Thanksgiving with the Stocks

We thought that we were going to have to spend Thanksgiving alone this year. Surely, no one was going to make the long trip here to Missouri. At the last minute Chris's sister, Marci called and said they were coming to Missouri to look at real estate in the Kansas City area and would like to spend Thanksgiving with us. We were thrilled! We had a wonderful homemade Thanksgiving! They only stayed Thanksgiving day and that night but it was sure nice to spend it with family! Thanks so much, Stocks! We love you. These pictures are taken on our large round bails of hay.

Days with Eli

Since both Adam and Annika are in school all day, I have lots of one-on-one time with Eli. He cracks me up daily with the things he comes up with. His favorite activity is to jump on the tramp so everyday he says, "Mom, the tramp is waiting." One day when it was raining hard he said, "Mom, lets go jump on the tramp." I said, "Eli, its raining." He said, "No Mom, its only raining on the house, not on the tramp." I chuckled. Another morning it snowed a thin blanket on the ground and later melted. When Eli went out and saw that the snow had melted he came stomping back in and cursed me for melting the snow. I calmly explained to him where the snow comes from and that the sun melts it. He finally accepted the truth, Mom doesn't control the snow. So I laughed when I found this:
4 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE ~ Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE ~ Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE ~ That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE ~ Well, she might know a little bit about it.
35 YEARS OF AGE ~ Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wish I could talk it over with Mom.
Eli and I love being together everyday. We jump, play, interact with the animals, and explore our land together. It is so much fun being a Mom!

Mothers of Preschoolers

I joined a community organization here called, "MOPS," which stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. This is a nationwide organization run by local chapters. I was introduced to this program from the other moms in my ward. They are also involved in this group. There are only 3 other LDS moms in addition to myself that live in this area so we have a unique opportunity to meet other moms from all different religious or cultural backgrounds. MOPS mission statement is: "MOPS EXISTS TO ENCOURAGE, EQUIP, AND DEVELOP EVERY MOTHER OF PRESCHOOLERS TO REALIZE HER POTENTIAL AS A WOMAN, MOTHER, AND LEADER IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST." It is held once a month at the Church of Christ building. All the moms meet together to socialize and every month there is a different agenda. Last month, we talked about cooking and demonstrated recipes and then made a "take-n-bake" Lasagna. While the moms are meeting there are classes with teachers held for the kids according to their age (0-5). Then there is a playgroup also held once a month, where we go to a park or to the the local community center's gym and let the kids run and play. It has been a great experience to be involved in this group. I also joined the Steering Committee, which plans the meetings. I am over "Publicity," which means I am in charge of writing the newsletter every month. I even got to travel to Osage Beach for a leadership training meeting, which is a very pretty part of Missouri.

Bugs

Okay, a word about bugs here in Missouri. They are to inflict and torment man. Okay, well at least some of them are. There is a insect here called "chiggers" Quoting from Ohio State University's webpage, "Probably no creature on earth can cause as much torment for its size than the tiny chigger. Chiggers do not burrow into the skin, but insert their mouthparts in a skin pore or hair follicle. Their bites produce small, reddish welts on the skin accompanied by intense itching as irritating as acute cases of poison ivory or poison sumac. These symptoms often are the only way of learning that an outdoor area is infested since chiggers are so small that most cannot be seen without a magnifying glass. Chiggers feed on a wide variety of snakes, turtles, birds, and small mammals as well as humans."
Fortunately, most chiggers die when it freezes so we don't have to worry much about them again until the Spring. But when we first got here our kids were like magnets for them. All of them especially Eli and Adam were covered in them and they itch them like crazy! When they itch them they brake open and become sores. I tell them to stop itching them and they of course don't. I then told them that if they continue to scratch them open they will be left with sores that will scar. I asked Adam if he wants scars? He said, "Mom, when I am an adult, I will grow hair and no one will know they're there." After my initial reaction of complete shock, I chuckled and was grateful he had a good attitude about it. I just hope he keeps that attitude. So this is a picture of Eli's legs. The other picture is thousands of lady bugs. In the fall, hundreds of thousands of lady bugs come indoors to find warm places. This is in our milk barn, I was amazed at how many there were. There were also hundreds in our house. Fortunately, they don't bite or cause any damage indoors. They're just a nuisance.

A short visit from the bunnies

We had a very short visit with six new bunnies our rabbit had. We have 1 female and 2 male rabbits. Unfortunately, we did not realize she was pregnant. Since then we have learned much about rabbits. Their gestation period is only 31 days and they ovulate with each intercourse. So maybe more than you wanted to know but it is very important to know this information because that means we could be having bunnies every 31 days. Now we understand the standing joke about rabbits. I guess it is true. So one morning Chris found six new bunnies that were born in the night. It was a very cold night and when he found them they were exposed and the Mama was not caring for them like she should. This is our fault we needed to separate them and give her a nesting box. Which we have now done. Two of the six didn't make it through the night and the other four were barely hanging on. We separated the Mama and hoped for the best. The other four died before the day was done. The kids were very excited and sad when the were gone. We learned a great lesson and will keep them separated until the Spring, when the weather gets warmer. They sure were cute. So tiny with cute floppy ears.

Halloween Pictures

Yes, Chris was dressed up for Halloween. Many people at the party were hesitant to ask if he was dressed up or not? Adam designed his costume. He was the "spirit of BYU" If you want more details, ask him. Annika was Snow White and Eli was whatever he wanted to be just as long as he wore his black cape he was happy!