Day 333: A Great Day!

It was a great, and full, day!  Where to start? At the beginning! My doctor's appointment went well. I'll be doing some more basic labs so this particular doctor can see all the right numbers and how they compare on her particular "optimal" chart for things like vitamins and minerals.  I'll be doing a couple more specialized tests, that were on my list, yeah!  Follow up in 6 weeks.  It was an 8:45 am appointment right next door to St. Vincent's, which means I had to travel through the morning traffic on the northside of Indy.  I did get there on time, partly because I purposefully leave 10 minutes or so earlier than I think I need to get to a new place.  I made my next appointment at 2 pm so I can avoid the traffic next time.

I came home to kids still in their pj's and goofing off.  Whoops.  So, I got them back on track for homework, and soon enough it was time for lunch.  Abishai had endeared himself to the musical learning puppy plush toy again that he got last Christmas and was hugging it.  He also asked for Justin to chase him (or was it Abishai chasing Justin?) while Justin had the blue sleeping bag over his head.  Keturah did it, too, and almost hit the Christmas tree.  Eek!  Maybe I won't put any ornaments on the tree this year because these kids are wild and dangerous!

Then lunch, naptime, a little more school time, and finally catch up on emails.  Abishai woke up from his nap, they all got a snack, and then I thought Jared was outside cutting wood, so Abishai and I headed outside to join him.  Jared had actually gone to run an errand, and Abiahai wanted to "go, go, go" so I scooped him up and told the other two kids that they were going to come to the playground with us (or rather they HAD to since no one else was home).  Well, they didn't have much time to get dressed and out the door and well, you'll see the result in the pictures.

And yes, it was still around 55 degrees F today in Indiana.  The ground was wet from yesterday's rain, but the skies were dry.  Meanwhile, I've been watching our poor friends on PEI having to deal with several DAYS of being without electricity.  They got a heavy, wet first snowstorm of the season and it has destroyed power lines.  And then today I heard about the wildfires in Gatlinburg, TN of all places, which happens to be a favorite destination of people in Indiana for vacation.  I've wanted to visit there for some time, but it will have to wait.  I saw a picture of a small wedding chapel completely engulfed in flames and the "Welcome Center" sign for Gatlinburg destroyed.  Meanwhile, some other friends in WY had a huge snowstorm, too, but theirs was pretty and bearable.  I love weather and I love having friends all over the globe to keep track of.  I wish we had snow, and again, maybe if we move to Michigan someday we'll get more.  The pictures of the deep snow at the old Johnson remote cabin from Jared's childhood are great reminders of how much snow they can get up there, similar to what they get on PEI.  (Can you tell I'm ready for the snow?)

And here's your Abishai cute"isms" for the day.  He can say "see" and point to a light switch if he wants it turned on.  He doesn't like that people get hurt on the "Home Alone" movie.  He will take my hand and lead me to what he wants me to get for him.  He will say something like "ice cream" when he wants a treat.  He purposefully was trying to get Keturah and Justin to play with him, so he quickly went back and forth saying, "Sissy, baba, sissy, baba, sissy, baba."  He can also switch it up when he's looking at them like, "Sissy, baba, Sissy, Sissy, baba, baba."  Oh, and the best part of the day for Jared was when he was tickling Abishai, and Abishai signed "more" and sat in his lap for more tickles!  Sweet!

When you're gifted a turkey during Thanksgiving and your low on other forms of protein, you go ahead and cook the turkey!  Turkey for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  We slow roasted it overnight, kind of like it would be if cooked in a crockpot and it came out incredibly delicious!  Falling of the bone!  Jared was impressed.  I didn't do anything special except put it in my mom's roasting pot and added salt and some other spices.  I didn't rub it with any oils or butter.  I didn't add water.  But it's good!

Snack time was fruit loops and cheese crackers, Abishai's choice!

Now whenever Abishai hears my camera go "click" he starts giving me that cheesey smile.  And he knows he's cute, too.  And yes, that's a Benaiah shirt.  My 200+ lb boy used to fit into that little shirt.  Sigh.  They grow up too fast!

Justin, give me your best "cheesey" smile!  This is what I got.

Abishai likes to help Daddy blow on the fire to get it started.  I love how he's all into it and his feet are off the ground.

Abishai made a big "vroom" type sound and I had no idea why until I turned around and saw the trash truck.  We don't normally get to see our trash truck because we live on the opposite side of the parking lot.

Ok, here's the funniest picture of the day!  They were told to get some clothes on and go to the park with Abishai and I.  They come out looking liek this.  Keturah threw on pants under her pj's she wore all day, she has no socks on, and didn't bring a coat.  Justin found some pants (he was in his favorite red pair of shorts), grabbed his sandals that were in the "to be saved for Abishai" pile, and his big puffy winter coat.  What goofballs we have!

Abishai drove his bike all the way from the garage to the playground with just a little help in the wet grass.  And he drives fast!

The splash pad is still fun, even in the late fall (when it's no longer running), because you can drive your bike under the sprinklers!

I didn't know he could do that, did you?

Not quite the same view as a flashback photo I saw on my facebook wall today, but pretty enough.

It's 55 F degrees, this kid takes off his coat AND HIS SHOES, and climbs the pole.  Yup, boy from the north.

Is that how you climb on a playground?

Justin, let's play tic tac toe, Keturah said.  And they did!

Big smiles for when Sissy pushes him on the swing.

Big swing for a big kid.

Shelf looking cloud to the north.

Another big moment for Abishai today was when he tried climbing UP the slide and got halfway up by himself!  Maybe we have bad memories, but we don't remember the other 3 being so bold and so energetic and so loud as Abishai is.  It's pretty cool and interesting.  We don't compare him to them to make them look bad, but we cock our heads and say, "cool!" and smile, alot.  God knew we needed Abishai in our lives this year at this stage of his life as we handled all the other rough things this year has brought.  Abishai is definitely a bright spot in our lives.  The other 3 have their great moments, too, but they aren't as frequent as Abishai's right now.

And lastly, I get to end my day saying that I "shopped my closet" for Christmas gifts for the kids!  I was specifically looking for a small gift for a birthday party Keturah is going to on Friday and found that I had a ton of other appropriate gifts for our kids for their Christmas.  They aren't the exact things the kids are asking for, but, they are good enough and will help us stretch the budget during these leaner days.  I am giving away a couple of things as well, and we will be continuing our reverse advent.  So, overall, we won't be adding to our 300,000 things we own.  (That's the statistic Gary gave in the sermon this past weekend, that the average household in America has over 300,000 objects in it).  I did buy these gifts with the kids in mind and just hadn't given them out at the right time in the past few years.  I bought them all on great discounts, too.  So, sometimes it pays to be a) frugal and b) a hoarder.  Sometimes. God knew we needed this little bit of help right now.  God provides for us in lots of little ways like this!  We are so blessed!