AROUND HERE: NOVEMBER 2017

Around here we have been…

CELEBRATING eleven years with {D}! What a fine young man he is becoming! He is still very obsessed with all things airplane, and we splurged a bit on his gift by buying him a flight lesson at our local airport. It includes half an hour of instrument instruction and half an hour of flight time. He is very excited to learn more about flying, but has decided to wait until the spring for his lesson – when the weather is better.

{D} is also still passionate about field goal kicking and continues to spend hours outside most days practicing his form. This video compilation shows just how far he has come over the past year. Another exciting milestone the big eleven year old reached was the retiring of his glasses for a pair of contacts! Though they were difficult for him to put in at first, he is now a seasoned pro. He feels much more free without worrying if his glasses will fall off or get broken when playing sports.



EXPRESSING our thankfulness for all that we have been blessed with. We celebrated Thanksgiving with extended family this past weekend and it was so great to catch up on all that has been going on in each other’s lives. The kids really enjoyed playing with their cousins as well.

PREPARING for the busy Christmas season. As part of our Thanksgiving celebration we exchanged presents. Angela, her mom, and two sisters were able to go on a little Black Friday shopping spree – lots of memories made.

{D} will again be performing for the annual ‘Jingle Bells’ telethon. He has a guitar/vocal duet with a friend from school and also joining the school choir for a couple of songs. The telethon seeks to raise money for families who are less fortunate in our community – to provide them with baskets full of food, toys and gift cards for Christmas. It is a wonderful event.

You can see a clip of {D}’s audition here.

The house is slowly starting to look festive for Christmas as well. The tree is now up and the kids had fun adding the lights and ornaments. Angela has posted about Christmas decor ideas here and here. Be sure to follow the blog if you would like to see photos of our home decorated for Christmas.



SADDENED by the loss of three of the feral kitten who have been living around the farmhouse. The mom cat also looks to be at the end of her life. While we aren’t completely sure what is going on, we are thinking that a virus of some sort has been spreading among them. We aren’t holding out too much hope for the two remaining kittens, one grey and one white – but we are making sure they have shelter, food and water. These two kittens are quite friendly and allow us to pet them on occasion. We have enjoyed watching them grow and will be so sad if they also pass away.

This is just a glimpse of what our family has been up to. If you’d like a closer look, be sure to check out our weekly ‘mini vlogs’ on our YouTube channel ARROW HILL FAMILY. Be well everyone!

BIG BROTHERS

I just have to say that this past week I have been so proud of our boys and how they protect and encourage their little sisters. Most days we spend time at the parks and playgrounds, and because it is summer and our town sees a lot of tourists during this season, the playgrounds are typically filled to the brim with kids.

I have heard our boys proudly declaring that {M} and {K} are their sisters.  I have seen them lend a helping hand if one of them is struggling with a piece of equipment.  They have been thrown the curious questions from other kids – tough things like ‘What is wrong with her legs?’ and ‘They don’t look like you… how are they your sisters?’ ‘Can you even understand them?’ – and answered them with dignity and grace.  They jump to action if they see someone picking on or making fun of one of their sisters and are always including the girls in their conversations and games.

They are their sisters biggest fans, allies and protectors.  They are wonderful big brothers and we are so proud of the young men they are becoming!

Here is a glimpse into our past week.  It was a simple one spent at home.

 

FAMILY TIMELINE / WEEKLY REVIEW INTRODUCTION

This post was a LONG time in the making, and we are so excited to share with all of you!

Each week, we will be posting a video timeline sharing our family’s ‘week in review’.  The goal is to get the video up and shared via YouTube each Monday morning, showing a quick (around 2 minute) glimpse into our family life. We are excited about this fun and simple way to document our lives, and look forward to looking back on them through time to relive all the memories!

I likely won’t be making a blog post about each and every timeline, so you will want to check out our YouTube channel each Monday if you’re interested.  You can find our family channel HERE (hit subscribe if you want to be notified when a new video is available!) or click on the little ‘play button’ on the home page of our website for a direct link to Arrow Hill Cottage’s YouTube channel.

We are giving the first installation some special attention today… here is WEEK #1 of our family recap!