November Round-Up!

November felt like a really quick month for us, but I don't have too many "extra" photos from the month. We were busy with school, practices, Thanksgiving, and then our Texas vacation, but here are a few of the other things we had going on during the month. 

The girls have band practice in Tulsa on Mondays right now, and the property where they practice has several large trees. The trees finally got some color this month, so I had to take the girls' photo in front of a tree to document that we actually had a little bit of an autumn this year. 

Brecklyn, Brooke

Each year we purchase the kids souvenir t-shirts from track & field nationals. These shirt are pricey in my opinion, but unfortunately the price is not a reflection of the quality. You can see in the photo below how the logo is peeling badly, and one night Brecklyn barely caught her shirt on something and it ripped the whole corner. So frustrating!

November means birthday morning for my dad and me. I'm really having trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that I'm 45 years old . . . I certainly don't feel like I'm 45! Our birthday was on a Monday, but we celebrated the Saturday before because our Mondays are very busy right now, and Chris had to go to Savannah, Georgia for the week. We ate at Trail's End BBQ in Owasso, then went back to Mom and Dad's house for dessert and gifts. Mom and the girls made meringue pies for us (one lemon and one chocolate), and they were delicious!

Dad had mentioned to me several weeks ago that he'd really like to have a nice pair of headphones, so several of us went in together to buy him a pair for his birthday (plus, I'd found them on a really good deal). He was very happy with the headphones, and even said, "Oh! I never imagined I'd have a pair this nice!" It made us laugh coming from the man who has and appreciates lots of nice things!

As a small service project, Brecklyn's basketball team collected food for a foundation that aids local refugees. Brecklyn told me, "The refugees are coming to our practice to get food," but she didn't quite have her details straight :-).

As has been our tradition for several years, we hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. Dad, Mom, and Mr. Bill joined us. We had a delicious meal and wonderful company!

After we ate, several spent some hours playing games.

Mom and I tried really hard to cut down the menu so that we wouldn't have many leftovers, as we left the morning after Thanksgiving to go to Texas. We still ended up with a few leftovers, but we packed up a to-go container for Mr. Bill and for Mom and Dad. It worked out perfectly!

So thankful for this time with my parents!

I hope your month was as blessed as ours was!

The Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. Ours was busy with several of us going in different directions, but it was enjoyable.

I've mentioned on here a few times that Brenson is playing basketball with a new club this year, Oklahoma Flame. We are hopeful that this season will be better than last, and so far it looks promising. Brenson is 14U this year (how?!?), and Oklahoma Flame has four 14U boys teams. This past weekend was the official season tip-off with a tournament in St. Louis. Chris and Bren drove up there Thursday evening so Bren could play on Friday and Saturday. They drove back home on Saturday evening. Bren had a great time at the tournament and getting to know his teammates better. 

Bren's confidence is really building with this team, and we are excited to see how he grows this season!

There is definitely a sense of comradery between the 14U teams. While the "Select" 14U team was playing, Bren and several of his teammates sat on the bench to support them. 

Meanwhile, I was holding down the fort back at home. Friday night, we hosted our monthly youth devo. We've been doing these devos now for over two years, and I'm so thankful for them each month. They are an uplifting and encouraging time, and this month we had some visitors Brianna invited from her Physical Science Lab class. It's always good to have visitors, and we were thrilled they were able to make it. 

On Saturday, we were invited to celebrate Sadie's 12th birthday at her house. It's crazy that she's already 12! Her party was Harry Potter themed, which Brooke and Brecklyn thought was fantastic since that is one of their newish interests. 

Amazing cake!

Fun group of party girls!

Of course, they had all the fun party favors for everyone!

Sadie opening her gifts from us

They each even got a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and had a contest to see who could each every flavor. Brooke won the contest, and Brecklyn definitely did not, lol. We were laughing so hard watching the girls each all the terrible bean flavors!

They even enjoyed some time outdoors on the trampoline.

BFFs!

Love these girls!

After we left Sadie's house, we swung by Jaxen's house to bring him home with us for the evening. Bri enjoyed having him over for a few hours. 

Yesterday was our monthly potluck at church, and we had a Thanksgiving themed meal. It was delicious as always, and we even had some visitors stay for that, too. 

Now we're focusing on getting through the last couple weeks of school before Thanksgiving Break, which will be directly followed by a vacation to Texas. We are certainly blessed!

October Round-Up!

October tends to be a very busy month for us, and this year was no exception. Here is some of the things filling our days this month.

Brecklyn and Brooke began a beginning band class on Mondays in Tulsa. Brecklyn chose to play flute, while Brooke went with trombone. So far, it's been going really well, and the girls are loving it!

Much to our surprise, Brecklyn also decided to give basketball a try this year. She practices on Mondays and Thursdays in Tulsa. Her basketball practice begins not too long after band ends, so we just stay in Tulsa (and usually do some schoolwork) between practices. So far, she is catching on quickly to basketball and enjoying herself.

Brenson's basketball practices started at the end of last month. He practices Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays in Tulsa. He is playing with a new club this year (Oklahoma Flame), and so far it has been a great experience. Here's hoping we've finally found a place for him to stay and grow!

Brenson's Monday practices directly follow Brecklyn's practice at the same gym. Each practice is two hours long, so this makes a for long Monday for us. 

Momma and her practice buddies

Brenson has been trying to teach Brecklyn some basketball basics. For the most part, she responds well to him. I love seeing my kids teach each other!

In addition to basketball, all four kids were still running cross country throughout most of the month. The teens had four practices a week while the twins had three. I would always try to walk during the twins' practices and found it was a great time to enjoy the sunshine, clear my head, and get my steps in. 

The kids get pretty close with their teammates, and this month we learned that Kirk - a boy who has been their teammate for several years - has some dangerous tumors growing on his kidneys. When the team found out, they prayed for him together then got busy organizing a gift basket. Kirk made a special trip to practice one morning so the team could give him the basket.

Kirk with his goodies from his team

Four cross country practices and three basketball practices a week has turned Brenson into an eating machine. Another side effect has been that he often falls asleep in the car on the way to practice. Early mornings and last nights mean he's gotta squeeze that rest in where he can!

The teens began an in-person physical science lab class last month. It meets in the teacher's home every other Thursday of the month. I have been dropping them off for class, then leaving from there to take Brecklyn to basketball practice in Tulsa. Brooke stays with Grampy and G-Jo during this time, then Grampy and Brooke pick the teens up from lab. Bren has a bit of time to get ready for basketball practice before Chris gets home from his two day a week in-person job to take Bren to basketball practice. It's a lot of business, but it works out ok. The lab has been very beneficial and worth the effort. 

The twins are currently studying space science, which has some hands-on activities they've enjoyed. 

Anything messy is sure to be a hit!

At the beginning of the month, I had to take Brooke to the dentist to have two baby teeth extracted. I figured Brooke on laughing gas would be a trip, and I was not wrong!

Crazy eyes, haha!

Her poor mouth was swollen for a few hours.

However, she had very little pain after the numbing wore off, and the swelling went down quickly!

Because we didn't have enough going on this month, the girls and I decided to drive to Russ and Lisa's house one Friday afternoon to go with Lisa on Saturday to a band competition of Chloe's. It was also the weekend of a youth rally at their congregation, so Friday night the kids went to that. Then, Saturday morning we drove about two hours to Fayette, Missouri for the competition. It was super foggy that morning. 

However, the fog cleared up, and we had so much fun watching drum lines, marching bands, and color guard performances. Unfortunately, Chloe's band wasn't scheduled to march until 5:00pm, and things were running behind schedule. We had a five hour drive home, so I decided it would be best for us to leave before she marched. We're still thankful we went, though!

On our way home from Fayette, the tire light came on in the van. I put air in the tire, and we made it home with no problems. The following Tuesday, however, I was taking Bren to basketball practice in Jenks when the tire light came on in the car. This is not an unusual occurrence, so I just kept driving. Right as we approached the I-44/244 split in Tulsa, the tire blew out. Chris, my parents, and all the girls were on their way to Muskogee for a gospel meeting, so I called Tia. She, Ross, Sadie, and Caroline had been out to dinner (after Ross's grandmother's funeral that day), but they came immediately to rescue us from the side of the highway. After my crew got back from Muskogee that night, Chris and Dad drove to get the car. Chris changed the tire on the side of the highway and drove it home. The good news is that we now have four new tires on the car!

October is always a bit of a whirlwind month, but I can't think of what I would be willing to give up. As always, we are grateful for God's provisions, protection, and blessings!

Say Boo ... logah!

 Another year of the best people watching in the tri-state area has come and gone. Boologah has been a tradition for our family for quite a few years, and it's the one thing we've kind of hung on to as the kids have gotten older. They all enjoy being there to get candy and see all the craziness, but they also enjoy helping hand out tracts and invitations for Bible studies. 

This year, we had a good crew there to help pass out materials. 

Chris, Bren, Ross, G-Jo, and Dicie

We find it's a good way to connect with the community and give out personal invitations to church services. 

Bren is my kid who has never cared for dressing up, so he passes on that part of it. However, he's a great help at our "booth"!

Last year, there were several of us who dressed up as crayons, so Bri decided to just go with that again. Her friend, Jax, joined in on the fun, too!

Sadie invited Brooke and Brecklyn to join her in dressing as the "Clueless" girls from the '90s movie Clueless. I'm not sure how Sadie even knew who they were? My girls did not have any idea, but that didn't stop them from joining Sadie in the fun. They were a BIG hit with the Boologah crowd and received tons of compliments!

Sometimes, we're all a little Clueless!

Caroline was also there dressed as a minion, along with her friend, L. These girls loved collecting allllllll the candy!

💜

At the very end of the evening, we got word that Ms. Darla had been taken to the hospital in Owasso. Instead of going home after the event, I took Mom and Brianna, and we went to the hospital to see about Darla. Chris and the other kids helped get things cleaned up before heading home. Although the end of the evening wasn't what we had planned, we still had a great time at the event!