Nighttime (one-sided) conversations

Jonah has been really into making comic books lately.  They're pretty cute!

The other day, Caleb was seated up to the counter eating something (as usual) and I was in the kitchen working.  Jonah made some comment, as he passed through, about his latest comic.

When he had left the room, Caleb said "Oh believe me, I have heard ALL about it!  It's called 'Dead Man's Chest', and the cover has a picture of a skeleton with an arrow pointing to his chest."  He proceeded to give me lots and lots of details about it.

He said that is what Jonah talks about all night, while Caleb is trying to fall asleep.

I couldn't stop smiling to myself thinking about what that looks like.

Caleb lying in his bed, eyes closed, trying to sleep.  Jonah lying face up, wheels in his head turning non-stop, mouth going on and on, not really caring if Caleb responds or not.  He has a captive audience!

To appreciated this scenario, you must know that Jonah loves nothing in this world more than talking, and I can never seem to give him as much listening time as he would like.

It sure warmed my heart to think of the memories those cute brothers are making.

This room swap is working out exactly as I hoped!

Sports

Sports are such a large part of our lives these days!  

It was Simon's first time playing soccer this season

You can see that he took it pretty seriously.  Much more so than some of the little girls.

Savannah played on the freshman volleyball team at Williams Field this year.  They had a great season, and Savannah was awarded "most improved player."  It was so fun to watch her play!

And Eli thinks that he is just as big and capable as all the other kids around here!

Josh and Jonah are, of course, playing basketball again this season, but somehow I don't have any pictures of that on my computer.

My favorite place

The girls and I attended a special Mother-Daughter dinner on Wednesday night.

We played a game where we were asked questions about each other and had to compare answers to see how well we know each other.  One of the questions was "What is your mom's favorite place in the world?"

When we turned over our cards to reveal our answers, all three of us had written "our house/home."

There was a little catch in my throat as we celebrated that we had gotten that one right.  I am so glad they know how much I love my home.  Yes, I love my house, but I especially love my home.

I love home because that is where my family is.  I really enjoy every one of those wonderful kids who bring their own talents and humor to contribute to our family.   I love the feeling there as we learn and grow together. I love that it feels like a refuge and a safe place to gather to escape the world.

It made me feel like I am doing something right.  My girls recognize that I am content with what I have, and that there is nowhere in the world I would rather be than at home with my family.

New Roommates

Caleb and Josh have been roommates for about 11 years now.  They have had their ups and downs for sure, but they have mostly learned to get along.

Jonah and Simon have only been together for 4 1/2 years so far, and they are great friends.

Jeff and I have gone back and forth with the pros and cons of rearranging the bedroom situation.  I really want the boys to have a chance to bond with a variety of brothers!

Jonah has long looked up to Caleb, and I thought how fun it would be for him to get to share a room with his idol.  (Although within the first 10 minutes we heard Caleb trying to con Jonah out of a dollar!)  Josh and Simon seem to have similar personalities, both very thoughtful.  I think that they could be great friends.

The biggest deterrent has been the bedtime issue.  The older boys go to bed at 9:00, and the youngers are still at 8:00.  That hour has been some really fun playtime for Jonah and Simon.

This weekend Caleb and Josh got in a bit of a fight, each complaining about the other.  So Jeff took the leap and announced that, starting that very minute, we would be switching room assignments.

Josh moved in with Simon, and Jonah went to join Caleb.

It took all 6 of us about an hour, but we got the job done!  Most of the time was spent sorting through Jonah's piles and stacks of "important stuff."  Lets just say that this was a much needed de-junking session!

All of a sudden, Caleb and Josh are very worried about the younger boys not living up to their high standards of cleanliness.  HUH???????  Maybe some unexpected good will come of this switch!

One of the first items of business in Josh and Simon's room was to come up with a list of rules to post on the wall:

I think they're off to a good start!

Life according to my iPhone. Because I have one.

I finally joined civilization and got an iPhone.  Now I can get directions any time I need them, participate in group texts with my family, and snap a picture any time I want!

Here is what I have captured this week:

The girls had their first choir concert of the year.  Becca is in the top choir, and scored for herself the BEST solo!  She did great!  Savannah is in the show choir, which was super fun to watch!  She danced and sang and looked just darling.

I took Eli shoe shopping for some new sandals.  He REALLY wanted the silver flower ones, but they were a little too big.  I can't blame him, though.  They were a lot more fun than the boy shoes!

20 hamburgers devoured in about 90 seconds


Caleb and his friends crack me up right now.  They are growing like crazy, and hungry all the time!  On Sunday Becca was telling me that her friends always say "Your mom is so pretty!" (Which is such a nice compliment, but not the point of this story.)  Caleb, who was listening, said "Really?  My friends always say 'I want food!' "  Pretty funny because it is so true!  I really need to step up my food game around here.  We are going to be in the hungry boys phase for many years!

Family home evening activity.  Jonah has been obsessed with doing Halloween crafts, so we all decided to join him.

The finished product.

 Three cheers for my iPhone!

What my kids do for fun

I have these pictures on my computer by the hundreds.  Literally, hundreds!

Please tell me that someday they will be valuable?

Sweet Sixteen

Let it be documented that Rebecca turned 16 this year!  And I think she was pretty happy about it!

 Theresa and I spent MANY hours creating this masterpiece.  That was really above and beyond normal sisterly duty, I tell ya!  We chose piano keys because Becca loves music, a beach scene because the beach is her favorite place in the world, and chevron stripes because they are so now!

 We threw her a surprise party, and I think it was a legitimate surprise!  Except that she came in the door sooner than we expected, and we were all just sitting there in our party hats.  Ummm... Surprise!

Emet and Hazel

Opening gifts

Samantha and Camille

some of the boys (Alex, Justin and Scottie)

The cutest boy at the party

After the surprise, Jeff loaded up all the friends and took them to Skateland, then brought them back for dinner and cake.  I'm happy that she has such a good group of friends! And I couldn't be happier with the person Becca is becoming.  She is such a joy to me!  Happy birthday my sweet girl!