The Rest of November

Love this table of kiddos :)

I peeked ;) and saw this during bedtime prayers...LOVE that baby.

Documenting the lesson-planning view...never dreamed I would be at teacher, but I love it :)

Saturday morning bingo with some of our favorites...

And heading out after to B's alumni baseball game.  Has it really been so many years since we spent every weekend here??

Giving away possessions...one of 7 weeks of 7.  All about getting rid of excess to make more room for God and what He has for us, truly loving your neighbor as yourself and simplifying in seven particular areas.  It has been good and hard and refreshing. 

She loves baby dolls JUST like Greer did at this age!  Lining them up for their diaper changes, playing with them and changing their clothes...

A few school pics...first, Gehrig's co-op art project on Monet.

Garner's "work" while Gehrig and I do his...so thankful she is so content.

Spreading out a little to do some math :)

And really, I couldn't ask for a better big brother for the girls.  He is so patient and sweet and helpful with them.

Tried to do a little color matching activity with Garner.  Nope.  When do you know if they're color-blind?

Finally (of the school pics), Gehrig's persuasive writing assignment.  Nice effort :)

Awww, cute little kitty cat

Sweet friends

And Gehrig's favorite artist, Matt Papa...thankful for his heart for Jesus!

Greer brought home the class bear for the weekend...he went with us to the adoption benefit auction and Daddy's football game.  So fun for her :)

He falls asleep often reading the stack of UGA football programs :)

We gave thanks and recorded blessings on falling leaves of scripture.  Thank you, Ann Voskamp :)

Peekaboo cuteness with Dad

 A great goodwill find - $0.99 bird book.  Fascination for all 3 :)

The many faces of GarnerBug...

Best snuggler ever...if she likes you ;)

Fro-yo with the Ruckers

And a great night of fun to go support some of Daddy's friends who coach nearby and visit with their families too in the stands.  Sad for Daddy that he didn't get to play in the playoffs this year, but it was also really nice to enjoy a game in the stands with him this time!

Georgia shirts for the Tech game...

Studying the path to the BCS championship :)

And sweet friends to watch the game with...

These boys have been buddies since they were 2!

All of our kiddos have loved this felt board from Aunt Lindsey...

And my view from here most nights.  I love him so so much!

Yay, here comes December!!

Giving Thanks

We were sad to miss our annual trip to Thanksgiving in Virginia this year, but budget and family time kept us closer to home.  It was really nice to have some downtime at home to be together and to also work on projects around here that have been on the to-do list for YEARS.  It also allowed us to join the Sellers crew in Atlanta for a day or so and see the Pouloses' new digs.  :)

We stopped at Mike and Lindsey's new house first and the kids picked up right where they left off.  Nathan and Garner were a cute pair the first little while...

Then, on to Slade & Jessica's for dinner and visiting.  Everything was beautiful and delicious!

Britt and Mike had birthdays to celebrate too!

And the Bug got some good snuggle time with Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Mike...SO sweet!

Afterwards, we went back to the Pouloses' for playtime and hanging out...and a few beautiful singing/dancing performances by Megan and Greer.

Really thankful for all the Lord has done for us and in us...and for family and memories.  He has blessed us richly and we pray that our hearts and mouths give thanks especially on this occasion, but throughout the rest of the year as well!

A Day in the Country

B grew up in the woods, hunting and fishing.  He loved it and I know sometimes misses it in all of our suburbia and busyness.  Our sweet Miller friends invited us out to their place to enjoy those things again, along with great fellowship and yummy food.  We had an awesome time and are so thankful that it's really much closer than we even thought.

Gehrig's first ever hunting trip...this mama who didn't grow up around hunting has to get use to this kind of sight!  :)

While the boys were in the woods, the mamas and girls enjoyed some good playtime and visiting.

Oh, the makeup and mess and dressup...they had SO much fun!

I loved how quiet and peaceful it was out there...and loved the feeling of it getting dark and the boys coming in from the woods in time to wash up for yummy veggie soup and cornbread.  Their home was gorgeous and woodsy, with a big front porch swing and exposed beams inside.  Warm and inviting and homey, with good conversation with like-minded believers.  We felt right at home immediately.  Maybe I really am a country girl at heart...

Co-op Art/Awards Night

So proud of all the kiddos, amazed by the teachers and thankful again to be a part of this group of families!

BUD-EES

Cracked up at Garner plopped on the floor in the middle of everyone, eating away...

Getting their awards...Dynamic Drawing for Greer

Neatest Worker for Gehr

It seems like the semester went so fast, but we're also thankful for a break during the holiday season.  Thankful to see everyone soon at the Christmas party and then again in January!

Baby Birthday Girl

Mid-November came too fast again and before we knew it, our just-seems-like-she-was born GarnerBug got ready for bed for the last time as a 1yr old.  

I catch B watching us all the time and finally the other day, he said, "She makes you smile a lot."  :)  It's been such a blessing this time around to be home fulltime since she was born.  It's possible that she is a little clingy because of all that Mama-and-me time, but it seems somehow appropriate for the baby of the family.  And if I am honest, I enjoy the mama's girl act more than a little bit after having two Gs who have preferred Daddy 9 times out of 10.  :)

SOoooo, what is she like these days?  It's hard to spend time talking to or about her without mentioning her eyes.  They stop people in their tracks and penetrate right into you when she looks at you.  She seems to win hearts easily even while refusing to smile or talk to anyone that she doesn't feel super comfortable with.  She's had the great benefit of being the youngest kid in many groups of friends that we're around, which means that she gets lots and lots of sweet attention and babying.  Not a bad life.

Over the past few months, her vocabulary has exploded.  She still calls her paci "fwa" and her lovey "yile," even though she can say them correctly.  She talks in short phrases and sentences these days and says cute words like "o-hay" and "pizzle."  She talks louder when she feels like no one's listening to her and cries easily when she doesn't get her way...but then rarely from getting hurt.  Her favorite things to do include reading books (would sit for hours), coloring (left-handed), cooking in the play kitchen and playing with baby dolls.  She will talk to them, read to them, change their diapers, stroll them around the house, "rock-a-da-baby-treetop" and put them to bed with snuggy blankets.  Her content playing has helped her mama so much while homeschooling her big brother!

She sings.  ALL.DAY.LONG.  Her continuously running playlist includes ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Jesus Loves Me, Itsy Bitsy Spider, You Are My Sunshine and Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus, among any others she hears and repeats.  She has started saying our daily verses with us and can count to the teens.  Colors are a different story...the idea seems foreign, with "wed" being her answer everytime you ask her what color something is. :)  She L.O.V.E.S her playschool teacher, Mrs. Windy (just like Greer did when she was her age) and came home this month singing the classic "God Our Father" when we bow for the blessing.

She's a petite little thing, 20th-%ile in height and 50th in weight...with a cute round belly that's hard to cover with toddler-sized shirts.  We are so blessed that she's healthy, eats and drinks well and still loves her sleep.  She also still really loves to be held, but we are continuing to work on balancing good snuggles with teaching her to walk some too so that I don't have to spend our whole budget at the orthopedic.  

She adores her brother and sister and greets them every morning with a "Hey Geh!  Hey Gweer!" and they dote on her incessantly in return.  And oh, her daddy-love...when she sees any sort of sports playing field on tv or in person, she exclaims "Go Dada!" and will answer "work, at fitball" when you ask where he is during the day.  They rock and read every night together before bed and seriously, it makes me want to stop time right there and take an obnoxious amount of videos of them.  In the crazy busy of life with 3 littles, I love those moments that make you pause and give thanks and pray for this time to last longer.

I can't wait to see how her personality develops over this next year.  She is definitely coming into the 2s where taking a simple family picture can be difficult and finding cooperation at times is impossible.  But all in all, she is just cute and sweet and easy.  Happy 2nd birthday, Garner...we love you more than you know!!

(Had to include that last pic in honor of the 2s...just imagine it accompanied with an "uuuhhhhhh!" :))