Where I've Been

It seems forever since I've been blogged. Last week, beginning Tuesday, we became a family of four kids. My nephew, Cooper, joined us while my sister and her husband went to Philadelphia for a wedding/much-needed vacation. While he was with us, we still attempted to homeschool, and I also had the bright idea of putting up my Christmas decorations. I'm not sure what I was thinking. But we all had a great time, even if we did crawl to the bed at night.

We have been busy doing some fun things. This year we had the opportunity to participate in Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse, an organization run by Franklin Graham. To participate, you fill a shoebox or similar size package with miscellaneous things like school supplies and small toys, and then label the box by sex and age. Bailey and Brad each chose a 5-9 year old, and he took a boy while she took a girl. We had so much fun picking things out and imagining who would open the box. I hope to make this a tradition. Here they are getting ready to drop off the packages.
On Saturday, in addition to decorating for Christmas and getting ready for family to come in, we also decided to squeeze in blowing the yard and disposing of all the leaves. No problem for four industrious kids such as these!
Saturday night, Mimi and Poppa G arrived with Carrie Beth in tow. They all came in for a very special occasion, because Bailey was baptized on Sunday morning. It was a great day!Mimi and Poppa G had to leave Sunday afternoon, but Carrie Beth got to stay with us for the week since we would be heading to Alabama for Thanksgiving and could take her back with us. Monday morning we had a field trip to the Nashville Children's Theater to watch "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Before the show, the kids got to participate in an acting workshop. It was a lot of fun, but they were worn out by the time we got home. This is where Carrie Beth "sculpted" Bailey to look like Charlie the first time he sees the big chocolate room.
This was Bradley's interpretation of the same event. :)

On Tuesday morning, I heard some tinkering on the piano that didn't sound like Bradley's current "Star Wars Theme" or Bailey's "Jolly Old St. Nicholas." I rounded the corner to find our newest maestro. The book being upside-down didn't seem to deter him any.Wednesday afternoon we took the kids out to Opryland Hotel for our yearly pilgrimage. Mom and Dad met us out there. Carrie Beth had never been, so the kids loved showing her their old favorites. The fountains were definitely the highlight of the evening.



So that's what we've been doing. I never thought I'd think three kids was easy, but after a week of four and sometimes five, my own three seem like a piece of cake! My hats off to you, Jane Anne! :)