Six Month Laughs

A six month giggler:

 

Timeless

The bottom bunk is so last year.

 

 

These silly faces, however

 

are timeless.

Big and Small

Sisters, big and small.

 

Theia and Tikvah

 

Sisters, never far.



Theia and Tikvah

Sisters, helping out.

Xandra and Tikvah

 

Sisters, big and small.

In Training

Tikvah's in training for next year's run at the track.

 

 

As soon as she learns to tie these shoes

 

she'll be all set.

Goodness

It's Thanksgiving Day.

I'm cooking.

The fireplace is on.

Our house is full of family.

It's a good kind of day.

Later, we'll feast.

 

Aside from a table full of food and people we love, today as you look around the room, you'll also see this:

 

 

It's our Thankful Tree.  Fashioned from grocery sacks, we put it up on the wall on November 1st.  Almost everyday since we've been making it a habit to record one thing each day for which we are grateful.  It's really just a reflection of our days together (that says "stolen gum" - Joey):

 

(it snowed for the first time this month,)

 

 

those we love,

 

this says Boby (aka Bobby, aka Joey's pronunciation of baby, meaning Tikvah) -Joey, and Theia wrote it for him,

 

the things that are special to us:

 

we've never known how special a snow blower could be until we lived in Bismarck,

 

and the one who makes true happiness, joy, and gratitude possible: 

 

Jesus.  Only Jesus. 

 

All thanks to Him alone.

 

from Psalm 100:

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him; bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting,

And His faithfulness to all generations.

 

 

The Lord Truly is Good.

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours.

Pizza, pizza, pizza

As luck would have it, you can determine whether it's good luck or bad luck, my husband remembered his crazy little idea from last year, and in mid-September he drug the entire crew to the middle school track just up the hill from our hosue.  Everyone went.

 

 

Including Tikvah.

 

 

The first task, just like last year, was the 100 yard dash.

 

First Xandra,

 

then Theia,

 

then Aliyah,

 

then Joey,

 

it was a long way for those little legs to run,

 

a REALLY long way,

 

then Joe

 

and finally, after some stalling,

 

me.

 

I had some obstacles this year, even though I wasn't pregnant or in flip flops.

 

One was that Joey ran out in front of me and I had to dodge him and the other was that I couldn't stop laughing.  I just felt so silly and I couldn't stop laughing.  It's hard to run really fast and an almost impossible task when you're laughing.

 

The times shook out like this:

Xandra - 29.13 seconds

Theia - 30.45 seconds

Aliyah - 38.1 seconds

Joey - 60.03 seconds

Joe - 15.1 seconds

Trisha - 26.3 seconds

 

A few observations: 

1.  Joe was slightly faster than last year.

2.  I was still faster than the kids, but not by much.

3.  I was slower this year laughing with obstacles than I was 21 weeks pregnant, with flip flops in the dark.  Not my best work.

4.  The kids all improved from last year.

 

After running we took a break to do the long jump.

 

Then we ran the 1/4 mile.  I went first and had a great cheering section.

 

Then Joe ran

 

and everyone mostly ignored him.

 

Then Theia and I ran together

 

at a speed much more to my liking,

 

and Aliyah and I ran together,

 

at a speed I liked even better than Theia's,

 

and Joe and Xandra ran together

 

 because I was afraid I couldn't keep up with Xandra.

 

The 1/4 mile times were as follows:

Xandra - 2 minutes, 53 seconds

Theia - 3 minutes, 1.56 seconds

Aliyah - 3 minutes, 44.49 seconds

Joey - bye

Tikvah - bye

Joe - 1 minute, 14.23 seconds

Trisha - 2 minutes, 3 seconds

 

Additional thoughts:

1.  I like running. 

2.  I don't like running as fast as I can.  It makes me want to puke.

3.  There was no pizza after this year's time trials and I blame the lack of reward on my poor times.  If I'd just had something to motivate me, I'm sure I could have cut another three seconds off that 1/4 mile lap.

4.  Next year I vote reinstitute the Little Ceasar's Pizza tradition.

5.  Pizza, pizza, pizza.