A Family Outing

by Steph // Tuesday, December 14, 2021 // Comments off

I messaged Kayla one morning on marco polo to ask if the kiddos and I could come over that day after their afternoon rest time to love on those grand babies.

Of course she said yes!

I told her we would be over but then we planned to go to town to meet Blake, eat at Chipotle, and run errands afterward.

She messaged me right back and said “can we join you for dinner and errands in town?”

Tate and I gave each other a huge high five before we messaged Kay back to say OF COURSE!!

Addie was off of work that day, and Chad decided to come to town to meet us too!

We headed to Kay’s (Lane stayed with Chad) but didn’t stay at the farm long as we wanted to get to town early enough to accomplish all the things!

We had a two car caravan to town through the most beautiful and longest ridge top sunset I have ever seen!

We started our town adventure at Target to help Kayla get the things she needed.

Seeing the world through these kiddos eyes was inspiring and hilarious at the same time!

If you are counting kiddos in this next photo, like I did the ENTIRE time we were in that store (ha ha), don’t worry!

Briar is in the cart – can you see a bit of her little blond head behind River?

Next up was dinner at Chipotle.

We accomplished the goal of filling all the bellies with yummy food!!

Chad followed Kay to her next stop to help her with her grocery pick-up orders, and the rest of us headed to the grocery store to get our own grocery.

Two huge carts full!!

Things like this are what my dreams are made of!!

Just doing life TOGETHER.

We were just missing David and Grant!!

I have a few Chipotle gift cards in my wallet so we will have to do this again soon!

It was a super fun outing and gave the kiddos a chance to experience town during the crazy Christmas season!!

In full disclosure, I do not like to shop….but I LOVE to shop when I have kiddos and grand babies that make it so much fun!!

Memories made and memories kept!!

I love making memories with my crew!!

Thanksgiving 2021

by Steph // Tuesday, November 30, 2021 // Comments off

What a wonderful week we had last week!

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful too!

I started the week with plans to do school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

After we did school on Monday, I had a little chat with myself and decided to declare the rest of the week off.

The kiddos were thrilled!

We still enjoyed our read aloud time, as always.

I took a big chunk of time on Tuesday and Wednesday and tackled the storage room.

That room needs gone through at least once a year, but quite honestly, twice would be better!

I filled the trunk of the van on Tuesday, and my trio and I ran it all to the donation center.

Wednesday morning I continued on with that big job, but Addie was home and she helped me!

Of course my trio was helping too – coming when I called them to load the van or bring me something.

Many hands make light work!

We finished right after lunch on Wednesday and took a HUGE van load to the donation center that day.

This is the first time in the four years that we have lived here at Twin Oaks that I actually know what we have in that storage room!

It holds a lot!!

It’s our pantry, Grant’s closet, our school book shelves, and our storage!

I washed up a bunch a blankets I found in a tote down there.

Seeing this one brings a flood of feelings and memories.

I ordered this blanket for Eliza not too long after China said we could adopt her and we picked her name.

It was seven months later that we held Eliza for the first time!

Tate’s toe has been healing well!

Let me just say, this boy does NOT like shoes.

He has always carried his shoes to the van and does not even put them on until we arrive at our destination!

So wearing shoes all day long everyday has been stretching him quite a bit, ha, ha!

Blake re-tapes Tate’s toes after Tate showers each night.

Chad got a couple of deer on his big sis Kayla’s farm last week!

They are at the processor getting ready for our freezer.

Clyde and River were thrilled to see the deer before Uncle Chad took them away.

I have been enjoying cooking a lot these days!

I always do enjoy it, but some seasons more than others.

I am trying new recipes a lot these days!!

On Thanksgiving day we were scheduled to deliver meals.

The La Crosse Civic Center prepares meals to be delivered for free, or you can come to the Civic Center and eat there for free too.

We had two vehicles and we did two one hour shifts.

It was SUPER fun!!

Getting to hand folks a hot meal that they had ordered was so special and we all enjoyed it very much.

After we finished our deliveries, we came home and all worked together to make a special evening meal for ourselves.

It was delicious!!!

We finished the night with the game Scattergories, dessert, and then a late night Christmas movie.

It was SO, so fun!!

Friday night Blake and I had a date!

We got to start our date earlier than usual because Blake was off of work on Friday, and I did not have to drive all the way to town to meet him!

It was fantastic!

We did a lot of Christmas shopping and also stopped at Sam’s Club and filled the van with dry goods and paper products.

Look what we found!

I was SO excited to see these chips again – we have not been able to get them for a long time.

Saturday started early for me, as usual, but I was excited to make our Thanksgiving meal for our whole family Thanksgiving with Kay’s on Sunday after church!

I had a GREAT crew of helpers in the morning and we got everything done so quickly!

Our menu: roasted chicken, mashed yams, roasted ranch cheesy red potatoes, brussels sprouts with bacon and pecans and a balsamic reduction glaze, glazed carrots, cranberry relish, and fresh homemade rolls with raspberry butter.

For dessert Addie made pumpkin pies, and an apple crumble pie, and I made pecan bars and whipped cream.

Yum, yum!!

I also got a large quantity of waffles and cooked spaghetti squash into the freezer!

Sunday morning came…..and I got sick.

I have been doing a new “protocol” to try to help with my health – I’m not sure what bothered my stomach (one of the new supplements? something else I have added?) but I was so sick I missed church and wondered if I would be able to participate in Thanksgiving.

Thankfully I was back on my feet by lunch time, even though I felt so weak after being so sick!

Blake and the kids took care of everything and I sat on the couch and enjoyed everyone.

It turned out to be a wonderful day!

We are back in the swing of life here after a lovely change of pace last week!

And already looking forward to Christmas very much!!

So long November – can you believe it??

Don’t worry – I did not forget my sky photo –

God is so creative!!

And so kind to give us skies like that one!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy December, friends!!

Winter Days

by Steph // Monday, November 22, 2021 // Comments off

It’s winter here in SW Wisconsin.

What a wonderful idea God had when he created the seasons!!

We are anxiously awaiting our first real, good, stop-everything snow storm – can’t wait to enjoy playing in the snow!

It’s cold though.

Crisp air and bright blue skies are my favorite!

You just don’t get a blue sky like a cold winter blue sky, do you?

The cold weather changes up the smells in our kitchen…to those warming comfort winter foods that hit the spot on a freezing cold day.

To start this post, at least you know I am still making food, ha, ha!

Don’t worry, I still have lots of help in the kitchen from my trio!

Tate and Eliza made us a roasted chicken (with carrots and onions around it) for dinner one night.

Right before I snapped this photo Eliza said, “Hurry, Mom, this is HEAVY!!”

Which would explain the look in Tate’s eyes!

All that food has to come from somewhere….I snapped this photo on date night Friday night while Blake went to get a second cart so we could finish our grocery shopping.

At least I am never bored!!

I love the day after grocery though!

Beautiful berries!

While I had some muscle home over the weekend last weekend, I had the guys move the furniture in the living room in preparation for our Christmas tree.

Which means I took away someone’s view out the front window!

Poor Ruby Jane!

Speaking of that fluffy little cutie, she got a haircut last week.

She was SO fluffy (first two photos) and now she is SO cuddly (last two photos) – I think because she is freezing cold!

Early last week Blake got our tree up and lighted for me.

I LOVE Christmas lights!

Then I had an awesome trio who helped me decorate it after school one afternoon.

Tate and Eliza had piano assessments one evening last week and they both passed with flying colors!

They are now in level 3 in piano lessons and their love for it is still very strong.

We enjoyed school this week, a new read aloud, and games with hot cocoa in the afternoons!

Lane has been building more cool things in the garage – it is his favorite time of the day.

After lunch one day as Eliza cleared her dishes she said, “I filled up all my tummy spots!”

They say the cutest things.

Thursday morning Tate had a little accident – he slammed his baby toe into the cold air return vent as he was headed down the upstairs hallway to the school room to start school.

That’s one way to get out of doing math!

Because his toe was sticking out at almost a 90 degree angle we knew it was broken.

I took him to the neighborhood clinic to get it set back in place and make sure he didn’t need more intervention to help it heal.

An x-ray showed that it was indeed broken, and broken in the growth plate even.

Poor guy!

The doctor was awesome, and thankfully Tate only has to keep his toes taped together and some good shoes on for six weeks.

When we got home from the doctor we jumped into art class – none of us want to miss art class!

I have a new website and art class we are doing now called Lily & Thistle.

It is free, which fits our budget, and the kiddos loved it – so win, win!!

Saturday morning brought the opening day of deer hunting season, which means it was just girls here at Twin Oaks!

Addie had to work, so that left just Eliza and I.

Eliza is not our morning person, so I let her sleep till she woke on her own.

It was SO quiet.

I LOVED it.

I didn’t even want to turn the lights on!

Once she woke up she helped me do some things like wrap birthday presents and run errands.

It was a nice change of pace!!

Saturday night was our beloved monthly hymn sing!

This month we added a pie baking contest to the evening (for Thanksgiving and all!).

It was super fun and a huge hit that I think will now be a tradition!

All the mom’s were the judges, and I was able to be a judge on the smell and appearance of each pie since I could not eat any of them!

We rounded out the week and weekend yesterday enjoying a birthday bash at Aspen’s place!

We celebrated Clyde, who just turned six, Ellie, who will be six in a few weeks, Briar, who turned three yesterday, and David whose birthday is today!

It was wonderful spending time at the farm, with Kay’s and the grand babies, and with David’s family too!

As far as the birthday party portion of the evening, here is the quality of photos I have….

Good grief!!

So, I will spare you the rest of those!!

Here, though, is a photo Kayla sent me early Sunday morning as they celebrated Briar with a special breakfast and gifts!

How can she be three?!

Last but not least, some sky photos.

My signature now.

I stuck my arm out the sliding glass door at 4:27 one evening and this was my view!

Crazy how early it is getting dark!

But I love watching the morning arrive…don’t you?

Another week gone!

Winter days full of wonderful things!

Memories made and memories kept!

This week will be slllooowwwww….as we are on a break from many things due to Thanksgiving.

No complaints here!

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving very much, Lord willing!!

I hope you all are too!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!!

It’s November

by Steph // Monday, November 15, 2021 // Comments off

Another two weeks has gone by – this post might be a long one!!

Two weeks ago today we spent a big part of the day at Aspen’s place helping Aspen’s mama!

It is days like THAT ONE that is what dreams are made of!!!!

When Kay and I are together just picture the two of us and eight children….so it goes kind of like that picture in your head, ha, ha!

But we have fun, and the kiddos have fun, so that’s a WIN!

I took this photo all the way from the porch so it’s a little grainy, but it captured exactly what I was seeing – these guys all together just like best friends should be!

That afternoon, once we got the ones who needed to rest down to rest, I brought the other five back to Twin Oaks to finish out the day.

David picked up the boys on his way home from work since he literally drives by our home to and from work every day.

It was SO fun!

We hunkered down for a couple of normal school days that week as well.

It’s the good stuff.

Tate had swim therapy that week too.

Soup season is in FULL swing here folks!

And I am ALL in.

Yum, yum.

I make chicken stock once a week and we use it up!

I had a new recipe to try – Asian Chicken Noodle Soup.

I used these noodles, but not the spice pack that came with them.

It was a HIT!

I also made some banana bread to go with it.

Soup makes great easy leftovers for lunches too!

Of course there was lots and lots and lots of other food made too…

which is why I work on menu planning while the littles have their piano lesson!

I remember the night I made this meal.

Chad walked in the house getting home from work and said “It smells SO good, Mom, and I hoped we would have meatloaf tonight!”

Good job, Chad’s mama!!

A week ago Thursday we started to pack up to head on another trip!

We were headed to Illinois and Indianapolis to see family!!

We left late Thursday afternoon with Lane, Tate and Eliza and were also blessed to have Grant along this time!!

Our first stop was Peoria, Illinois where we checked into our hotel and headed straight to bed.

I got to room with this cutie pie, who was sound asleep in two seconds!

Most of the day that Friday we spend with Blake’s Dad and wife and it was SO wonderful!

Lilli made us a delicious lunch of soup, salad, fruit, and bread – with ice cream bars for dessert!

We had to get our traditional photo before we headed out!

I wonder how many years we have taken a photo on these stairs before we have to say good bye?

We headed to Morton late in the day to meet up with Blake’s Mom at our favorite coffee shop!

Such a fun stop, but always much too short!

Then early that evening we headed three hours further to Indianapolis!

The next morning we got an early start and went straight to my Mom’s place to be with my Mom and brother for the day.

Our day was full of visiting, some grocery shopping, a coffee stop, a stop at a hobby store that Lane LOVED, a couple of long walks because the weather was PERFECT, lots of good food, and more and more visiting!!

Sunday morning we had the advantage of the time change – an extra hour!!!

We had lunch at my Mom’s before the long, long eight hour drive home.

Our stay was much too short, but wonderful in every way.

We had a lovely drive home with a beautiful sunset!

It was so good to be home and we hustled around trying to get everything in shape for another busy week ahead.

Remember how our van had been hit and recently repaired?

Well….while we were on a six lane highway leaving Indianapolis, one of the parts they replaced blew off the van!

We could see it fly into the median and land in the grass, but there was no way to stop with all of the traffic all around us.

They ordered a new piece and hopefully we will have it soon.

Last Monday morning brought us back to our normal routine….important stuff like quiet time with hot cocoa, a new verse to learn, a new song to sing, read aloud time, and some piano study and lessons.

Our fridge and pantry were quite bare though!

I got creative and dug around to make some yummy things.

We were feeling the time change last week, and Ruby was too!

By dinner time we were cross eyed and trying to hang on until everyone got home so we could eat and call it quits for the day!

Tate had his last therapy appointment (for now, anyway!) on Thursday.

Miss Ashley gave us some new stretches to try to keep Tate’s back from hurting.

See that rolled up towel under his back?

Tate does all of his home therapy on his own – he knows it helps him!

Last week it was time for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes!

This is our official kick-off to the holiday season every year!

I took my skeleton crew to the dollar store on Wednesday to shop so they could each fill a shoebox for a child their age and their gender.

The next evening we had a packing party at our church that Kayla and David were in charge of, so we went to help them set up and get ready.

It was a success!!

I think there were about 60 people there and we packed over 100 boxes!!

Friday we woke up to our first snow fall!!

Winter is HERE.

Friday night Blake and I had a date night – first one in ages it seems.

I was excited and had a very BIG list of errands….and a second list of things I needed to tell my poor husband, ha, ha!!

We always end up at the grocery store (man, I miss the days my girls used to do that for me!!), but we were together, he is SO fun, and it was DATE NIGHT!!

This weekend was the first weekend in five weeks that we did not have plans.

What.

Blake and I woke up at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning and it looked like we had shimmied into an already made bed so that we would not disturb the covers.

We must not have moved all night long!

It made us laugh!

We started the day slow and lazy like and it felt so, so good.

We have lots of visitors to our bird restaurant these days, by the way, and the cardinals are starting to visit too!

Blake and Chad went to help some friends move at the last minute on Saturday, but my trio and I hung out at home slowly getting some things done.

It was oddly satisfying that there was no dirty laundry, even though I knew it would only last for two seconds!

I have not been taking care of myself in all of this traveling and busyness, as I am sure you already know – so Saturday I decided to focus on NUTRITION.

Like actually eating something, ha, ha.

Tate helped me out, of course!

He keeps our pickle jar full.

Then we decided to take a detour from the nutrition idea and make a cake.

Why not, right?

This cake recipe is from Joanna Gaines, so I can say she made us do it!

It was super fun to make with the kids and I heard it was the best cake we have ever had!!

The guys got home in the late afternoon and were thoroughly frozen.

When my hubby realized I took a photo of him like that, he sent me this photo that he took of me when he found me asleep when we were moving off of the farm.

Touche!