Well, Thanksgiving week was finally upon us. The kids were
excited because they only had two days of school. I helped in Lincoln’s
classroom Monday morning and then ran by Home Depot to look for some
decorations. I ended up finding a tree topper that was like one my mom had been
wanting, so I got that for her and ran it by the house. The twins spent the
afternoon bringing up all sorts of toys and acting out some great story they
came up with. And they weren’t happy when I told them they had to take them all
back down. I did a quick run on the treadmill before we picked up Jackson and
Lincoln from school. Ellie had math practice and I picked her up a little
later. I tried to get some help on fixing some of the Christmas lights outside,
but no one would go for it. It didn’t take too long-I just had to put part of a
string back on the hooks and replace a couple bulbs. That night we didn’t have
anything going on it and it was so nice. We had dinner and didn’t have to rush
through it. Then Andrew and the kids watched the Sound of Music (he has been
wanting to watch it for a while) while I locked myself in my “wrapping room” in
the basement and went through all the boxes of gifts, separated them, boxed
them up and put them away to be wrapped later. I also set up my wrapping space
so that I’m all ready to go when I get a chance to start wrapping.
The kids were a little slow getting up the next morning. I
did a quick ride on the trainer and got done a little before 7 and they were
all still in bed. Lincoln was singing songs from the Sound of Music, though J. I had a dentist
appointment in the morning. It was just a check-up and cleaning, but it took
most of the morning. I picked up the twins at school and they had all sorts of
Thanksgiving decorations they made. They were excited because they got to make
popcorn and watch Charlie Brown. Back home, I made them lunch and made some
cookies to take over to my parents. We were heading over there to see Caroline,
Jared and Emmie and eat some Mexican, but first we had to drive around the
neighborhood and find Buddy. We finally
found him and took him back home and then went to my parents. We were over
there for a bit and then picked up the other kids from school and came home for
a little bit. Ellie actually went with Ashlyn and went to her birthday party at
The Depot Inn. We got some stuff done at home before going back over to my
parents for dinner. Ellie ended up staying the night (the rest of them wanted
to, but we were trying to put it off for a few days).
The next few days were spent hanging
out with family. Andy and his family got into town Wednesday and Lissy and I
took the kids to see Trolls that evening. I think the kids enjoyed it, but
Lissy and I weren’t impressed. Thursday morning, I made some pumpkin pies and
then got on the treadmill. I knew there would be a lot of food consumed, so I
tried to put in some sort of effort. Andrew got a nice bike ride in outside. We
went to his parents for lunch and stayed out there for a few hours. Andrew and
Jackson set up some targets for Brad to do some target shooting. They said at
one point, Buddy was running alongside the car and they clocked him doing
30mph. I think Andrew was proud. We left Andrew’s parents a little before four
and stopped by home so I could change laundry and get the second pie to take to
my parents for dinner. Kaitlin and her family got into town for dinner that evening.
After dinner, the kids enjoyed some time in the hot tub and then they got to
have a sleepover. Jackson came home with me though. I think he preferred his
quiet room to a basement full of kids. I think there were 9 of them sleeping
down there.
We spent some time at my parents
Friday. Then while my parents took the kids to the playground at the Y, some of
worked on cleaning the house. It was a good outing for the kids to help exert
some energy. That evening we went out to Matthew and Kristin’s for Ashlyn’s
birthday party. The kids always have a fun time out there but they were tired
and ready for bed as the evening wore on. We were able to stay around home on
Saturday since most of our families were heading out of town. It gave me a good
chance to get stuff ready for Ellie’s birthday party. I wanted to get quite a
bit of cleaning done and while I was scrubbing baseboards, Jackson asked me if
he could help me in anyway. I was so touched because he was being so sincere. I
told him I would appreciate it if he could clean the kids’ bathroom. He didn’t
hesitate at all. He checked again on what all need to be done-scrubbing the tub
and sinks, cleaning the sink tops, floors and toilet. He did a great job and it
was much appreciated. He also helped get an extra leaf in the table and move in
some chairs. I cleaned, decorated for the party, prepped some food and did my
grocery shopping. Andrew went to the office, mowed the yard and played with the
kids a bit.
The next day was Ellie’s big day-her
10th birthday. We went to church and then I kicked into fast mode
trying to get everything done. Everyone was coming at noon for lunch, so I needed
to get all the food made and make sure everything was ready to go. Andrew kept
the kids in the basement most of the morning, so I could get things done quicker
and not have more messes to clean up. We celebrated with a luau party and Ellie
was excited to have some of her cousins join her and we were happy to celebrate
our special girl. She loves big and has a big heart that loves God. She is
smart, funny, creative, loyal and loves to cuddle. She can be an emotional mess but she does
have to put up with all of those brothers.
Everyone left by two and it was nice
to have the rest of the day to clean up everything. I kept her decorations up
through the evening since her birthday still wasn’t done yet. Ellie immediately
got out her new helicopter and nail polish kit. That evening we ate leftovers
at my parents and then got ready for the new week. I took down the last of
Ellie’s decorations and put up the last of the Christmas decorations.
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