Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of good food and family. We spent the day at my parents' home where the football games were on, there was a round of Playstation golf, and the younger cousins played for hours.

Today, we are meeting friends for lunch, and are for the most part avoiding the Black Friday rush at the stores (though we have managed to get some GREAT deals through on-line shopping!).

Seely is working hard to wrap up his first semester at college. He'll be done in 2 1/2 weeks and between now and then needs to polish and turn in his 8-10 page research paper, complete an oral presentation on it, put together a portfolio of all of the completed work for that class, and give a 10-20 minute presentation in his health class.

Random is looking forward to his upcoming 14th birthday (which is the day after his dad turns 40, but who's telling?!?!).

Lily has been enjoying the program for 5th and 6th graders at our church on Sunday mornings. She's also going to be in the Christmas dance again this year.

Mango is doing GREAT with her braces. She really enjoyed our trip up to Lake Superior a couple of weeks ago, and loved being down at the shores of the lake tossing in rocks and watching waves as big as she was roll in.

Monkey is very into reading. He gets so excited with each new book and feels so pleased when he is able to read it. He gave us a good scare about 2 1/2 weeks ago when he had a bad asthma attack in the middle of the night, but after several nebs, some steroids, a trip to the ER, and a few days worth of time, he was back to his usual self.

That's about it for our family! We do ask that you continue to pray for our great-niece Malia. She will be having surgery December 1st to have her tumor and kidney removed. This will be followed by some very intense chemotherapy and radiation. They are hoping she will be able to go home for Christmas.

Beautiful Bracelets!

The prayer reminder bracelets are in!!! If you are interested in getting one, let me know. They are $2 each, ($3 if we need to mail them too you - but contact me for a final price). There are both children's and adult sizes available.

Please Pray

Please pray for my niece's 8 year old daughter who is being admitted to the hospital with a large mass on her kidney that appears to have spread to her lungs.

Mango's Journey to Braces - Part???

Yesterday morning, we brought Mango to the orthodontist to have her braces put on. She chose gold brackets, and purple and yellow bands...and surprisingly, they are not as noticable or flashy as it sounds. Her mouth has been a little bit sore, but she is still smiling quite a bit, and was very surprised to get up this morning and realize that her teeth were already noticably straightening.

Simple Woman's Daybook for 10/05/09

To see more daybooks, check out the Simple Woman's Daybook site.

For today....October 5th, 2009

Outside my window...The sky is gray and overcast. Most of the leaves on our trees are still green, but a few have already fallen to the ground. The fish pond is now empty.

I am thinking...about where the time has gone. Fall weather seemed to be non-existent this year!

I am thankful for...So many things. Kids who are healthy, cars that run, that my husband has a job, good friends, and a God who loves me.

From the learning rooms... We are in our ninth week of school. American history includes the period of rebuilding after the Civil War and reading about some great inventors. Monkey continues to love school and is excitedly waiting for me to get ready to start each morning.

From the kitchen...Most likely meatloaf tonight. The weather is cool and it's time to start using the oven more. Meatloaf is not something I thought my kids would ever like, but they all do!

I am wearing... blue jeans, my purple Vikings jersey and gold colored socks for the BIG game tonight against the Packers (even though I won't be home to see most of it).

I am creating...children who have a good sense of humor

I am going....out to lunch with my parents and kids. BSF tonight.

I am reading...the last in a series of books by Robyn Carr

I am hoping...for a few more days of fall like weather before the winter gloom closes in

I am hearing...the dog snoring, pages turning, children moving in their chairs as they do their school work

Around the house...the usual laundry to be folded (made only worse by the fact that the glass light cover fell in Seely's room yesterday, necessitating a complete change of bedding and a washing of any clothing within glass-flying distance), lots of school items, and kids' drawings laying around.

One of my favorite things...seeing Monkey thrilled to be getting a spelling test (huh????)

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week...hopefully a good week of school, our usual activities, Co-op on Friday. Maybe a trip out to meet the horse that my niece won in an essay contest!

Here is a picture thought I'm sharing...