Little Ladies

 7 little ladies moved into the backyard.

Getting them here was quite the ordeal.

Our neighbors down the street gave us their coop and chickens.

We enlisted the help of friends (maybe they won't call us friends anymore) to help us move the coop.

It was 12 degrees and icy on moving day.

The coop only weighs 87346012348761234987 lbs.

Sampson, the cocky rooster, got out.

Sampson was scared out of his mind as 10 guys were trying to chase him down.

Remember I told you it was icy?

Sampson eventually lost, but he sure put up a good fight.

 Since the ladies have taken residence in the backyard,

they have been on the trampoline,

sledding down the hill,

and had little humans crawling in and out of their coop.

Hens usually lay an egg/day.

If they get frightened, they won't lay.

We have collected 1 egg.

If they weren't so scared, we could have had 28 by now.

I can't believe this is my life?!?!?!?!?!

NI Christmas Party

It's Beginning....

 

 ....to look,

 

 and feel,

 

 and smell,

 

 and taste,

a lot like Christmas.

Rise and Shout...

...the Cougars are out!

The Force

 James:  "Mom, I have 'The Force'"

Mom:  "Oh really!  How do you know you have 'The Force'?"

James:  "The other day, Jackson was trying to hit me with the ball, but he couldn't because I used 'The Force'...well, he only hit me a little."

Mom:  "Wow!"

James:  "Then this morning, I used 'The Force' to turn on the light in the bathroom...well, half way."

Mom:  "That is amazing!"

So, what did we do with this info?

What every other great parent would do.

We plugged our Christmas tree lights in to a remote switch.

We told James to turn the lights on and off with 'The Force'.

I wish you could have seen his face when the lights turned off for the first time!

Blessings

 Christian and I are all grown up now.

We are now hosting Thanksgiving.

I LOVED hosting Thanksgiving.

The house was so warm and cozy with all our friends (21 in fact).

 This guy was the master behind our feast.

First, he was going to make a turducken

(a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken)

all from fowl he hunted himself with a bow and arrow.

He finally settled with roasting a turkey, smoking a turkey, and deep frying a turkey.

Then he dropped the deep fried turkey and just went with the smoked and roasted.

The turkeys were amazing.

 A friend of mine reminded me of this scripture.

"...and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts,

if I will not open you the windows of heaven,

and pour you out a blessing,

that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

Amen.

Like Father Like Kids

Now that we aren't swimming all the time,

and our bikes are getting out as often,

the kids have been building and programming.

If their little robot sensed:

red:  backwards,

green:  forwards,

yellow:  left

blue:  right.

My jaw was on the floor.

Better Than TV

It was just a utility truck.

Playing in Unison

 

 In the story of Peter and the Wolf,

each character is portrayed by different instruments.

If I were to pick instruments to portray my kids,

I would pick:

 The trumpet for James.

 James is easily excited.

His laugh is contagious.
He has bursts of enthusiasm.

 A string instrument for Daniel.

He is mellow but consistently busy.

I think for Anna, I would have to pick

microphone feedback.

She is so loud and her screams so shrill you can't pay attention to anything else in the room.

 And for Cabub, well he is a little sly and mischievous,

for him a pick

the oboe.

I love how each one of my kids is so different,

but when they all get along, it is so lovely.

Just like a well played orchestra.

Celtics Take on The Jazz

For this view,

you have to fork over the $$.

$12 a pop.

It's Hard Work Being a Kid

Happy Halloween

 I actually don't really like Halloween.

 But, I still caved to peer pressure and decorated a little.

And tried to make a special dinner.

 Picking out and carving the pumpkin was fun.

 Jackie's month long Halloween experiments were amazing.

I think she has outdone herself once again.

 I just loves those two army guys, cowgirl, and 'lil monkey.

 That cowgirl is such a ham.

Tender Mercies

They say a picture is worth 1000 words.

There are no words to describe the feelings of my heart.

The pictures will have to do.

Falling for Fall

 You know it is a good fall when...

 ...you get to go apple picking twice...

...and your backyard looks like this.