Family Dinner

The transition to school this fall has been tough! It’s weird having Kade and Tenley gone all day until dinner time. I think Tenley has had to go through the hardest transition. She was staying up late and sleeping in and her days were very low key. Now she’s gone before 7 am and home after 6 pm. And then has homework to complete! It’s a lot. But she’s handling it all with a lot of poise and she’s loving all the friend time she’s getting. Kade has been enjoying that too. But we miss them! We did all get to have dinner together tonight, though, and that made me so happy!

The Sacrament

 I finally made it to church today for the first time in two weeks! It was so nice to be there, to sing, to hear others testimonies, to see friends, and to take the sacrament. Luke was still too sick to join us so he and Ryder stayed home again. I’m looking forward to Luke getting better!!

We ventured out for another walk in this beautiful weather. It just feels good to be outside breathing in fresh air! I hope it is good for Luke’s body. He even joined us for dinner tonight which hasn’t happened all week. He’s been falling asleep on the couch around 5:30 every night except tonight. It was nice to have dinner as a whole family tonight.

Little Duane

 Several weeks ago at the dinner table we had a heart to heart with Luke. We had been talking about names and how they can mean something and how people are often named after someone that the parents wish the child would emulate. Kade laughed because Luke has my Dad’s name for his middle name and Kade just doesn’t think that Luke is as kind as Grandpa Woodruff. My dad really does have a heart of gold. (And I’m not just saying that because I know you’ll read this, Dad!) 

Luke can be a bit of a trouble maker sometimes and he often lies, although I realize he’s still young and learning but it can be concerning! So we told Luke that Duane is his middle name to help him remember to be more like Grandpa. 

Like I said, this was several weeks ago and I haven’t thought about it since, but apparently Luke has! He came to me this afternoon when it was just the two of us and said, “I was a little Duane today.” My heart was already melting but I asked him how so. He said, “I was nice to Ryder and got his school books in his backpack and helped put his piano books away.” I’m so proud of him for trying to be kind like Grandpa! And I’m so happy that our little dinner time conversation affected him in a good way.

Family Dinner

 Kade was supposed to play a game in Belgrade today but the smoke is so bad out there that they had to postpone. The smoke has been so bad for Kade’s asthma. I’m hoping it clears up soon! 

Tenley was also supposed to be gone tonight at volleyball practice but it was canceled so we were all home for dinner together! It was so nice!

We also started co op today which my kids loved so much. And I got to go out to lunch with a friend which was so refreshing for me. I needed it!

Dinner in the Dark

Our little town is still having a hard time recovering from the wind storm on Wednesday. I learned that it got up to 76 mph not 67 like I had thought. People are still without power and our ski resort was even affected. They have been shutdown for three days now. Tonight our power went out for about 45 minutes right as we sat down for dinner. The kids actually loved having dinner by flashlight. 

Picnic Dinners

Day 60

Brad is planning to go back to work on Monday so we have a lot to accomplish this weekend to get the office back together. We were over there all morning doing some cleaning and hanging up more pictures. It is slowly coming together.

Because of all that is going on I did not feel like making dinner tonight. That’s not normally like me, but Brad was nice and decided we could pick up sub sandwiches at the park and have a picnic. The weather was beautiful. 65 degrees and no wind! I’m so glad we got out and enjoyed it this evening. 

Thanksgiving, People

We may not have been exactly where we wanted to be today, but we still had a pretty good Thanksgiving. We ended up having some friends over to eat with us who also had no family in town. The kids were happy to have someone to play with! They brought a delicious smoked turkey which saved the day. Brad decided to try and fry a turkey and it took double the time we thought it would so it wasn’t ready in time. Luckily we had theirs!

If I had to choose one thing to be grateful for this year I would say that I’m grateful for people. People enrich my life. My family near and far, my friends near and far, old friends that I've lost touch with, teachers, and even people I've never met in person. People can be amazing, inspiring, supportive, helpful, kind, and giving. I feel like everyone I've ever met or been influenced by in some way has made me who I am. I love them all so much!

Sweet Moments

Today was filled with lots of simple and sweet moments. Brad got Luke out of bed this morning and Luke cuddled with him for over twenty minutes! I was jealous. It was really sweet.

Kade had a basketball game tonight and our friend’s oldest daughter offered to watch our other three kids for us. It was nice going to the game without our cute distractions. I was actually able to pay attention to the game! Kade played great. He’s loving his team.

After the game, Kade was begging for homemade pizza. Brad helped me by grilling it and it turned out so delicious!

Grilling

We’ve been grilling a lot lately. Yum. I really love grilled food! Chicken, pizza, corn on the cob. It’s all so good! And the kids are always so excited when Dad grills because they live to play outside when he is there. He surprised them tonight and jumped on the tramp with them for a few minutes. Keena was definitely wishing that he could join them!

Family Dinners

There are many benefits to having dinner as a family. My favorite one is the good conversations we have with our children. It's fun to hear them open up, come up with new ideas and fun traditions, and hear how life is really going for them.
Somehow tonight we got on the subject of crabby teenagers and I jokingly said to Kade, "You'll never be a snotty teenager will you?" To which he responded with an emphatic "NO!" Brad and I laughed and he kept promising he wouldn't. All of this somehow led to Brad getting Kade and Tenley to both write and sign a contract promising that they would "never ever become or act like a snotty, bratty, selfish, rude, bossy, mean, argumentative, or insubordinate teenager." If they do for three straight days they will lose their two most favorite electronics (whatever those happen to be at that time) for one month. I'm still laughing about it. We'll see how many times we have to try and follow through on that punishment in the future!