Thanksgiving,,,

I am thankful for the many blessings that God has so richly bestowed on our family. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with Jesse's mom, 3 of his 4 siblings and their families.

Life Lately..

has been rather hectic. We are working on Estate Planning for Jesse's Dad. He is in stable condition right now, but susceptible. He has Parkinson's Disease, is unable to walk due to a a broken hip and subsequent unsuccessful hip operations and has a feeding tube (he is not able to eat through his mouth anymore). He is also very thin. If you had known him in the past and would see him now, you would be shocked. The Estate Planning has been stressful, but necessary due to changing tax and inheritance laws in 2011. We are working with 4 other siblings and thankfully they all work very well together. It is very difficult to see Jesse's dad in that condition.

Clothes..

I was reminiscing about clothes. When my 3 oldest girls were little...4,3 & 1. Those cute little clothes got passed from child to child...little dresses, adorable maryjanes, pink fluffy jackets and sweet patterned tights. Fast forward 2010...Carlina, 16, Julia, 15 & Alicia, 13.....no more hand-me-downs. We do most of our shopping 2nd hand, occasionally going to Walmart or Target, so we don't spend alot of money on clothes. Also, the girls buy most of their own stuff with job money or birthday/christmas money.

They each have their own style. Carlina is classic, Julia trendy and Alicia eclectic/artsy. They usually do not wear each others clothes, plus they are all close to the same size now. Katie is 9 and is a different body shape, so cannot wear anything they pass down. I am not going to save anything for Anna, who is only 2. All 4 wear the same shoe size now, give or take a 1/2 size (except Anna, of course!). Those hand-me-down days are long gone, but it so fun to look at old photos of each girl in the same dress.

Convicting post

This is an extremely convicting post from Kate at Room for More. Get ready for tears when you read what she wrote and also go to the links she provided. More than tears are needed to help these sweet babies...roll up your sleeves and see what you can do to help.

Iowa Basic Skills Tests..

We took the first of 2 sessions today. This is the first year to take it in November, instead of February. Hopefully it will give us more time to work on the skills that are lacking, as we will get results earlier. That being said, I am not a huge fan--or a fan at all--of standardized tests. It is a necessary required evil, in my opinion. Some kids are good test takers and some are not. This is Garrett's first year to take the tests. It will be interesting to see what happens with his results. He is a smart little boy with one focus...trains. I have a difficult time turning his brain to anything else..he tends to be in outer space when we work on reading or math. It has been a struggle so far and takes every ounce of my energy and patience to teach him. We will take the second part of the test next Friday. At least we don't have to dread February anymore, lol.

Leaves...

Evangelism

I am loving One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill. It is a guide to telling others about Jesus Christ that is easy to read and gives helpful instructions on how to do so. I would highly recommend this book!!! I tend to be timid about sharing my faith and this book gives help and encouragement in all kinds of situations. Please look up this book and read it and then share it with a Christian friend, it will make a difference!