Pilgrim Party

Yesterday we had a Pilgrim Party. What fun! We dressed up as Pilgrims, the boys wore button up shirts with vests and the girls wore long skirts with aprons and white blouses. We also had a Thanksgiving feast at my wonderfully large table, we ate lots of good food like turkey and ham. We played games like "ships & sailors", "pucker up" and "thankful charades". I think we spent most of the time laughing. How fun! Pictures forthcoming ;) I am so grateful for my blessings!

Where's the milk?

Do you ever begin Monday morning without milk? That's a problem when at 6:30am kids want cereal for breakfast. I guess I miscalculated how much milk would be needed to get us through the weekend and Monday morning. Knowing that milk would be an issue I got up a little earlier and made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. It would have seemed a treat, but I had also made them for Sunday morning breakfast. Some of my children are grouchy in the morning if the routine is off just a bit. The children eat while I read scriptures to them. Off they go to finish getting dressed. This morning with 2 minutes before the van leaves, one of my kids was wrapped in a towel just hopping out of the shower. How is this possible he was awake and finished eating breakfast more than 30 minutes ago? He ran to the van with shirt, shoes, backpack and lunch in hand. He just barely made it. You would think this is a rare occasion, but alas it is not. Almost everyday his exit is the same. This morning we can blame it on the milk.

Mom!

"Mom I can't find any underwear!". I'ts 6:30am and the high school kids are getting ready for school. About once every two weeks one of the boys finds himself without underwear. I often wonder how this is possible. I do laundry 6 days a week. I used to wash about 20 loads a week, now with only 6 children at home I only wash about 15 loads a week. Still ... where does the underwear hide? James came up with a story once about how squirrels come into his room at night and shred his underwear. I think he has part of the story right. The underwear can be found on the floor of his room, not in the laundry bucket.

Family Fun at Thanksgiving

I am planning a Pilgrim Party with my family. I spent some time this morning sewing costumes for the event. I hope Thanksgiving will take on new meaning as we learn about our Pilgrim heritage. Over the summer I discovered that we are descended from the Fuller's that arrived on the Mayflower in 1621. I love being a mom!

It's Morning

I've been up since 6 am. Time to get the gang off to school. The process take about 2 hours every school day. The high school group leaves for school at 7 am. Johannah is a self starter and is usually out of bed right away. Josh loves his sleep! He has a harder time separating himself from the mattress. The middle school group leaves at 7:30 am. James is an early riser, Jacob is not. Jacob insists that he should be woken up just one minute before morning scripture study. We try to read together at 6:45 am, every morning we have a different mixture of children. The grade school kids leave at 8 am. Kate gets going, eats breakfast and takes a shower. She will even make lunch for her older brother Andrew. Andrew needs a little tender coaxing. He is such a loving snuggly child.

My older kids on on their own. Tyra lives at home and is responsible for herself. She gets up much later than everyone else. I think she planned her college classes that way on purpose. Nathan is in Texarkana serving as a missionary. He is grown and doesn't need me by his side in the morning. I'm very proud of the man he has become.

This morning it is cold (10 F) with snow on the ground. I love the light in the sky just before dawn. Everything is soft. As Josh left for school he said, "Mom, I love you!". What a wonderful morning!