HallowBirthdayPalooza

Today we celebrated two birthdays and Halloween, all at once!

My oldest is 9 now



And my youngest is 5.



They decorated their own cakes



Ryvre's



Ember's











This year's Trick-or-Treat lineup: Black Kitty (Rome), Percy Jackson (Ryvre), Prairie Girl (Willow), Ariel (Ember), Orange Kitty (Kassi), Prince Zuko (Tristan), and a Christmas Tree (Toly)



I loved how they ran to each house

Farewell NightHawk

Sad post today: our new kitten died.  We're not sure what caused it (insect or snake bite?  Poison?  Allergic reaction?), but she had a seizure and died almost instantly, in Dale's arms while the two older kids watched.  VERY traumatizing.  We are not going to take in any more cats in the near future.  It's way too upsetting that this has happened again so soon!

Home

This is it:

Ember's Fifth Birthday

Somehow she's gone from this squishy little baby (one day old)
 


to this lovely little girl (today)

 













Happy Birthday Ember!  We love you!

Public vs Home

While all the sweet little public-schooled children are winning spelling bees, obediently reciting the pledge of allegiance, and meeting standardized testing quotas, many homeschooled children are learning small unit tactics and preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

Just some food for thought.

Nighthawk

Introducing...

Nighthawk!

She's a six-toed polydactyl, acquired though my dear cousin's boyfriend's mom (or something like that).  She's newly weaned and litter-box trained, so i hope she will be a good influence on our other cat (they're outdoor kitties, but they'll spend the winter in our new garage)!  I was nervous all night about her being alone (it was her first time away from her brothers and sisters), but she stayed warm enough with her blankets in the overturned bucket she chose over the box we gave her, and didn't seem too angry with us this morning either.

Isaac wasn't sure at first (he kept giving us the 'I'm not ready to be a father yet!' look), but seems to have reluctantly accepted her.

Ryvre

Oh goodness, my son is becoming a young man.  Not literally, this very second, but the signs are clear.  And the times i spend with him, away from the girls, make it even more obvious.

He's always had his own interests and opinions, but everything he does and says is so very him these days.  His number one aspiration is to become a conservationist.  He's so intelligent that even the most oblivious adults rarely talk down to him anymore.  He's so tall that the top of his head reaches my shoulder when we stand side-by-side.  He'll still hold my hand like a little boy, but he hardly looks like a child beside me.  He is my constant helper; when he's not keeping the peace between his sisters, he is carrying groceries or choosing the best gift for a relative (something he's very intuitive about), or reminding me of everyone's favorite snacks.  The girls will help with these things too, but Ryvre simply knows what needs to be done, and does it without comment. 

He will be 9 in 22 days.  Nine. 

When he was born, many people told me he would grow up fast.  They weren't kidding.

 Pulling up in his crib at 8 months (he walked about a week later), with a diaper on his head.

Age 4, at the pumpkin patch

Last week, at Roaring River