Having the older three in school means having daily time to focus on the Jonut.  I’ve been loving it (for the most part) and have been trying to keep the errand running, grocery shopping, chore doing to a minimum on most days.  Trying, but not always succeeding. So we have about two and a half hours to eat, play, do stuff, or go somewhere and then he has about a two hour nap (HALLELUJAH) before it’s time to go pick up the kids from school. One day at church, a friend and I were chatting and agreed to get our boys together to play sometime.  The plans were set and…

Immediately after the dentist, it was time to get back home and get everyone redressed into costumes and ready for the fall festival at church.  This was the highlight of the whole day for the kids and they’d been looking forward to it ever since October 1.  How do I know this?  Because Mikey would ask me since the day it turned from September into October how many more days until fall festival.  He would ask me every single day.  And every single day, I would have him subtract 31 from whatever day it was to find out.  And yet, he would still ask again the next day. S l…

The morning of Halloween, I woke when it was still very dark outside, took a deep breath, and asked God for the strength to get through this day. It all began with Lauren’s class starting earlier in the day than their normal start time.  And none of the kids could be convinced to buy school lunch that day (am I the only mom trying to coax her kids to buy lunch once in a dang while??).  Add in homework folders and costumes and someone’s library book for library day and a carved pumpkin all having to accompany us to school half an hour earlier than our usual mad dash out…

It’s been a busy month in our house with Phil studying and taking yet another board exam (felt like old times when he’d have to work all day and then come home to study all night. Ugh, bad memories) in addition to all the other regular activities going on.  So we just couldn’t fit in a trip to the pumpkin patch this year.  Boo. But!  I seized the day right after Phil’s test and designated it pumpkin carving day.  So I sent him and the kids off to the market to pick up pumpkins and whatever else he deemed necessary to tackle the task at hand. All set up and…

My sweet friend Lorie has continued to remember each of our kids’ birthdays and always manages to send them their very own package in the mail to enjoy opening.  It’s quite an exciting event around here whenever a package from Auntie Lorie arrives at our doorstep. Just so thrilling as a kid to see your own name on a package and know there’s a present inside especially for you.  Auntie Lorie is so good about these things! Package opening day always draws spectators. Not only is the outer package neatly wrapped, but the present inside is always wrapped in fun wrapping paper, too.  Non-Christmas wrapping paper, even!  Along with a…