Picking A Pumpkin (and picking on pumpkins)

We went to the historical museum to pick a pumpkin, and just because we love to go there, especially in the Fall.

While we were trying to pick the favorite pumpkin, Melissa would try picking them up, then decide they were not "it" and drop them. Poor pumpkins.

The hay maze, with old schoolhouse in the background. It always makes them want to live "back then."

Those were the days......

Found it!

He's A Reading Machine!

It always amazes me when after months of working on letter sounds one of our kids starts reading. That happened with Nathan a few days ago. Suddenly there's a new attitude towards reading. "I like reading" is what he said, and he meant it.

I've taught all the kids with a no-nonsense program called The Writing Road To Reading. Each one of them said, "This is boring!" at the beginning, but then they're glad after a while when they can suddenly read.

HOW MANY MORE?

Nathan has a two week break before his final four chemo treatments. This Wed. happens to be a Zoo Free Day, which we'll get to go to, (yeah!), and next Wed. is the play Beauty and the Beast, which we'll get to go to with our homeschool group. His final treatment and MRI is scheduled for Nov. 11th.

We just need wisdom, and pray for wisdom for Nathan's doctor to know how many more treatments he should have. They don't go over a year because that is the limit of toxicity the body can handle. But Nathan has been having more and more tummy pain, which the doctor attributes to the chemo, and the toxicity building up. Will finishing the course do him more harm than good? Please pray for God's leading in this.

OUR ALMOST DOG

Nathan had been wanting a dog for quite a while. But it was mostly out of the question because the girls are allergic to dogs, we're not into animals in the house, and.....we have four children. We just told him to pray about it, and we prayed & considered too.

Well, last week we were offered a hypo-allergenic sheepadoodle puppy dog who was housebroken & had gone thru obedience training. We thought this must be our answer. This puppy was 9 months old, very sweet, but was bigger than most full-grown dogs. We brought Schatzi (little treasure) home and discovered a lot about having a big puppy dog:

*they will take and run with anything you drop

*they will search out all items the kids have left all over the backyard and chew them

*you cannot turn your back for a second

*little 3 year old girls can be terrified of them

*they take you for a walk, especially when a bunny crosses your path

*they take a lot of time

*they are a lot of fun

We also discovered that you can't leave a young dog alone with young children, especially if they haven't been together since birth, and the constant vigilance wore me out. He was still in the biting (teething) stage. I didn't have the time to train a dog and train my children. So, sad to say, we had to give him back.

All our fears of disappointing our children or devastating them just didn't happen. They were sad at first when they heard our decision, but any sadness vanished when they pulled out their toys again without having them carried off.

And now at least our children won't feel that we're holding out on them to not have a pet, since we tried it for a week.

A Cozy Welcome to Fall

We had a great time in Steamboat Springs. There was snow, Fall colors, bike riding, horses to pet, a teenie-tiny cabin, popcorn, and reading The Hobbit aloud.

Hmmmm... why'd we get the cabin called Poverty Bar?

Nathan got the bow-and arrow that he had been wishing for, which we found in a little shop up there.

I was grateful for the seasons of life that God brings to us, thankful to be in this cozy cabin all together in a beautiful spot, and not in the hospital.

One Year Ago Today

It was one year ago this weekend that Nathan first got diagnosed with a brain tumor, and we were in the hospital preparing for his surgery.

Thank you all for helping us, loving us, and walking with us this past year. We're going up the mountains for some much needed fun and family time, marking this first year with remembering God's goodness to us.

WINNER OF THE HIGH SCHOOL DRAG RACE

Last week was our first, official week of school. It was also our very first homeschool co-op, which meets every Friday with about 25 other children. So, after hitting the books a fun weekend was in order, but we didn't have any plans, other than stacking wood on Saturday. That isn't in the fun catagory for the kids because it involves spiders, getting hot, and working.

Saturday night, I got a call from Nathan's orofacial myologist (she retrains lip and tongue muscles for proper speech - I'll do another post about her because she's amazing.) She had some connections with the owners of Bandimere Speedway and was able to get us tickets for Junior Dragsters on Sunday. But it was more than that; we got a tour of the press box and command center, and Nathan had a chance to ride in a dragster as it was being towed back after the race. I cannot say enough good about John Bandimere and his son-in-law Larry, two kind and godly men.

Aaron took the kids back to the track on Monday for High School Drags, where high schoolers bring their own cars to race, and also get to race against police cars. They were there the whole day and had a blast.

Nathan got to ride in the winner's car after the race going down the drag strip FAST! He gave Nathan one of his two trophies he had won that day. You can imagine how perplexed I was when they came home with Nathan holding a trophy as big as himself which said "Winner of the High School Drag Race." My question was, "Aaron, you didn't race your truck, did you?!" Then everyone talked at once telling me the story.