Let misty autumn be our part! ~Ernest Dowson

 “But there is always a November space after the leaves have fallen when she felt it was almost indecent to intrude on the woods…for their glory terrestrial had departed and their glory celestial of spirit and purity and whiteness had not yet come upon them.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Windy Poplars

Wow! So much to catch up on.  November has been such a beautiful month with perfect weather, stunning sunsets, and a great many fun family events.

Charlton and I put together a lot of puzzles, created beautiful fall art, and did a whole bunch of reading, about everything, and especially about the story of Thanksgiving.  He can tell you the whole pilgrim history, and loves to count his blessings during his prayers.

 

 

Charlton continued his swimming lessons till mid November.  I thought he was really enjoying it until he told me he would rather be reading.

Charlton has enjoyed his playtime with his siblings, as well as his best friends.  I know I shouldn't be happy, but I love it when my older kids fight over whose turn it is to have one-on-one playtime with Charlton.  What a lucky boy!

James finished his soccer season with a bang - he scored half of the goals in their tournament.  He was truly a soccer star.  We all supported him every Wednesday for his practices, and every Saturday for his games.  It wasn't ideal for my Saturday relaxing theme, but I enjoyed seeing my boy have so much fun.

Jefferson has enjoyed a myriad of things this month.  He participated in a weekly film editing class, made delicious treats for our family home evenings, and bonded with each of his siblings, but especially with his sister - they are reading the same books now and having a load of fun discussing them with each other.  It brings joy to my heart to see my kids loving and caring for each other - it is  one of my favorite blessings of my life.

Jefferson also joined Gillian in the orthodontist ranks: he had his braces on, and now is wearing a head gear as well.  They are sharing the pain :)

The older boys surprised me one day when I went to take their lunch to school; they both got awards: Jefferson for scoring 100% in the standardized test, and James for student of the month.  Needless to say, I was one proud mama.

They also shared a pilgrim theme field day that their teacher put together.  I accompanied them as the photographer of the class, and because I love sharing time with my sweet boys.  They learned how to write with a quill, made a little quilt, worked on embroidery, made candles, and shared a simple thanksgiving dinner with each other.  We all had a great time!

Gillian has had a very busy month.  She got her report card - all As and one B - and committed herself to working harder.  She is being so responsible with her school work, enjoyed sewing with our neighbor, has loved babysitting for my friends at least once a week, and is progressing so well with her voice training.  Piano practice is still a stumbling block, but when she does it she really produces beautiful sounds.  I'm so grateful Gillian is my daughter.  She is funny, creative, thoughtful, kind, easy going, helpful, very responsible and mature, and a fun friend.  I love going out with her eating dinner, or for ice-cream, or shopping together.  When we do go shopping, she tries to teach me to be frugal with the money, and I tell her: Good luck. Your father has tried for 14 years and with not a lot of success.   She responds that it's worth every penny just seeing me happy and funny.  Who is this mature child?!

She also started ice-skating this month.  She has done it before so this time around she wasn't a rookie, and is having a lot of fun showing how it's done to her brothers.  Charlton and I read nearby, at times distracted by their skating, and at times by my phone.  He told me on several occasions to put the phone back in my purse "'cause it isn't time for playing; it's time for reading."  Fun Saturdays with my kids!  Love it.

Elijah and I having been busy caring for the family, and have found some repose from our daily labors in the house of the Lord.  Every time I enter the temple, my burdens become a bit easier to handle, and I receive needed comfort, energy, and inspiration to continue with the week.  What a blessing to have a temple so close!

A few days before Thanksgiving week, we got our first rain of the season, and my kids loved going outside splashing each other, getting wet, and then coming inside for nice warm baths, followed by hot chocolate.  We really need some more of these lazy days!

 

Next post: Thanksgiving week...

Tigers, sharks, and bubbles - all in a day's fun with my girl!

“Years rolled on again, and Wendy had a daughter. This ought not to be written in ink but in a golden splash.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Gillian's science teacher organized a 12 hour-long field trip that took us from Walnut Creek to Monterey Bay to San Jose, in all visiting a Safari zoo, a planetarium, an aquarium, and a museum.  Even for a travel trooper such as I am, this was way too much!  Furthermore, I got sick on the way back.  Bus rides are not for me.  Nevertheless, I really enjoyed being with Gillian, and seeing her interact with her peers.

 The Safari zoo was interesting; it had a variety of wild animals, and a good number of a few that I had never seen before.  The Bearcat was really a novelty to me; I had never heard of such an animal, and  to see it in close quarters was awesome. The name it's known in zoos around the world is binturong. It has its origin in Asia, and lives in forests or hills.  It is an omnivorous animal, enjoying small mammals as much as fruit.  In Philippines and Vietnam it is used for human consumption, and in Laos it is considered a delicacy :).  In India and Malaysia these cool creatures are protected under law and used only as pets.

 

From the zoo, we headed toward the Planetarium where the kids learned about black holes, reviewed lessons on our solar system, and discussed ideas on the future of time travel.

After that, we rode the bus to Monterey Bay Aquarium, a giant building situated on top of the bay, and displaying over 600 species of animals and plants.  The aquarium's location makes it easy to have abundant fresh water pumped through pipes directly from the bay.  The variety of the animals was truly breathtaking, and the great number of each species mindboggling.  I wasn't quite taken by the architecture and the layout of the building; you got lost easily and there wasn't quite a system to follow, except the different areas of the world that those animals and plants belonged to.  When it comes to architecture and making it very visual for the different kinds of fish and areas where they live, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta takes the cake.  This aquarium, however, was beautiful beyond compare when it came to what really mattered: the animals themselves.

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By the time we finished with the aquarium, all of us were done with walking up and down.  We hopped on the bus for another hour, and headed toward the Tech Museum.  I was looking forward to sleeping in the bus, but my stomach took over and I kept throwing up.  When we got to the museum, I told Gillian and her friends to visit the exhibits on their own, while I rested and tried to feel better.  I did, however, manage to find the strength to capture a few pictures of Gillian having a load of fun with her friends and with the out-of-the box kind of games found in this museum.  Gillian loved this part of the trip.  I wish we had saved this museum for another day so they could have had more time and energy to explore it in more detail.  The teacher can't take them out of school on a normal day, and that's why he used a school holiday and packed all of the fun stuff in one day.

Throw up and all, I had a wonderful time with my girl.  How blessed I am to have her!  She makes me want to be better.  She restores my faith in the future.  She brings me joy through her kind and sweet words, loving heart, and oh, so creative mind.

"In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I want to be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes
Everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light
And the world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me
Gives me strength when I'm weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart
Is had enough
It's givin' more when you feel like givin' up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes
I can see the future
A reflection of who I am
And what we'll be
And though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone
I hope you'll see
How happy she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes”
― Martina Mcbride