Year 6, November 8th-14th, 2021: Playing Catch-Up

Monday

Where one sun sets, another sun rises. This was Sunday night's sunset. I'm sure I woke up on Monday not really wanting to get to work on school work, but just trying to piece together what happened on Sunday when Benaiah told us that Sunday dinners wouldn't work anymore because his new small group is meeting at 1pm on Sundays. The end of an era. I'm sure I spent most of the day moping and processing. But I also had a few things to get done. I couldn't tell you what they were though. Just everyday life.

Abishai insists that Socks needs to be near us when we do school. Well, we were trying to get him to scoot over next to the fireplace but instead, he crawled closer to me and put his head in my lap like a baby. Look at those puppy dog eyes. Irresistible. Poor doggy being told where he can lie down. And he just takes it.

Big brown eyes!

Wowzers! Nice design by a Lego fan!

Who knew that the internet could be so educational? Even when I can't get out all the time, we can still learn so much virtually!

We just studied the women pilots of WWII. Camp Atterbury is where the current refugees from Afghanistan are here in Indiana. It's not the only base they are at, but we as a church are reaching out and helping them, too.

If only I could convince family and extended family this concept. I try every single year to get everyone to think about one large family gift (like a pool) or focus on experiences (which they did do in 2019 before the pandemic) but we are back to everybody wanting more toys to take up more space in my house. Sigh. I just want a pool.

Leah didn't quite get it because she doesn't panic like this, but she's the one who uses chapstick the most. Insert "charging cord" and then I could relate.

Abishai and I were working on CC Memory Work and some of these terms were on it, so we looked up the differences between them.

Amen and amen!

 Tuesday

Note to self, always check to make sure you've taken the tag off of the cartridge before inserting it into the printer. I bought more ink and ran a bunch of tests before I discovered that this was the problem. Duh.

Wednesday

Jared bought kleenix and Puffs was the only kind at the store. You paid triple the price to have them put nice sayings on the outside and a funky cut out on the box. These real kleenix are softer and stronger, but I'm fine with the cheaper stuff.

Interesting top design.

Thursday

This popped up on my FB feed. This is from the Cornwall Christian Church in honor of Veteran's Day. Canadians' put their fake poppies on stage with the other fake poppies as a sign that they remember.

Friday we had some friends over for the afternoon instead of going out. The boys had a blast and I had some great friend one on one time I hadn't had in a long time!

Abishai Setting Up Guns for Playtime

Just a waiting game until gym day. It's almost too much for Abishai and I to handle! Lots of work preparing the fort and putting out guns for the other little guy can reach them and they can wrestle and be all boy for a little while. Then I got to talk to the mom for awhile, which was lovely.

Oh the clutter at the front door drives me bonkers! But, it's just hand me downs ready to leave and weapons ready to be played with.

Abishai wanted to feed me when I was trying to read to him.

My little chef.

Truth

Saturday

I see that little girl with her feet dangly and kicking back and forth having fun putting her Lego hotel back together. See, it's fun! And then Daddy and Abishai came home and all of a sudden, it was too much, and Keturah screamed and Dad was over it.

This is an interesting game. You have to roll some dice with generic names of relatives and then follow those names to find out who that person is in your family. And if you don't have someone in that category, you just say the generic name. It's fairly simple but it's a great way to get to know how everybody is connected if there's not a whole bunch of divorce and craziness in there.

It's handcrafted and even numbered. My aunt must have picked it up at a local homeschool conference or flea market. What a treasure though. I can't wait to play it with the family. Meanwhile the box that was sitting next the bench at the piano was just a junk box. I thought it was something more I needed to look though. Grrrr......

Can't wait for this event!

Big boy ate a fried egg on TOP of his toast, instead of inside of it. And he gobbled it right down!

The temperatures dropped significantly last night. Time to build a cozy fire.

Jared's main project this Saturday was to finish the chalkboard. First, we had to prep the chalkboard, aka, fill in the holes with extra chalk.

Then erase it as smooth as can be.

Abishai and I were a little too eager to start writing on it. Daddy still has to put the border on it.

He wrote his letters correctly but went from right to left. Silly guy. He knows how to write from left to right.

Um, we kind of need to go past this tower, buddy.

Ok, let me shoot the bad guys first.

Bam!

You may pass now.

Looks like a real classroom chalkboard, complete with the clock! Wow!

There's so much potential here! Quick, somebody learn how to do chalkboard lettering!

This is my safe place. When someone is mean or yells at me or I need to get out of the way and I need comfort, I come here. I've got my comfy blankie, my tissues, my lamp, and access to a heater and an outlet. I can also lie down if I need to.

Saturday part 2

We also went to Autumn's 12th birthday party out at the Boys and Girls club in Greenfield on Saturday. Basically it was out Friday park day group plus a few neighbors. It was fun to just hang out with our usual peeps who we hadn't seen in a little while and get to know some new people, too. This was out last party with Autumn and her family before they move to Florida, so it was bittersweet. We hope to get together with them before they move in mid December but we know it's also going to be hard to do that, too. I cry every time I think about it. We know they will enjoy their family that is already down there. But it's hard to replace your best friends. Well, you don't replace them really, but dynamics change. Anyway, we all had fun and the time went by so quickly. We were the first ones there after Autumn's family arrived and some of the last to leave. Everybody stayed to help clean up. Friends forever.

What are you doing, Justin? Whose hot sauce or hot flakes or whatever packets are those? These kids made a bigger mess than toddlers do!

Great crew. Abishai was the youngest and Justin was the oldest, as normal.

Balloons are always fun to use bat around as impromptu volleyballs or punching mitts or basketballs.

Abishai and Lilly

Then the real basketballs came out. Who will it be, Justin or Caiden?

Posing for the camera is always hard when you've got a bunch of very active kids. Caiden, Abishai, Justin, Kya, a neighbor friend, Esther, in the back left to right. Autumn (in the mask of course), Lily, and another one of our homeschool friends in the middle row, and then another neighbor friend on the floor.

View of the kid table from the safety of the adult table. That way they feel we aren't eavesdropping and we can talk about them and they don't get embarrassed. Win-win!

Autumn's dad, Brad, had them play a few games like getting some baskets. Abishai got out pretty soon, but Lily stayed in for a pretty long time.

You had to somehow go to a corner and the middle person called out a number and maybe if that number of people were in that corner than you were out? I have no idea. The middle person was blindfolded.

Her birthday candles were pretty cool and were like fireworks!

Justin, did you make this mess? Well, I think they were trying to make confetti. As long as you clean the floor afterwards.

I didn't get to see her open her gifts, but I talked to her mom via text afterwards to make sure she got her gift card. I wanted her to be able to get some art supplies or something new for her room once she got to Florida.

Sunday

Abishai is using all the rest of the cloth napkins so his guys can stand up and protect his spot at the table.

First snowflakes of the season! I think I stayed home that day from church and watched this right before I got online. Big snowflakes, too!

Wow! That's alot!

Awww, I need to save this and frame it!  Puppy paws!

Socks' favorite season!

Oh never mind, I did make it to church! Parked right beside Jared! That's right, I had to use the broom to clean off my car because I didn't know where my car brush was. Yup!

Sending off one of our interns, Madi, (?) to another church.

This is what happens when your friend gives your children that silly farting in a can silly putty. Peals of laughter! I finally had to put it up because they wouldn't stop! Justin was doing it and Abishai was rolling around on the floor!

And by dinnertime, the snow was gone. About 2/3 of the leaves are down anyway. It's the middle of November, so I feel it's about time for cooler temperatures now anyways. Let's get those leaves mulched with one more pass by the lawn mower and call it good. Ready for winter!

The End