Thanksgiving

It is wonderful how holidays still bring families together despite the miles and the schedules.  I am grateful that we still make the time for each other.  Over the years I’ve found that we laugh the most with our families, and that is something to look forward to every year.

This Thanksgiving was relatively laid back.  We spent our time at my parents’ house, and had 70+ degree weather on Thanksgiving day allowing us to get outside and have some fun.

Bria helping rake the last of the fall leaves.

Bentley sitting in the huge pile that was made.

Both girls in the pile.

Grandpa blowing the leaves off Bentley while she was swinging with Uncle C.

Aunt T trying to stay clean.  Uncle C made sure she had a few leaves on her later.

Bria cuddling with Uncle N, during the parade I think.

Bentley helping me with something in the kitchen, while Grandma and Aunt D did the real work.

All the leaf dust made Bentley quite congested.  Now that we are home she has so nicely shared it with me, but she seems to be doing a lot better.

Holiday Cheer

We had our first snow of the season on Saturday and the girls couldn’t have been more excited.  As soon as Bentley saw the snow she kept saying “Winter Outside”.  I didn’t know that she understood that snow and winter went together.  The girls, especially Bria, spent hours outside in the snow despite the cold. 

Each one played their own way out in the snow, so it was hard to get a picture of them together.  The large snowflakes made it hard for the camera to focus on the girls in the pictures.

With the first snow, being gone for Thanksgiving, and wanting to have the Christmas decorations up when we get home from Thanksgiving, we decided to decorate our house for Christmas yesterday.  Again, the girls couldn’t have been more excited.  David and I got the tree out and put together, strung the lights, hung the stockings, and wrapped the garland on the bannister.  The girls wanted to hang the ornaments on the tree, so we gave them some the non-breakable ornaments and their ornaments and let them hang them how they wanted.  David and I hung our own ornaments after the girls had all of theirs’ up.  Now when we get home from Thanksgiving we can turn on all the lights.

Bria trying to look Christmassy in her own way.

Bentley with some extra Christmas stockings on her feet like socks.

The girls deciding who should hang each ornament on the tree.

When Bentley comes out of her room from naps and in the morning, she says excitedly, “Christmas time.”  I also enjoy the cheer of the holiday lights on the dark winter nights.

After church yesterday, we had a Thanksgiving potluck. We don’t want to miss the special time to be thankful for all the blessings God has given us, or let Christmas excitement overshadow Thanksgiving.  Both holidays, however, are something we should remember and celebrate all throughout the year, not just on the days that have been set aside for them.

Twin Cities Weekend

This last weekend, we took a long weekend to visit David’s and my sisters in the twin cities.  The girls played with their cousins and my sister’s new kitty, and we had some time with adults and to do some Christmas shopping.  We thought the drive would be a bit long for the girls, but they actually did quite well (better on the way home than on the way there).  We had good time with both our families, but it still felt short.  The holidays are coming so we can see both of them again very soon.

Bentley with cousin L playing in the hide-a-bed where David and I slept.

All the cousins getting ready for bed.

Bentley wondering why cousin L would put himself in a timeout.

Bentley and Bria still trying to play with the kitty even after they wore her out.

Bria and Bentley at Uncle C and Aunt T’s apartment.

Grandpa and Grandma’s House

Last week my Dad asked for some help with the corn harvest. He needed David starting Wednesday morning. Tuesday evening David took the girls and headed to their house, and I stayed home to take care of some previous engagements and other projects. Grandma looked after the girls while David ran the grain cart. Grandma took the girls out to the field to ride along in the tractor and combine Wednesday. Then on Thursday night, after all of my activities were done, I headed to my parents too.

The girls and I enjoyed a hay ride Friday evening. My Mom arranged it through the Christian Youth Center she runs.

This was their first hay ride. They had a great time, and have asked to go again since we’ve been home.

The dirt pile at the back of grandma’s garden provided a great place for the girls to play. They discovered it not too long before we had to leave. Just before we left I had to give them a quick bath because of all the dirt—pockets and shoes were loaded with it.

Saturday night we came back home. David came home a couple of hours after us, when he finished helping harvest the field they were on.

The 3 P’s Of The Last Week

We had some projects we wanted to get accomplished on the house before it got too cold outside, but we weren’t sure we would get them all done.  David’s parents came out to help for a whole week, and we got a lot more done than we expected.  What a blessing they were.

Projects (the first P):

Our first project was getting the window in the main floor bathroom replaced (I think it was as old as the house).  It didn’t open like it should, it had a storm window on that didn’t fit the opening, the wood around the window looked gross, and I couldn’t clean it.  David and his dad tackled that project right away.  It looks a hundred times better.

This is the after picture; the before picture doesn’t show how bad the window really was so I didn’t include it.  We still have to finish some layers of mudding and sanding around the window.  After that is done I will paint the whole bathroom.

The second project was replacing the front door.  Last winter we realized that every Northwesterly breeze made our living room very cold.  As David took apart the door a couple of days ago it was obvious why: there was no insulations around the frame of the door.  We also needed to move the threshold of the door up and add a screen door.

David and his dad working on the door, which is not as easy as replacing a window.

The new door!  We still need to paint it and put the screen door on.  It is a great improvement, especially with the bigger windows that have blinds in them.

Painting (the second P):

Every room in our house needed to be painted when we moved in because most rooms did not have enough coats of paint to cover the walls well.  We have gradually gotten some of the rooms done, so it was time to do the master bedroom and bathroom.  David, his parents, and I all worked on the bedroom for several days over the weekend.  When David went back to work, his mom and I tackled the bathroom (we still have the wall with the new window to do because the window is not completely finished off).

There are still a couple of things that need to be changed in our bedroom (broken blinds and the curtains), but I absolutely love it now.  It was always nice, but the colors are much softer and it feels cozier.

Potty Training (the third P):

Bentley decided that she wanted to start going potty on the toilet.  That is great! The timing, however, not so much.  It is hard to stop in the middle of painting to take her to the bathroom.  Also, she only wants to sit on it every once in a while.  At least she knows what she needs to do to go, but she is not to the point that she can tell us before she has to go.  I know that this will be a process, but I hope it is not a long one.

We have decided that after all of the projects we have done since it warmed up outside, that we definitely need a break.  We have to finish up the inside portions of the window and door projects.  But, there will be no more major house projects for a long, long time.

On the Farm

At the beginning of the week the girls and I went to my parents’ for a couple of days.  My sister and her husband from the cities were coming down to visit, and we try to make it down to see them whenever they come back (especially before Bria starts going to school).  We spent one day putting everything into the cupboards of my mom’s newly added onto kitchen.  The second day we spent some time out at the farm with grandpa, who was harvesting soybeans.

Bentley with Uncle N.

Bria with Uncle C.

This was one of the really windy days this week, it also happened to be the hottest. We were hanging out in the shade of the grain cart while people took turns riding in the combine.

The girls sitting in the extra seat, ready to ride with grandpa.

Bentley copying Uncle C by laying down in the field.  She was really dirty when she got up.

Our trip was short, but eventful.  It was nice to see my sister again too.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Not the movie! 

I planted our tomatoes a few days before Memorial Day, which usually gives them enough time to ripen.  This year, with June being so cool, the tomatoes grew very slowly.  We finally started getting some ripe tomatoes in September.  There are several plants, however, that have not started to ripen yet.  I didn’t want to waste all of the big green tomatoes that are out there, so tonight I tried fried green tomatoes.  They are actually pretty good, a little sweet with crunchy breading that had some seasoning, but they still needed a little more flavor.  What doesn’t taste better with ranch dressing.  The girls and David ate theirs with ranch dressing while I enjoyed mine plain.  If you’ve ever thought of giving green tomatoes a try, I would recommend it. 

The most impressive thing is that Bria really liked them.  Bria always loved her vegetables, until she was about four.  Now it is hard to get her to eat anything healthy on a regular basis.  If we have to fry the vegetables to get her to eat them, so be it.  She does eat two vegetable without complaining—broccoli and cauliflower—which is also quite unusual.  Hopefully, she will change her mind and start liking vegetables again.