Give Thanks!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Nona and Papa and Uncle Teddy at our house. It was a fun Kentucky holiday! We talked to Uncle Tony in Rome on Saturday while we were all eating our lunch at Chick Fil A.

Mom and I went to see Julie and Julia on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Inspired by the movie, I made Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon last night for Matt's team. Yes, it is every bit as scrumptious as it looks on the big screen.

The Bells of St. Mary's and the Flu

Yes, Jane has a confirmed case of H1N1. The rest of us are taking Tamiflu, and staying close to home, except Matt, who would love to be home eating grilled cheese sandwiches, drinking gatorade and watching videos. I brought home The Bells of St. Mary's (1945, Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman) from the library a few days ago, since I had never seen it, and I thought it might be something the whole family could watch. And how! These girls have watched it 3 times already in the last 36 hours and are asking for it again. It really is wonderful. I am surprised they like it so much, since it is in black and white and is a little slow, but it is such a wonderful story with important lessons to teach that are not lost on even 3 year old Jane.

Photos from this fall. We enjoyed spending Aunt Mary's birthday with her in Columbus over this past weekend!

PS - How on earth do my mom friends blog as much as they do?? I have broken up 3 or 4 squabbles, wiped two noses and cleaned up a spilled juice box in the past 10 minutes I have been "blogging."

Boyd Orchards

We had some fall fun yesterday at Boyd Orchards, near Versailles (pronounced vur SAYLs). My favorite treat were the iced pumpkin donuts. YUM.

Kentucky Rain

We have had several downpours today. During one, Jane and Ann could not help themselves, and scurried out the front door together to splash. Cate watched reluctantly in her leotard for awhile, then put on her rain boots and joined the fun.

I finally dragged Ann in, soaking wet, with mud on her hands and face, and a full diaper. She was giggling and shivering at the same time.

New Dining Room Table

One thing Matt and I really enjoy is shopping for furniture. On a missionary budget, we certainly don't buy a whole lot, but we have accumulated some nice pieces that we plan to use for the rest of our marriage, mostly thanks to gift money from relatives, especially my grandparents, the late Al Ariniello and Mary. So here is our long-awaited dining room table, the Farmhouse Table from Ethan Allen. We will pray for Grandpa and Nanny when we share meals around it. The black ladderback chairs are the ones we purchased with the table. The pink chairs are always a conversation piece - they were in my mom's parents' (Roxie and Tom Podhaisky) kitchen. They are so durable, and so pink...

Fall in Kentucky

We so enjoyed mom and dad's visit last week. I can't believe another week has already gone by.

It's fall - we need jackets to be outside, the wind is blowing, and our noses get red. Ann scraped her little knees on the driveway trying to keep up with the big girls. Homeschooling has its ups and downs, but mostly I am delighted we are trying it out. I think the biggest blessing and challenge is that I view all of life as "school" - this means not necessarily "teaching" all the time (which turns kids off anyway) but looking at every opportunity that presents itself as a lesson in patience and an opportunity for wonder.

For "recess" on Tuesday, Cate and Jane headed out the door for an adventure, coats, boots, bikes, broom from my kitchen. Cate was calling Jane "Becky" and using an English accent. They came in once for lunch and once for Oreos. They built a fire out of stones, sticks and rocks. Their adventure lasted for a few hours.

School on Wednesday was Little Sprouts at the Arboretum. We learned about leaves, found leaves, and made leaf rubbings. That afternoon/evening, I cooked a simple French dinner for the FOCUS team, for the vigil of the Feast of St. Therese. The girls got to see me make whole chickens and they served chocolate mousse in wine glasses to our friends. They loved chocolate mousse! We also watched Babette's Feast, and even though it is in Danish an French, they were attentive through the entire movie!

I have to include some photos from Kiddie Kapers, their little dance class that started yesterday. Both Cate and Jane loved it. It was too short, according to Cate.

"I simply MUST go to the botanical gardens..."

If you have seen or read Brideshead Revisited, you may recall that line. We strolled through the UK Arboretum on Sunday and had to share some beautiful photos. Ann walked almost the whole way while Jane and Cate took turns in the stroller!

Oh, the pink and blue "cool whip tower" is a picture for Nona - she bought the girls foaming soaps for Christmas, but they never worked. I think the altitude change had an effect. We've had three baths with piles of soap like this - and it's still coming! This one they called their wedding cake.

Today was our first day of school, so we took a picture in our little home school (do you like Cate's glasses?). Between Ann dumping blocks and getting stuck in the princess castle, and Jane breaking down because she did not like the way we were singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" we managed to get a few lessons done. Jane liked the looks of Cate's "A" worksheet, so I found her a similar one, and she jumped right in, practicing making "A"s from right to left in her little left hand scrawl. When I read other moms' homeschooling blogs, I get jealous and feel inadequate, so I am going to try not to write too much about school, except to beg for prayers for wisdom, humility and joy as we embark on this new adventure. Tomorrow, we are taking school to the Arboretum and attending their "Little Sprouts" program.