November Happened

I will say this about November - it was WAY busier than I really wanted it to be.  There were just more bits to coordinate for some of the ministries in which I am involved.  But it's pretty much over.  And although December's calendar is equally filled, all of it is more relational and less administrative.  WHEW!  :-)

Similar to the last post, I'm going to use pictures to catch up on our lives.  Here we go!

November 1st was the 6th birthday of a dear friend.  The celebration was at the Molalla Train Park.  I was SO happy to see that the boys still love this place.  A few pics to prove it.

 Dorks on a train.  Love it.

 The whole gang of birthday party attendees.  Luke is standing next to the birthday boy.  Paul is leaning on the birthday boy's big brother.  We love these folks.

 Someone said, "Let's do a silly picture."  I snapped this before some of the folks got close to getting silly.  My guys?  Instant silly.  I'm so proud.

And now for something completely different...Paul does math!

 We use Math U See.  Mr. Steve Demme, a veteran math teacher with a fabulous sense of humor, explains concepts clearly and concisely on the video.  I always sit and watch with the boys, pausing it to ask questions and check comprehension.  It's the only video we use for school, and I love it.  End commercial.

Then Luke decided that he didn't want these dollar store whistles, but he did want the string.  Telling him he could use a hammer to bust them up was a magical moment for me as a mom.  We are definitely entering new territory with this guy.  He's so capable and cautious.  I would probably let him make a fire in the fireplace...if we ever did that sort of thing.  For now, he'll have to be content with real tools whenever he has a project.

 I told him he needed eye protection.  He found these swim goggles in the basement.  Genius.

We got to go visit my dad in November.  This is a VERY long story.  I'll make it short.  He and I got re-connected after not seeing each other for eight years when my step-mom, Marilyn, had a heart attack in early September.  I went up there for two days in a row to sit with him in the ICU.  Stuff like that helps everyone remember what's important.  And I'm so thankful to Jesus Christ for using hard stuff to do beautiful things.  Marilyn is recovering nicely.  And this happened:

 Pretty sure this is my dad's first selfie ever.  And right before I took it, he said hello to the camera because it looked like video to him.  Adorable.

 Papa Leon took us fishing in the rain.  It was like re-living every weekend I spent with him as a kid.  Except this time, one of Erik's arms was around me keeping me warm while his other arm held an oversized umbrella to cover us both.  I don't have a picture of that, but it was a very good thing.

Sidenote:  My boys LOVED fishing in the rain with my dad.  They didn't complain once.  They ran around and threw stuff in the water.  They played with his dog.  It was a highlight for them.  I think having grandsons is going to fit my dad REALLY well.  :-)

More random pics

 Luke drinks coffee!  Black.  The caffeine seems to help him focus.

Backpack Buddies Shopping with the boys

 We did our final pack of the year and it required a LOT of business.  The boys were great at Winco, helping me get all this stuff paid for and loaded into the car.

Paul likes to play this card game - Monopoly Deal. He beats me most of the time.

 And he's adorable.

Final story of this post.  When I was 15 years old, my piano teacher moved to Michigan.  I never found a new teacher and shortly after that, I was sucked up by my first worship band at church.  I have played piano consistently for the past 25 years, but I haven't studied piano since 1990.  Until now.  I started taking piano lessons in September using my birthday money from my generous and loving in-laws.  And I love it.  I love getting new music.  I love being reminded of theory and being forced to practice scales, arpeggios, and inversions (most of the time - D# excluded).

But, we have been the proud and grateful owners of an electric piano since Luke was about three months old.  It was a gift from my dad and Marilyn.  And it's awesome.  But it isn't the instrument we are actually taking lessons to learn.  A piano has hammers and strings.  You play it differently than you do an electric instrument.  After about two weeks of lessons, I knew we needed a real piano.

Enter Uncle Bob and Aunt Cindy.  We spend Christmas evening at their house and a beautiful upright piano has sat in their living room.  Knowing that no one in their house is playing this instrument, I sent an email wondering if they would ever consider parting with it.  Forward of me?  Maybe.  But I believe that generosity brings blessing to both the receiver AND the giver.  So I asked.  And they said YES!  WOHOO!

So, this past Saturday, this bit of loveliness arrived in our home!

We are still working on the family history of it, but we know that it was manufactured in 1957.  Erik knows that it was the instrument that was in his home until they moved his third grade year and replaced it with a grand piano.  It needs to be tuned and there are some keys that stick together.  But already I enjoy playing it more than its electric cousin.  And the boys do, too.

We were supposed to go tree hunting this weekend, but I'm not the only one who is sick.  Erik has really struggled with a head cold since the day before Thanksgiving.  So, none of the grown-ups really felt like going to the tree farm.  The boys were a little bummed, but we will make it happen as soon as we are well and have the time.  But we needed to decorate something!

So we decorated the piano a bit.

 Paul loves these houses and they look excellent in this location.  :-)

And what did we do with the electric piano?  We moved it to the playroom of course!  (We had friends who came for a Backpack Buddies pack night on Tuesday - they helped Erik move it.)

Why have two?  Well, three of us need to practice every day.  So, having two means it doesn't need to take as long!  And it's just super fun.  Right?