Sweet Sara is 3!

The day after Thanksgiving Sara turned 3!  When you ask her how old she is, she will count out her fingers saying, "1-2-3!!"  We celebrated her birthday over a course of a few days.  On her birthday she opened her gifts and we had dinner of her choice-noodles and white sauce.  We didn't have her purple heart cake with purple frosting until Sunday.  She didn't seem to mind waiting for us.  Sara loves paw patrols and littlest pet shops right now.  She enjoys coloring and making pictures with stickers.  Sara likes to help cook in the kitchen and she loves to be outside playing.  Sara seldom is quiet.  She loves to talk!  Her sweet smile and dimples melts me.  She likes us to call her "sunshine", a nickname given to her by Spring.  She thinks it is great to spend special time with Spring and Mary in the evening when they are supposed to be sleeping.  ;) Sara still loves to do puzzles and patiently works though difficult puzzles "all by myself!"  

November Notables

 Gideon decided Thomas helped provide the perfect seat for watching cartoons.

 We were able to go on a  field trip to the fire station for playgroup.  

 Sammy had surgery to remove the tubes from both of his ears.  His favorite part was riding in the wheelchair after the surgery.  The nurse made his day when she told him he could "drive" the chair all by himself.  By the time we made it to the car he decided being in a wheelchair was a lot more work than he had ever anticipated.

 I was at a meeting one evening and Joel was out of town for business.  As I was driving home late that evening from my meeting I realized I still needed to come home and pack lunches for the next day.  I was so tired I really just wanted to come home and go to bed.  I walked into the house to see that Spring had already packed the lunches for me and left me a sweet note too.  She was an answer to my unspoken prayer that evening.  I'm so grateful for her tender heart and her desire to look for the needs of others and lighten their burdens.

 Thomas was very proud of the fact that he broke ANOTHER set up drumsticks this month!

 Dish duty begins early in our home! Jacob is constantly underfoot in the kitchen trying to "help" me with whatever task I am working on.

 Another fun and memorable "Pie for Breakfast" on Thanksgiving day.  Again we had over 100 friends join us for our children's favorite tradition.  Josh told us that this he likes pie for breakfast even more than Christmas morning! :)

 Jacob always seems to find the stash of candy or treats and helps himself.  Self Reliance, I guess! :)

 Sue Ann gave the kids the game "Pie Face" and it made for a fun impromptu evening!

Long Marching Season

The High School football team went undefeated during the regular season this year earning them a spot in the playoffs.  Since the band accompanies the football team to all games, whether home or away, that meant the marching season was extended as well.  The team made it to the Final Four of the State before losing that game.  What an amazing season!  Five weeks of playoff games.  Thomas was able to perform with the band during pregame and halftime at various venues including university stadiums.  It was exhilarating and exhausting!  The Bulldog marching band consists of 241 musicians!  One of the most impressive things I have ever seen occurs after EVERY football game...win or lose.  The band stands and plays the fight song repeatedly while the entire football team, coaching staff, and cheerleaders make their way to the band and student section.  At that point the players hold their helmets in the air, the coaches hold their hats in the air and everyone (football players, coaches, cheerleaders, student section) sing the Alma Mater while the band plays the Alma Mater.  Then the band plays the fight song repeatedly until the team has left the field.  Amazing!  It brings goosebumps.  

The last game was emotional for Thomas.  He made many new friends, many of which are Seniors.  He reflected that at band camp he would never had guessed he would have grown so close so some of his fellow percussionists and now he was near tears knowing it was the last football game they would perform together at.  I'm so grateful for the experiences he had-good, fun, difficult, and challenging!  Being a member of the Bulldog Marching Band has made Thomas a better young man.

Football Season Comes to an End

 Sam loved playing flag football this season and it was great to have Joel coach his team.  They had a lot of fun.  It was amazing to watch Sam really progress and evolve this year as he better understood the game.  He played running back and defensive back.  Sometimes he jumped in as safety as well.  He loves to run and he is so fast.  He has great natural instincts that are demonstrated as he jukes and cuts.  Watching him brings back great memories from when I played flag football.  Now, we can't find him without a football in his hands and him diving onto the couch pretending to catch the game-winning touchdown. I think that probably brings flashbacks to my mom of me as well, although I don't remember ever doing anything like that! :)

 Playoffs were played at Bulldog Stadium, the High School football field, with announcers and all!

Sam's in Double Digits

 This was a big year for Sam my Man!  He is now in double digits!  He was excited to begin Webelos and also to have a friend party!  He invited about 8 boys (he wanted to invite 20-but mom couldn't handle that!) and told me he was going to plan everything.  They played football outside for the entire 2 hour party, minus a few minutes I "forced' them to come inside for pizza.  In fact, they asked if they could skip cake and ice cream so they could just play more football.  Sam was in his glory.  It was awesome to watch all these boys playing outside.  It was cold too, about 35 degrees but they were shedding sweatshirts and coats because they were so hot! :)

Sam loves anything sports...especially football.  He has really improved so much this year and he is constantly outside playing and begging for someone to come play catch with him.  He works hard to get all his HW and responsibilities finished in the morning so he can gather all the  neighbor boys together after school to play football.  I have to remind him multiple times a day to not throw a ball in the house and to not dive onto the couches pretending to catch a game winning touchdown.  As I remind him I hear my mom in my head telling me the same things when I was his age.  I love this boy of our's.  I love his energy and his zeal for life.  I love how hard he works at school.  He is a math champion.  His mind is amazing and his ability to do mental math is extraordinary.

For his family birthday dinner he chose to have lumpia with banana ketchup and pizza.  He had a huge Reese's PB Cup for his dessert!