{iPhone Rewind} :: November

Oh my goodness...the PAPER. Does anyone else have this problem? We have massive amounts of paper that we clean out weekly. But it keeps multiplying. It's unreal. And ridiculous. And we're drowning in it. #sendhelp

First bonfire with Daddy's new Solo Stove!

Sometimes you have to do Spelling in your Princess outfit :)

Sweet brothers

Eli finally lost his front tooth! This thing has been loose for 2 months!

Pretty fall flowers from Mike

Read-Aloud time with Daddy :)

My attempt at a Thanksgiving-themed appetizer haha #nailedit

After months of wiggly teeth...Eli finally lost BOTH of his 2 front teeth!

Just chilling in the leaves

Enjoying a good robot book next to the fire

Superheroes and ponies :)

We have found some pretty BIG leaves!

The day after Thanksgiving means only one thing...

It's the end of November, and we have a raspberry crop in our backyard!

We celebrated Mike's birthday with some chips and salsa!

Eli is so patient...he helps his siblings work through their math workbooks when he finishes his work.

Thanks for the new book, Ms. Vi!

Using up all those turkey leftovers! ;)

Working hard on that handwriting :)

We made some paper bead necklaces for history while we were studying ancient Africa :)

Setting sail on their ship! #imagination

Learning about birds of prey and showing Daddy how we do science!

Thanksgiving 2023

This year for Thanksgiving, we decided to make it our "practice" year for a Thanksgiving meal. I made my first official meal a couple of years ago, but I made the turkey in the crockpot because I was too nervous to try it in the oven. And it was fine. But I decided to give it a go, for real this year ;)

I was gifted a turkey, and it ended up being 19-pounds haha. What better way to "practice" than on the largest bird available? Go big, or go home, right? Since it was so large, we knew we would have more than enough to share, so we put out an invitation to several people in our church. Many already had plans, but we ended up having a sweet woman from our congregation join us, and it was such a blessing to have her. 

This year, I started with The Pioneer Woman's recipes: brine and roast turkey. And while it was a decent amount of prep work, it actually turned out pretty good! I definitely learned a lot along the way, but overall, it was doable for a non-cook like me ;)

First thing I learned: I don't have a big enough pot. I had to do my brine in 2 batches because my pot wasn't big enough for the amount of brine necessary for a 19-pound turkey. Go figure. I don't plan to cook a 19-pound turkey again in the future, but if I do...I'm gonna need a bigger pot.

I also had my little helpers in the kitchen with me. Maybe if I can teach them alongside me, they'll learn early and take pity on their poor mother and be the ones to cook the turkey when they're grown haha. 

While we waited for the brine to cool, we finished up some schoolwork and then pulled out a fun Thanksgiving activity map {thank you, Dollar Tree!}.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Where there is a will, there is a way...I was smart enough to get the brining bag, but not smart enough to think through where the brining bag was going to go with the turkey and all the liquid in it. And since my pot certainly wasn't big enough...let's just say, my kids were not too sure about my idea, because I definitely roped them into helping me hold the bag while I stuffed the turkey inside. But Mommy got 3 loud cheers when I accomplished my goal AND lifted it into the fridge, so... 

Mike was busy making his family's recipes for rolls and dressing. The kids were more than happy to help with that too, and they turned out great! Made with love :)

In the end, everything turned out great, we had a lovely Thanksgiving meal with wonderful company, and it was a great day of giving thanks for all the Lord has done. I'm thankful for sweet family traditions to pass down and start with our kiddos, and I am thankful for how the Lord is so faithful to take care of us all year long. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Days

It's hard to believe that we have already been in the house for almost a year! But here we are, another fall season has rolled around, which means another leaf-raking season has come :)

We have a magnificent oak tree in our front yard {and several other trees in our backyard and surrounding our property}. It's actually one of the historic trees in the neighborhood, as it was one of the original ones from before the neighborhood was built. It's massive and absolutely beautiful. 

Earlier this year, it secreted a sticky substance that coated our cars and driveway, that we later learned was the excretion of aphids chewing on the leaves {gross}. But it eventually stopped and thankfully is as healthy as ever. Then starting in early September, it starting throwing acorns at us haha. We had a mass amount of acorns littering our yard, and we had to be careful walking under it, because otherwise we would get pelted. And then all the leaves began to change colors, which is such a sight to behold, and makes me wonder how I ever lived without real seasons before. 

But then the leaves fall. And fall, and fall, and fall. And we basically rake leaves endlessly for weeks haha. So it is an all-family affair! Thankfully, we have had some good advice on all the right tools to help make the job a little easier, and it really has become a fun family event. It's still hard work, but we try to make it as fun as possible, and when you have hulk hands to pick up the leaves, and you get to jump in the leaf pile every now and then, it's not so bad ;)

Maddie Grace has become our expert helper! She gets right in there, holds the lawn bag, is ready to get more supplies when we need it, and even uses her strong muscles to carry the leaf bag! She's such a fantastic helper :)

And sometimes Daddy rewards the kiddos with a fun fire pit after an afternoon of hard work. I love these fall days and the memories that we are making as a family. Growing up, I remember Saturdays when my dad would mow the lawn, and we would have tuna fish sandwiches for lunch, without fail. I'm sure I complained about having to "do yard work, again?!?!" haha. But I don't look back on those memories with frustration, but rather with sweetness, knowing that I was with my family, and there was consistency in spending time together. I wonder what my kids will remember from these fall clean up days...because there's definitely a lot of them. We raked twice this past weekend. And then it rained, and the ground was covered again haha. 

Race Cars and Panda Bears!

This year we celebrated with race cars and panda bears! 

I love that they still get excited to see what their birthday decorations will be. We have simplified over the years, and yet they are still so excited about what they find! Another tradition we have is that they get a birthday outfit to fit their theme.

Mr. James and Mrs. Siu dropped off the balloons the night before, which was such a sweet and thoughtful gift that they LOVED!

After breakfast, we let them open their presents. They had gifts from us, but also from Granny and Grumpz, Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Ben {and cousins}, and this was the first year that they got gifts for each other. It was their idea, and it was so cute to watch them pick out gifts for each other. Eli and Maddie got to shop for each other at Five Below {it was pretty funny watching them try to hide from each other}, and then Aiden was wanting to make sure he had a gift to give them, so he got to shop for his brother and sister at Target. The kid has expensive taste, so I had to help him out a bit haha.

The rest of the day was filled with playing with all their fun new toys! Eli had lots to build, and Maddie had more panda things than she knew what to do with haha. And they {mostly} tolerated my photos ;)

This year, I let them go to the store and pick out what they wanted for their birthday dessert. Maddie picked out pink funfetti cupcakes, and Eli picked out s'mores brownies. So if you need any sugar...please, come take it from our house haha.

It was a fun day celebrating our favorite 7 year olds!