Misc.

My favorite part of home schooling is getting to go on many field trips and nature walks/hikes. This Friday we're going to Kids'N'Clay where the boys will make 2 creations each and have some time on the wheel! Chad and I were just joking about the things Aidan could make and we thought about how an ashtray was such a common thing for us to make when we were little.
Aidan says "What's an ashtray?" So funny!

This boy is my pride and joy! He is respectful and kind and just plain fun. I feel like he is my second best friend. How much I love spending time with him each day when Hope and Halle go down for their nap! He is really enjoying homeschooling.

Today Annah has her first of five volleyball tryout sessions. She's got plenty of get up and go~energy galore. She's able to bump and set but even after practicing together for over an hour yesterday, she cannot serve overhand. Please say a prayer for her today~she would love to make the team! She's barely done healing from having 4 wisdom teeth pulled on Friday.

Another prayer request is regarding T-Bella. She is still with us and the judge never made a decision. We thought she just shelved it until the next court hearing which is the 26th of this month. I just spoke to her social worker and she heard yesterday that the judge was going to provide a written decision today (Wednesday Nov 12th). I'm not holding my breath! It's been nearly seven weeks since the judge said she would take a week to rule. It's in God's hands. But I'll be honest and say it is not easy to have three children within 15mos of each other. 5 3/4-newly 7 are fun ages! But that age range is tough as far as personal space and other boundaries go and I'm pulling my hair out. They're all so very precious and enjoyable one on one~just wonderful. Together~not so much. Sigh. Chad says maybe God's helping us get ready for the inevitable, making it a bit easier. He's the wise one as usual. :o)

So Ethan and Ryland have been driving me crazy but they have their moments of goodness. Today Ryland went to the dr and he showed off his reading and writing skills, told the dr. what a great family he has and how he's the big brother. He was in the 90th percentile for height at 45 inches but only weighed 37 pounds, coming in at the 20th percentile. Tall and skinny. Also his eyesight was surprising with one eye not doing as well. I thought he was teasing because I could read every letter/shape on the line below the one he was struggling with. I think he was 20/25.
He was so sweet last night telling me "remind Jesus that I don't want any bad dreams tonite, okay Mom?" I promise this happened in only 1 minute of not watching the girls!!! Aidan cleaned it all up!

Ethan is doing well in 1st grade but says he can't stand being away from me "for SO super LONG!" lol I think it's doing him good to have a little time away from T-Bella and Ry. Though the bus driver gave them assigned seats apart from each other after they all sat together the first few days and that was ENOUGH. He is still in love with all things Army and Navy. NO Ethan; you do not WANT to go to war!

Hope and Halle are insanely adorable. They make me laugh so hard my sides ache. I love how they try to do everything I do; Hope loves to get into my make-up drawer and she'll look up at me with those baby browns and copy me, putting lipstick to her lips and powder puffing her cheeks. Halle is more into figuring out how things work and once she's done that she will repeat it over and over, squeeling with frustration if she can't figure it out. They are exerting their independence daily and I love letting them try things out for themselves. They are sweet with each other bringing something to their sister before I've even realized that was what they wanted. Their adoption was going to be finalized on November 14th but our fingerprints will not be back until early December.

The girls will be 18 months on the 15th. I have some adorable pink tutu pictures to post of them. Will be up soon. Happy November :o)

Iron man, a Knight, a Pilot, Snow White & 3 Fairies

3 of my favorite fairies

the gang

hope loves jan & m&ms

trick or treating at Margaret and Louie's

harvest party at a nearby church

harvest party at josh and lena's (and simmy's!)

watching pumpkin carving

halle is content to hold a small one

the twins and their sweet little friend letty

"playing" the piano together

they are definitely musically inclined; I can't wait to begin lessons :o)

50 Ways

to Help Unborn Babies and their Mothers.

This is a wonderful article by Randy Alcorn, writer of an amazing little book called The Treasure Principle.

my vote

I know I am not sacrificing the way so many are but I couldn't agree more with this man...


Thank-you Toni for posting this yesterday.

Fall Blessings

I am amazed by the generosity and love my friends show us. We are loved and supported indeed. From the little *yet huge* things like watching our the kids to doing my dishes (thank-you Lena!!!) to an awesome gift of a rainbow big toy for an early Christmas present! Thank you Matt, Kara, Sharon, Richard and Laura! You guys rock! I've been wanting to post pictures of the kids enjoying this awesome gift but haven't uploaded them yet; but I had to write down right now how thankful I am this morning. My heart could burst! *smile* How blessed we are!

Here are some pictures from last weekend's annual fall hike to the river...

2 to school...

for K and 1st grade. I am surprisingly peaceful about our decision to have Ry and Ethan go to school this year. We bathed the decision in prayer and had to admit I am not super mom. Chad and I feel strongly about keeping Annah and doing our best with T-Bella for however much longer she might be with us; so with 7 children I knew something needed to change. Between multiple counseling appts (3 per week), twins PIC appts, adoption appts and paperwork, social worker appts (3x/month) etc etc. For this season at least, I believe Ethan and Ryland will enjoy some time away from home and each other! I know this goes against much of what I believe (having all our children home, working together and tomato staking etc) yet I know this is what we need to do for right now. The twins are much more of a handful (delightfully so!) now that they are toddlers and I don't want to miss the joy for the business. We will continue to do SO much learning together however and since our lifestyle is one of constant learning and interaction; it will be good.

"Ry and Mom when Ry grows older and taller than her." ;o)

He is still the same...

yesterday, today, tomorrow. It's so very reassuring to remember that no matter what happens in the world, on this earth, our God does not change. His word does not change. His character does not change. His love is unchanged.

I'm on my knees praying for our country this morning. It's heavy on my heart, though I don't really know why it should be all that different now than any other time in history. I guess I'm seeing red flags and wondering why so many others do not. God is in control and it it needs to come to pass; it will no matter what we do to stop it. But I pray for His protection and provision today.

"Special Obama flags and an Obama presidential seal. A graphic with the portrayal of the globe and Obama's name on it, which adorns everything from Obama's plane to his street literature. Young school children singing songs praising Obama. Teenagers wearing camouflage outfits and marching in military order chanting Obama's name and the professions he is going to open to them. An Obama world tour, culminating in a speech in Berlin where Obama proclaims we are all citizens of the world."

The Obama Temptation [Mark R. Levin]

“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
therefore, I will wait for Him.”
Lamentations 3:21-24

Ethan at 7...

~my early bird ~he often joins me for my morning coffee and bible reading ~he has hot chocolate and reads (or tries) his hero bible ~loves to set up his toys in scenarios of great battles ~still called Hunter as he is unchanged from the three year old who would walk around our yard, spear in hand, hunting the bears ~builds his bionicles or other lego creations sans instructions, much to his older brothers chagrin ~prayed the other night "please help me to want to pray more"~affectionate and cuddly still ~adores his Hoper-smacker ~my trouble maker, still ~loves to do math facts, as fast as he can~determined, decisive, delightful

Happy Birthday Ethan!

We love you!!!

pink

Do we really have 4 girls!?! Yep. For how long, only God knows. But one thing is for sure...we've got a whole lot of pink in our home right now and I'm loving it!

Nature boy

I don't think there is hardly a day Ry isn't looking up some critter in our Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. I love his enthusiasm. He came to me and asked me how to spell caterpillar so he could look it up in the index! Even more impressive was that he was able to find it and indentify the types we have. Way to go Ry!

great news

We're working hard to have the twins' adoption finalized by November 14th!!! The push is for us to participate in National Adoption Day and I'm just thrilled. What an amazing gift it will be to finally let our breath out before the holidays. Thankfullness will be bursting at the seams in our house this year!!! We appreciate your prayers. :o)