Hunting season @ the cabin!

 

 

We surprised my family at the cabin this past weekend!!!  Everyone had plans to go up and hunt Monday morning except for Mike.  He usually likes to hunt but just didn't take the time to do this this year.  Friday afternoon he mentioned something about maybe still going up the cabin for weekend and surprise my family!  Well, of course me and the kids were all into that idea!  So, we picked up Hadassah at work on Saturday night and headed for the cabin!

 

Austin picked out his very own donut and loved the M&M's!  :)))  Thank you Beilers!!! 

 

The two in the back seat played some chess on the way to the cabin!  :)  (Ashlyn just moves buttons and Matthew wins.  She doesn't care.  She really thinks she is doing a good job and in all honestly, she is actually understanding the game more and more.  One of these times, she is gonna beat him.  :))) )

 

Well, take a look at this ... Mike said he wasn't going to go hunting, but just in case he got the urge, he packed up his hunting gear.  And, of course he went to the woods first thing Monday morning.  AND HE SHOT A BUCK!!!  As soon as it got shot, it ran hard and there was lots of blood.  They tried to find the dear but it must have not been the best shot or else it ran much farther than they expected.  Mike was disappointed.  Good try, Babe!  I was really excited for you!  :)

 

And if daddy is outside, so is Austin!

Getting ready to hunt.

Tony and Tyler went out together and Tyler hit a spike later that afternoon!  Good job!

This is how my brothers and dad get ready to head for the woods!!!

Spending the weekend at the cabin was another fun weekend!!!  We had so much fun playing games!  We eat huge breakfast's and have delicious snacks!  The kids tear up the basement but when it's time to head home, it all gets cleaned up!!! 

Thanks mom and dad for hosting our family again at the cabin!!!  We love you guys!!!

Thanksgiving was a time of gratefulness.

Thanksgiving was a great way to start this holiday season!!!  We started out the day with our annual family meeting.  This is where we all sit together and make some new goals for the upcoming year.  It's when we reflect back from the past year and say things that we need to improve in and do differently!!!  It's the perfect opportunity to set new family goals and write down the things we are most grateful for!!! 

 

Then we grabbed the freshly baked chocolate cake and went to Daudy Lapp's for a Thanksgiving dinner!!!  The food was so yummy and delicious!!!  Mom always does a great job!!!  We spent the day with family and friends.  The guys shot their guns and hit clay birds. 

 

The night finally came when Hadassah and I went out Black Friday shopping!  Hadassah was looking forwards to this a lot!  Jess met us here and went along too!!!  The whole night was a blast!!! 

 Carmel apples were given as thank you gifts!!!

  

Ashlyn dressed up for her school thanksgiving party and she looked adorable!!!

One of the school moms made these.  Cute turkey legs.  :)

Middle school had a brunch for their party.

Kindergarten is a fun place to learn and Ashlyn is really starting to recognize letters!  She traces a lot and writes all the time!!!  This little indian/pilgrim is so cute!!!

When you get to do school with a cousin ... you have to document it with pictures!!!  ;)))

And so why does she say some days that school is boring?  That she doesn't like the bus ride?  This looks like a blast to me!!!!!  :))))

A fun craft!

I left the kiddoes like my beaters after mixing a cake for our thanksgiving dinner at Daudy Lapps.

It's starting to look like Christmas here at our home!!!  After a late night out on Thursday, we still had enough of energy to decorate for Christmas on Friday!!!  It's a day I look forward to a lot!!!  I love the Christmas season and really enjoy decking out the house for this wonderful celebration!!!!  I don't know how many times I have thought back or said, "I'm so glad it's this year and not last year!!!"  We were finishing up the house last year this time and moving back in just in time to spend Christmas at home!!!  So much needed to be done last year this time to make our move before Christmas happen but it happened!!!  So glad to be in and settled much more this year!!!  :)

 

I made my first stop at the greenhouse and loved what I saw!!!  So pretty!!!

 

 

We went down to moms the other day and helped her put her Christmas decorations.  Look who sat in one of the empty containers!!!  

You know the days when your husband says, "What did you do today?" 

Well ... here's a tiny glimpse of what goes on each day!

 

 

We are super, super excited about Christmas!!! 

Come on, Christmas!

This song is striking it for me today!  I just came inside from blowing tons of leaves and I'm lucky to be in a sweat because it is so beautiful outside today!!!  I love the warmer days that we get now and then but after hearing this song and seeing the upcoming weather conditions, I guess I'll be singing "Come on, Christmas!"  :)))

We have a fun weekend ahead of us!  I hope you do to! 

Colds ...

We've been having a tough week with colds, runny noses and coughs.  Especially, Austin and Ashlyn!  I just hate a cough and kinda panic inside because there isn't a whole lot (well, at least that I know of) to help get rid of coughs.  For babies!  We pray for healing.  I keep rubbing Austin with baby Vic's.  I like the smell and really don't mind putting this on him and I hope it is helping!  I also run the diffuser in their room at night!!!  A blend of thieves, peppermint and lavender!  Again, I like these smells and really pray that is will help ease the coughing! 

I didn't have a full nights sleep all week because of the colds!  I have been sleeping on the couch with Ashlyn on the other couch so she don't catch Austin's cough on top of her runny nose!  Most times sleep gets interrupted because someone wants a drink, or a nuk or ????  Tuesday night Austin was up for an hour in the middle of the night just crying.  He kept saying, "Dada."  So I took him into bed with Mike and even though he was glad to be with Mike, he still kept crying.  After holding him and rocking him and giving him a drink, Mike was able to get him calmed down.  :///  Night's are always the worst when the kids are sick!  Thankfully, when the sun came up each morning this week, the kids woke up feeling a bit better!!!  We are still wiping noses constantly but the cough did tame down a lot!!!  Thank you Jesus!!!

With all my mumblings and sighs here ... I did have to repent this morning!  I woke up to Mike turning on the living room light!  Ashlyn was still sleeping on the couch!  She was up at 5 AM crying and asking if it's a school day???  I told her no and she went back to sleep.  Sigh!  Now the light was on right on top of her and she was stirring.  She really doesn't need to be up at 6:30 AM on an off day of school!!!  I got up and just sat down to read some scripture before waking the kids up for school and Austin starts crying!!!  I could feel myself starting to complain inside.  Get upset!  Mumble.  I got grouchy and got him out of his crib.  So much for reading now!  Mike kissed me before heading off to work but now Ashlyn and Austin were both up and Austin is in tears because he wants his daddy! 

Then it hit me!  Like a ton a bricks!!!  Why am I being grouchy???  Are things really that bad?  NO!!!  And that's when my mind went to the Holmquist Family!!!  Brian and Andrea Holmquist took their family to Papua New Guinea to be missionaries years ago.  They lived there and raised their family in the tribes all the while working so hard on translating the Bible into a new language.  So that others may come to know Jesus as their savior!  The Holmquist family has since moved to the States and sent their children last year to Linville.  Their son Carson has become a good friend to Matthew and they got to spend some time together this summer before Carson and his family went back to New Guinea.  Their plans were to go for a few weeks and say some good byes before moving back to the States and helping with other Bible translations.

When Matthew spent the day at Carson's house this summer, I got a text from Andrea a few days later saying to check Matthew for ticks.  Their son Cade had a tick bite earlier and she was just warning me to check over Matthew's body!  Cade has gotten so sick from this tick bite and is now fighting a major case of Lyme's.  When the Holmquist family flew back to Papua New Guinea late this summer, Cade just got worse.  They ended up flying him to Australia for medical help.  Cade has been there now for months!  The Holmquist family has been through so much in the past few months.

I am writing all of this to ask you to help pray for Cade and the Holmquist family!!!  Cade is right now being flown back to the states by a jet with his mom on board and a team of medical assistance!  This will take about 24 hours to make a flight like this!  They will stop at three different places to get fuel and they hope to get Cade to a hospital in Delaware as soon as possible!!!

So, why would I be grouchy over a few nights of not getting straight through sleep???  When I did sleep, it was sound!  Why am I complaining inside when the children only have runny noses???  I had to confess to God this morning and remember my blessings!!!  Set another mind set and put on a smile!  Did it take away the colds and coughs???  Nope.  But it did give me a better look at today!  Another day of being able to care for the children and smoother them with kisses!  (In hopes of not catching any germs myself!!!)

If any of you know anything about Lyme's Disease, it is rough!  It can get really rough for some!  We've been through this twice last summer with Mike and Matthew both being diagnosed with Lyme's but we are ever so grateful that they are both now well and in 100% healthy again!!!  (Matthew did not get a tick bite at Carson's house this summer.  It was weeks later that Matthew had been bitten and treated for Lyme's.)

Please pray for Cade and Andrea as they go to a hospital in Delaware and meet with yet another set of doctors!  Pray that God will touch Cade's body and bring healing!   

Nothing planned!!!!

It's been like in forever that we had nothing planned for the whole weekend!!!  And as I type this I don't mean that in a bad why or a good why I guess.?.  :)  Having things planned means we have loving friends and family that like to get together.  My calendar gets so filled up with all kinds of activities but this weekend there is nothing written in any of the Friday, Saturday or Sunday boxes!!!  Coming out of a very happening week, I am completely fine with that!!!  Our teenager, however, is not!  She's been texting me from work wanting to go get our nails done or do something.  It's like she can't stand the matter that we might actually have a few nights at home ... in a row!  :))))  Mike and I are just enjoying the moment of not being so pushed.  I must add that we like to have things planned but if it's day events plus evening events, it makes us weary pretty fast!

I said that the air got colder and that means we now need to bundle up with warmer clothes!  Austin has a runny nose from being outside with Mike the other night.  He loves, loves to be with his dad and Mike was outside digging post holes for the new basketball net system.  He didn't mind one bit getting cold as long as he could be with his dad. 

This was Austin the other morning waiting the school bus.  He waves to the kids as they get on the bus!  It's so cute!!!

This used to be Matthew's jacket!!!  I think it's still so cute!!!

His wave ...

I had to ask why we planned such a fun night out on Thursday night when our week has already been packed to the max!?!  We had two church gatherings (which I skipped out twice.  Sad.).  I babysat twice.  We attended a viewing, funeral PLUS an employee wedding.  And it was only Thursday!  (Big eyes!)  Mike planned a night out with Dave and Sonia to go to Cheesecake Factory.  He wanted to thank them for all their many years of being an Elder at church.  I love Cheesecake Factory, so I took a deep breath and went along happily!  It was so much fun!  Good food and lots of great fellowship!  Dave's have become such wonderful friends in the past two years!!!  And because Hadassah was our babysitter for the night, I promised her a piece of cheesecake!  Which one did she choose?

Lemon Raspberry!  Great choice!

Ever since time changed, it is getting Austin up earlier!  He wakes up around 6 each morning now.  Waiting for his nap until after lunch is hard for him.  And me.  Because he is so tired if I hold him off till noon.  I needed to wipe up the kitchen floor and to keep him from walking in circles on my wet floor, I offered him a pretzel in his high chair.  Soon I noticed it got really quiet and here he fell asleep.  I put him to bed at 10:30 and he slept for 3 1/2 hours!  That gave me some quiet time to finish up laundry and blow more leaves outside!

I also got to sit down and jot a list that I will be looking at more and more the next upcoming weeks.  I can't believe it's time to start thinking about the holidays!  We are excited and can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Ever since we went to Cleveland a few weeks ago, I've been wanting another carrot, apple and celery drink!  I asked mom in law if I can borrow her juicer for awhile but when I went for it today, she wasn't home.  So, I swung by Lena's and now I am borrowing hers.  I have always liked the juice idea and the tastes!  But to buy one I wasn't sure about?  Would I really get my use out of it?  Or would it be a think I do and then set on the shelf?  I finally, after years of thinking about it, added it to my Christmas list!  :)  If I get a little or a lot of health benefits from it, then yeah!!!

I love this combination!  Two large carrots.  One large apple.  Two celery stalks.  Add a handful of chia seeds yet and yummy!!!  Austin does too!!!  He kept asking me for more and more!

I am off to enjoy a lazy weekend!  Here at home!!! 

I am so blessed!

And if anyone wants to play settlers or games or put puzzles together or drink coffee ... let me know.  We may or may not show up.  :)))