November

I get to go on quite a few field trips with the kids now that I don't have kids at home during the day.  I went on another one with Owen in November.  They got to do an art project at a museum and then have a snack at the park afterwards.  

My new calling at church is a member of the Relief Society activities committee.  We plan activities for the ladies in our ward.  We did one in November with the theme "Campfire of Faith."  It was based on the talk given in the October General Conference by Elder Gong.  Click on his name to read the talk.  In the talk, he shares an experience with learning how to do watercolor painting, in which he painted a campfire scene.  He says, " As we painted, we talked about faith—how as we face the light and warmth of a campfire, we leave the darkness and uncertainty behind us—how on sometimes long, lonely nights, our campfire of faith can give hope and assurance. And the dawn does come. Our campfire of faith—our memories, experiences, and heritage of faith in God’s goodness and tender mercies in our life—has strengthened us through the night."  He then shares 5 ways we can kindle our campfire of faith.

For our activity, we had 5 ladies share these 5 ways of strengthening our faith (I volunteered myself to talk about the 4th point, to "...establish regular patterns of righteous living that deepen faith and spirituality.")  After the talks, we enjoyed chatting while eating s'mores.  We also had everyone bring something to display, either that they had made or something they were grateful for.  It was a gratitude and creativity display.  I was too busy chatting to remember to take any pictures of the display, but it had things like quilts, family photos, and scrapbooks.  

I decided to use my creativity and try my hand at watercolor painting.  I needed a large poster with our theme on it for decorations.  My first try on a smaller piece of watercolor paper was a fail.  (I've heard that FAIL means First Attempt In Learning?)  I almost gave up, but thought I'd give it another try.  I sketched out my picture in pencil, using an online photo as an example, and then tried the painting again.  I decided not to try to make the dark night sky.  I think that's what didn't turn out well in the first picture.  I was pleased with this 2nd one.  Maybe I'll try painting again sometime.  

I made some letter size S'more pictures that I framed and used as decoration as well.

Here is the dessert table (pre-smores), with a campfire I made for one of the kids school functions a while back.  Everything turned out pretty cute, and the spiritual part of the night was good too.  Success!  

Jared participated in after school cross country this fall.  They had some small meets with a few of the local schools.  They only ran twice a week (one practice and one race), so it wasn't a big time commitment and it wasn't very effective in getting faster and building endurance.  But it was good for Jared to get out there and run a little bit.  I think running is one of those sports that requires a more consistent effort, at least 4-5 times a week to really see improvement, so practicing once and having a meet once a week isn't a very good program, but it's better than sitting at home on the couch!

Shortly after soccer season, we switched right over to basketball season.  In fact, we nearly missed the deadline for sign-ups, because I forgot about it.  I remembered a couple of days before the mandatory evaluations.  We got the last couple of spots available, but had to pay late fees.  Jared and Owen are both playing on community teams, and Nathan made the "frosh" team (freshman and sophomores).  I think it's been a humbling year for Nathan, because he is used to getting more playing time.  And he was really good compared to the kids in England, always being used as an example for doing lay ups and such during PE.  He sits the bench most of the time, but he does well when he gets in.  He has a nice shot, and has shown he can make the three point shot.  They had some tournament games before the official season started.  One of Nathan's most memorable games was getting the winning shot during one of the tournament games.  His team was down by 1, and Nathan made a nice little floater with about a minute left to put his team up.  They were able to hold that lead.  He got 10 or 11 points, his most of the season, in one of those early games.  Their team is undefeated in league play.  They had a really intense close game with one of the in-town rivals and pulled off the win. 

Owen's team is doing pretty well.  They have a superstar player on the team that gets most of the points.  Owen did score a basket in one of the games.  What's funny is upon congratulating him at the end of the game for scoring, he said, "I scored?"  He didn't even remember he made a basket until I showed him the video of it.  That pretty much sums up Owen on playing - he tries hard, but isn't always aware of where he's supposed to be or what's going on.  He is improving though. 

Jared's team is also undefeated in his league.  Jared is developing his shot pretty well too, as he can also make three pointers.  He made 3 three-pointers in one of his games!  We offered a little extra motivation for the boys - if Owen makes a basket, we all get ice cream, and if Jared makes a 3 pointer, we all get ice cream.  Up until the game this evening, we have enjoyed ice cream after all of Jared's games.  He knows that he can't just launch up the ball every time he gets it, but he isn't afraid to take the shot when he's open.  He was pretty bummed out that he didn't make one this evening though.

We had Thanksgiving meal with our friends Donald and Julie (the ones who do the annual Halloween party).  It was nice to just prepare some side items (although not as nice for having leftovers...)  I made rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, fried chicken drumsticks, and brought a couple of store bought pies.  They prepared a fancy table setting, complete with personalized turkeys with chocolates.  We had lots of pies for dessert, and everything was yummy!  

Weston's favorite was the rolls - I'm not sure how many of those he ate!  Nathan got a huge piece of apple pie.  We weren't sure if he would be able to finish it, but he cleaned his plate.

Alex took the kids to the beach the day after Thanksgiving.  They had fun chasing a tumbleweed.  

We put up the Christmas tree a couple of days after Thanksgiving.  I love looking at our tree with lights - it's so magical.

We still have the same tree we started with - our 18th year with this little tree.  I was noticing that Nathan is taller than our tree this year.  I went back to see if I had some more pictures of him standing by the tree.  I did find some - the earliest one I found was from 2006, when he was almost 3 years old.  It's not a very good shot, not showing the full tree, but it gives an idea of how much he's grown in the last 15 years.  Here he is at nearly 3, 9, and 15.

I think it might be time to get a new tree, but there is something sentimental about our little tree.  I think it's a reminder of our humble beginnings, and it reminds me of the humble beginning of the birth of our Savior too.  He wasn't born in a big fancy home, but in a manger.  On a random side note, my wedding ring brings similar feelings.  I sometimes look at my ring and think it would be nice to have a fancier ring.  But it also serves as a reminder of where we began and how Alex used all that he had at the time to buy my ring.  Maybe I'll get another ring someday.  Maybe we'll get another tree someday.  But both are reminders of humble beginnings and have sentimental value.