November has come.....and gone!

Once again I am amazed at how quickly time passes by. It is easy to walk through each day letting the minutes go by as we go about our daily tasks, schedules and routines.

And that is why I love being able to do this...it allows us to reflect on the blessings we receive from our Heavenly Father...."they are new every morning; Great is Thy Faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:23)

We have been busy with the normal ins and outs of school and work and preperations for the Christmas Season. The kids are working very hard on their Christmas Programs for both school and church.

Both the kids did fairly well on their report cards...Kaelyn, "a sweet and pleasant girl" works very hard at her work but still struggles in some areas. Jacob is getting into the routine of school everyday and is "on his way to being a good student".

What's new with Kaelyn?

Lately Kaelyn has been using her a lot of her energy to use her creative talents. She loves drawing and making cards for everyone. She's even started learning how to knit.

Ivan and I will go to bed and find little notes on our pillows.




I cleaned out her room the other day and found lots of different papers like this one with verses or catechism written out.


She loves being creative and often has Rachel over on Sundays to create, sing and dance!







And, being the good mother that I am?!?, I read through her diary to make sure she all was well with her. When she is a little older and finds out I did this I might not be the good mom after all but this was too cute to not share....(and besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt her!) So here it is....in Grade 2 and already lining up her perspectives....

The List....

and the rating....1st, 2st, 3th

What's up with Jacob?

November brought along many birthdays to celebrate and Jacob was one of them. My "little man" is now 6! His gift from mom and dad and Kaelyn....a new basketball net!







Jacob was thrilled to spend his evening with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins!

Ok....and then there was the "FRIENDS" birthday!

Well, let me tell you this was a new experience for me. Hunter, Karter and Seth arrived at 11:00. I had popcorn made for them when they came and I went upstairs to get my camera and was sidetracked for a couple minutes in putting the laundry in the dryer. Do you know what 4 boys can do in 15 minutes???? Have a look and see! I came down to popcorn all over the floor, ripped wrapping paper and spilled pop....I did manage to catch the last present being opened!

Ivan came home a little later for lunch to find me in a shocked state, still unsure of what had just happened and had the boys release some energy downstairs playing hockey and soccor....

FACT: When you use a straw in a pop can and blow bubbles for several seconds it gives you a beautiful volcano like explosion....

I got to see four of them!

And of course November usually brings about our first snow. Jacob was thrilled he had a chance to use his GT Racer from Grandma!

If this isn't love.....

This September 12th God has blessed us with 10 years of marriage! We are thankful to him for his faithfulness to us through the hills and the valleys.

How did we celebrate.....A beautiful tour on the motorcycle through Letchworth State and around the Finger Lakes and a delicious two course meal....what more could you ask for!

Have a look....and try not to laugh to hard!

After much preparation and anticipation we woke up to cloudy skies and drizzle. After a short consultation we decided to give the trip a go.....on the bike....rather than in the van! We were optomistic....we hopped on the bike in our new leathers (ok, jeans and a jacket) and started our journey

....first stop...mom and dad's to drop off the kids stuff....in that first two minute drive the weather moved from drizzle to a light rain....ok, we were still optomistic....we put on our rain gear and waved goodbye....


I'm working on changing the stigma that comes with the title "motor bike chick".....instead of the tight leathers I'm pushing for a blend of cotton and plastic with a kind of michelin tire blow up doll effect....what do you think?

....in the next 5 minutes the weather took a turn....it moved from light rain to moderate rain. The man at the border passed us through with a little chuckle and we were thankful for our rain suits....

......in the next hour the rain gained momentum and was at a level 7 hard rain once we reached Letchworth State Park. The lady at the booth cautioned us to be careful on the slippery roads...

Shortly after Letchworth the weather once again took a turn for the worse.....level 10.....pouring cats and dogs! It stayed at this level for the rest of the four hour trip until we finally reached our destination!

You can imagine the hilarious picture we made as we walked into the hotel looking like drowned rats. We left puddles everywhere we stood and had to take our rain gear off in the lobby. Apparently our rain gear doesn't work in level 10 rain situations as we both looked like we drooled all day and peeed our pants so bad that our socks were wet!

Stranded in the rain, our anniversary dinner included a square burger at Wendy's, which was next door....we did manage however to get in a second course and went back for a lovely frosty!

Can't wait to see what our 20th will be like!