Thanksgiving!

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents house. My sister and her family came in from West Virginia. The weather cooperated beautifully and we hardly had to kick the children outside. They were eager to enjoy the sunshine and the wide open spaces on their own.Nathan is still playing peek a boo from the previous "funny face" photo opportunity! The kids stair step their way from 4th grade to PreK and then Nathan. My sister is pregnant so next Thanksgiving their will be another baby in the mix.

a moment to remember

I can't really remember now exactly how it happened. Somehow under my feet, Emma and Peter and then eventually Ryan decided that they wanted to use their allowance to buy food for the Christian Help Center's food pantry. They had overheard me talking about how the food pantry's shelves were bare. Somewhere in their minds, they decided that they should give. They looked through the grocery store coupons on Thursday and realized that they had enough money to buy food.
It was set; Friday we had a date to go grocery shopping and I would match whatever they bought.
Ryan spent $0.65 on a can of tomato soup. Then another $0.25 on bubble gum for himself!
Emma told me, "I would rather spend my money of food for those who don't have any than buy myself a toy. ". She spent $4.50.
Peter spent $2.00.
My heart was full. My children got it. It didn't come from a lecture and it didn't really even come from an example. They internalized the need that they overheard. They determined that they had the means to help. They didn't even dismiss the idea because they only had a few dollars and what could a few dollars to help. They gave and gave generously; they gave til it hurt.

Leaves

I have been neglecting my "blog" these days. My memory card has lots of pictures that haven't found their way here yet. I'm not sure what's happened. It might have something to do with the time away from home that Philip has had recently.So I grabbed my camera as we ventured outside yesterday and was determined to post what I captured. Nathan- the little cuttie that he is- was also determined to rake like his older brothers even if it meant finding a canoe paddle when all the rakes were taken.
My heart is full with the blessings that God has bestowed upon me. How could I not be when I have the privilege of seeing this precious smile from sun up to sun down.

The thinker

We are day 4.5 into our 8 long days with Philip being away. Last night, I was eavesdropping on Peter's conversation with Philip (on the phone).
Peter: "Daddy why can't you use the computer in Jamaica?" (He meant specifically why can't you check your email. Peter and I had this conversation a few days ago. I did a horrible job explaining why Philip doesn't have wireless internet access in Jamaica. )
I couldn't hear Philip's response but Peter repeated his question a few times as I'm guessing Philip was trying to figure out what he was really asking.
Peter responds: " I guess it's because you're just too close to that imaginary line that divides the world in half."

Outtakes

We have a great time last Saturday in Duke Gardens! We met some great friends for a family photo swap morning. They took our pictures; we took theirs. It's much easier to find the outtakes than to find my favorites.
I can't believe how many pictures Nathan's belly is showing!
I admit even I was getting a bit tired of all this picture taking.
I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day and more cooperative children! We finished the photo shoot with a great picnic in the gardens. I have even more respect for photographers after this experience!