Where does the time go?! We have been busy with school as well as all the other things that go along with being a part of a family. We are about to enter the last week of our second quarter...which means it is just about time for WINTER BREAK! Woo-hoo! Yea, we are a bit ready for a break, not to mention we just found out that we will be able to go home to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with our parents, family, and friends. We can't wait! In the meantime, here is a lot of catching up from the past couple of weeks. Enjoy!

As I've mentioned before, we love our new library. A few weeks ago I posted a picture of the new statue of Mary Draper Ingles. Here are some pictures of the sitting area on the second floor that we like to visit. It is so enjoyable to treat ourselves to a soda from the soda machine, a snack (we brought left over muffins from breakfast on this day), and to sit in front of these magnificent windows. When it is snowing out the view is all the more magnificent!

We finally got around to carving our little pumpkins.

The leaves also finally fell out of the trees. The kids had so much fun raking leaves not only from our backyard, but from surrounding yards as well. After they made a big ol' pile of leaves, Della came running in and asked if I'd take their picture. She set up Claira in her spot. Although Claira doesn't look like she's enjoying herself, she really was. Della also placed TJ and herself in these perfect spots and pretty much ran the "photo shoot"...I just snapped away.

We love our dog, Maggie, so much, she might as well be one of the kids since she is definitely one of the family. It is so amazing how much personality she has and the fact that she can very clearly communicate her needs and wants. In fact, as I type this, Maggie is being hand fed chunks of ice from Della's cup. No, I'm not the only one who spoils her...but I do seem to be the only one who has her for a shadow.

Like so many families, ours is not exempt from the kayos and craziness that comes with living together with other personalities, needs, wants, desires, likes, dislikes, various out-of-the-house activities, etc. Before I knew it we had become a family that was fussing, arguing, disrespectful to and with each other...and I include myself in this. I sat wondering what in the world happened to our happy family. Where had our joy gone. Now mind you, I am not saying we never had problems and conflict, but it wasn't usually non-stop, day in and day out. I came across this wonderful teaching of how to keep our lives in balance...because the Lord knows, it wasn't balanced. In Stormie Ormartian's book, Praying through the Deeper Issues of Marriage, Stormie taught that keeping a balance in a marriage consists of God being first, spouse second, children third, and then everything else will fall into it's place. Yes, it sounds simple, and it is...but not always simple to do when you don't keep your focus in priority. So....I figured since this order of balance worked so well for me in my marriage, it would work just as well for the kids. So here it is...and yes, it has caused them to think or rethink some actions and/or words.