Can't Catch Me......

We're getting ready for Christmas, here's one of our projects.

Joy to the World!

One of our newer traditions is to attend a "live nativity". There are various versions, hayrides past scenes, just a stable set up with live actors and animals, and our favorite, the travel version. In the travel version, you become a part of a Jewish family traveling to Bethlehem for census. You walk through a market place, visit with some shepherds, where an angel appears to tell of the Christ child, get hassled by Roman soldiers, see wise men along the road, get turned away at an inn, and finally decide to sleep in a stable where a young woman has just had her first child.

Last year we went to one in Little Elm, but we couldn't find any information on so we went to a different one this year. It was really fun, although Tubby has a pathological fear of all things with fur and four legs. I'm not kidding, he once totally lost it when a teacup poodle licked his hand. He could have stepped on it and not noticed but was convinced that if given a chance, it would immediately turn on him and chew him to death with it's minuscule teeth. Anyway, the first thing that happened was a Roman soldier rode up behind us on a horse, and Tubby was ready to go home. But we made it through by carrying him on our backs while juggling Princess, pushing an empty stroller, and trying to keep Smasher from jumping into a fire pit. Just your typical family outing.
Here we are checking our route with the local carpenter and while we are there find out that the carpenter's son Joseph has left with his betrothed just before us. Then angel appeared to the shepherds and told them of the Christ child. We begin to suspect that this is no ordinary trip for a census. The market place in Bethlehem was impressive! Many animals, "vendors" and entertainers. It was actually built within a very very large walled area.







The end of our journey

My hope is that my children will know with all their senses the reason we set aside these days and celebrate. We enjoy some of the secular in there too, but I want to give them a sense of the holy and thorough education in our belief system. I love it when it can also be a fun experience!

Thanksgiving

I suck at titles. Ah well, I can't do everything....

That is our thankful tree. Every year I staple a tree to our wall and we hang leaves on it labeled with the things we are thankful for. I love how full our tree is every year, I love how even my big boys choose to participate, I love how excited my littles are to do this.


Some of my favorites this year are Tubby's rendering of God, I can almost see Him saying, "Wow, looks just like me!". I love that Ses is thankful for pencils, pizza and his blankie. Smasher is thankful for Red, makes my heart swell. Most of the brothers were thankful for all their siblings, all were thankful for their Daddy and I and their Uncle Mike, who is serving in Iraq. I know some of this is thinking of things that will please me or their daddy, but I like the idea of encouraging them to think of things in their lives that are good in hopes that some day they will live grateful lives. Grateful people are more joyful people. If you always know you are blessed, you will never doubt you are loved, even when live is very hard.

I love quotes and so around our tree are some quotes and verses to remind us:

"Thou hast given me so much....grant me one thing more, a grateful heart" George Herbert
"Were there no God, we would be in the glorious world with grateful hearts, and no one to thank" Christina Rossetti
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works for the sons of man" Psalm 107:8
In everything give thanks Thes 5:18

In other news:
Ana now has 2 teeth!! She's not a bad teether, so it's been ok. She is really army crawling very fast now, can get anywhere she wants. She's started some solids, avacado, squash, brown rice cereal. She wasn't too sure at first

But soon warmed up to it


Red is working on more movies, we finished Year 4 and are moving on to Year 5 in January, we finished Treasure Island, much to Frogboy's relief. Tubby and Ses are adding new vocabulary daily but still in diapers.....sigh. Cuddles and Zaney remain the two easiest children on earth to care for. Advent is upon us.

Aye Matey...Smasher is 5!

So like 2 weeks ago my 5th (living) child turned 5. Wild. He decided on a pirate party. I made him this cake , which was BY FAR the easiest cake one of my sweet children had demanded, um, I mean, asked for for a birthday party. Of course, I had "help".
The necklaces were not edible,
but all the other treasures were.













We also built him a 12 foot pirate ship out of cardboard and Mr McGroovy's connectors. Very fun but some hard work, especially if you leave it till the last minute. We did have to cut it down a bit to fit in the house because the winds that day were a sustained 20 mph with gust up to 40. We didn't want to have the Flying Dutchman. We had a few friends over, ate pizza, played in the ship, did a treasure hunt, and walked the plank, complete with a boy eating shark.



Smash got a really cool cape from his Gram and Grampa,
many action figures, the coolest 4 in 1 vehicle for them and some art stuff. I think he had a good time.

I can't believe he's really 5. Smash has enough personality for about 3 children. He is clever, emotional, active, stubborn, fiery, changeable, curious, artistic. He can frustrate me faster than most of the others together, but can get me laughing faster too. How to train this child without breaking him has driven his father and I to our knees so many times. I love his spirit. Nothing keeps him down for long, nothing, not challenges, rules, or physical laws, stands between him and what he desires. He is into everything, constantly moving, constantly thinking, constantly talking, constantly asking, constantly hugging, kissing and laughing. I'm really interested in who he is, what his role in life and our family will become as he learns more about others and a bit of self control. He's already showing some progress toward becoming a little less out there at every moment, I just hope he never loses his Smasherness. I think that would be one of the worst things to happen to me.

I've got more updates on the others, Thanksgiving, school, new teeth, movies but wanted Smash to have one entry all to himself.

Health Inspector???

Yep, that's my kid. Red was originally going to be a secret service agent. However, his friends and brother kept making fun of him. So he decided that since he really really wanted to wear the trench coat that was going to be part of his secret service costume, he would be a detective. Then he got this funny idea, "Hello, I'm with the Health Department, I need to inspect all your candy". So he became a health inspector. That's his candy bucket on his head.Everyone else was a little more normal: a video game character (Kirby), a ninja, Darth Vader, Batman, Batman, and Superman. The clown is our neighbor TJ, and the 3 in back are Red and Frogboy's best friends.Princess was a ladybug. She was miserable but very adorable. She didn't go trick or treating, she just hung out with me and passed out candy.

Our gross pumpkin this year was "The Baby Eater"

We pick a gross design every year. I have 7 boys, they like gross stuff, I think it's pretty funny too, to tell the truth. Last year's design:










Yep, he's barfing.

Our family may be a little odd.......

Pumpkin Patch

Autumn is so fun around here! One of traditions is a couple of trips to the pumpkin patch to take family pictures and play. There is a pumpkin patch not far from here that has hay mazes, a hay ride, a small train ride, bounce houses, and about a million pumpkins! It's a blast!

Our out takes. The top left corner is one of my favorites, daddy says it looks like an album cover :-).
Red has grown into such a young man......
Yes I know his name is on it, oops!
I'm so glad Cuddles and Zaney aren't yet at the really self conscious stage yet! I just love how their personalities really came through!
Smash was being a bit of toot that day. The bottom pic is of a fit he was throwing. The good news is, he can be bribed with root beer.

Can you tell someone was not into having his picture done this year? Ses was NOT going to let me take pics (or more than these three, all shot within 5 seconds). Good thing he's cute LOL.
Princess had about 4000 pictures. Red took the really close up ones.
The updates are slowing down as life is speeding up. I'll still go for at least bi-weekly ones. Everyone is healthy, school is happening, and there's lots of laughter. Life is good.

Delightful

"Mom, it would be delightful to eat in the living room."- Smasher

He continues to amaze me with his vocabulary! We are working on his behavior. He struggles most with admitting he is wrong and controlling his temper. So that is what we work on with him, asking him to admit he was wrong, ask for forgiveness and provide renewal time when he gets out of control. Sigh....it takes a long time to train them sometimes.

The weather has been so wonderful, we have spent most of our days outside. I've made a "school room" in the garage, must use all available space around here, and it's working well for us. I like it cause I don't have to clean up right away every time and I still don't have to look at it. It's also a good place for the messier projects and toys, like play-dough.

Tubby and Ses are actually getting very clear with their language, finally. Others are able to understand about 60% of what they say and I'm up around 90%.

Cuddles, Zaney and Frogboy still love soccer. We had one day where Zaney lost it after his team lost it's 6th game in a row. Poor guy. But he pulled it together pretty quickly and was fine the next week. I'm considering coaching them next spring, we'll have to see how that works out. I love playing soccer and don't get time with Chris' new schedule.

My Red is struggling a bit with an overwhelming sense of guilt when he messes up. He has a hard time letting it go when we forgive him for messing up. We try and give him grace, talk about forgiveness, not just from us but God, and it still just kills hime to make a mistake. Daddy had a long talk with him after he had made a pretty big mistake and after 2 days was still crying occasionally about it. I don't know exactly what Dad said, but they both came out with smiles and Red was finally able to let us just forgive him and move on. Boy, that's something to complain about, huh? My son's oversensitive conscience. It's good but I want him to feel ok about making mistakes in life. Mistakes are fabulous ways of learning and growing.

Princess is just getting cuter, like that's even possible. Gosh babies are fun.