jennifer, Author at Hopeful Homemaker

Ten.

November 30, 2010 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

This guy is now ten years old.

He celebrated with his friends nine days ago, but now it’s official. This guy is cheerful, generous and affectionate. He makes friends easily. He is creative and fun to be around. He is good at figuring things out. He’s a blessing to our family. It’s hard to believe he’s already ten, but we love him so much.

A look back at the party:

and the space mission:

The captain’s chair was his for the day, and they successfully completed their mission. The entire crew after their voyage:

My view from the control room:

Today for his birthday I took him Chick-fil-A for lunch. He requested “shrimp and fish” for dinner, but I simplified things and we had shrimp scampi. Although the children like their parties with friends, it’s the family celebrations that I enjoy most. Ours got a little silly tonight, but everyone had a nice time.

The highlight, as usual, were the playmobil toys. He has loved them since he was three years old (or younger). He is blessed with an awesome imagination and these toys are well-suited to his personality and interests.

At his request, a closer look at the battle scene:

Happy Birthday, big guy! We love you!

One comment 8 kids

One Step Report #47

November 28, 2010 jennifer One Step

Well, here we are near the end of November, poised on the edge of the Christmas hustle and bustle. We awoke this morning to several inches of snow. It’s nice to get enough snow for a beautiful wintry scene although a bitter, driving wind has since scattered it from the trees. My boys spent much of their day shoveling for neighbors, an elderly couple and some single women in our neighborhood. It’s nice to have them out serving.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Thanksgiving weekend and am struggling with the idea of getting back in the swing of things tomorrow morning. Can’t I just keep my kids home like this until January? I have loved the slow pace and the freedom to do whatever we want. I really want this Christmas season to be calm and nourishing to our hearts. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, but I’m certainly going to try.

This week’s report: 89 steps.
Highlights:

1. I spent a great deal of time with this little cutie, helping her master the use of the bathroom. I’m happy to say that in 8 days she has had only four accidents, day or night. She’s sleeping in her cute little underwear and doing a great job. I’m very proud of her.

2. I got most of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. I am NOT a Black Friday shopper.

3. Because we were hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I got a lot of little housekeeping things done. You know, cleaning out this drawer, hanging that thing, etc.

4. I chose the paint color I’m using to refinish my dining room chairs. I hope they turn out how I want them to.

5. Something happened today that tugged at my daughter’s heart. As I watched, I remembered the same thing happening to me when I was her age. I remembered how I felt. It was good to relive those feelings and I hope it helped me respond well to her expression of disappointment.

6. Still teething, my youngest has had a tough week. She had a terrible night a day or two ago and I ended up holding her for almost 4 hours. I feel sorry for her pain and hope that these molars will come in quickly so we can have our happy little girl back.

7. Yesterday I got my Christmas cards designed. Now I only need to make 150 of them, and convince my family to get our picture taken together. Sound fun? (And yes, I know this should have been done a month ago. Oh well.)

8. On Friday night I attended a bridal shower for an amazing young woman. It’s been such a pleasure to watch her grow up. I came home with a heart full of memories and feelings about my own journey through the stage she’s now in. Lots to think about.

9. I figured out how to make something that I’m really excited about, and am hoping to steal a few minutes to complete it.

Tonight we enjoyed a feeling of calm and relaxation as a family, something we relish in this brief season without sports schedules eating up our time. In fact, it’s a feeling we’ve had a lot over the past 4 days. I’m trying not to think about the countless tasks that will hit this week. They’ll still be there in the morning.

I hope that your Thanksgiving holiday was a fantastic one and wish you well in all your activities and plans for December. I can hardly believe I have only one month left in this One Step journey of mine. Doesn’t it seem like we just welcomed the year 2010? It’s hard to believe it will soon belong to the past.

Have a great week!

Jennifer

Last Look: Thanksgiving 2010

November 27, 2010 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty, Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving celebration this year was wonderful. Amazingly, it was a bright sunny day in spite of below freezing temperatures. We were blessed to have three other families join us for the great feast and it went well. The children (21 in all) played well together and the adults (8 of us) enjoyed great conversation. The fact that they stayed late into the evening was a good sign that everyone enjoyed themselves. A successful day like this goes down as the last item on my gratitude list for November 2010. In typing that, I can’t help but feel like the month began just a week ago! The season is speeding by.

To accommodate the large group we set up three eating areas. We used my kitchen table (above), the dining room, and we opened up my husband’s office for a third table just off the kitchen (below). It worked out perfectly. My teen-aged nieces and nephews had the honor of listening to my two year old chatter non-stop about anything she could think of.

The dining room was largely overtaken by the girls, with one little brother grabbing the last chair.

My sweet two year old with her gumdrop turkey.

I didn’t get a good picture of all the adults eating because I was busy talking with them, so this picture of several of them serving their food will have to suffice.

A delicious meal, served buffet style.

What a great bunch!

My girls loved helping me set the tables, and I couldn’t have done it without them.

For the after-dinner entertainment we had the basement set up with the double shot, ping pong and a bucket full of balls to play with. The upstairs toy room was also available, and we plugged in our Wii for the first time in several months. The men congregated in the office for conversation and the women visited at the kitchen table. There was a wonderful feeling in my home, and it felt good.

An unexpected visit from my sister and her husband also brought these awesome cake pop turkeys. I can hardly believe her creativity. I love them! I might also say that because she used a spice cake (I think, am I right Kris?) they were the first cake pops I’ve ever eaten that tasted good and weren’t so sweet that I felt sick to my stomach. Don’t you love them? What a treat!

The night got longer, the guests slowly left, a feeling of cozy quiet settled over the house. We sat in our family room to play and talk with our children while they ate turkey on rolls for a late-night snack. After having a full house for so many hours the feeling of just the ten of us gathered in one room was precious.

And then, as fast as it came, it was past. I’m already looking forward to next year.
I love Thanksgiving.