first snow fall

We had the first snowfall of the season on November 30th. The snowflakes were huge and there was a lot of screaming from my children!!! They loved it. It reminded me that I had to go to the store to buy Andrew and Alyssa some snow boots. The snow lasted for a few hours and then changed to rain. But we enjoyed it for a little while!

MFA field trip

Andrew and I had a fabulous day today at the Museum of Fine Arts. He just finished a study on Assyria, Greece and Mesopotamia. There is an exhibit going on right now where they have stuff from Assyria. It was incredible!!! We had a lot of fun. I enjoyed going with my eldest child. It was nice to just be with him. Anyway, my parents took Alyssa and Zach to the Museum of Science while Andrew and I did the exhibit. Great fun!!! Andrew actually enjoyed it too. :)

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots to eat. My favorite is always my mother's stuffing. It is so yummy. It is a sausage stuffing. Yum!!! The kids aren't too keen on all the stuff, however, they will eat it. Zach loves stuffing, Alyssa loves potatoes and Andrew, well not quite sure what he likes. My sister was there with her boyfriend Matty. He is such a nice guy and we had a great time. My grandmother was there. It is easier for her to come now that she has an apartment in the area. It was very enjoyable. My folks are pretty good cooks. We always come away full! I made oreo cookie balls which were very, very tasty! And my mom made peanut butter pie, which, yes, is very fattening. But worth eating! We had a very nice day and had to roll ourselves out the door to the car to come home.

Awana regatta

Last Wednesday night, Alyssa and Zach participated in their Awana regatta. It was so much fun! They worked with Mike on making their boats and they came out so nice. Anyway, there were about 30 kids that participated and both kids did great. Alyssa did really well until her sail came unglued and started turning. That made it difficult to steer. They had to blow their ships down the water shaft. Well, she made it through many rounds and then was beat twice. Zachy however, kept going and going like the energizer bunny. He did so awesome! For a kid with asthma, he really blew that ship! He ended up finishing in third place!!! He got a trophy for that. He is so proud to have his own trophy that Andrew or Alyssa don't have anything remotely similar to that! We were so glad for him. It was so much fun to watch.

voting day

Well, I voted today. Hopefully my vote will be worth something. We will find out. I was a little ashamed of my town. I asked, because I wanted to know, why they didn't ask for my ID. The answer I got was harsh. "Because we put an X on your name and we know that you voted." "We trust that you are who you say you are." I replied that I could be someone else voting for Jennifer, and they responded, "We put an X so that means that you have voted. Geesh!" So now that my name has an X, I have been trusted so therefore, my vote is legal. Somehow, that doesn't sit well with me. Call me a pessimist, but I don't trust everyone in this world. I am very skeptical. Sad to say. But whoever wins, God is ultimately in control and He already knew the outcome before anyone of us. I will put my HOPE in Him.
I am ashamed of people in this country who treat people that don't believe the same way as them with unkind words and actions. This is still a free country and that is a right that no one should belittle. That is what gets my blood boiling! I have every right to believe the way that I do and so does Joe Smoe out on the street. That is the joy of living in this country. I teach my children that it is great to have your own views and so what if it is different from someone else's. Stand up for what you believe, but treat the other persons feelings and beliefs with respect. I am saddend by the lack of respect between people in this country.

But, I look forward to the future and hope that whoever wins, can fix this country and make us strong again.

Apple picking

Yesterday we went apple picking at Elwood Orchards in Londonderry. What a fabulous day! It was the perfect fall day, a little windy and then warm. They have this great corn maze that took us about 1+ hours to go through. Some of the kids we were with even got lost! So Mike and Matt Hudson had to go back in to find them. We went with some other homeschool families. We started by going on a hay ride, had lunch, went through the corn maze and ended our day by picking the largest apples! Alyssa said the best part was that she got to climb the trees. Andrew spent most of his time eating the apples and Zach spent most of his time trying to scream his way through coming down from the trees! That boy has a lot of fear!

It was a great day as Mike took the afternoon off to go with us and our friends the Hudson's went as well. It was a fabulous day! Oh yeah, one more thing, Mike took a spill in the corn maze!! What a site. He fell on top of about 6 or 7 corn stalks. He was okay, but I couldn't stop laughing. Poor guy!!

Sept 21st

This is Andrew my handsome 11yo!

Zach, my 5yo Indiana Jones!

My whole brood! What good looking kids if I do say!

My precious Alyssa who is now 7 1/2 yo. She is becoming a little mommy!

Well, we finished 3 weeks worth of school. The overall picture is that it went really well. Zach does about 2 hours of school a day (on a good day) and the other two school from 830 till around 1 or 2. I think we are all enjoying it more this year. Andrew has to stretch his mind a little bit more now that he is in 6th grade, and Alyssa is doing more workbook schooling so she is enjoying that. She loves to write. So she has her own journal that she is writing in now. She also loves to draw so I am trying to find something to help her with her creativity. Andrew is still doing karate and well on his way to black belt. Both Alyssa and Zach started soccer last week and both are enjoying it tremendously. Alyssa scored her first goal last week and was very excited. Zach is more into learning how to play soccer. He is too big for his britches. He is now an "expert" on soccer. It is really cute to watch. Mike has finished the deck and let me just say that it is beautiful and we love to just sit out there. In fact, last night, our friends the Boisverts came for dinner and we spent almost the entire evening out there. It was so nice! Now, Mike has moved on to getting the lawn prepared for winter. Never a dull moment. He also is on fire for the next few months with the election. He has his opinions and I am encouraging him to find a way to express them. Don't be surprised if you see a blog from him!