Some November Stuff

The first weekend of November was cold, so we brought some wood in from the ranch and snuggled by the fire. It was fun to watch the kids help dad get our real, live wood pile going at our new house!

In the first pic, Niles and Heidi are on the trailer. In this pic, Addie's picking up wood and James and Niles are stacking.

Niles on the trailer

Addie on the trailer

James is quite the lumberjack!

We got some great bargains at Target last week... I bought the girls skirts and
they came up with almost matching outfits on Friday 11.15.

The boys wanted their pictures taken, too, so here they are at
7am on Friday 11.15...Niles in his jammies

...and James ready for school (WITH NO FRONT TEETH!)

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On Saturday 11.16, I took the girls to get haircuts and took Addie to get make up for her 12th birthday. We came home and did facials and practiced doing everyday makeup in hopes she won't over-do it, as middle schoolers are wont to do ;)

I think she did a pretty good job!

Our cute little Beehive girl! Sunday was her last day in Primary, which was kind of sentimental for me. It really does seem like maybe a year or two ago I was coaxing her to sit with Sister Orton and her Sunbeam class, and now she's all grown up- sigh! I had a fun day with her ad Heidi, and I'm looking forward to more birthday and holiday fun this week!
 

I am feeling better steadily, but sick days sneak up on me and ruin my best-laid plans. I really want to get my house put together and decorate for the holidays, but it's still a good day when I have the energy to shower and do my regular mom jobs. Trying to be patient with myself, and be grateful and put the baby first...*sigh* I did find the perfect lighted garland for our mantle (I HAVE A REAL WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE THIS YEAR! WOO-HOO!)--it has real pinecones and tiny, battery-operated LED lights that last forever. I put it up and really got myself psyched for the holidays. I also started boiling down my tangerine peels (I eat like 5 a day) with cloves to make my house smell HOLIDAY-RIFIC, and I find all of these things energizing and cheering to my spirits. My family is being so helpful and I am so grateful for them. We've really got a good thing going here and my heart is really truly full of gratitude for all of it this Thanksgiving.