I think this was the fourth year I've ordered from The Natural Candy Store annually. I started one year, because I wondered whether there was an organic version of candy corn, because the kids had never eaten any. I found some at The Natural Candy Store online. So, I ordered everyone's favorite things, including almond toffee for Nathan and myself. Mmmm!
The kids helped me divide things, and I labeled gallon-sized plastic bags for the kids.
Elizabeth is still grossly under-skilled for her age. I've been making her carry a small bowl of cereal to the table lately, with great success. She usually just hasn't been able to do it, but she's been making it. She's slow, but she's getting better.
Playing throw and catch with a ball is a good skill for her that is a lot of fun, and I do this with her quite a bit. Below are pictures I took one day of Olivia playing with her. Some of them (toward the bottom) are so funny!
I fixed some delicious foods that we all enjoyed. Here are some of them.
When it was Trusten's turn to pick Sabbath treat, he wanted strawberry pie. I'd never fixed a strawberry pie. Well, I found a recipe that sounded interesting, with no top crust. I cooked some of the strawberries, then included fresh ones, then whipped up some heavy whipping cream for the topping. Wow, I was surprised at how good it was! We all really liked it.
I've fixed corn dogs probably around seven times since William was around four years old. BUT, this was the first time I'd used sticks! I used Shogun chopsticks. We always have so many on hand. I keep them for science experiments or whatever comes up. Nathan wanted hush puppies with the leftover batter. ;-) They were good! But definitely these are a very rare food, and we won't want them again anytime soon. They're so greasy. I use organic beef hot dogs, freshly-ground grain, and fry them in coconut oil, but still they're not the most healthful of foods, and you know it after you eat them.
Mmmm. Fruit salad. Just looking at this picture makes me want some more right now!
And yum! I made up some coleslaw and potatoes au gratin, as well as grilling some chicken thighs. Soooo good.
Nathan hunted and provided us some deer meat to eat through the winter. I guess he's in a stand here, but he loves to do a lot of stalking, too, and he sometimes walks miles up and down the mountains.
We ate at my aunt's for Thanksgiving. Here are the girls with their cousins at their little kids' table.
The girls found my cousin's rabbit, Nugget, and she got it out for them to pet. It was so cute!
This is so funny! So, I walked into the living room to this scene—Liv's stuff thrown in the floor from when she got home, drinks sitting about, William's trash receptacle on the floor, Trusten in just his underwear (this is typical), Elizabeth with my iPad in her lap, and all the kids sitting in a circle making funny faces and laughing.
So, what in the world were they doing? It had been grocery-shopping day, and Trusten had bought some weird candy from The Fresh Market. It apparently includes a game. I'm not sure whether they spin, or what, but there are all sorts of good flavors of candy and then look-alikes of each that taste bad and have names like "dirty socks" or something like that. So, someone gets a good candy, and another kid gets a nasty candy. Talk about weird.
Well, anything for them to all congregate together and actually get along! LOL!
So then I planned a winter solstice feast, but I didn't know whether we'd be home during the solstice. I thought maybe we'd go to Texas or to Arkansas or to both, but we ended up doing none of that. Nathan had jobs. But since I couldn't know in advance, I fixed our meal on another day. Well, I fixed a pecan pie (not pictured) for Nathan on one day, then an apple pie the next morning, then put the turkey in the oven and fixed everything else. It was a lot of food for one person to fix! Nathan put a hurt on the pecan pie the night of the day I fixed it. Ha!
Apple pie
Baked macaroni and cheese and dressing
Homemade potatoes
Whole cranberry sauce (canned) and green beans with turkey bacon
Organic turkey
Kids' solstice gifts in their customized bags
I've wanted Plato's works for quite some time. I broke down and bought this nice hardcover copy of his most well-known works. It's a nice addition to our home library.
This was a craft Elizabeth did while in occupational therapy one day. I think it's cute how the reindeer was made using her hand prints. I remember when William made a chicken using his hand print.
Nathan's mom had bought Elizabeth new play silks a few months ago, and she's sporting a couple here. Olivia is wearing what old silks she still has left that were originally William's. Olivia was hard on some of the silks, so I don't like her touching Elizabeth's.
This isn't the first time we've come across cattle that have gotten out of their fences. Also, it wasn't even a month after this, I bet, that I saw more out, except in Arkansas. Pictured here is just down the road from our road. I hate it, because I never know who to call. I just always hope no one hits them. I successfully got these off the road by driving slowly toward them.
We stopped to gaze at the frost on the frost weed. I love this stuff. It's SO neat! I never tire of things like this. :-)
We went to a Christmas program at Olivia's school. We were in torment the entire time. My feet hurt so badly. Nathan's back hurt. Mine was starting to hurt, from having to stand in the same place for so long. It was so crowded. We also felt very out of place. We couldn't even really see Olivia. I didn't take my digital camera. Olivia is right below the basketball net, to the left, as you're looking at the picture.
Also, Olivia made the honor roll. She has come to hate school, though, and we are both sick of the routine. She complains so badly that it's causing me a lot of stress I don't need.
So, I came across a scientific way one can remove sulfur from its bond to silver (causing tarnish), by transferring it to a bond with aluminum. So, the kids and I observed. Well, I'm not sure whether I needed more of something in the water (vinegar, lemon juice, or maybe more baking soda? May straight vinegar instead of water?), but only my necklace transferred, or at least the only thing that transferred completely. Here are the instructions.
Yikes! Nathan sent me this picture one day, after he nearly fell through a 21' tall ceiling. He just happened to be right above their Christmas tree. I'm thankful he's ok, though it didn't do any good for his back. :-(
Also for solstice, I got new sandbox toys for younger kids, and I ordered a tether ball game that includes a tennis-like ball and two rackets. It's similar to the tether ball Nathan and I played in school, except we used hands on a volley-like ball. The game has been very fun for all of us, except for Elizabeth. She can't play it. When we're all out, taking turns playing, we take turns playing catch with Elizabeth.
The first sunny day that was nice to get it out, when we weren't gone and too busy, was a day after Bianca had spent the night with us.
Elizabeth tried to play! I don't think she cares for it much, though, because she's not coordinated enough to do so.
Ha! Nolan was getting sleepy (and therefore cranky), so I walked around with him, then sat down in my bedroom and started taking selfies with him. Lol, it kept him mildly satisfied for a very short duration.
And of course, we celebrated Elizabeth's 5th birthday.
That's it for now! I actually had this post done at the beginning of January, but my photos kept taking forever to upload, and I'd had to leave the project, and then I ended up losing the pictures. I didn't lose the text, because I'd saved it in a document.
Until next time...
