The feast of Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas has come and filled our stockings each year on his feast day... December 6th. This year we happened to be at Nana's (my mom's). St. Nick found us there as well.!

December 6th is also my mom's birthday and since December 7th is Magdalene's birthday, my sisters and their children joined us for cupcakes and ice cream.

Another teenager.

Madison has finally joined her older sister and brother in the teenage years! Today was her 13th birthday and we celebrated with the help of family and friends.

The highlight of the evening: "Silly Hat Game." Madison requested that each guest bring a "silly hat" to the party. She and her sisters would judge and award prizes for the two most silly.

And the winners are...

2nd place goes to Mary (Madison's godmother)

1st place goes to Mom (and yes, the pull up is a clean one)

Madison... I hope you enjoyed your party! Welcome to the teenage years! May you continue to grow in God's grace! We love you. Happy Birthday!

Pumpkins!

Yes, I know... this should have been blogged awhile ago. Oh, well!

Fall visit to Police Hill

We had one nice day sneak in amidst Octobers days of chilly, misty, rainy weather. We took advantage of it and headed back to Police Hill. This time we ventured a little further into the woods, full of evidence that autumn is in full bloom. I really enjoy the change of seasons that comes with living in MN.

View from the top of the hill.

Heading down the hill. (It really is steeper than it looks.) Looking back up once we reached bottom. If you look closely at the top of the picture you can see the "overlook."

The boys had a grand time being our protectors as we traversed through uncharted territory. At one point we were an SG (stargate) team exploring a new planet.

Fencing!

Uncle David and Aunt Kari... you were right! James and Lawrence have been participating in a fencing class and having a grand time! I think they look very cool in their gear!

Another year older!

Today I'm another year older and I have some of the sweetest children on earth (well, sometimes; like today) First off, they let me sleep in a little. Then my day started with all of my children coming into my room and waking me with "Happy Birthday, Mom!" I received breakfast in bed, made by my 6 yr old (Lawrence) along with a couple of pictures he made for me. Magdalene (8 yrs old) molded a flower out of tin foil and decorated two cards (one she made from her and dad... isn't that sweet.) Madison (12) molded some foil monkeys, stamped a card, and wrote me a poem. James (14) made home-made chocolate chip cookies and baked an extra big cookie just for me. Myriah (16) biked into town early this morning to go to the floral shop and pick up 5 carnations (one for each kid)! I'm telling you, their thoughtfulness just brings tears to me eyes and joy to my heart!

I Love You, Mom by Madison
I love my mom. She is always there when I'm hurt.
I love it when she reads. She makes the stories come to life.
I love her cheesy potatoes (but Dad's were the best.)
I'm happy that she's my mom.
She might be busy a lot,
But she always has time for family and friends.
Oh, how I love my mom.
I love her cooking; she's the best.
I love how much she tries to make us happy.
I'm use to hearing "Not now"
But only one thing I love to hear the most,
"I love you!"
I love when she takes us shopping,
Even though we get on her nerves.
My mom is so special.
She is so beautiful;
Especially when she goes out with friends.
Oh, how I love my mom.
If you saw her you would love her, too.
I love how she is there for me when I'm sad.
So, happy birthday and thanks for everything .
Oh, how I love you, Mom.

Love, Madison

New Skill Learned!

I learned how to turn these

into

Thanks to a friend of mine, I now know how to can!! We had a fun afternoon of peeling, juicing, cooking and finally canning apple sauce, apple cider, and apple jelly!

Snow Soccer??

Well, you just never know in MN! The first snow fall of the year hit Saturday, Oct 9th! A little too soon, I think. But, the soccer games went on as scheduled! We Minnesotans are a hearty bunch and it takes more than a little snow to scare us off!