Happy Birthday, Bella!

Bella through the years. . .

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012 

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Bella is SIXTEEN! She is growing up so much. She got her learner's permit last February and is looking forward to taking her driving test in a few months. She also tried out tennis for the first time and ended up in the Number Two Singles spot on the Varsity tennis team! She continues to play basketball and is involved in FFA, Student Council, Hauser Youth Leadership Team, and other various organizations at school. She keeps herself pretty busy; so when she's home, her favorite thing to do is relax in her room. She continues to enjoy art and journaling and reading - when she has time. She is goal-oriented and driven; but also has a silly side, which is fun to see. I'm just so happy she was born and we get to have her in our family. 

Happy Birthday, Isabella! We love you so much!

November Days

The leaves are coming down! We definitely have an abundance and Curtis is doing what he can to clear them away. 

Bella and I participated in an evening glow run. This run raised funds for the G.L.O.W. Like Sarah Fund that was created in honor of Sarah Taylor. Here we are before the run. 

And after! 

The following weekend, Graydon and I spent the day at Lucas Oil Stadium attending the Bands of America Grand National Championships. My nephew, Sydney, participates in color guard and her band was competing. My brother's family, who live in Texas, were up in Indiana for this competition. We got to see them as well as my parents, Scott, and Lori. 

The shows these kids put on were AMAZING! So much talent and creativity. Sydney is somewhere on this field next to one of those big blue balls. 

Sydney's band made it to the finals, which didn't wrap up until 11pm. Then there was the awards ceremony. It ended up being a pretty late night, but definitely worth it. I should have gotten a photo of the two of us before we started getting tired. After I snapped this selfie, I sent it to Andy, Bella, and Curtis.

Curtis responded with this photo. He and Andy were watching TV together.

And then Bella sent this one - she was snuggled up in her room with her bear, Cozy. 

Graydon and I finally got back home around 1:30am. This was how I find him when we pulled into the driveway. 

Jeff, Steph, Sydney, and Rose then came down to Hope and spent the day with us. This was their first time visiting with us in Indiana. I didn't manage to take any photos of our time together, but it was so fun having them here!

Curtis won the Jet Pilot award at school! Every quarter, each teacher chooses one student from their class to win this award. It's basically a good citizenship award. And Curtis was chosen for his class! This is a coveted prize. Super proud of him. 

Bella participated in a Crops & Forestry competition for FFA. This was the group of competitors. 

My brother, Scott, turned 40 on November 17th. That Friday, we had a big birthday party for him. I drove up after school that evening and was able to celebrate with him as well as family and friends. 

The following morning, after breakfast with my parents, I drove back down to Indiana because Bella was having a little sweet 16 celebration with some friends. She and two of her friends all turn sixteen within 10 days of each other, so they decided to have a joint party. 

She has a great group of friends. They are all such fantastic kids!

I got a couple photos from another mom of Bella during a basketball game. These are the days of basketball. Bella is playing for the high school, Graydon is playing for the junior high, and Curtis is soon going to be trying out for the elementary team. Between practices and games, are evenings are super full! 

I am definitely looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow and am already enjoying this long weekend. The past few weeks have been incredibly busy and this down time is exactly what is needed. 

Halloween

These first few photos aren't from Halloween, but they all feel pretty cozy to me. On our first Monday back to school after Fall Break, we noticed that the mornings were significantly darker than they were before break. It was still dark when we left for school around 7:30am. Before heading out the door, Curtis took a few minutes to wrap up in his blanket and sit in front of the fire. I just want to crawl into that photo and sit in front of that fire with him right now. 

Each morning during my car rider duty, the sky is black when we start letting kids in. But during the 20 minutes I'm out there, I get a front row to the sunrise every morning. It's one of the best parts of the day - especially with sunrises like this one. 

She has a face only her mother could love. Actually, many people love that face. Mabel has a way of making everyone feel like the most important person in the world. She loves people so much. 

The week before Halloween, we went pumpkin picking. Instead of going to a pumpkin farm, we went to a farm market nearby. Since we've been back from fall break, the schedules have gotten a lot busier. Just fitting in this quick visit to choose pumpkins took some intentional scheduling. 

Just the right size. 

Bella appears to be shrinking but, in fact, these boys are just getting taller! 

Costume shopping with the boys. This wig was rejected.

Instead, Curtis opted for the brown curly wig and decided to dress up as Graydon this year! In addition to the wig and braces, he wore one of Graydon's favorite sweatshirts, carried a Rubik's Cube, and juggled. One of the sixth grade teachers told me it was her favorite costume out of them all!  

Graydon went as a ref. In addition to his shirt, we bought him eight miniature basketballs that he could juggle. (Gotta fit in that juggling somehow). 

I dressed up too! Our school front office had a Mario Kart theme. Our principal was Mario, the Dean of Students was Luigi, one of our secretaries was Princess Peach and the treasurer was Toad. I went as the cloud named Lakitu.

This was my costume inspiration.

One of the many reasons I love working at an elementary school! 

Saturday night was Halloween night in our town and this was the first year when none of the kids went trick-or-treating. They all still dressed up, but we had other plans. Andy, Bella, Curtis and I went to a barn party and Graydon went to a friend's Halloween party. (p.s. Curtis didn't get the memo to smile for any of these photos and I didn't realize until way after the fact. But he is definitely in character as Graydon!) 

On Halloween, we finally did our pumpkin carving.

Getting the seeds out is clearly Curtis's favorite part! 

Bella's finished product! 

Curtis took a creative approach and made the stem the nose! 

Graydon wins the award for most time spent on his pumpkin. He probably spent hours shaving and sculpting to form an "eye" on one pumpkin that he shoved into the mouth of another. 

All three kids ended up carving two pumpkins. Graydon's ended up combined. Bella also carved a sea turtle and Curtis carved the wide face on the right. 

By the light of our jack-o-lanterns, we watched The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and ate apple crisp. It was actually a very lovely Halloween. 

The boys played their last flag football game of the season that weekend. It's been a tough season for their team and they didn't win one game, but both boys played really well and both scored multiple touchdowns throughout the season.

The leaves are starting to fall! We get SO many leaves in our yard and I love it so much! 

A beautiful tree I spotted on one of my daily walks.

I go for a walk every day. The sun is starting to set earlier, so I don't have as much time to waste before getting out there. I took a different route one evening. Things are looking different now that the crops are getting harvested. I have found that walking each day is not only good for my physical health, but it's become a necessity for my mental health. The movement, solitude, and good music (or a podcast) is just the perfect combination for me. And right now, there are so many beautiful things to look at as well.