Thanksgiving

This isn’t Thanksgiving, but because I wear a turkey hat, I am posting it with this.  I participated in the Rich Dalessandro Turkey Trot 5K.  I have run this before, and we have run it as a family.  This was the final year for this specific 5K, but I was happy to hear that the nonprofit Rescuer is going to be running it. This organization is works to help people with medical expenses.  Sandy’s mom made some turkey stocking hats one year, so that is what we pull out to wear each year.  It makes if a more light-hearted experience!

    

My strategy (since I wasn’t in shape enough to run the whole distance) was to run a minute walk a minute and try to push to the top of the hard hills.  It worked.  I felt pretty good at the end and my time was respectable – 35 minutes flat; 11:16 min/mile.  Here are a few moments from the race…

    

Thanksgiving is one of my absolute favorite holidays.  Why?  For all the reasons.  I love the Thanksgiving service at our church – singing favorite hymns, hearing people’s stories of gratitude, and the atmosphere.   That is followed by the auction.  It is fun to see what people create.  This year, Madison made small gnome ornaments, Ellie mixed up some chocolate chip cookies, and I made Twix cookies (which looked beautiful until I transported them and the chocolate slid) and a certificate for 6 months of quick breads.  They all sold well.  The money raised (a little over $18,000 this year) went to the Murza family (refugees from Ukraine), the Edwards family (remodeling their garage for more space as their son with multiple needs grows), Lauren Hicks (a young girl in the community who was in a terrible motorcycle accident), and Mennonite Disaster Service.  I love sitting with friends, bidding for fun, and watching others do the same.  From there, we head to my mom and dad’s for family Thanksgiving.  The food is always good, the conversation ranges from serious to silly, the activity (crossnet with a sprinkle of wrestling) to get moving if you feel inclined, and sitting around in recovery mode. 

    

On Friday this year, Gloria had a group of family in the area over; there were 11 of us that made it.  We had seen David, Marianne, and Erin recently, but Steve, Juiie, and Zach were a nice addition to the gathering.  Zach lives in Bluffton now, so we don’t get to see him much.  The highlight for the girls is that Erin brought her puppy, Muffy.  Such a tiny thing – and so quiet; I don’t think we heard a bark or hardly a growl.  So different from our white, raging beast.

    

Growing up

A few big-ish moments happened in November…

Braces

Ellie has been wearing an expander for quite awhile, but in November she moved up to some – six, to be exact – top row braces.  She picked some pretty colors, sat through the process, and had very little discomfort afterwards.  (She also, on the same day, ordered a new pair of glasses; they look good, but they are not pictured here.)

    

Contact Lenses

Madison decided she wanted to try out contacts.  So, at her eye appointment, we asked about them.  I assumed (because this is how it worked when I was younger) that we would come back in about a week and try out a pair.  However, they had her prescription on hand and she could practice putting them in and taking them out that day!  So, that day, she walked out with a pair of contacts and freedom from glasses.  It was a weird feeling for her for the first few days – and for me/us as we adjusted to her new look.  She is a seasoned pro now at taking them out and putting them in, and her contact wearing look has grown on me.

    

Jr. High Dance

Madison went to her first dance this past month.  She was pretty low-key about it until two days before when she suddenly freaked out a bit about what she was going to wear.  We managed to pull together a fun outfit for her to dance in.  I dropped her off at 5pm.  I returned about 6:30pm to watch the dance for awhile (school chaperone/employee privilege).  We left about 10 minutes early because we were going to the fall production at the high school.  She had a great time with her friends, and from what I heard, pretty much danced the whole night!

Furniture

Madison wanted a new piece of furniture for her room.  She enjoys trying to beautify her space; a talent I don’t have as much of a knack for.  Jeremy picked up an IKEA dresser while he was in the area for work.  She was very excited to not only be getting a dresser, but have the pleasure of putting it together.  It fits nicely in her room and gives her more space.  Now, we need to invest in one for Ellie whose dresser actually has a drawer that isn’t working well. 

   

Fun Things

We have movie nights occasionally.  Sometimes it is just pizza and a movie.  Sometimes the girls put a lot of effort into it and make more of a formal affair.  The other week, it was one of those times.  I enjoy that they still are willing to be creative and imaginative and do this.

    

The night of Thanksgiving, the girls joined with Megan were invited to sleepover at Grandma’s house.  She had asked them to come and help her make bread for Christmas – zwieback and cinnamon rolls and dip ritz crackers.  They were very excited about it!  They had the sleepover and Grandma set out all the prep bowls and schedule for the next day.

    

When they woke up, they went at it.  They baked and dipped and laughed and played. 

              

By the end there were cinnamon rolls for them to take home, zwieback for them to leave for Christmas, and happy hearts from being together.

  

Involvement in Stuff

The girls do a few things, but not so many things that we are overwhelmed.  Usually no more than one out of school/out of church commitment.  Ellie had done Stirrup Courage with horses and Madison had done volleyball.  Both of those are done (for now).  The other thing that happens over the course of the year has been 4-H.  This year, we got a letter to attend a 4-H banquet for Madison.  We had no idea what it was about.  After talking to Steph (our inside scoop on all things 4-H), it sounded like a “old-time” sports banquet – you eat at tables and kids walk up to get awards.  We thought, let’s try it out.  So, we went.  They asked Ellie if they could display her dog poster as part of a display to encourage some of the still projects.  So, Ellie had some recognition there.

We hung out in an anti-social way at our own table - eating all the popcorn and treats on the table - while we waited for the food to be served. 

The food was catered by Village Catering; it was delicious.  Then, they organized adult volunteers and kids and a numerical order based on a number they picked up as they entered.  It was all very coordinated which helped things go quickly.  Madison walked up third to last (or close to it) to received her four-year pin. 

Madison volunteered to read at the Veterans’ Day assembly with her friends, Gretta and Ellie.  While I have mixed feelings about this day and my participation in it, I feel like it is important to let my kids make their own choices.  I have also tried to rethink how I view this day.  At any rate, the girls read without a mic and projected really well. 

Ellie is still involved in church Kingdom Choir.  (Madison probably would be, but it conflicts with Jr. High Youth Group.)  The choir had a chance to go sing at a local business, P. Graham Dunn, during their open house.  Madison joined in to add more sound. 

   

Both girls had their choir concerts last week.  It was packed house in the auditorium, so my pictures are from pretty far away.  Also, I neglected to take a picture beforehand which is something I usually do.  It is always fun to hear what songs they sing and how they get more complex as they get older.  Ellie is in the top photo – top row, 2nd from the right.  Madison is in the right photo – middle row, black dress.

    

Jeremy even got to go to school!  Sandy invited him to come speak to high schoolers during their week of career exploration.  He worked hard to put together a slide show (digital) of what he does.  There was apparently one interested kid – which I say is a win for high school!

    

Halloween Plus Some

This is a bit of a backward order, but I am starting with Halloween.  This year the girls went as Cinderella (Ellie) and Lady Tremaine (Madison).  It was the first year where they did something that was themed together that I can think of.  Madison liked her outfit but was disappointed that not many people immediately recognized her.  To be fair, that is a hard one to duplicate in a recognizable way.  It was fun to give her gray hair though! 

Ellie borrowed her Cinderella dress from Grandma Yoh.  The dress was one that Grandma had sewn for Jennifer when she was a jr. bridesmaid in Lisa’s wedding.  The shoes Ellie wore were Grandma’s wedding shoes! 

The girls had fun walking most of the neighborhood with the Combses.  Pepper and I trailed behind.  After about the first 10 minutes of crazy barking, he got used to people and wasn’t quite as intense.  It was a beautiful day for walking the neighborhood – no coats, sandals, sunshine. perfect. 

         

Pictures with grandparents. Grandma Yoh helped pass out candy; we went over to see the other ones.  (Note the photobomber in the back!)

      

I had a chance the week prior to that to go with the 8th graders to Washington DC.  I have been six times to basically the same places, and I really am not yet tired of it.  I meander around the museums and look at different things, the group is always different, and our tour guides give us a slightly different perspective.  Here are a few pictures from those three days.

    

We took time to check out a newly developed park with some trails near Rittman.  It was fairly flat and circular except for the off shoot path we meandered through.  It was pretty and relaxing.  We stopped and rested for a bit while we waited for Ellie’s blood sugar to come up; things we are learning with diabetes and her pump.

    

Finally, I had forgotten to post this back in August.  To celebrate the end of vacation Bible school, we had a food truck party.  People signed up to bring sample size portions to share and each table was a “food truck”.  Ellie made brownie bites  Madison made mini fruit kabobs.  Both of them did a great job.