October is the Best

 Watching these kids play together, work together and BE TOGETHER today was wonderful.

I don't have a favorite child, but I do have a favorite hen.

the guys

 This child! His facial expressions and his exploring I love.

 Emerging Reader

football, chicken love, Senior Center, the good stuff

What a season! 

It was fun to watch these boys play! They are competitors!

It will be onto high school football for these boys! 

Chicken beauty

Chicken love

There is something about walking into the coop at night. When they are all ready for sleep. I could tell long winded stories and they would listen. Just like Shannon and Natasha did today. -- These hens get a girl party every night. 

An older gentleman, maybe 80, followed Oren and I around the Senior Center Thrift Store a couple of weeks ago. Oren had me wearing a hard hat, he was also wearing one. We were in the toy aisle. Oren began talking in a deep voice, pretending, not knowing the older man was watching him. The man, all the while, wearing a big smile. Oren did not know this man was watching him or the pretending would have stopped and he would have maybe buried his head in my leg. The Senior Center Thrift Store is a good place to go for children's books, kindness, and short visits with older people. A main morning checker reminds me of my Grandma Alma. She is always fashionable, always smiling and is left handed like my grandma. 

Every afternoon and evening when we are running around, or kids are hollering "Mom" over top of one another,  I think of sitting down with a good book and reading. About two nights a week this actually happens. I am hoping this might be one of those nights. 

some old, some new, some laughter, some tears

These two have been playing educational games on the computer. They look like big kids when they do this. 

Hazel reads to Oren. They sing songs, nursery rhymes... I love it.

Once, long ago, when I was less busy I scrap booked about things like garage sales! ;-)! 

Soooo, I am a saver. Many of you know. And on a side note, I know my grandma, my mom in law and a few close friends read my blog. I wondered if anyone else does. Well, last week I had 45 people read it. And a few weeks before 70! Kind of fun. I do like to share "our story" --- 

This garage sale took place about a year after our mom passed away. 

Garage sales at my Grandma Alma's and Grandpa Ken's were the BEST! Our mom would encourage us to go through toys and clothes, with 7 people in one house, spaces fill up quickly! And we would write our initials on the masking tape (no price tags) and make "our own" money. Grandma and Grandpa were always SO fun to hang out with! Their neighborhood was a great neighborhood for a sale. They lived in town, my Grandma still lives in town and we lived in the country. We got to visit and eat snacks and have fun ALL day. 

I was the kid who had the hardest time parting with things. And now I am that adult.

This particular sale was the hardest one. We were selling a lot of our mom's clothing and some of her belongings. Lesha and Natasha were so much better about going through our mom's things than I was. I wanted to hold on.

I remember my Grandma's neighbor lady, Janice, bought a lot of our mom's clothes and was so sweet about it. 

It was the hardest sale we did - the others were so fun and this one had chunks of sadness. Adrianna and Andrew were little and they brought a lot of joy to the day. Natasha sold her Barbie stuff. Golly, I have zoomed in five times on the pics of Natasha and Phil wishing I would have purchased that Barbie stuff for Hazel. yet, at that time I did not know I would have a daughter and did not know my daughter would be into Barbies. And if I would have taken it, I would have hauled it around for 15 years. Geez, I am a saver.

I have talked to Lissa on occasion about my crazy need to "hold on" -- she gets it about the mom memories and my nephew Case memories but has cautioned me and has also told me "there will always be more stuff" -- Giving away some of our kids toys and clothing is okay, because they get more for birthdays, Christmas, etc.

Ever so slowly I am learning it is not about stuff, but the memories made. And making more memories.

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Oren loves this pumpkin. But he thinks it is a carrot.

He is So good at playing and pretending!! I can't believe his imagination.

I have been making so many soaps! My latest scent, lemon and thyme! Lemon essential oil and thyme from our garden!