Saturday activities ...

Ellie mailed her letter to Santa at Macy's and then off to Five Guys for lunch!

No Black Friday Shopping here ...

We are not the group that wants the crowds of Black Friday .. so that leaves us to projects that Grammy and Papa are up to tackling ... no heavy lifting involved! On the agenda for the day ....Ellie and Grammy decorating the annual bird tree .. going out to lunch (no turkey!), building the gingerbread house .. and college football!

Thanks in the dining room & in the heart

This blog is a tradition! I've been carrying this newspaper column around in my wallet for going on 20 years now. No matter what year I read it at Thanksgiving, it has meaning. I share it again this year with all of you

by Sharon Randall

"We're having Thanksgiving dinner at home again this year, I guess I can't complain. Three turkeys in 28 years of marriage doesn't exactly make me a martyr.

The first time I hosted the annual family feeding frenzy was so long ago I can barely recall it now. Except when I hear a smoke alarm; then I recall it clear as a bell.

My family remembers it too, it seems, because since then we've had Thanksgiving dinner anywhere but here. However, last year things changed. Funny, isn't it? We like to think that family is a constant, a kind of rock that never changes. But even rocks can change, given enough time, enough pressure.

Families change too, over time and under pressure. They recreate themselves every day. A birth, a death, a marriage, a divorce, a move to a new city. The changes may be good or bad; makes no difference, really. What matter is what we do with them.

It's good to remember where we were and where we came from. But it's better to know who we are and where we're going. We need to talk less about how things used to be and more about how they are.

We did that last year, my husband and I and our three grown children. We took a long look at our family and decided that the traditions that had served us so well for so long no longer seemed to fit.

It had been a rugged year, dealing with a series of blows that struck us individually and as a family. My mother died. My father-in-law had to be placed in a rest home. And my husband had yet another surgery for cancer, only to be told a few months later that the disease had spread to his liver.

So when it came time to plan Thanksgiving dinner we took a family vote and I lost - four to one - meaning I had to stay home and cook. It wasn't bad, really. We invited some friends - who are like family, except they help - and I had no trouble with the turkey, after I figured out which end to stuff.

We all said, 'Best Thanksgiving ever." Nobody said, "best turkey ever," but I take compliments where I can get them. So we're doing it again this year. We invited the same friends and they accepted. I took that as a compliment, too. And my sister is coming from South Carolina. Her children are grown and if she stayed home they'd expect her to cook, she said. I'll wait until she gets off the plane to tell her my plan.

On Thanksgiving Day, while she wrestles with the turkey I will set two tables - one in the dining room and one in my heart. And I will serve, in fact or spirit, all the people I've known and loved. No, I won't be feeding them, but I will be thankful for them. It will be my best Thanksgiving ever. Because now is the only one I've got.

Who can say what another year will bring? I wish you your best Thanksgiving ever. It's the only one that counts."

Monopoly

Ellie and I sat this afternoon and played Monopoly for over an hour. She loved being the banker and real estate mogul! All in a day's play for her!

First Grade Report Card

FIRST GRADE SCHOOL PICTURE

As you may recall Ellie receives trimester grades - and yesterday she received her first report card for First Grade. I'll remind you of the grading system.

3=Consistent mastery of the standard
2=Developing skills and concepts of the standard
1=Needs continuous teacher support to meet the standard

Here's Ellie's grades ....

Art - 3
Library/Computer - 3
Language Arts - 3
Math - 3
Music - 3
Phys Ed - 3
Reading - 3
Science - 3
Social Studies - 3

WOW! A 3 in every subject! And for skills within a discipline the only one she received all "+"'s was Math!! She sure does love her Math and Science!

And here are Mrs. Carlock's comments ...

"Ellie has a spark in her eye and a passion for fun. She enjoys pushing the envelope when possible and occasionally needs to be re-directed back to her own business and work. She sure does love school and people!"

Parenthood - The story of the sweater

Countdowns ...

I've been a countdown person for as long as I can remember .. I love music countdowns, the ball dropping at midnight and more importantly the anticipation of what is to come.

Today is exactly 10 days from Thanksgiving - and that is my favorite holiday. I love the cooking, eating, and gathering to be thankful.

Here's a shot of Ellie looking happy to be anticipating Thanksgiving and the arrival of Grammy and Papa!

Veteran's Day Remembrance

A Thousand Years

I share this because we should all know this kind of love. I thought it appropriate to show an genuine embrace between President Barack Obama and his bride, Michelle from the election campaign trail in Iowa - August 2012.

Although the words may be corny, whenever I hear the song (lyrics below),it reminds me to keep Bill and Ellie close, and love them with all my heart!

MUSIC VIDEO

"A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri

Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more

Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this

One step closer

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more

One step closer
One step closer

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more

My girl's favorite place to eat!

Self portraits .. by Ellie

Here's what I found when I downloaded the photos from the camera yesterday. Apparently Ellie used the camera, unbeknownst to me, and took these pictures of herself! I find them hysterically funny!

Four More Years! - UPDATED!!

FOUR YEARS AGO ....

Crazy Clothes Day

Ellie picked out her own clothes for Crazy Clothes Day.

Shirt on backward, with the hanging out.

Jeans with the pockets hanging out.

And missed matched socks to top off the whole thing!

Caramel Apples

Our annual project of making Caramel Apples always results in colorful, sweet treats .. and Ellie has tons of fun making them AND eating them!

Bats!

Some of you may have heard Ellie had her first at home project to complete for school over the last couple weeks. We were instructed to allow her to choose, but help her with research - coaching her content. But the project should be in HER handwriting. IF ONLY I'd remembered to take a picture of the project!

We worked on it over an entire weekend. Planning which bats to compare. What facts would we choose, and then shopping at Michael's for the supplies to build the poster-type project.

We practiced with Ellie at home too. Sitting on couch as the audience, Bill and I eagerly watched as she had real fun with it. One of the elements she compared between the Giant Fruit Bat and the Vampire Bat was their size. I tried to give her context around the size.

The Vampire Bat is about 8 inches long. So I measured her arm from elbow to wrist (8 INCHES) and used that to help her understand - and then I lay on the floor (all 5'2" of me) and showed her the wingspan of the Giant Fruit Bat was as wide as I am long!

Don't you know she used that in her presentation. "The Vampire Bat is 8 inches in wingspan. That's as long as my elbow to wrist. But the Giant Fruit Bat can have a wingspan of 5 feet .. and that's as long as my mom!"

She said she got quite a laugh! Which is always her goal. So glad that learning is fun for her .. and really glad Bill and I learned SO much about BATS too!

More Halloween Memories

Ellie as a pirate

Cutest Pirate you've ever seen!

At the decorated yard down the street

at one of the houses down the street

Bill's heroes! They went Trick or Treating on coolers!

The Great Pumpkin Arrives ...

In Bloomington, I recently learned, The Great Pumpkin visits the houses of kids on Halloween night after the kids have gone to bed. The kids know this will happen so they take their 10 favorite pieces of candy from their bag and put them aside. The rest of the candy is collected by The Great Pumpkin. He brings it to kids who were unable to Trick or Treat. In exchange he leaves a toy for the child as a token of his appreciation. Ellie told me she was glad other kids would be getting some candy since they didn't have as much fun as she did going Trick or Treating!

And no candy hanging around until Christmas in our house! Just those 10 pieces!!

Here was the "take" from her Trick or Treating!

Here's what the Great Pumpkin left for Ellie

Ellie loving her Polly Pockets Candy Store!