pumpkin with one finger.  

My mom comes with us downtown some evenings during art class time, and it's super helpful to have her around to help me watch the kiddos!  On that particular evening, the gigantic Christmas light ornament was actually a pumpkin with orange lights and green stem (they've transitioned it to an ornament for Christmas time now). 

The kiddos show off their glowing jack-o-lanterns.  Both boys were super pumped.  Avery wasn't so sure. 

That's a pretty accurate glimpse into our busy days!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Bowling Fun

We took the boys bowling over the weekend while Avery had a fun girl's day with her cousin.  Both boys really enjoyed bowling & it's something we'll definitely do again! We started out with some arcade time, then bowled two games. They really enjoyed their special "Mom & Dad" time and it was fun to find a new family activity we can continue to do in the future!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba