What We've...

This was supposed to be posted for the new month (new moon), but no one is really surprised it didn't get done then, right???  (Because if you are surprised, then you don't me very well, now do you?!)

So this goes back through most of "September" to "October" 5.

What We've Been Reading...

I think Trusten left the newspaper in the floor, and Elizabeth decided to "read" it.

LOL! Those Scholastic News were left from May.  We were behind on our beloved wildlife magazines, too.

And several books, of course!  We read children's books, history textbooks, bible storybooks, the bible, etc.

What We've Been Doing...

We took a break to go visit family and friends, which we had planned to do back in July, but we kept waiting to see whether Nathan could take off to go, but I just decided to take the kids myself and go.

Of all my school friends, there are only two with whom I still care to maintain relationships, and those were my two best friends, Lindsey and Gena.  Above I'm pictured with Gena, and her children and mine are together (her firstborn is her biological son, and the other three are her adopted blessings).  I enjoyed a wonderful visit with my dear friend while my kids and her three youngest, plus her current foster child played at the park.  The kids all had a lot of fun together, too.

Another day I was blessed to enjoy a visit with my other dear friend, Lindsey, and I'm pictured with her above, and her precious girls with my babies.

The kids also got to play with their cousin Layla, my sister's precious girl.  I'm so blessed to have a baby sister and a precious niece.  LOL, we couldn't get our picture to turn out to suit us.  I look like I've had a stroke or something.  Really, I am somewhat lopsided, I think, lol, but not as badly as that picture shows. We've got our faces turned.

We visited Nathan's dad, too, and I got pictures of the kids with him, but he'd likely choke me if I posted them, lol, so I'll stick with posting a couple of the cool little dog.  Such a friendly thing.  He'd make a handy cleaner-upper on our dining room floor, I'm sure. My father-in-law once talked us into selling my beloved boxer Artemis to him, so maybe I should talk him into selling Bud to us. ;-)

Sweet Elizabeth and Layla, at my parents'. 

Meanwhile my oldest three were playing in the pool.  William also spent some time fishing in the pond, and we got to eat fish before we came home from our trip.  When I was a girl, we fished and at fish from the pond a lot.
I took a lot of other wonderful pictures on our trip.  Won't share them all.

The kids got to learn about tree-trimming and mulching, because our electric company hired Asplundh to trim and cut down trees in the county.  They spent several days on and around our property.  I even had one of the desires of my heart fulfilled through this.  I've been wanting the large sycamore right in front of our house trimmed, because it's been blocking too much sunlight from the porch for the last year or two.  We love its shade, but it's become too much, and I've been limited to what kind of flowers I can put in pots on the porch, and the grass has become nonexistent in the area. Soooo...I kindly asked the man who came to the door whether they'd mind trimming those branches, even though that part of the tree did not affect power lines.  In the end, he chose to fulfill that kind deed, and I praised God for that wonderful blessing!  It only took them a few extra minutes.  Another blessing is that all the mulch that came from the cut tree branches will help our gardens.  While the kids were supposed to be working on their workbooks, they instead stood at the door and windows watching the action outside!

What We've Done for Laughs...

I truly live with a silly bunch.  Yes, that is a price tag on Liv's nose. She peeled it from her notebook and stuck it on her nose.  The last picture is of Liv taking a self-portrait.  That's a favorite past time of hers.

 
What We've Been Eating...

So I got my homemade coleslaw perfect on the second try!  Soooo good.  Nathan was very pleased.  None of the kids like coleslaw, sadly, but we enjoyed it.  Then lasagna (shown before cheese topping), as you may see, as a square without sauce, and that is because my sweet boy Trust absolutely hates anything tomato.  He's worth going to the extra trouble.  Then suki-yaki steak and vegetables!  Oh, so good, and yes, I make my own white sauce (aka steak sauce or yum-yum sauce), too!  Another fruit salad.  They're one of Nathan's favorites (they are indeed pretty good), and making them is a good excuse for me to buy fresh berries. ;-)  I looooove berries, especially blueberries.  Of course, my fruit salads vary.  Bread! Homemade bread.  I'm transitioning back to making my own bread. I really want to make all my own bread permanently.  I love making big salads, too, including some chicken or steak (chicken here) and eggs, lots of cucumber (one of my favorites), no tomato for mine lately, as it seems I'm reacting to them again, and covered in cannabis seeds for nutritious omega-3 fat and complete protein (so this salad would be great without the chicken or egg).

Raspberry cheesecake was one of William's Sabbath dessert picks.  Yes, I even mixed up some raspberry in the cheese.  I topped mine with strawberries, however, as I'm not a big red raspberry fan, but they're his favorite berry!


Speaking of Sabbath...




What We've Done on Sabbath...

Sabbath afternoon visit to Roaring River, the very last time the kids got to swim and play in the river for the season, in early September.

Jaden William, Elizabeth, and I started going to church services and fellowship (UCG).  I hadn't been to UCG Sabbath services (besides some years at Tabernacles) since JW was two years old.  We're enjoying it, though.  William loves it.  I think I'll start taking Trust and Liv, though it will be a challenge by myself, but Nathan has no desire to go.  He can't even make up his mind whether he believes as I do or whether he is agnostic, believing in a Creator but nothing beyond that.





Coming soon will be Jaden's belated birthday post, as we finally took his trip, then an update on what is going on in school with the kids.

Until next time...