In spite of Marissa and Daniella being sick, we had a great Thanksgiving Day. 

Are you keeping up here?  Since Oct. 30, James has been sick twice.  The first time with a throat infection, sinus infection, infection in both eyes, and infection in both ears, almost causing his eardrum to rupture.  Yes, all at the same time.  After being well about a week, he got horrible chest congestion, and was sick a week with that.  He's better now, but still coughing.  Marissa has been sick twice.  The first time, remember, nothing would make her stop coughing.  The 2nd time was a head cold again, little coughing.  Ashley got sick a couple of weeks ago, and stayed on the couch for almost a week. She's better, but still stuffy.  Daniella got the cold at the same time Marissa got it the 2nd time.  Poor Briana came home for her Thanksgiving break, and they made her sick!  She's feeling a little better today ~Monday(and had to go back today).  And ta da!  After surviving an entire month without getting any of it, today I wake up with it.  Lord, PLEASE let this be the last round of it!!  We are hardly ever sick anymore, so this has been an experience.

We have Thanksgiving traditions that the girls all enjoy.  We don't eat our big meal until evening.  We got up and all piled on the couch to watch the Macy's parade.  Afterwards, some of them watched at least parts of the dog show while I started a blueberry cobbler and some other things that had not been done the day before.  While the turkey was in the oven, we went out to have our annual leaf sledding.  It's always a lot of fun.

They sled into a huge pile of leaves at the bottom of the hill.  Can you see Daniella's head about to go under?  She's sitting there in front of Marissa.

Rolling down the hill

Throughout the day, we add things we are thankful for to the cornacopia.

After a yummy dinner that everyone helped with, we watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  LOL.  That's not a part of our normal traditions, but we had fun watching it.  Even SOMEONE who said it was going to be dumb did an awful lot of giggling over it.  : ) 

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite days. 

The Christmas tree is going up tonight.  More simple traditions and memories.

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Denise interviewed 3 of her children, and their answers just cracked me up.  I asked her if I could borrow her questions, and this is what I got:

Marissa's answers~ 

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We finished our butterfly lapbooks several weeks ago, and they had a great time working on them.  This one was different, because it's the first time I've just kind of made up our own.  I used information and some ideas from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html and www.homeschoolshare.com, and some I just totally made up.  In addition to the activities in the pictures, we also did a stained glass butterfly craft, which had mixed results, and a symmetrical butterfly craft.  Both were hits. 

Marissa's~

Daniella's~
LOL.  She's still adding little butterflies to the front of hers.  She's had a ball doing that. 
Okay, this picture also encompasses several other projects!  You'll see the canner that I wasn't actually using to can....we were using it to heat up the apples to to make applesauce that was canned in the waterbath canner.  There's also the electric cooler plugged in to get ready for our camping trip, a jigsaw puzzle on the table that Marissa and I were working on, and a crossword puzzle that Ashley was working.  We may be a little cluttered, but we're always learning!  : )

We're about to start on The 12 Days of Christmas lapbook that I was able to get for free for being a TOS subscriber.  Yes, I know the 12 days of Christmas are after Christmas, but I know me well enough to know that the days right after Christmas will not be spent doing a lapbook, besides the fact that we're going out of town on the 1st.  We also have one more trip out of town to see Briana in the Nutcracker, and between that, decorating, wrapping, baking.....I think I'd do well to start now! 

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First of all, I realized I never posted a picture of the girls at the fall festival. Indian princess and Colonial maiden~

Well, despite the fact that I spent the whole day before we were supposed to leave canning 30 qts. of applesauce instead of packing,

and despite the fact that at 10:30 the night before we were supposed to leave, I realized the refrigerator was not cool (given away mostly by the smell of about $10 worth of spoiled raw chicken that I was planning to cook the next morning),

and despite the fact that instead of running some last minute errands the next morning while I packed, James had to wait on the repairman and for him to leave,

and despite the fact that James started getting sick the 2nd day we were there,

and despite the fact that we had a camper incident as we were leaving,

we had a really good time camping! 

We love fall camping at nearby state parks.  This was our first visit to this one, and we chose it  because it was close enough that Briana could come and camp with us, and still go in to her classes 2 nights.  I was so thankful that her weekend classes didn't meet that week.  Not only are the colors so beautiful in the fall, but it is usually pretty deserted in the campgrounds by the end of Oct.  There were only 2 other campers within sight of ours, and it was so quiet and peaceful. 

Being on the end of a small loop, and with few campers down there, the little girls, especially this one, had a blast riding part way around the loop, cutting through the woods and campsites.

She finds this cedar branch lying and the grounds and says, "Mama, can I take this home with me?"

Fun at the playground.  Daniella cracks me up.  Can you see her dangling in the background?  The child spends half her life dangling from something. 

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Hopefully not at the same time. 

Thank you for all of your encouragement.  James is much better, but not completely well yet.  He tires out easily, his ears are still stopped up, and he has a little cough.  Marissa never threw up again after those 2 times, and her fever is gone, but she has a dry cough that is horrible.  She is completely miserable with it.  It started on Sat., I think, and it is rough.  She and I have not slept more than 5 hours the last 2 nights.  I have tried every home remedy and over the counter medicine we could find for her at night, and she still just coughs.  I looked at the symptoms for whooping cough this morning, and I don't think that's what she has.  It's not that hard of a cough.  Just nagging.  I'm sure it's post nasal, but it is persistant and won't be tamed. 

We have tried apple cider vinegar mixed with honey and ginger (YUCK! but she took it like a trooper), she has a humidifier running next to her bed, a spoonful of honey, breathing steam with peppermint oil (works like a charm as long as she's breathing it, but she coughs immediately upon coming up for air), Breathe Right strips, Dimetapp, Robatussin, Vick's cough Suppressent (just at night so she can sleep), and Vick's vapor rub.  I think that's everything we've done.  Oh, and the first night I tried rubbing an accupressure point.  If anyone has any other ideas I would LOVE to hear them.  She is worn out. 

On a lighter note, Ashley and Briana have started a new blog together called Family Vacation Reviews.  You can visit it HERE.  They are having fun working on it.  Right now they are featuring Winterfest.  Definitely check that out for the holidays.  Add them to your favorites, then check in often for new places to visit.  They will also be having some guest bloggers, I believe. 

Say a prayer for us to get some sleep around here, and for little Marissa. 

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I have been MIA for a while because we went camping.  I'll share about it soon, but am too tired tonight.  We were delayed a day getting home because James was too sick to pull the camper (pop-up) home, and I have never pulled it, and that road was not the time to try.  We got in about noon, and I had to race to get Marissa somewhere by 2:00~race, because I had to still have a shower, and it's a 20 min. drive.  Anyway, James is never sick, but he got sicker and sicker as the week went on.  By Sunday he was extremely miserable.  He went to the dr. Monday afternoon after we got in, and has.......a sinus infection, a throat infection, a double ear infection, and a double eye infection.  Whew.  From Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon his eyes got so swollen he could barely open them.  The dr. said his throat was so closed up that he could barely get air through or swallow.  And, one of his eardrums was on the verge of rupturing.  She said she was very surprised that we made it home.  She was surprised that the change in air pressure coming off of the mountains we were on did not cause it to burst.  He's on an antibiotic now, got a good long night sleep last night, and today was some better.  His throat was not as sore, and he didn't feel quite as rotten most of the day.  His eyes are a little better tonight, but he still has ear pain.  And, of course, you always feel worse as night comes on. 

So, in the meantime, on Sunday morning, Daniella got bumped in the mouth, and started screaming crying.  I looked in her mouth and one of her back teeth (still baby thankfully) has a huge black spot on it, and her gum is very swollen.  I knew it was probaby abscessed.  How can you be a good mom and let that happen!!??? LOL.   She complained a couple of weeks ago that her gum was hurting.  I looked at it, and it looked like she might be getting an ulcer.  She complained about it when she ate for several days, but then for about a week, at least, she said nothing.....until Sunday morning.  Ugh.  I called the dentist (during my mad rush to get a shower and get out the door), but they were closed, so she went in today.  By today her gums were horrendously swollen.  She's on 2 weeks of antibiotics, and then will have to have the tooth pulled.  (sigh)

Sooooo, in the meantime......(have you heard that somewhere before?)......Marissa went with us to the dentist today, then we ran a couple of errands.  We went to WalMart to have Daniella's perscription filled, but had to wait an hour.  I was so tired, I didn't not want to drive all the way home, then turn around and go all the way back, so we "window shopped" at WM.  About half way through, I could see Marissa going down.  She complained with a headache, and said it might be sinus since she was getting kind of dizzy.  I knew she was tired, too, plus none of us had had lunch, except they had a little applesauce, and it was 2:30.  I thought maybe she'd perk up once she ate.  We finally got the prescrip, and when we got to the car I gave her a banana, which she ate half of.  About a mile from home she started throwing up.......lots.  We got in and got her cleaned up, and she seemed fine, except for the headache and tiredness....oh, and the little detail of a 100.6 temp.  A little later she ate a piece of toast with fruit spread, one cookie, and drank some juice.  All was good with the stomach, and she held it down.  I was relieved and was thinking it was sinus drainage on an empty stomach that got to her earlier.  Or not.  At supper she drank a little coke that I got her to settle the stomach, and ate about 5 plain noodles.  They only stayed down about 5 min.  She's was up probably another hour with no more throwing up.  I'm praying that she'll sleep through the night, and also that we will fight off her having anything near as bad as James.  I've been pumping Vit. C, herbal drops for kids, and Collodial Silver into her.

So far, Ashley and I just have a stuffy sinusy headache, but not bad.  We're also, along with Daniella, taking lots of preventative, so I pray we can stay well.  Briana was also with us while we camped, so I hope she is remembering to take her vitamins.  I guess with Daniella on antibiotics anyway for her tooth infection, they might kill of any bacteria she might pick up from her Daddy.

Daniella had to skip ballet tonight, because I just did not have it in me to drive 30 min. to the studio.  James was originally supposed to take her, while I had a mom's night with 2 others, but I had to cancel that, too.   Contrary to how it may sound, I'm not complaining.  I would have felt horrible if I had been out eating and laughing while Marissa was here so sick.  There will be plenty of other times to chat and relax.  Poor Marissa was apologizing to me before she was even finished throwing up tonight, because it was all over the carpet.  As I was cleaning it, she said, "Being a mom is a lot of hard work, isn't it?"  So, I had the chance to tell her again that, yes, it's hard work, but I love it.  And, that even though I wouldn't choose to be cleaning that off the carpet, it was okay, and I didn't mind, because I love her and love being her mom. 

So, not all things are yuck. 

update Wed. morning~Marissa made it through the night without throwing up anymore, so I still don't think this is a stomach bug.  James felt queezy off and on in the early part of his.  However, she did wake up early with a 102.7 temp. 

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And, the winner of Nancy Baetz ebook, Homeschooling is Our Life, is Kimmie at Over The Moon With Joy. 

If you are still interested in the ebook, Nancy has reduced the price for the next month or two.  Go to her site, www.nancybaetz.com, to check it out.  She also has an ebook on how to give your sons a haircut to save on those costs. 

Also, go by and meet Kimmie.  She's a great mom of six ("one homemade and five through adoption") with at least one more on the way through adoption. 

Thursday, we decided spur of the moment to go to the new corn maze here.  This is the first time our county has ever had one.  Marissa and Daniella had riding lessons at 1:30.  They got in, grabbed a snack, and we headed over.  Well, Mom here remembered to make sure what time they closed, but never thought to look at what time they opened!  Thankfully, we were only 10 min. before opening.  There was no where to park outside the gate, so we pulled a little further up the road to a country church parking lot.  Right next to it was the church cemetery, and James and the little girls spent the time walking through the gravesites reading names and dates.  A little history on the side! 

They did a good job with the maze, and it had a neat scavenger hunt~items that had to be found in a certain order.  The hayride was fun, and even went through a section of woods.  They called it the Enchanted Woods, and had hidden stuffed animals in the trees along the path.  Even the adults had fun trying to spot them all!  The day was pretty, though a little overcast, and the temp was great.

Finding a clue
And, just in case you notice the black bands on Marissa's wrists, those are motion sickness armbands.  She gets sick on all of our curvy backroads.

Ring the bell when you finish the maze.

Playing bean bag toss

The hayride

The Pumpkin Patch

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Nancy Baetz is my friend.  I've never met her; never chatted on the phone with her; have only emailed back and forth with her a few times; and only occasionally, we comment on each other's blogs.  But, those few exchanges with her have been great, and I consider her a friend.  We have prayed for one another, encouraged one another, and she has helped me tremendously over the past year and a half, approximately, as I've had to find my way through a new style of homeschooling in order to meet the needs of one of my children.  (And discovered a much better way for them both!)

Nancy has never tried to tell me what to do in my homeschooling, but has just been a gentle encourager to seek  the Lord and what my children need~to not let the pressures of what other homeschoolers do get to me; to not measure myself against someone else's stick.  That's what she does in the new ebook she has written,

Nancy shares a gentle encouragement with us, as we seek to not be stressed by the pressures of "doing school at home".  Do not let her words "unschooling" scare you.  LOL.  I know by reading her blog that Nancy spends plenty of time teaching her children many things.  What this book does do is encourage you to relax, offers other book recommendations (ones which I have also recommended here and are GREAT resources!  I highly recommend you put them on your wish list.), and makes you stop to think about how your children learn best, the most important tools of their learning, an A-Z list about some things "unschooling" is and isn't, and more. 

Nancy has graciously allowed me to review her book, and is also allowing me to give away a free copy.  It's a very manageable size, with short chapters.  I read it in one evening.  So, if you'd love to just feel hugged and encouraged in your homeschooling or are seeking a more relaxed way, leave me a comment, with your blog address or email, and on Saturday Marissa will draw a name out of the hat. 

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The girls are LOVING their horseback riding lessons.  Ashley, too, although, I don't have any pictures of her yet.  She drives herself over, but next week I'm going to go over and get pictures.  Anyway, here are Marissa and Daniella riding Dusty.

Marissa

trotting

Trotting~learning to balance and hold on with her legs, not her hands.

Daniella

trotting

Daniella balancing
Monday, my nieces came over with my parents, and we all went to Dollywood.  They enjoy spending the day together.  They get to see each other usually about 2 or 3 times  year. 

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  A few people have mentioned how close together Ashley's and Briana's birth days are.  Three years, 7 days, 37 min.  That means birthday celebrations are one week apart.  It has been quite exhausting some years.  Occasionally they had parties together, but many years they were seperate.  The worst were the years I had slumber parties 2 weekends in a row!  : )  They were worth it, though, and gave the girls great memories.  Another hard part was gearing up for the 2nd one.  I always felt like Briana got my mental leftovers!  LOL.  No matter how old they are, I still find myself celebrating Ashley's birthday, then going, "Ack! It's Briana's birthday, and I'm not ready!"  I'm a slow learner. 

   Did I *really* say that having older children was easier than younger ones?!!!  Since July~barely over 3 months~ Briana has had a meltdown over what she wanted to do with her life, changed her major and her plans for this year, moved out of the house on extremely short notice, faced several decisions and challenges with new things, and we're about to start touring new college campuses!    Since July~barely over 3 months~Ashley has gone to Guatemala, had a time of stress and concern about her college (now resolved), changed her major, her sister and best friend moved, has had (and still has) a 32 year old Guatemalan man attempting to court her via email (he's a nice missionary, but she's not interested), and is trying to decide between (or all of) 3 different mission opportunities presented to her for this next year~Israel, Kenya, and California!   Hey! and we had their birthdays a week apart during that time, too!  LOL.  

   Actually, having older children is easier, for the most part, than younger ones...for me at least.  Not easy, though.    Watching them push their wings the rest of the way out~the work and stress it can cause to show such beauty~ and knowing what your exact role is as they step out on their own is not easy.  Learning how to still guide and talk to them, but knowing they are at the point of making their own decisions about their lives....important, possibly life changing decisions... takes hard, discerning prayer.  Knowing when to still be "the mom", and when to let go.  It's also a great time, full of exciting possibilites.  They become my friends more each year. 

  After getting to visit Briana over last weekend for her birthday, we are looking forward to her coming home this weekend for a week long fall break. 

Bri was so very tired from her week of dancing, and had to dance the day of her birthday, we just went out to eat that night.  The next day, we all went bowling. 
At the bowling alley~

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