"Being a family means you are part of something wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life. No matter what." ~Author Unknown



Sunday, April 3, 2016

November

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We had some incredible weather in November.  I’m usually pretty happy about the season change, but this year was so beautiful I didn’t miss the snow at all!

Early in the month we had a day off school and decided to use it for a visit to Grandma Jackie.  It happened to be a 70 degree day, and couldn’t have been more perfect!

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After lunch and some time outside enjoying the sunshine, we had to wrap it up.  My mom showed up to take Grandma to her dentist appointment, and it was time for us to get back on the road.

Since being home from Sri Lanka, Adrienne and I have wrestled with how to stay connected and support the girls there.  We Skype on Sundays with some of the older girls, and my class and I Skype with the littler girls on Wednesdays. 

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Adrienne belongs to the Social Justice League at her school.  We were able to set up a Skype session between them and the older girls at Grace.  It was really amazing to see.  Both sides asked really good questions, and it was a learning experience for all involved. 

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Every Monday I help in Sof’s classroom.  I learned pretty quick that first grade is way too big and cool to have pictures taken in class.  I snuck this one, but there will be no others according to Sof.

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We got some extra wear out of her back to school clothes.  I think I can say I’ve never sent my kid to school in November in bare legs in Michigan!

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Sof has cheer on Friday nights.  Most of the time it’s super irritating for our social life.  Once in a while we fit our social life in-between drop off and pick up!

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I posted this pic on Instagram with the caption “Sporty Spice” and Lexi was totally confused.  I’m so old.

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That look cannot negate the cuteness of this outfit.

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In all the beautiful weather we had, there was one Saturday that was freezing cold with bouts of spitting rain.  That was the day we scheduled family pictures.  It’s a sheer miracle that any of them turned out. 

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Sof still loves oatmeal for breakfast.  She has it almost every morning.  It’s a silly thing, but it makes me so happy to send her off with a warm full belly.

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Aunt Nette sent clay for Sof’s birthday.  Sof found directions on how to make a fruit bowl, and she was busy for an entire night!

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Pajama Day!

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Adrienne had her 17th birthday.  WHHAAATTTT???  I have no words for this topic.  Except we celebrated and I have a 17 year old, and whatever, it’s cool.

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Of course we celebrated Em’s b-day too!  Steve had bought her a ring with the girl’s birthstones on it, so we were all excited for her to open it!  All the kids kept the secret!

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We celebrated on a Friday, but Adrienne’s bday wasn’t actually till Sunday.  I swear every year she has some dance event on her birthday!  This year was no exception, so like usual I didn’t even see her till the evening!

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We started our cheer competitions in November.  The first was a little rough for both teams, but the second went much better!

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I have no pictures of Lexi from either of these!  Her team gets together on their own, so there isn’t the mom’s standing around getting group pictures!  The second competition the girls were split so far during the day that Mark took Lexi in the morning and I took Sof later in the day.

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We had a big break between performance and awards so we all went out to eat!

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We finally got to wear some fall clothes toward the end of the month!

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Sof just loves her teacher.  Every night she draws or writes something for her.  This particular morning she had a whole bag full of goodies for her!

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School roller skating night with her buddy Mikayla!

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It finally started getting colder!

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Even Scratches stayed snuggled up long after Sof went to the bus!

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Finally, the weekend before Thanksgiving we had our first snow.  It was perfect for playing in and the girls were out all day! 

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I never do this, but that one little snow motivated me to put up the Christmas decorations.  I always wait until after Thanksgiving, but I knew that weekend was going to be busy and I had a perfectly free day with snow, so I decided that was the season switch!

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Checking her schedule before school…

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Thanksgiving was quiet(well it’s never really quiet) with just Em’s family and ours.  My mom and dad stayed home to be with Grandma, and we went to visit them later in the weekend.  We still had our full turkey dinner!

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We played some games which involved acting things out.  I’m not sure what was happening here, but I’m slightly nervous about it.

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We replaced our normal viewing of “Christmas Vacation” with “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” because Emily had never seen it!

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We settled Natalie in Lexi’s bed, and we went over to crash john and Jill’s Thanksgiving.  It was a really relaxing fun day!

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We did our black Friday shopping with Livy, Lexi, and Kaitlyn.  Adrienne went with her friends, and the littles are not invited!

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Random disturbing question…who’s hand is that in the middle??

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On Sunday we went to Kalamazoo to see Grandma.  We met at the mall so we could do the annual ornament shopping with her.

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It was hard this year, but everyone found something!

Natalie: Anna to go with her Elsa from last year!

Kaitlyn: Elf on the Shelf

Adrienne: Passport

Sofia: Record player with records!

Alexa: Emoji and Nail Polish

Olivia: Emoji and Books

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After that was done we headed back to mom and dad’s to celebrate the November/December birthdays!  And to take a picture for their Christmas card:)

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And with that, we were finally on to December!

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