Keeping up with the Kiddos: Thanksgiving Travels

There’s no place like home for the holidays, and we are now amidst Thanksgiving rounds at both grandparents. But first, let’s roll back the tape. We have a few little updates, big updates, humble-brags, and cute pictures of Dim dog. I mean they’re all equally cute, just some are more equal than others.

Unequalled

We last left you at the far reaches of summer, as the tides of autumn began waxing. Dad left to help lead a week-long mission trip with the youth group in Kentucky and sweat more than he thought possible. Meanwhile Mom tried to both take kids to and assist with Art Camp at Parkside that same week :-/.

The Fanciest of Nancies

Then we spent a long-awaited week at the Outer Banks, splitting time between the Kitty Hawk soundside and the Joseph oceanside rental house—games, pool, and an uber windy beach. We were privileged to meet Mr. Kevin for the first time, the now-fiancé of wonderful Aunt Courtney! Coordinating schedules, coordinating pictures, and coordinating other visits to and from the Banks…we visited Mr. Josh and Miss Jessi Shull at their new house in Sterling for a night where we played games, did magic, read books and hung shelves. And at the tail end we spent two nights in Ocean Isle with the Shumate gang, where puzzles, pizza, and pool time were served with friendship and laughter. The final days of summer were wrought with fun farewells to several seniors we know and love.

Umbrella's last stand

Parenting mistake #8395: teach your kids to like crab legs

Jockey's ridge, racing everywhere

Cute

CUTE!

En route: Mr. Josh reading kid lit

Return route: mild enthusiasm, waiting for hushpuppy madness

With the turning of weather, we traded our pool towels for pumpkins at Ramseyer farms. We also spent some great moments with grandparents during some Joseph visits (when Mom flew to New York, and when Ezra/Summer returned from Camp Mimi) and a Carlisle Kauffman visit (when Mom and Aunt Hannah celebrated their 10,000 th Irish birthday together near a lovely autumnal Labor Day). But we must have lost the negatives of those photographs.

Saying goodbye to pools

Saying goodbye to collegiates

Saying goodbye to Dad...everyday

Welcoming cold-weather activities, like Mad Burger III flash game

And Sleeping Queens!

Picking pears and noses

Picking flowers and forever buddies (happy 11th!)

Tiny pumpkin, Tiny Dim

Swimming in food

The Sound of Music @ GCC

Sophia (and now Summer too) are in ballet class with a show in just a few weeks. Ezra had a great first soccer season (with Dad helping to coach) and Elia played basketball again with the Rhinos. They all started a new co-op class on Mondays in Hartville, attend by many common friends, and featuring rock science, classical music, gym class chaos, and everyone’s favorite subject: lunch. That makes Tuesdays through Fridays a busier week with no break, but sometimes the crew will join in a field trip or play date and count it for class bonus points.

U10 Piggyback Riding

The girls, cheering Ez & Coach Daddy

Besides that, it’s your basic fall…coloring pages, computer games, reading books, moving to Mexico. Like you do.

Oh let’s talk about that!

With STS directors John & Rachel

La ciudad de Mazatlán

Mom and Dad visited Mazatlán, SN, México just a month ago on a vision trip with Shoulder to Shoulder (STS), a mission organization focused around serving and empowering local churches. While the kiddos stayed to see the first snow of Ohio winter, Mom and Dad spent 4 days meeting the team members of STS, seeing the city, visiting pastors and churches, and harnessing a stronger understanding of the work being done there. They returned with more conviction than ever that God is calling the family to live and serve with STS. And Parkside Church agreed. So we’re firing on all cylinders to quickly accomplish the next 5000 steps and train in whatever ways possible to be field-ready for this life-changing adventure. It will be an end to many great things and a start to many more, but we trust in the Lord—His provision, timing, placement, wisdom, and sovereignty.

Por la noche

Our team!

What an act to follow. I guess I’ll throw up some cute pictures of Di…of all our children. Dim-do has accepted her age at last, and really shows improvement in self-awareness, temper, and wow some mad skill with the quill (marker). She has mastered her first board games—Sleeping Queens and the Donut game. And at long-last, she is potty-independent, she is teeth-brushing-independent, she is car seat-buckling-independent, and she succeeds at all three tasks with mildly remarkable accuracy. She can play well with siblings, and she can play impressively well on her own. We know that she is almost as much a class clown as Ezra, thanks to her AWANA cubbies class and ballet, where she shows her homeschool-readiness by standing out from the crowd…in a synchronized dance routine.

Hair explosion

@ DD Daddy Date w/ D & D

Mommy Date ?

Happy

Grumpy

Dopey

Sleepy

Ezra loves all things extreme. The biggest truck, the tallest building, the strongest superhero, the loudest fart noise. This is just his way of demonstrating an early pursuit of “excellence”. Soccer was amazing, and maybe just because Dad was coach, and maybe just because of end of game snacks, but also because he could run as fast as he possibly could (with no concern for reason or direction)! Legos are his new best friend, and he just received a huge box of them for his birthday. Now his imagination knows no bounds—he makes trucks per instructions but also helicopters and robots and towers with no instructions. His math and reading abilities are renowned, as is his speed of pancake consumption. This kid is strong and deep in his prayers too--while all of the kids fight over who gets to pray, Ez always manages to layout the whole gospel and praises God for his undeserved sacrificial propitiation. What a Bible stud.

Taking a deep breath before Hulking out

They said "dress as any Bible character you want"
He said "Goliath"

Unlimited powah!

Sophia engages with others in such a harmoniously normal and socially acceptable way. She often speaks at normal volumes, offers witty and timely banter, wears sensible outfits, and understands instructions and emotions. Hopefully being part of our family will break her of these habits. Soon she will be 8, mostly just for the cake. She is really plowing ahead in her Spanish studies, farther along in Duolingo than anyone else in the family. But in our defense, we already know how to say “me gusta helado” so at this point she’s just showboating. Sophia excels at schoolwork and memorization, which you could know just from the hot bling on her AWANA Sparks vest that she gets for memory verses. Way to go So!

Board games at the library!

Dates are not dates if they don't have dessert

Buried with cousin friends

Elia loves all things extreme. The biggest cake, the cutest dog, the most powerful royalty, the loudest attire. By next post she’ll be celebrating a tenth birthday, and not just for the cake…she’s all about that big 1-8. But to be fair, at this halfway point of 9 she is slowly understanding the responsibility factor that goes with it. She is the craftiest, gamiest, very creative and bold in all she does. Today we witnessed a grand display of family comradery as Sophia’s queenly coronation ceremony was held in the living room with all the pomp and fanfare that her siblings could illustrate. We look forward to seeing her creativity on a new stage, and pray that she is able to quickly master a new language with which to express herself.