November Fun!

I cannot believe it's the end of November already. Thanksgiving has come and gone. Where did this month go?! It's been a really great month. We've had some great fun, lots of hard work and are excited to begin decorating for Christmas soon!

Many of our days are spent at home looking a bit like this: 

Daunika has continued her interest in all things pertaining to ancient Egypt but has found a new interest in fashion design. She has checked out many books about it recently and has decided to keep a notebook full of her designs. It's very cool! In this picture she was just coloring on her easel but she can often be found designing something fabulous! 

It's hot cocoa season around here! Seeing these two together never fails to make me smile. Such a good impulse buy don't you think?

This month we celebrated 9 years of marriage! 

Ya know, when you think of it, it's been a crazy 9 years. 5 children, 5 moves, a whole bunch of pets, crossing into another decade together (we've seen our teens, our twenties and now my love has hit his thirties!). In the last 9 years we started college, then quit college. We started a career and decided to change into full business ownership and all it's vulnerable glory! We have likely fought a million times and spent countless hours laughing, talking late into the night. We have changed our faith, core beliefs and religious preferences completely. We learned to be intensely vulnerable with each other to connect in a sacred and protected space together.

We have been SO blessed. I am humbled that his love makes me a stronger woman who strives to be the kind of wife he's proud to call his. <3

November also brought some wild weather!! 

I learned what it looks liken when the clouds dump 8 inches of snow on my old farm house with it's metal roof. We had to enforce strict rules for no one going on the front porch because we were concerned all the snow would fall at once and injure someone. It didn't... it fell in pieces and displayed some really cool icicles! 

But just 10 short days after this 8 inches of snow, we had a record HIGH temp. What did we do? GARDEN!! Of course, if you know me at all, that was assumed right?!

One of my greatest joys in purchasing our first home is planting things that can be enjoyed year after year. Damon picked up a yard of fresh top soil for me as the beginning of my landscaped front surround for the porch. Since we're on a tight schedule with Anaius still, this is all I could manage this month. My awesome bunch of children helped me plant 150 bulbs of tulips and daffodils!

I can't say that anything that went into the ground was straight, organized or well planned but I can say we had so much fun digging in the dirt together and I felt renewed in a way I have missed this fall. I love gardening and working in the dirt grounds me.

Speaking of my little helpers... They've banded together into a goofy pack of children throughout these last 11 weeks. I'm so proud of their solidarity and willingness to help one another. Fear not, there is plenty of sibling squabbles to remind us they are real kids.

Sometimes, it really is the simple things in life that are the best to witness!

It's been a dependable month. Our kids are enjoying weekly dance classes, we've hit the library about every 10 days, we wrapped up co-op for the year and are generally just accomplishing what we need to all around.

Onward to the end of the year race... I swear time speeds up in December!