HIKING & RELAXING

Devon had somewhere to be from 10:00 - 2:00 today, but I didn't want to make the nearly 1 1/2 hour round trip twice in one day. So Naomi, Tyler, and I had fun hanging out nearby. We started off going on a hike at Mt. Talbert Nature Park. We've been there a few times before and love the convenience of a mountain forest in the middle of suburbia. 

Pictures don't do it justice, but there's a huge carpet of ferns. So beautiful!

"Hey, Mom! Can you take a picture of me on this little hill?"

Ferns with a backdrop of moss is one of my favorite things to see on a hike. Random, I know.

I checked online last night to see if there was a library somewhere close. There was! So our next stop was the Happy Valley Library, which we'd never been to before. We discovered upon our arrival that there's a playground right across the street, so the kids played at Village Green Park for a while before we headed inside. 

Eventually we crossed the street to enjoy some time reading books and playing with toys until we had to pick Devon up.

It was a nice way to spend a chunk of the day with a couple little Ws!

WHEN NEIGHBORS BECOME LIKE FAMILY

A boy peeked around the fence while our family was out in the front yard two summers ago. He quickly moved from stranger to neighbor to friend. His name's Gabi and the 6 Ws love him. He's polite, funny, cooperative, helpful, and gets along well with everyone in our family. We consider him a bonus W, a title he knows he holds.

Yesterday I helped Gabi and his family move across town. Although we'll still make a point to see him, it won't be nearly as often as when we lived next door to each other and he could walk over any time of the day. I told his mom that I wanted a picture of their family before they left, then she responded by saying she wanted it to be a picture of our families together. Perfect!

We're going to miss having Gabi so deeply involved in our daily life, but I'll be forever grateful we had him as a neighbor for the last year and a half.

CHILLY MORNING AT CHAMPOEG

I really needed to take care of some responsibilities yesterday, but I also really needed to get outside. I mentioned a hike and Silas encouraged the idea, which I appreciated because I had a bunch of practical reasons to opt out. Off to Champoeg the kids and I went!

I wanted some positive time with them, so we had a low-key stroll down a trail we'd never taken before.

I also wanted a brisk walk that the little Ws weren't interested in, so they all tossed frisbees and footballs, did various stunts, and just hung out together while I headed alone to go down a trail we've taken lots of times. I always love pausing at this viewpoint. So pretty and peaceful!

It was cold, but the time to move our bodies, get fresh air, and enjoy the beauty of this place we live was exactly what we needed. And the most important tasks on my list of things to do still got done. Perfect!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for an egg & kale scramble with a little bit of Montreal steak seasoning for a late breakfast after sleeping in the day after a treat-filled Christmas. What's something that you're thankful for?

CHRISTMAS - 2019

This was the most low-key Christmas our family has ever had, which is saying a lot because we always keep Christmas pretty simple. I loved it. I think the other Ws could have handled more activity, and we'll definitely ramp things up again next year, but this was exactly what I needed this time around. I'm so thankful the fam was willing to roll with it!

I told everyone a couple weeks ago that I wasn't going to carry the bulk of the Christmas responsibilities this year (they always help with everything, but I didn't even want to be in charge of all the thinking), didn't feel up to hosting an open house, and wanted to keep things mellow and fun.

Check, check, and check.

Tim made sure we had food to eat (including homemade cinnamon rolls), we didn't invite people for an open house, and we had a peaceful day exchanging gifts, playing games, reading books, talking about the birth of Jesus, doing jigsaw and word/number puzzles, listening to Christmas music, eating treats and regular food, trying a variety of sparkling cider flavors, going to our first Christmas Day movie with a cinema gift card we received earlier in the day, and hanging out with Gabi, one of the bonus Ws.

Perfect!

GRAHAM CRACKER HOUSES - 2019

Last night was the first time we've done anything festive as a family this Christmas season and we had just over an hour together. Perfect time for making graham cracker houses! And by "perfect time" I mean that various factors had tension mounting between different Ws, I was hunkered down to cry in the living room for a few minutes beforehand, and we only had about one hour to cram some fun into. That kind of perfect. 

Eventually we all made it to the dining table and had a good time listening to Christmas songs, eating cookies from friends, and laughing as we assembled our graham cracker creations. All's well that ends well, right?

Working our way around the table, here's each W at the start of our time and their finished product at the end.

Tyler - 

He's still at an age where his primary goal is to get as much candy on as little graham cracker as possible. (Candy which he's not supposed to eat now that he has braces, but he forgot about that.) He did make a mini house at the last minute, so I'll give him some maturity points for that.

Naomi - 

She said she was going to make a greenhouse, until Devon reminded her that greenhouses have all the flowers on the inside, not the outside. Ha! So she created a flower garden of candy in some specific patterns around and on top of the building and randomly scattered more candy on the plate.

 Tim -

He was tired and feeling a little cruddy, but managed to whip together a standing structure with windows, a door, and a tiny chimney before he called it a night. Bonus points for the festive colors and for being a good sport!

Silas -

He opted for abstract art this year. It was funny to see him being meticulous about exactly where everything had to be placed. He has pretty much no free time right now and feels neutral about graham cracker houses, so I appreciate that he inconvenienced himself to join us.

Devon -

It's not a contest, but this kid always leaves the rest of us in the graham cracker dust. He carefully decorated the roof first, then opted for really simple wall decorations in order to get done at a reasonable hour.

See that pile of white above? The small structure behind it is a garage that he was going to make a car for. Ran out of time and decided to make a snowdrift that he said blocked the view of the (non-existent) car inside. I asked why were wasn't snow anywhere else. He laughed and said the roof just got a dusting, which melted and watered the flowers by the door, but some kids pulled a prank by depositing the huge mound by the garage. Ha! Nice save, buddy!

I'll go ahead and show the back of his since it's more elaborate that everyone else's.

Bethany -

The good news is I had a four-walled structure with a roof that remained standing for quite a while. Like at least five minutes. That's a record for me! Upon my house's collapse, I decided to make it a monument to poor engineering. The little orange candies are what sets it apart as a monument instead of just a house with a caved in roof. Obviously.

All 6 Ws -

And all six graham cracker creations.

It was a fun way to spend a little bit of time on Christmas Adam!

A MELLOW SUNDAY NIGHT

Playing spades was a big part of Tim's childhood. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't part of my childhood at all. Fortunately for him, the little Ws are proving to be far less inept at and stressed by the game than their mom is. That means sometimes the best way to happily spend an evening together as a family is for him and the kids to play spades while I read a book nearby. So that's what we did last night. The kids asked if I could play with them, but Tim and I each just chuckled and assured them we'd all have more fun if I sat the game out. 

P.S. Don't ask me to play games that require bidding. Ever. Thanks. 😉

A PEACEFUL DAY

Ten hours. That's how long I got to be home alone today. Ten hours of silence and solitude. At the end of a rough week, it was bliss. 

From daylight ...

... to dark.

I was able to take care of some projects, stare at the window at all the birds in our yard, read my Bible, clean up some messes, take a few short breaks from silence to listen to Christmas music, sit on the couch and stare at the fire Tim built before leaving, pray, stretch, finish a few library books, and drink lots of tea.

There's no question that I'm an extrovert who needs time with people, but on this day time alone was absolutely perfect. I'm so thankful things worked out for me to have this chance to rest, truly rest.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that Naomi noticed through the window that my hands were cold as I raked leaves yesterday and brought gloves out to me. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

SONLIGHT GUEST BLOGGER - DECEMBER 2019

My time as a guest blogger with Sonlight came to an end in the spring, but I had one post that was held over for this Christmas season. It went live on Sonlight's blog at the start of the month, but I forgot to link it here until now. Better late than never, right?

Christmas School: Adding Holiday Cheer to Homeschool Academics

There are only a few days left until Christmas, but hopefully that's enough time to put an idea or two from the post to use. If not, save some for next year!

Disclosure - I was invited to be a guest blogger with Sonlight for one year in exchange for some free curriculum. All post topics and opinions are my own. If you are a first time Sonlight customer, click this link and use referral code BW20197051 to get $5.00 off your purchase of $50.00 or more. That referral code is totally separate from my role as a guest blogger and will give me credit toward my own purchases. The referral code can also be found on the sidebar of my blog.

SUNDAY FUN

Sunday was a good day. That morning I saw two people walk onto the platform from backstage just before church started. I recognized Ben and Noelle Kilgore instantly and smiled. Our church frequently sings two of their songs, both of which usually make me cry, so I assumed they were there to lead worship. Sure enough, along with some Christmas songs, they led us in singing Grace, Grace and He Made Me, He Loves Me, both of which they sing on A Resting Place. The lyrics aren't any more meaningful when the people who penned them lead the singing than when folks from our church do or when I sing them on my own at home, but it was neat to have them join our congregation for the weekend.

With the exception of Silas, our family only attends the first Sunday service, but Tim was asked to help at the second one. That allowed Devon and Naomi to sit in for the second service, as they volunteered during the first, and Tyler went to class two services in a row. I, on the other hand, took advantage of having to stay extra long by hunkering down in my car to get through a few more chapters of The Ragamuffin Gospel, a book I'm reading.

Once church was done, Naomi and I got to stay and join a group of people on some Christmas projects. Candles were prepped for Christmas Eve services and decorations were made for the kids' classrooms.

By decorations, I mean I did a craft. Picture proof that I stretched my comfort zone.

And here's picture proof of why inviting me to do crafts is a little bit risky. Evidently making everything point the same way is too challenging. 

I had fun despite my ineptitude, though! The group split to work on these three different 3D snowflakes, which turned out really cute.

Later in the evening our family all met up at church again for An Athey Creek Christmas, our church's Christmas concert and cookie extravaganza, and snapped a picture of the 6 Ws and Kit, one of the bonus Ws, before we headed home.

Less than six hours of sleep, fourteen hours at church, a doughnut for breakfast because I forgot to grab real food as I left for church, pizza for lunch while all made snowflakes, cookies for dinner because I'd never left church, frustrated by one W and hurt by another (made worse by being tired, I'm sure) meant I was pretty fried by the time I got home. I walked straight to my room, got ready for bed without even saying goodnight to anyone, and fell asleep immediately, which never happens. Such a long day. But such a fun day!

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GLIMPSES OF OUR DAY

The endcaps spent several hours at home together, starting with making breakfast as the rest of us left and finishing with school work for Silas and library movies for Tyler.

Tim found his happy place while he and I were at Costco.

Christmas shopping and brunch at Biscuits Cafe wore the middle-aged adults out. We finished early, then reclined our seats and rested in our church parking lot for 30 minutes before picking up some little Ws. And by "rested" I mean Tim fell asleep immediately and I tried to relax while my brain continued its 100 mph pace. This is the story of our lives.

The middles had a blast at a junior high Christmas party at church, Naomi as a junior high participant and Devon as a high school helper.

BRACES ON FACES - 4TH SET

Remember that goal I set a while back to pay for #BracesOnFaces at the pace of one set per year? And remember how the second and third sets went on faster than that? Well, today we headed to Senestraro Family Orthodontics and the fourth set went on!!

Tyler is the last little W to get orthodontia and is now sporting braces and an expander, the latter of which he's the first of the sibs to get. We, of course, had to take our now traditional picture of the newest patient, excited mom, filled pie chart, and awesome orthodontist.

Isn't this pie chart amazing? Our portion of the total cost was less than the other kids because he'll have two phases of orthodontia instead of one, and the first phase, which this chart represents, costs much less than what the single round costs for each of the bigs. That's a huge part of why his chart filled so quickly, as well as an insurance change that's provided some reimbursement for the big boys' braces that we paid for totally in cash. However, it's still amazing that his pie chart filled up in about five weeks and his braces were on less than three months after Naomi's. 

He's pretty pleased with his red and black rubber bands! As for me, my role as a mom has just had a new task added to it. Expander adjuster extraordinaire. Well, given my test run in the office, the "extraordinaire" part might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm sure I'll be a pro in no time flat.

The fifth pie chart is already filled in to the 50% mark, which is phenomenal, and I'll be the next one to get #BracesOnFaces. I'm so very grateful for how this whole adventure has gone! 

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the amazing double rainbow that was just outside my living room window. What's one thing you're thankful for?

TYLER'S BIRTHDAY - 2019

Tyler's officially another year older. He celebrated his birthday earlier this week by spending some time at Get Air with a Alex and Isaac. Dad and I visited on the sidelines while the boys swung, hung, and jumped for a couple hours.

Tim wasn't going to be home for the traditional "doughnut date with Dad" in the morning, so they went a day early. Miranda's Bakery for the sprinkles win!

His actual birthday started off with a picture of his cute face.

It also included lots of Facebook birthday greetings, a phone call, some of his favorite foods, presents, and the donning of the birthday outfit. I told him to look manly and this is what I got. Goofball.

This kid's growing up fast!