Halloween, 1 month later?

Pumpkin carving supervisor.

Seed washer.

Um, cheerleader?

The happy carvers.

We are such slackers! I bought a pumpkin a couple of nights before Halloween, but we've been so stinkin' busy, we never got around to carving the darn thing! Poor children. So deprived:) Well, last night while I took Ella-Kathryn to the Girl Scout sign up, Jeff, Jack, Will, and Ryan got to carving that pumpkin. It was fun to see Jack and Jeff working together, and Jack actually did most of the cutting. He's desperate for a pocket knife, which we have vetoed for a couple of years at least, so this was as close to using a knife as he's gonna get for a while. When all was said and done, Jeff lit the candle and turned off the lights and brought Will in to look at it. He was a bit wary, scared even, and then shouted, "Punka, punka!" Poppy that's for you:) So, Happy Belated Halloween!
Yesterday I got to have Thanksgiving lunch with Ella-Kathryn and then today I went up to school for round-up ( a great program in which they talk about character traits like honesty, kindness etc and then each class takes a turn presenting some kind of play/show to exemplify that week's trait). This week it was Jack's class and they did a Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving play - very cute, and sweet Jack was precious when it came to his line; he sounded so shy and reserved and it melted my mommy heart. Will was perfect and Ryan slept almost the whole time - a major blessing because Jeff had class and couldn't be there. Later, Will, Ryan, and I picked Jack up for lunch, a la McDonald's (yuck, but it was his choice) and had a mom and her 3 sons date - so much fun and they were all so well behaved!

After lunch, it was to Wal-Mart, home for naps, feeding, dinner prep, then pick up the kids, start dinner (Jeff worked the church tonight so we do the early-bird special and eat at 5:00!), iron Jeff's uniform, eat...days like this fly by, and yet are so full of so many blessings. It's amazing what God can pack into 24 hours! Right now, the kids are watching a movie and munching on popcorn and I'm looking forward to an hour from now when all are in bed and I can sit down with a book for a bit. I know tomorrow will hold more of the same - empty the dishwasher, drink coffee, make breakfast, put away laundry, break up fights etc. but there is something so rich in knowing that there will be so much that will not be the same. There will be different expressions on the kid's faces, different things to laugh about, different things to fight about, there will be new memories made tomorrow. The kids are out of school for the week and I'm so happy to have them home with me. Even though there are times when they drive me batty, I love having everyone under the same roof. I love watching them march across the backyard, heading off on an adventure. Jack in the lead, Will trailing behind, but mad if he gets too far off the pace, yelling for Bubba and Sissy to wait! Ella-Kathryn going along with Jack for the most part, but every once in a while shouting a suggestion for them to do something differently. Then there's a conference between Ek and Jack, while Will wanders around aimlessly. Finally a decision is reached and they dive back into their imaginary world. Will eventually gets hurt and Jack carries him up to the back door for me to inspect the wounds, dust him off, and tell him he's fine and to get back out there. Hap keeps watch over them while Chewy runs around like the village idiot on the dog run:) I will call them in for lunch or dinner. When I reach over their shoulders to put their plates in front of them, I will inhale deeply, taking in that outdoor/sweaty child smell. This scent will be replaced at the end of the day with kid's shampoo and baby lotion. I will fall asleep after rolling over and smelling the top of Ryan's head one last time. Mine is a sweet, sweet life.