Whirlwind Week

Well, I tried to blog this last night but after typing for a while lost it all... oops! So here goes again.

On Friday night after supper while we were waiting for Glenn to call for his pickup from the schospital where he was on call (he finally called around 8) the kids were wondering what their after supper chores were. That was kind of odd because we change chores on Sundays and usually, by Friday, they know what their responsibilities are for each part of the day... not this week though. When Caleb figured out his after supper job was wipe the counters and put food away he realized that he hadn't done that all week long. We wondered why then realized we hadn't really been home to do after supper chores all week because....

Monday was Halloween. After picking Glenn up from the schospital at about 6 the kids threw on their costumes and we took them up and down our block and the next one to the south. Caleb dressed as a Star Wars guy, Hannah was a doctor in Glenn's old lab coat, Lydia was a nurse, and Abigail was Ariel from Little Mermaid. They had fun and got some good candy (it's no wonder people drive their kids to our neighborhood to trick or treat!). We were back home by about 7:30 after visiting with our neighbors up and down the street and ate dinner on the porch and started giving out the candy we'd bought to trick or treaters. I think that the kids often have more fun giving out candy than getting it. We only had about 65 trick or treaters this year because we were gone during peak time. I'm sure it would have been closer to 300 had we been home all night.

Tuesday was a normal school day (after we got over the candy excitement and graphing the candy that they had gotten trick or treating - our annual day after Halloween tradition). After supper I took the kids with me to flute rehearsal because Glenn had a review session. They went to bed when we got home so they didn't get their after supper chores done that day either.

Wednesday Glenn was on call so we decided to get some school work done in the morning then head to Montezuma Wildlife Refuge for a field trip on our way to Waterloo to visit my grandparents. The lady that was working there gave us a bit of an education on what birds we might be seeing that were there as a stop off in their migration as we went on the wildlife drive. We were able to look through a telescope to watch some of the birds in the shallow pool near the visitor center so that was fun. Besides the normal Canada geese and wood ducks we were also able to see some Northern shovelers and a heron. After the wilderness drive we went to Grandma and Grandpa's where we visited with them for a while, did a bit of yard work with them then ate dinner with them and AmyJo, Kyle, Zach and his friend. We always love our monthly visits to Waterloo and I am so thankful that we only live about an hour from there! After dinner we went up to Paul and Amy's so the boys could have a nerf gun war and the girls could have a tea party. We got a call that Glenn was done and ready to be picked up at 8:15 and when we hadn't even left yet so, we left at about 8:30 (after getting our booster seats back) and didn't get home until almost 10.

Thursday, after feeding the kids, I had the opportunity to go on a bit of a date with Glenn while our friend and her son came over to play with the kids. We actually went to a meeting about RMED but it took place a Phoebe's (a restaurant I've always wanted to try but SO thankful we got to do it with someone else paying!) It was a delicious meal and we learned quite a bit about what is expected and got news that Montour Falls is offering us housing and a stipend which was an unexpected blessing from God.

So anyway, our week was busy and that is why the kids didn't know what their after supper jobs were (except Lydia who, a few days, had to do supper dishes the next morning). Our weekend was fun too. Yesterday morning the kids had Neighborhood Youth Rec at SU and did gymnastics and zumba as well as played some soccer and basketball. I am very grateful for that program. After NYRP the kids and I went to Syracuse Stage's Open House. We were able to watch some short scenes from plays and hear some songs performed by SU students then watched New Kid, their traveling Children's Tour. After New Kid we were able to go on a back stage tour of the theater. It was neat to check out the craft, scene, prop, and costume shops and other rooms back stage. We were really excited to be able to check out various things that they were making getting ready for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (which opens the day after Thanksgiving and runs through New Years that we, hopefully, will be able to go to!) including the white witch's gown, the stone table, the sleigh, the beaver's stove, Mr Tumnus's fireplace, and various masks and other props. We had gone to the open house last year and had a lot of fun and were so glad we could go again this year! After the open house we considered going to the zoo to catch the last of squish the squash but were too tired so we went home. This afternoon we were able to go out and rake a bit and enjoy this beautiful fall weather then we came in for popcorn and a movie. We watched several episodes of Paddington Bear that we had borrowed from the library. I don't know when I've laughed so much. He is so funny!

So much to be thankful for during this busy week. Thankful also that we occasionally have boring weeks that aren't so much of a whirlwind!