Aaron's Birthday in Pictures

(notice the lovely brown paper wrapping? The target bag also served as wrapping!)

Could you tell he was excited about this?

a bell for his bike!!!

from Nanny and Pupup - this was a very exciting moment ... Aaron's first lego set!

Thanks, Nanny and Pupup - he was super excited to have his very own legos!
He also loved the bell for his bike ... and he loves his new shirt!

Aaron turned 6!!

I'll have pictures to share soon. I just don't seem to have the time to get pictures up and tend to the blog.
Aaron turned 6 this past Saturday. The morning of his birthday I realized that I had forgotten to buy wrapping paper. So, my plan was to run out to the store to get some as soon as I finished making breakfast for everyone.
However, instead of running out the store (which we can't really do quickly living way out here), I gathered a bunch of brown paper bags and wrapped his presents in paper bags.
Do you really think he cared about the paper?
So, he opened all of his presents from us after breakfast. He and his brothers spent the rest of the day playing with his new toys.
We had a birthday party for him at Jumpin' Beans on Tuesday afternoon. It's been a fun and crazy few days around here. We took Monday and Tuesday off of school. Monday - so that I could focus on making his cake. Tuesday - party day.
So, we are going to spend the next 3 days catching up.
Pictures will come ... one day soon.

Snow in December

We don't get a lot of snow here in NC - especially in early December! My children saw those big flakes falling from the sky and hurried around to find gloves and hats, so they could play outside!

Jonathan and Aaron had a blast running around outside with their friends and catching snowflakes on their tongues!

Neither of them lasted for too long, however, before they were running inside for some hot chocolate to drink. Since we don't get much (really) cold weather around here, we don't really have the kind of cold weather clothing needed for extended play outside.

This is the view from my back porch.

Chores

Dusting the end table

Cleaning the refrigerator

Sweeping the floor

There are days when all of my children are very happy helpers. I love days like that!

Martin's first hunting trip

Rich no longer has to sit in the tree stand alone. He has started taking Martin along on his hunting trips. Martin is not trained yet in how to handle a rifle, so for now, he just goes along and watches. So far he's gone twice ... and they haven't shot anything. However, he loves going and spending time with Rich out in the woods.

Just a side note: Several years ago(when Martin was about 3), I made Rich a hunting jacket and pants. I had enough extra fabric to make Martin a pair of pants just like it. I was actually planning for Martin to wear them right after I made them ... (but I made them way too big) He just recently grew into them. (and just in time for him to wear them to go hunting!)

The first night of our Advent Celebration

The children listening as Rich read the Scripture passage to them

The children each drew a picture of something that God created and were getting ready to pin it on the Advent Banner.

For some reason ...

... I am having a hard time getting into the swing of things. Since we moved into this house, I've been trying to get into a good routine. After all, I am just that kind of a person. What kind of person? A person who loves routine. I like schedules. I like organization. Since we moved here, however, I have been distracted by so many things. I feel as though I am being pulled in a thousand different directions. So, I haven't been taking many pictures. I can't seem to keep up with this blog. I can't seem to get into a decent school routine with Martin and Aaron. We are getting the work done each day - but we always seem to skip a thing or two with the idea that we will get back to it later. (not the main subjects - the extras)

Last night at Awana - I realized just how scattered my mind is - when I had to hunt down my oldest son just to find out (right, I did say find out) if he had even worn his uniform. I knew that I had never reminded him to put the shirt on like I normally do. Thankfully, when I found him, he was wearing his shirt! Wow. Little things are getting away from me. I keep thinking that I'll have a better handle on things as Rosalie gets older ... when I am getting sleep again(have I mentioned that Rosalie has gone back to night waking again? 1,2,3 times a night) ... or when we've had the chance to adapt to our new surroundings. But as I type those words, I am imagining that all of you who have been in my shoes are probably laughing out loud. There is always going to be something isn't there? In a couple years, I will be homeschooling 3 of them, instead of two. There will be other outside factors as the children get older. I know, I know. I suppose that my weaknesses are being exposed. I don't handle distraction well. I am not good at doing more than one thing at a time. I rely too heavily on routine. AND I might just make my entire family crazy before it's all over. I need to glean wisdom from my more relaxed friends and mentors.
Oh - and I still haven't found my card reader. I did find my camera cord and uploaded the pictures. Just a funny note: I still don't have any pictures to share, though, because I never really took any pictures. I just consider that to be more evidence of my scattered mind.
Hopefully, there are some of you out there that can relate to my shortcomings and will smile today as you read this entry.
In an attempt to be completely transparent and to also prove to you that my mind is scattered ... I am going to completely switch gears on you and share a picture of my living room. I actually have some pictures on the wall and the curtains are hung! I still have to hang a picture over the piano (that we've had for quite some time ... but recently painted the frame to match the rest of our decor), and find something for the wall next to the fireplace. We are also waiting on our end tables and chair to arrive. So, look for another update of the living room to come in the next couple of weeks.