Thanksgiving Pics

We had a really nice Thanksgiving at my parents' this year.  Thanks for all your work, Mom!  Here's a few shots from the weekend.

Love these guys!

Can you see her arms around these guys?  So cute.

Everyone who had their VA Tech clothes on.

Go Hokies!

I really could eat this guy up.  

Wednesday Afternoon

That picture of Jack is just hilarious to me.  I laugh out loud every time I see it!
Today has been such a nice one.  A little more in line with the way I would like each day to go.
A fairly calm start to the day always helps, and the house was in pretty good condition since we had tidied up for home group last night.  I did rearrange a couple of things, by the way.  I think I like it.

Lucy and Sam played with playdough for a good hour (!!!) so the older kids and I were able to whiz right through some school work.  Then we went to the library and it's been quiet ever since.
On the way to the library, we were listening to the Christmas station.  "Jingle Bell Rock" was playing.  Sammy was looking out at this windy day and said, "Look, Mommy.  Even the bushes and trees are dancing."  Loved that!

Now I'm just waiting for a friend to pop over for a visit.  Makes me think of this, from Storm in the Village."

"An afternoon call would be much more satisfying than cleaning the car."

Or anything else, for that matter!

Tuesday Afternoon

Hmmm... What to do with this?  I have a couple of ideas.  I'm really just wanting to do something different, something fun.  We'll see.
I just took a time-out with a cup of coffee and Miss Read's Storm in the Village.  I feel a little guilty about that when I look around and see so much that needs to be done.  Jack and Kayla are playing Uno (and getting along so well!) while the little ones are resting.  I guess we'll tackle some housework here in a little while.  I'm itching to do some rearranging.  Maybe we'll get to that, too.
Off to enjoy the quiet for just a bit longer!

Full

(Aunt Mary's picture)

Tammy, my cousin, could tell by his hands.  He was a carpenter.  His hands were his work.
I could tell by the way he is standing.
You can see sweet Wendy (Tammy's sister) on her first birthday.
You can't see our Papa's face as he stood behind her.
But we know it's him.
He passed away several years ago, before his great-grandchildren were born.  He has 10, almost 11 now.
Even though they don't know him, I like to think that they are richer because of him and all of their family that they never met.  Some of these young ones eat on tables Papa made, some of them put books on shelves he crafted.  They hear stories about him.  But mostly, they are richer because they have their own Papas.  Or Papaws as the case may be.  His sons.
Today I am thankful for all of my family.  Those who are here and those who have gone on.  My heart is full as I think of these faithful ones who loved me and helped make me who I am.  There are many.

Nap Time?

I put Lucy down for a nap

 and Sammy down for quiet time.

 Then I heard laughing and squealing.

Then I found these two.  

We'll try again.

(Sorry for the blurry pics.  My camera phone is all I can count on now.)

Love (III)

We are studying the book of John in Sunday school.  Our leader is an English professor at Tech who is especially knowledgeable about poetry.  He shared this in conjunction with John 13.  I think it's beautiful.

Love (III)

by George Herbert, 1633

Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,

Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack

From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning

If I lack'd anything.

"A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here:'

Love said, "You shall be he."

"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear,

I cannot look on thee."

Love took my hand and smiling did reply,

"Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame

Go where it doth deserve."

"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"

"My dear, then I will serve."

"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."

So I did sit and eat.

Happy Friday

I love this picture.  Jack hates kisses.  Jack and Kayla love to aggravate each other.  I don't know if he knows what was going on in this picture but when he sees it, he will be good and aggravated!
We had a good 10 or 15 minutes of heavy blowing snow yesterday after we got home.  The kids loved it.  Lucy wasn't too sure about it at first but it didn't take long before she was running around with the others.

Also yesterday- our last day of CC until after Christmas!  My load feels so much lighter!  Of course we are not done with school but having several hours a week freed up is a great thing!  We got McDonald's sundaes to celebrate.

A few things that made me laugh:
Kayla's into  "Encyclopedia Brown" books.  Now, she also wants to be called Encyclopedia.  And she's reading...you guessed it...an encyclopedia.  One for children but she's reading it page by page.  She said she wants to know everything there is to know.  Makes me smile every time I see her with it.

There's a boy in her CC class who, along with his family, seems to be into hunting, outdoorsy things.  He passed out his own handwritten "business cards" yesterday.  For trapping.  He's serious.  He's 8.  That made me laugh out loud.

And Dad, this one's for you.  Jig's up.
In the car yesterday Jack said, "Mom, you would faint if you knew all the stuff Papa lets us eat and do when you're not around."  He also said to keep quiet about it so you wouldn't get in trouble...

Forts and Flowers

Can you see Sammy peeking out of this fort?  It kept his and Lucy's attention for a while this morning and I was glad.  But, it didn't last too long and soon one of them (or both?) ended up unhappy and screaming and it was time to be done with the fort.
Part of the day, I have felt like hiding myself away in my own fort.  Not sure just where that would be but if I had one, I'm sure I would have spent some time there.

Other parts of the day were more like this.  Happy, cheery, peaceful.  Everyone working or playing.  Maybe even learning something!
The test for me is how will I remember the day (and every other).  Because really, each day is a mix.  Certainly never all bad but I think my tendency sometimes is to let myself be grumpy about the harder parts.
Training up children- well that's a job that deals with hearts and so it gets messy.
But, training up children- that's a blessing because they're a gift.
Right now, I think I'll go with the cheery parts of our day:
*We've been deep into books about the Civil War and the Underground Railroad.  We're all learning and enjoying it.
*We finished swim lessons today.  Yay!
*Tomorrow is the last day of CC until after Christmas.  Double YAY!
Breathing room maybe?  There's plenty coming up soon that could require a nice deep breath so I'll take it.
For now, I'll get some dinner in the oven.

Monday Morning

The clouds this morning are the lightest shade of pink, so smooth.  They look like you could eat them.  It is still quiet in the house although my early bird (Sammy) is wide awake, barely able to wait until the hour changes to 7.  Waiting is tough business.
I just started Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery.  It has been an enjoyable and eye-opening read.  Looking forward to tonight when I can get back into it.
(Just heard early bird #2.  "Get me out," she says.)
Last thing, then.  I tried this new recipe this weekend, oatmeal waffles.  I thought they were delicious and even somewhat healthy with a cup of oats mixed in.  I guess it's been a long while since I made waffles, it's usually pancakes.  When I said I was getting ready to mix up the waffles, Sammy said, "Mommy!  You keep calling pancakes the wrong name!"  Later when he actually had one in front of him, he slapped his forehead and said, "OH!  These things!"
A good day to you.

"Dishy"

13 years ago tomorrow (November 11), Brian and I had our first date.
A few days later he helped my roommate and I get the fall leaves out of the yard.
He had on a flannel shirt and a baseball hat.  Loved it.
Today, I dropped Jack off with him so they could help rake leaves for an elderly couple from church.
And do you know, my heart skipped a beat.
Because there he was again, flannel shirt and all, looking quite "dishy" if I can borrow a fellow blogger's word.
Loved it.  Again.
Love him.  Still.
I have an extra spring in my step and a smile on my face just thinking about him.

Sweet

A really sweet end to a pretty good day.

Love these girls.

Rich

"Now Port William, or what is left of it, is most likely to assemble, not in Port William at all, but in the Tacker Funeral Home in Hargrave.  The survivors of the old life come to pay their respects.  The neighbors, old and young, come.  People who have moved away, maybe a long time ago, come back.  You see people you knew when you were young and now don't recognize...and we know how much we have loved each other."       from Wendell Berry's Hannah Coulter

My mama's aunt, my grandma's sister-in-law, passed away on Kayla's birthday at the age of 94.

And I saw this.  This scene from a book was as real as the pages it was printed on.

Choir ladies come up to my dad and suddenly he's a much younger man again.  They knew him then.

My mom's cousin (in-law) tells me what a sweet lady she is, the best.  And she's right.

A viewing that was set to begin at 3:00 already had folks settling down in pews, quietly talking, at 2:55.

I see someone hug my grandma and say, "Well hey Lulu!  I haven't seen you in a while!"

I smile because we call our little Lucy Lulu sometimes.  Just like her great-grandma apparently.

Grandma wanted to sit where she'd be able to talk to people.  That was all a part of the day.

My thoughts had not been far from my grandma.  I wondered what this day was like for her.  Having said good-bye to so many and here doing it again.  Those part of that "old life."  Life well-lived, in community and family.  Just doing life... together.  

Working in gardens, trips to town, picnics.

Helping.

Loving.

Sharing.

Maybe even a little bickering?  I don't know.  

I do know that this picture I keep in my mind is just that, my picture of what I think things were like.  I do love to think about it.  Probably some accurate, some not so much.  

But it is a rich heritage I have, regardless.