Thanksgiving 2015

We hosted Thanksgiving this year for Derek's family. Having all of us together is always a blessing. Our sister-in-law and I conspired early to plan to take family pictures outdoors. It worked out really well despite some technical difficulties.

Click on any of the photos to view a larger image.

Writing

I haven't shown Esther how to write "Whipple" though she reads it on everything from footballs to water bottles to mail. (I label everything that leaves the house...)

By the time she was two, Esther had a proper pencil grip. She hasn't stopped coloring, drawing, and writing since. She just turned four and now she can write her first and, as of this morning, her last name. I don't have her practice writing letters, but when she asks, I'll write a letter or word for her. She copies and traces it sometimes. But I think mostly she just understands how to form letters.

 Her memory amazes me. This past week, she learned to spell "Whipple" and "Meghan." Once in a while she still spells it M-E-G-H-I-J-K when saying it.

I probably barely knew the ABC's when I turned four if at all...

Fall 2015 Pictures

It's Election Day so the children are off from school. After a really busy October, I really wanted to just hunker down and do nothing today. Instead, we went to the park. We took a bunch of pictures before heading out to the trail for a bit of a walk. (I want to call it a hike, but really, it's not!)

Birthdays 2015

The children all celebrated their birthdays during October.

Meghan's was first. She turned nine! She had a friend visit the afternoon of her birthday.

Then came Esther's fourth birthday. Esther was especially excited to have her fingernails painted for the first time.

Tough Mudder October 2015

Derek competed in another Tough Mudder on Saturday. It was my first time seeing the course. I have a lot more respect for Derek's ability to complete it. When we were on the bus being transported to the location (big, hilly fields in Coatesville), I commented that it must be a young man's game and he agreed. Unlike triathlons, there were few "older" people out there.

Getting Started

Do you see those tough-looking faces?

NE PA in the Fall

A couple weeks ago my sister, Amy, told me she was planning a surprise birthday party (in northeastern Pennsylvania) for our friend, Christy. I didn't think we'd be able to go with it being Sunday afternoon and the children needing to get to bed early for school.

As it turns out, I got to go...all by myself. Though I was there for less than 24 hours, it was still delightful. I helped celebrate a dear friend and enjoyed the beauty of autumn long before it touches our home in southeastern PA.

The first few pictures were taken in cloudy weather, they still show some early fall colors. Be sure to scroll all the way down for a couple of friends and family pictures.

It's nice to be on a dirt road and not worry about traffic.

Football!

Saturday was the first day of Upward flag football at church. Evan is playing this year. Not surprisingly, Derek is coaching. Our church began using the Upward sports program nine years ago. Derek has been involved as a referee or coach every year.

 Prayer before the game.

Almost ready.

Evan enjoys the game! He's pretty fast, too.

Compassion for Others

A few days ago we had some insight into our children. We had visited the preschool Meghan and Evan attended and Esther will attend next week. After we arrived home, Evan asked where all the preschool teachers were since only two were at the dinner. We explained that this year only enough students were there to have two classes.

Immediately, Evan asked if the teachers lost their jobs and what they would do. Meghan and Evan were so concerned for their beloved teachers. I love their compassion.

School 2015

It's the beginning of another school year! I may not teach any more, but I still could not sleep last night. I guess some things never change.

Meghan is entering third grade at the charter school. This year she is in a new building so she takes a different bus. This bus arrives about 6:15. Since we have to be at the bus stop ten minutes in advance, this is what Meghan looked like before we got into the van to get to the bus stop.

It's a little bit dark outside.

 A flash helps a lot. Meghan is really excited for the first day. I hope the excitement continues.

Evan is now a first grader.

 I love this tough guy stance with sweetness popping out from behind. Priceless!

From the time the Meghan gets up to the time I get home from preschool drop off is three hours. THREE hours just to get my day started...and that doesn't include anything like exercise though it does include breakfast and a shower. I may have to start drinking caffeine.

Meghan and Evan began school yesterday. Today was Esther's first day of preschool.

During lunch Esther asked if she could make a card for this lovely lady. If you see her, you should ask her what her teacher's name is. Then ask Derek or me for the interpretation. Though it's a common name, it has three syllables. Esther's interpretation is amusing.

The Kids

Outtakes

These are a few of the other photos from our little photo shoot. Some are goofy. Others are awkward. But I thought I'd share them.

August 2015 Photos

Pictures from our yard this morning...

Beach 2015

We made our annual trek to the beach on Friday. We like to go to Lewes, Delaware since it's not actual ocean waves there that may frighten me a bit.

As you can see, the water was not very clear this time, but it was still fun.

Meghan's a better artist than me.

 I hate sand but love my daughter.

 Meghan makes friends everywhere we go. It's amazing.

Apparently I forgot to take a picture of Esther when she went out in the deeper water with Derek. I think I may have been buried at the time.

We also went to Dutch Wonderland this past week, but I didn't take the camera with us. Unlike the rest of America, we don't have smart phones, so no pictures were taken. It was Esther's first time. She loved it all, including the smaller roller coaster. Evan opted to not go on the big roller coaster, but Meghan and Derek went a couple times. We all had a lot of fun.

We arrived by 10 o'clock when they open. It began raining after 1. It let up for a bit and then we got soaked on the Sky Ride. It was pouring. If it rains for 60 or more consecutive minutes, you get tickets to go again. We did take cover for about 45 minutes (which included a show) during a thunderstorm, but there was still plenty to enjoy despite the rain. We didn't leave until about 4 o'clock-with (wet) tickets to return before the end of the year in our hands.