We are enjoying the season of hunting. We have pretty much said good bye to the fall sights and smells and we are now welcoming in the Christmas season! The rain yesterday (after a day and a half of rain before that) had me wanting to pack the bags early and leave for better weather! I kept thinking to myself throughout the day yesterday..."This is the reason I'm so excited to leave for the winter!" We are excited to get away from the cold in a few weeks! BUT... Today the sun is back and even though it's cold we are so happy to be here to enjoy the best season of all... It would not seem right if it were not cold and blustery during this Christmas season...:)
The things that are keeping me stepping today are these... I want to remember these days!...:)
Alarm clock rings six AM.
Quiet time.
Lunches packed. Kitchen is a mess by six thirty!!
Jenika slept in (my breakfast gal) so I kept it simple with grapefruits, scrambled eggs and a bit of oatmeal on the side for breakfast.
Javon writes out his spelling words as I call them off during the kitchen clean-up process. He moves on to get shoes on as Jenika sits to do her spelling words. I call them off... All the while still cleaning up and brewing tea for my kombucha later today.
Bible memory comes next... Jordan has long verses to recite to me and Jenika repeats hers after me when she can.
Library books quickly get gathered because it's library day today!
Water bottles need filling but we have no more time so they fill them at school today... ~sigh~
~It seems we are all calm and have it mostly together until the last five minutes and what happens in those last five minutes sets the tone for the whole day... Does this happen to just us!?? We scramble more in the last few minutes before getting out the door then we do all day!~ Maybe tomorrow morning will be better...?? I say this to myself every morning after the bus leaves!...:} Oh Well It's called "Grace"...:)
I met Dave for breakfast in Intercourse this morning. We met friends from Texas. (we went yesterday morning to meet up with them but they had the days mixed up and didn't show up, Dave and I got an unexpected breakfast date then yesterday morning. It was fun at the time but when I had to rush out with the school children again this morning (for the real breakfast meet up) I could have grumbled..:})
It was my day to do reading group at school with Javon's class. This is priceless to me!! Let me explain why...:)
I take a few different groups of students for these reading groups. The groups go by the names "Milky Ways" Kit Kats, M&M'S, Twizzler's and Twix! They get called by the group name as they follow me to a separate room for the reading time. I have about twenty minutes with each group. They read on different levels so I have different games or books according to there reading level.
I get to watch those "light bulb moments" on the little adorable faces as they learn many new words.
I loved to watch them light up today as we played a shoe game. The game had a right shoe and a left shoe, (cut out) the left shoe had a word and the right shoe had a word, the left shoe might have had the word "dog" and the right shoe had the word "house". They were to match the shoes to make one big word out of two small ones...:)
They love the time I spend with them. Today I did individual practice of words using the vowels. I called them to my desk one by one and they had a chair next to mine that they sat on while they sounded out the words. When I called on Javon he was adorable! He only sat half on the chair and the other half of him was sprawled out across my lap...:) I just LOVED how he snuggled up to me as he sounded out his words! He just lights up when I enter the classroom for my two hours with his class every Thursday! He complains less about going to school if it's on a Thursday...:) The students know me as Mrs. Zook and it's so much fun to watch them as they learn so much in first grade!!... Javon... I will treasure this stage of yours forever! It seems when it's the "baby" it's just held on to a bit tighter!...:)
I got home from school today to a house full of demands...! These yummy looking breakfast casseroles were assembled and they will be so handy for the guys... Don't let the neatness fool you... they were a greasy, messy slop to assemble!!... Dave and his brothers along with Papa are taking the prefab road crews up to the cabin for a few days of hunting! They have about twenty five guys to feed and treat well for a few days, for all the hard messy work that they deal with out on the roads!... Justin is out on a prefab now and he will most likely come rushing in for a shower before his crew tries to catch up to the rest of the guys...:) He loves every minute of road time!
Kombucha got bottled and remade today... Always a great feeling and we put this stuff down faster then ever!! We will miss this drink in Belize but I haven't figured out a way that I could transfer and make this stuff there yet. It can be a bit messy with so many small bottles....
Justin's deer meat is in the jars all sealed up!! What a great addition to my canning shelves!! Dave is expecting to come home with even more meat as they drive out the woods and pines at the cabin the next few days!... This is the best meat ever and we use it so many different ways here!!...
The laundry room!! Seriously!... It still sets waiting my attention...:}
Lots of goodies wait to be made... The Zook family Christmas party is early so I will be making chocolate covered goodies and pretzel bark (as requested) soon... The shopping is done...:)
Jordan's science fair project... He has been working hard at this... He needs to be done before we go to Belize. The science fair is not until January (when we are away) and he will miss it but he is still working hard on this ahead of time to have it done... I love to watch the creativity take shape as we work on his board together...:) He has started to drink Kombucha Tea now!! Almost everyday...:)
He still has so much research and writing to do on his board and I was thinking it would be a good time to do it during infusion today... I had his stuff primed and ready for hook up when he got home from school...
He didn't think it was a good time to work on his board and with his dad getting on him about getting into his tree stand he went out hunting during hook up!! He wouldn't hear of staying in!! His needles are tucked in under his coat and I'm a bit nervous. He took my phone and he is sitting in the van along the edge of the woods so I guess he will be fine...:)
Matthew and Roxy asked to have the three youngest kiddos for the evening! They only have a few more days before Angel and Sayily go back to there real mom so they are having a good bye bash at the bounce house! Roxy texted a bit ago and said "Don't feed them, we are getting pizza!" Wow what will I do with more hours alone!? I think a hot bath and a book would be a perfect way to end the day but with Christmas gifts to wrap yet and canned meat to put away along with a party here on Saturday night that I need to prepare for I might just take advantage of the hours alone and keep on boogieing...:) The Little's have homework done and baths are being taken so they can bounce right into bed when they get home after bouncing in the bounce house all night!!...
Have a BLESSED Evening and take time to enjoy the best season of all!!... This was a great reminder to pause and capture the "special happenings" that this month brings with it!!...
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