Day 334: Candlelight

I think the time of year has come to light more candles...

Day 333: Sunset at 4:30 pm

It must be getting close to the shortest day of the year - and yes, our Christmas lights are up!

Day 332: Basketball game

Johnny and I sold concessions at two middle school basketball games this afternoon to raise money for Outdoor School. We made nearly $90 which was great and we got to watch the seventh grade team and then the eighth grade team decisively win against the visiting teams. Johnny would love to be part of the seventh grade team next year. Go Pacers!

Day 331: Australian Walking Stick

What a face! We are making the most of our OMSI membership and spent a lovely couple of hours at the museum this afternoon with one of Anna's friends.

Day 330: And the day after that...

The last piece of our Thanksgiving feast: a rather delicious cranberry cheesecake. Sadly we have now finished all the leftovers...

Day 329: And the day after...

This is the best part of the Thanksgiving meal in my opinion (other than being with family and friends of course!): the turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich the day after.

Day 328: Thanksgiving

Wow! So much to be thankful for. Here is Anna enjoying the high point of her Thanksgiving: pumpkin pie.

Day 327: Dragon Hat

This cute hat arrived in the mail for Noah today - he wore it all day long, even putting it back on his head after his bath.

Day 326: Field trip

Here are Anna and her two best friends on a school field trip to OMSI today. It is so nice to be able to chaperone these events!

Day 325: New app

I have wanted to be a runner for a long time. Could this app help me achieve my goal? I started this "Couch-to-5k" program this morning and I have a 5k on the calendar for January 21st...

Day 324: Bowling

I don't know how many pins got knocked down on this particular turn but it is looking pretty good!

Day 323: New hearing aids

Thanks to the incredible generosity of both the wonderful UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation and my amazing parents, Daniel has new hearing aids. They have a built-in FM system which transforms his ability to hear in background noise and he chose a transparent design which is extremely cool.

Day 322: Turkey song

Noah's preschool held a Thanksgiving lunch today, followed by entertainment. Noah's class wore their native American outfits and sang a very cute song about turkeys.

Day 321: Band concert

Here is Johnny at the end of his first ever band concert. 

Day 320: Gloves

I completely reorganized and tidied our closet under the stairs today but was alarmed to discover at least a dozen unmatched gloves and mittens. I will keep them in the hope of locating their partners!

Day 319: Robot

Daniel built this robot, which moves around and brushes the floor. Unfortunately I don't think it will mean my sweeping-the-floor days are over...

Day 318: Student Store

This is where I start my Monday mornings: volunteering at the student store at Parkrose Middle School.

Day 317: I love the autumn

Have I mentioned that this is my favorite time of year? The colors have been especially spectacular this year.

Day 316: Christmas Bazaar

One of our favorite days of the year: our church's annual Christmas bazaar. Here is the table with the items made by the children, with the fabulous quilt to be raffled in the background.

Day 315: Veterans' Day Parade

The kids and I have just become part of a newly formed Camp Fire group in our neighborhood (kind of like Scouts, but co-ed, and in this case, with a wide age-range so we can all be in it together). Our first official activity was to march in today's parade in honor of the Veterans. Here is part of the group just before we set off, very cold, but still smiling!

Day 314: Full Moon

Well, I took a beautiful picture of one of my Christmas cakes which I finished today in time for the bazaar on Saturday BUT then Anna pointed out tonight's full moon. I was thrilled with how this photo turned out.

Day 313: Bird Feeder

Noah and I moved the bird feeder across the yard. Its former position made it too easy for the squirrels to eat all the bird seed; its new location is perfect for us to watch the birds from the kitchen window.

Day 312: New Jeans

Buying a new pair of jeans is one of life's great pleasures.

Day 311: Last soccer practice of the season

At the boys' first soccer practice back in August, it was unbearably hot and the team had a water fight at the end of the session. At this last practice, the coach brought these glow rings, so the team could continue practicing in the dark.

Day 310: Recital

Daniel played the Minuet in G beautifully this afternoon at a recital. He modestly credited the piano for the lovely sound - the price tag on the piano was $115,900, so it was an excellent instrument - but he did a wonderful job too!

Day 309: Bird feeders

Today we had a craft morning for kids from church, making all kinds of great things for the church bazaar next Saturday. We painted pots and Christmas tree decorations, made tied blankets, baked dog treats and put together these bird feeders (ice cream cones, peanut butter, Cheerios and bird seed).

Day 308: Apple Pie

Noah and I peeled and sliced at least forty apples yesterday and made a huge pot of pie filling so that we could freeze it for future pies. The pie we made for today was especially good - I have to save this new recipe!

Day 307: Butternut Squash

Our tomato crop and our butternut squash crop were our most successful ventures in the garden this year. Today Noah and I harvested all the squash (eleven of them - we have already eaten the twelfth which was prematurely harvested by the lawn mower). Most of them were pretty muddy so Noah volunteered for the task of washing them clean.

Day 306: Behind the school

Remember this? This is the same view at my favorite time of year. I actually took some great pictures of this last week when there were more leaves on the trees but ended up using another photo for that day. I took this in the morning, after taking the kids to school.

Day 305: Japanese Garden

Today I had the privilege of chaperoning a field trip to the Japanese Garden, which was spectacularly atmospheric on a foggy morning. The highlight of the trip? Daniel wanted to sit next to me on the school bus and held my hand.