4 More Weeks

Until we get to hold this sweet little girl!

Halloween

Saturday evening was our town's designated "Trick or Treating" night.  Spring went with her friend, Ava, and had such a great time.  They are such good friends and she comes from a wonderful family.  We are so glad they have fun together.  Thomas did not want to dress up this year but he wanted to take the other kids out trick or treating so Joel and I stayed home to hand out candy while Thomas took the other 4 trick or treating.  Joshie only made it around our street and then wanted to come home and play inside.  The others went quite a bit and came home with a great stash of candy for Mom and Dad, I mean for themselves!

Happy Birthday Gideon

This sweet boy is now 2!  He loved having everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to him and blowing out his candles.  He received a fun track system from Grandma & Grandpa Powell, Aunt Alanna, and Uncle Eric which all the kids have enjoyed playing with since he got it.  He also got some trains from the family and has been sleeping with his trains at naptime and bedtime.  For the last 3 days he has been playing with his trains and the track all day long.  He is definitely a train fanatic.

 

Gideon is a great kid.  He loves to be with his siblings wherever they are.  He and Joshie are quite funny together in the mornings as they play and laugh with each other.  He likes to run, jump, and be outside.  He loves to lay on Joshie's bed at night as we are reading stories before bedtime.  He still doesn't talk much at all..."dad," "no," and "fall" are the only words he says so his doctor has referred him for a speech evaluation.  Right now he just takes someone by the hand and pulls them to wherever he needs to go to get what he wants to get.  His smile and his joy for life are a blessing to our family.

OASIS Projects

Thomas and Spring are so blessed to be in the OASIS program here in the school district.  It is a program for gifted children.  They each spend one day a week in this class which has about 7-10 students.  They get to do fun individual and group projects, problem solving activities, and other higher order thinking activities. 

 

Spring's class has been studying the brain for the 1st quarter of school.  She has learned so much about it and the culminating activity was dissecting a sheep's brain last week.  She has been counting down for this from the beginning of the year.  She came home from school that day so happy and excited and said it was better than she imagined it would be.  She was especially excited that she got to bring home some pieces of the sheep brain to keep.  She is currently keeping them in the freezer but I keep teasing her that I am going to put them in the next soup I make.

 

Thomas' class focused on Greek mythology for the 1st quarter.  Their culminating project was choosing a character from Greek mythology and becoming this person.  They wrote a 5 minute speech, describing who they were and their part in Greek mythology. He chose to be Hermes.  He then had to come up with a costume and prop for his character, memorize his speech, and then present it on their Greek mythology day.  He loved this project and did such a wonderful job.

 

 

We are so blessed to have a wonderful school district for our children to attend. Their programs are amazing.  Our family is truly blessed.

Fall Leaves

When we got home from church Joshie headed straight from the bus to the pile of leaves. He just couldn't resist jumping in. Gideon soon followed and their smiles were priceless. The two of these boys have especially loved the leaves this fall and are constantly looking for a pile to jump in, lay in, and bury themselves under.

Fun with Duct Tape Camporee

Last weekend the scouts in our unit attended the Fall Camporee which had the theme, "Fun with Duct Tape."  They set up camp in the dark, rainy, and very cold conditions but all helped get camp set up.  The following morning Thomas and the 11 year old patrol were in charge of breakfast.  They made french toast, bacon, and hot chocolate.  Thomas loves to cook on the campouts and loves to help plan the menus.  I think the scouts are starting to learn they will eat well if Thomas is on a campout with them.  Following this they participated in the Presidential Physical Fitness challenge beginning with a 1-mile run in very cold temperatures.  After the various activities in the Fitness challenge they had a quick lunch provided by the older scouts and then participated in a First Aid Challenge. 

 

For this challenge they had to find their "dummy" in the woods and access his various injuries.  They then had to treat the injuries and transport him back to the pavilion.  Thomas was in his glory in this activity.  Joel said he took great initiative and knew how to treat the various injuries.  He was reminded afterwards, however, the proper way to put a sling on an arm with a dislocated shoulder!  Joel said that throughout the activity the scouts kept saying, "Just let Thomas do it.  Just let Thomas tie the knots.  Just let Thomas do it...he knows what to do."  Joel had to remind the boys they all needed to help Thomas and not just stand by.  Thomas did a great job of teaching and coaching some of the scouts along on how to tie the knots and treat the injuries.  This challenge was timed and seconds were added on as penalities for various infractions.  Our unit won the challenge.

 

Then it was time for the apple bake off.  The other boys did not want to help with this part as many were complaining of being cold and tired but Thomas was so excited for this part.  He made apple dumplings with red hot cinnamon candies added in!  When it came out of the oven, all the boys were more than happy to devour the dumplings, however.  Our unit won this competition as well.

 

Thomas and Joel got home around 8:00 Saturday night.  Thomas was still full of such excitement and enthusiasm.  He was in his glory all weekend.  Joel said he wanted to participate in everything they did and he never stopped or slowed down.  He is definitely in his element with all things scouting!

Sammy's Writing Skills

Sammy has been much more interested in writing lately and I think a lot of that has to do with being able to see now!  His teacher has commented to me that his confidence in writing has greatly improved.  This morning, before school, he wanted to practice some writing and he did amazing.  I am so proud of him.  Isn't his handwriting amazing too!  He wrote these sentences all on his own.  I loved sitting by him and listening to him stretch out the words so he could hear each individual sound.  Sammy asked me to put a picture on the blog so Grandma could see his work!

 

Translation:

top line he was writing some of his sight words that he remembered

The dog likes to play with me.

Sammy plays kick and catch.

I have 3 brothers and two sisters.

I like to play in the snow.

I like to take care of Pugsley.

6th Grade Camp

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week Thomas was able to attend 6th grade camp.  Joel was able to go with him as well.  The camp was a little over 2 hours from home and they had a great time.  They learned about habitats, food chains, lashings, teamwork, geology, landfills, and many other topics.  The first night they went on a night hike without flashlights.  It was pitch black and they were able to learn about animals and insects seen at night.  They saw glowworms, which are the larvae stage of fireflies. 

 

Joel was in a cabin with 12 boys, including Thomas.  They were a great bunch of kids and had fun together.  One morning Joel woke up just before 6:00 to find all 12 boys on the bathroom floor playing "go fish."  Thomas had woke up first and gone in there so he wouldn't bother anyone else with a light on and then slowly other boys would wake up and join him until a big game of "go fish" was underway.

 

There were 4 classes from his school at the camp so a little over 100 students.  On the last day they were presenting the staff at the camp with a flag from their school.  All the kids were up front to present this and Joel said it was amazing because all the students wanted Thomas to be their spokesman.  Thomas was in the back of the group as the whole group started chanting, "Thomas! Thomas!" The kids in front of Thomas started to part the way so he could make it to the front of the group for the presentation.  Joel said he began to get a bit emotional as he thanked the staff for all the fun they were able to have and then presented the banner to them.  Joel said it was amazing throughout the week to meet all these different kids.  They would ask him who's dad he was and he would say, "Thomas Biggs' Dad."  They would all say,  "Thomas is cool!"  Joel would ask if they were in his class or if they were in his class last year or how they knew Thomas.  Most replied that they did not have him in a class (and he is still relatively new to this area so he has not grown up with these kids) but that "everyone knows Thomas!  He's cool and nice to everyone!"  Proud moment for a dad!  As Thomas was telling us all about camp at dinner last night the kids were all excited for when they are in 6th grade.  I am excited for Spring to be in 6th grade so I can go to camp with her!

FHE Hike

Joel is with Thomas at 6th grade camp for the next few days so I decided to take the rest of the kiddos on a hike for Family Home Evening.  I struggle from about 4:00 in the afternoon until bedtime when Joel is not home because I miss him coming home and the break it gives me just knowing he is there to help me out.  This is the most difficult part of the day for me because we are trying to get homework completed, dinner served, younger ones occupied, bathtime, scripture reading, and finally bedtime.  So, when Joel is gone I like to plan something to help change things up a bit, more for me than the kids, so I don't dread these few hours as much.

 

After a quick dinner we drove out to the National Park.  I love how close it is and how much we enjoy our time there.  We went to a different part tonight than we have been to before.  Sammy, especially, loved it because there were so many rock formations to climb.  He is an amazing climber.  He climbs with ease and speed.  We all had a great time and it was really quite relaxing.  Gideon stuck with Spring the entire time.  Sometimes she gave him piggy back rides but most of the time he just wanted to walk right alongside her like a big boy.  It was a bit chilly but we had a great time and the kids came home ready for bed.

Self Reliance

Gideon showed us how self reliant he truly is yesterday. He didn't mind if there were only crumbs...he was hungry so he found himself something to eat.

Spring's Class Project

Spring's class has been studying Native Ohio Tribes for a few weeks.  They were put into groups and each group focused on a particular Tribe.  They researched information and learned all they could about the tribes and then created a display with their information.  Last week parents were invited to their museum so we could be taught about these tribes.  It was very well done and all of the children were able to answer questions about their tribe and tell us all they learned.  It was fun to see Spring with her group and to see her excitement as she shared her display.

Fall is Here

 

I love this time of year...Fall is my favorite season, but I also really like Spring as well.  The leaves on the trees are so vibrant now and there is a beautiful mixture of color.  I love driving around town for errands now because of how absolutely beautiful everything is.  This past week we also had some beautiful days with temperatures in the high 60's and low 70's so we have been enjoying our time outside.  Yesterday Mary, Joshie, Gideon, and I went out to wait for Sammy and Spring to get home from school.  Joshie takes every opportunity to ride his bike so he was in heaven.  He and Mary were riding to the neighbor's lawn and bringing me back "flowers"...not really the kind I want to have but how can I say no to their looks of joy and excitement as they bring me these treasures. 

 

I just love this stage Gideon is in right now.  I think the only thing that would make it better is if he would talk some.  He still only says "Dad" and "no" so communicating is rather difficult.  He will take me by the hand to show me what he wants and he can eventually show us his desires but somedays it can be a struggle.  I love his endless cuddles and hugs.  He ventures out to ride his bike or explore but will come running back to make sure I am still there and give me a hug before heading off again.  He warms my heart, as do all our children.  I love days that are a little more relaxing where I take the time to enjoy the moments with them.  I need to do this more and worry less about getting the things done.  I struggle each day trying to find that balance...getting the necessary things done for the functioning of our family while not rushing away the precious moments that will all too soon be gone from my life.  Some days I feel like I am getting that balance and other days I know I have not achieved it at all.  I am starting to realize that this balance is something that I will daily need to actively strive for and reevaluate.

Joshie's Heartfelt Desire

When Joshie was told he was going to have a little sister he was very upset.  He broke down and sobbed for a very long time.  For days afterwards whenever we mentioned something about the baby being a girl he would very sternly reply, "I don't want to talk about it!" and then walk off.  Well, we thought he had come to grips with the idea of a little sister over the last few months...until a few days ago.  He was asked to say family prayer and in his prayer he fervently asked Heavenly Father to make the baby in Mommy's tummy be a boy.  In every prayer he has said since that day he has asked the same thing.  So, now we get to ponder how we will explain this to him when the baby is born a girl!  Or, the joke will be on us if the baby really is a boy!  Who knows what he will pray for next if this prayer comes true!

Backpacking

Last weekend Thomas went on his first backpacking trek.  He planned this trek so he could complete one of the requirements for the Camping merit badge.  They spent the last few patrol meetings planning the route, menu, etc for the trip.  He has been super excited for this weekend to come.  They hiked in the National Park for a total of almost 5 miles.  It was a short introduction to backpacking and Thomas loved it.  He wants to do more backpacking trips soon.  He said his highlight was the copperhead snake they found.  I am glad I was not there with them to find that!