DECEMBER!!

We made it! It's like a time warp where they show the last ten years of your life in five minutes. There are so many moments and activities that I didn't capture with a camera that these posts are just a very small glimpse of life in the Houseworth household since the end of July. At the beginning of December, we were very privileged to celebrate Adah and Nathaniel's THIRD Gotcha Day. They came home in the wee hours of the morning on December 8th, and our family became complete. It's so strange to celebrate each Gotcha Day because it does feel as if they've been with us forever and at the same time just yesterday that they came home. Family life with them becomes sweeter as we develop common memories that include them now. Nathaniel's behaviors are still more challenging than anything we've ever faced as parents and as a family; we pray that we will see more positive changes in the coming year. He puts us on our knees more than any of the other kids, that's for sure. :) But when the times are good, they are GOOD, and we are thankful for those times. Thank you, Lord, for entrusting all of our children to us. We pray we can be equal to the task!

Although there were many activities, parties, and outings in December, only two made it to the blog (because I remembered my camera for only two! :) ). The second weekend in December we went down to Tennessee to help my stepfather celebrate his 65th birthday. He asked us to come; we didn't just descend upon him without notice - that might kill a man his age! :). He wanted everyone to make the annual trek to Dollywood to see the Christmas lights. The Lord gave us a WONDERFUL day with GREAT weather for riding the rides and enjoying the sights. We didn't go early enough, and we learned our lesson. We just didn't know that our kids would like rollercoasters that much! None of them had ever ridden a real rollercoaster before. Adah even wanted to go on one, and she gets carsick! She was so earnest in her desire that we agreed to let her go, and we warned all of the family not to sit behind her in case she got sick. :) (We're thoughtful like that) Well, Daniel, Shiloh, Cora, Adah, and Abigail rode the fastest rollercoaster first thing, and they loved it! Adah immediately wanted to go again. Daniel became like a kid, wanting to ride every rollercoaster. Abigail barely made the height requirement for the rollercoasters; I think she was stretching every inch she could. At the end of the night (9:00 or so), we had ridden rollercoasters that go upside down, bumper cars, ferris wheels, and swings. We saw a parade, a crazy chicken lady at the lovely buffet provided for dinner, and a light show set to music. We enjoyed funnel cakes and hot chocolate as we admired the four million Christmas lights. Shiloh even came home with a cowgirl hat. We couldn't have asked for a better day as the snow hit the next day on our return to VA. The kids have asked for a return trip!!

These are pictures from Dollywood. Yes, the gaggle of people in the photo is actually just all of my Tennessee family, and that's not even everybody. :)
Jackson became Oma's ride partner for the day. I don't think he was much help on this one where you have to haul yourselves to the top in order to glide down.

Cora hung out with cousin Dyani (on the left) and cousin-to-be Kara (in the middle). The threesome decided to go on the adventure ropes course while the rest of us rode rollercoasters.

Here's Cora on the adventure course:

She did a great job!

Here is Oma with her ride buddy again. :) Off they go!

Shiloh and Adah ended up as ride buddies quite a bit. Adah also rode Blazing Thunder with Aunt Kira, a rollercoaster that's inside. It's pitch-black in there, so you don't know when the hills are coming. On one particular hill, Adah screamed so loud that I think she probably punctured Kira's eardrums.

Abigail was fearless and fearsome on the bumper cars. Also notice the look of crazed determination on Daniel's face to bump his own child.

Hang on, Nathaniel! You don't know what you're getting yourself into... Abigail took Uncle Jason as her ride partner, and I don't believe he really ever had a choice.

Oma and Opa with all the grandkids at Dollywood: bottom row: Abigail, Samuel, Jackson, Micah Marie, Adah; middle row: Caleb, Kara, Cora; back row: Opa, Shiloh, Dyani, strange statue child that looks freaky in the picture, Jackson, Oma

Casey's Tennessee family: bottom row: Chris (sister Kira's fiance), Daniel, Kira, Jason (sister Cassi's husband); middle row: Charles (stepfather David's son), David (aka Opa), sister Rianne, soon-to-be-niece Kara, Cora, Dyani, Jackson, Adah, Shiloh, me, Mom (aka Oma); back row: Caleb (sister Cassi's son), Micah (sister Cassi's daughter), Samuel (sister Cassi's son), Abigail (with death grip on Samuel in case he fell), sister Cassi (with baby in belly)

Confused? Yeah, me too sometimes. :) Here are Oma and Opa with all the kiddos the next morning. Notice how everyone looks like they're about to fall asleep? That could be because we were up until about 11:30 the night before. It was a VERY quiet car on the way home. We stopped and worshipped with a sweet congregation outside of Bristol, VA before we headed on our way home. They were a great encouragement to us.

Here are all our kiddos plus their cousin Dyani.

In between our Dollywood trip and Christmas, we had to do more schooling, (my goal was to finish two units of Tapestry of Grace before Christmas, and we made it! Phew!) have our preschool co-op party (much glitter glue and sprinkles involved in decorating cards and cookies), our enrichment group get-together (where Cora, Adah, and Abigail sang for residents at a nursing home), and a caroling evening with church members to sing for another nursing home and one of our elderly attendees. We also hosted my dad and stepmother for a brief visit for them to drop off the basketball hoop as a Christmas gift and Shiloh's hope chest as a birthday gift. My dad made it, and it is LOVELY - so much more than I ever hoped for!! (note to self: take a picture for the blog!!) Shiloh also had a friend over to decorate cookies, and we had an orthodontic visit that determined that Shiloh will have braces put on in January. (Thank you, Lord, for deployment money!)

We didn't take many pictures at Christmas time because we were too busy hanging out with our friends, the Rasheeds. The kids also put on another play for us, but I think that Abigail just used the play as an excuse to eat as much candy as possible (she was only supposed to eat ONE piece as part of her role - she managed three pieces before Shiloh the director became enraged). Jackson reprised his role as Santa with much enthusiasm. Nathaniel looked adorable as an elf. They stuck pom-poms in his socks at the end to make his socks turn up and look like elf shoes. :) Here was our cozy home Christmas morning:

Don't let the light in the picture fool you; it was still dark out. :) Snow started falling right as we started opening gifts. The sentimental children declared it "perfect." We like to get one main gift for each child and then stocking stuffers. This year Jackson got a NKJV Bible because that's the version we use in church and he can't follow along with his KJV. Nathaniel got the latest Jonathan Park (which we will all enjoy on our road trip to Williamsburg soon), and the girls each got a print by P. Buckley Moss, because we stopped by the museum on the way home from our weekend away. We got to meet her and have her sign the prints, and they are adorable. We also got our 15th wedding anniversary present that now hangs over our bed, and she signed the glass. Here are the bedhead kids smiling patiently for the camera (even before chocolate!):

And now my dear husband is calling me for family worship and I must go. But we did it! Please remind me not to do this next year. Just send a friendly email saying, "Casey? Have you downloaded pictures recently? Please don't wait until December." I promise to listen.

Have a wonderful New Year, everyone!

Love,

Casey

November

Almost caught up! Almost! Hang in there with me, people, and remember to hydrate. You won't do anyone any good if you keel over at August's post.

So...November. If I can sum up the month in one word, it would be running, both literally and figuratively. For Shiloh, the month included three separate races. The first one was an open invitational at a nearby private school. Last year the Greene County Homeschoolers Team were invited, so they received an invite this year as well. This year we weren't an organized team, but we ended up placing first overall as a team anyway. :) We had the number one guy and the number one girl (SHILOH!). Cora decided at the LAST minute (as in, the kids were just about on the starting line) to join the race. Since this was a very relaxed race, the organizers didn't care. For Cora, it was all about the social aspect. She slowed down so that she could hold hands with her friend Anya and cross the finish line together. She ended up getting a medal for being the youngest entrant. ;)

Part of the starting line: (Shiloh looked like a midget :) )

Shiloh on the course:

Rounding the last flag toward the finish:

Cora is clearly disobeying the speed limit here. :) She was trying to chat with me about how she almost got lost in the woods and I had to remind her that it was actually a RACE and that she was supposed to be running hard enough to be out of breath. She just smiled and kept trotting. :)

Coming home to the finish - not yet stopping and waiting for Anya.

After the run:

Shiloh goes up to receive her first place for females. Cora already has her medal for being the youngest participant.

Cody, our Greene County "teammate" got first and set a course record.

The Greene County team with the trophy. What a blast!

The day after the race, we traveled to Pennsylvania for Daniel's grandmother's funeral. Her death was not unexpected, but it was sad for the children anyway as we were coming up on one year since Daniel's grandfather died. We gathered at Daniel's aunt's house the night before the funeral. We've reached that stage in life where funerals are family reunions. I got to see Daniel's brother, whom I hadn't seen since his sister Sara's wedding back in 2001.

A girl just needs to swing sometimes.

You never know what the Bobbsey Twins are up to, but you should always be suspicious. Here, they might be taunting the koi in the fish pond.

Jackson liked the fort at the top of the playset. He and Nathaniel were both generals, since I was informed that both of them were in charge.

Sara kept trying to get some pictures of my kids with her fancy camera, but she came up to me and said, "I just can't. They move all the time and they move too quickly." That sounds about right.

Ah, here's a quiet moment. Shiloh and Nathaniel are waiting for his turn on the Big Wheels. Shiloh was such a sweet help to me that day, monitoring the boys' play so that I could chat with Daniel's aunts and sister inside (in the warmth).

Adah, my sweet animal lover, was trying to give some affection to the many outside cats.

Nathaniel's face of concentration - LOVE IT - (also, I think he's making a motorcycle noise):

Nathaniel is in serious negotiations with Daniel's cousin's son from Greece. I think they're trying to negotiate riding time on the Big Wheels. My sweet Cora Dora, who is always ready for a snuggle: This is Daniel's brother, Steven, and his sister, Sara, at the funeral the next day: Daniel's dad with the Houseworth men of our family:

Daniel's aunts had a reception for everyone at a church nearby after the service. It was lovely to chat with everyone before we got back on the road.

As I've noted before on this blog, wherever babies are, you will find Cora. This precious little one is Daniel's cousin's daughter. She was EXTREMELY laid-back.

We got back home and attempted to settle in to some schooling before the birthday/holiday season kicked in. Cora looked out the window one morning and saw these visitors in our neighbor's backyard:

Because of the trip up to Pennsylvania, Daniel's annual hunting trip got started on Sunday instead of Saturday. He stopped overnight with Adah and Abigail in Johnson City and then headed out to his parents' place on Monday. Here are some pictures from their trip. I think Daniel has some more pictures on his camera, but I'm on a roll and I can't stop now to try to get them off. :)

Abigail enjoyed the new hammock in the gazebo:

Daniel took a picture of Adah on the phone with me when I was wishing her a happy birthday. :) We're switching the timing of the hunting trip next year so that Cora and Adah can be together on their birthday and we can all celebrate together. I think Adah enjoyed having her coconut cake at Daniel's parents' house, though! This was a very disappointing year hunting-wise for Daniel, since he didn't get anything. The weather was also a little too warm - it got into the 80s during the day there. Daniel and Adah get their presents at the house.

Daddy likes his new books! Blowing out the candles together:

Meanwhile, back in VA, we celebrated Cora's birthday by heading to Pen Park with her friend Ava. Ava also got to spend the night, which was an unusual treat. While we were there, I had to take pictures of the gorgeous trees:

While I was taking pictures of gorgeous trees and gorgeous girls up IN gorgeous trees, I heard a shout from the playground. Jackson came running, saying, "Mommy, Mommy! Didn't you hear us calling? Nathaniel needs you!" I went running to find that Nathaniel had fallen headfirst into a thorn bush during a bloodthirsty game of tag. Shiloh fished him out and was patiently pulling out thorns from his lips, fingers, hands, belly, and ankles. I hadn't even heard him yelling or crying! I took him into the bathroom and started cleaning him up. I was telling him what a wonderful, kind big sister he had to take care of him and wasn't that a blessing, when he said (and I already felt like a horrible mother): "Yes, but where were YOU? Where were YOU, Mommy?" If I had had ice cream at that moment, I think I would have given him the whole carton. :(

These pictures capture Nathaniel pre-thornbush:

Ah, those were good times. All ruined by a game of tag and a bad mommy.

Thankfully, he recovered pretty quickly and we went on a hike down by the river.

At last we had Cora's birthday celebration when Daniel returned. She's recently gotten into the "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" books, so she asked if I could make an owl cake. Um, sure, sweetie. I'll get right on that. She's not very picky, so she was pleased with the results. I do have to tell you that the marshmallows were entirely Shiloh's idea, to make it look like a snowy owl. Pretty good!

The next two races came in quick succession. One was the Virginia District Cross-Country Championships for our district. It was in Richmond, which meant an EARLY wake-up call that morning. That was hard for Cora and Nathaniel, since they weren't running and just had to come along as the support team. They had better attitudes about it than I would have had! This race had some harder competition, and I was concerned that Shiloh would be disappointed with her fifth place finish. She was as cheerful as always, saying she just loves to run. We had a chance to talk with the team who had kids placing in all the age categories, and we were impressed with their running club in Virginia Beach. We don't have something like that here, but Daniel and I were thinking ambitiously that we'd like to start something like that (not coaching, just being the admin behind the club). We liked the attitudes of the parents and coaches, unlike some of the other attitudes we heard directed at the kids there. Adah ended up beating Abigail, and they placed second and third in their age group. (Can you say "upset" in both meanings of the word? Abigail did NOT ever think that Adah would beat her, but Adah had been more consistent with our running around the neighborhood.) Jackson also ran and was not happy with his decision to run about halfway through the race. He stuck it out, though, and we were proud of him for that. Shiloh's course was a 3K, and the others ran 2K. Because Shiloh competed in a district race, she was eligible to compete at the national championship in Orlando on December 4th, but we didn't feel like her time was good enough for her to do well there and justify the trip. Since this is really only her first year "running," we don't want to push anything. We'll see how she does next year. She WANTED to go, so we'd like to honor that if she is able to put in a stronger performance next year.

Like the cool guy glasses on Adah? She didn't like the sun in her eyes, so I gave her my running sunglasses. The kids say I look mean in them. :) The running crew plus support team:

The start for Adah's, Abigail's, and Jackson's race: I hate it that this picture is blurry, because I wanted everyone to see the look of determination on her face to finish well. Good job, Adah! She has ALWAYS been the girl who would rather sit on the couch than get outside, and she's actually starting to like exercise now. We're hoping those good habits will carry through to adulthood.

The start of Shiloh's race: (I kept telling her not to be intimidated by cool uniforms - I'm not sure it worked :) ) Here comes Shiloh at the finish! Her first comment: "Well, that was harder than I thought." :)

I love the look of exhaustion that says she's given it her best.

Last race of the year: the Earlysville Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. I ran it last year and the kids ran the kids' half-mile race (which is when we first noticed that Shiloh had a little talent). When our friends the Rasheeds came over for Thanksgiving dinner later in the day, they were saying that if they ever ran a 5K, they wouldn't be cooking dinner afterward, they'd be lying on the couch to recover. Well, my friend Odelia ran it with us as her second 5K of the year. :) And she ran it while pregnant!

Here are the kids at the start of the kids' race: (no, I'm not running it even though I am as tall as some of the kids - thanks for noticing)

Adah came in first for the girls!

I wish I had some pictures from the 5K. Shiloh and Daniel started in the wave ahead of me, because I'm humble enough to admit that my daughter now outclasses me running-wise. :) She stayed with Daniel THE WHOLE TIME, and they finished in a time of 24:59! We ordered the finishing line print from the photographer who covered the race and put it on a mug for a Christmas present for Shiloh. She was thrilled. Oh, Daniel just reminded me that I could provide you with a link to see the picture.

I hope that works!

Cora got to do some pleasurable running, in her definition of the word. :) She started Upward Bound basketball in November because her friend Ava is playing. Because Ava's mom has some "connections," they got on the same team. It's fun to watch her play because she smiles the whole time. My dad got the kids a basketball hoop for Christmas, and Daniel and Cora have already been out to shoot some hoops together. I'm looking forward to watching her games!

Here is Cora ready for her first night of practice:

She's on an all-girls' team; this was just the coach's son helping out. :)

I might just get finished with 2010 by the end of the night. It's just unfortunate that the children have run amok all day. :)