Dressed in White

The trees are dressed in white, the snow is softly falling and we are cozy and warm inside on this quiet November morning.

The view from my living room window is exquisite.

The company is pretty good too. 

And we are all enjoying the rest.

Welcome November

Welcome November! As Winter storms blow and snow falls we are ready to snuggle up and wait for Spring. I'll be cherishing nap time with my baby before he turns ONE at the end of the month. The children will go to school each week and be fed nutritious dinners every night. New rhythms will be found and we will be clinging to the light until the days lengthen again.

Happy Halloween

We had a pretty good Halloween! The big kids got their costumes on first thing in the morning and wore them all day at school. Hyrum and Joe made a great duo as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Joe wasn't a fan of the hair dye, so it didn't get quite as orange as it could have been, but it was still awesome! Camilla went as a minion this year and looked so great!

They came home from school loaded up on sugar already. Knowing that they would be eating a lot of junk I tried to compensate by serving veggies, hummus and crackers for dinner. They loaded up on the healthy stuff before we went out trick or treating. Daddy helped me get the little guys ready to go and then we did a mini photo shoot of all of their costumes. 

We froze our butts off walking around town for a little bit. Finley got a freezie at some point and it got punctured by something in his bag and ended up leaking all over his candy. There was a nice trail of syrup wherever he went. Luckily a kind lady offered him an extra bag and saved us enduring a meltdown. We finished off the evening going around the acreages in our neighborhood and the kids got a huge haul. They didn't have many kids out here this year so they got bags of chips, pop, ziplocs full of candy and other fun things. The best part was that we could stay in the warm van while they went to the door! 

When we got home, we sorted candy (and ate a ton of course), and then brushed teeth and tucked into bed! Happy Halloween!

Naptime

Gosh, can this boy be any cuter?!

Candle Light

In the dark of Winter, we cling to the light. 

The big kids caught the last rays of the day as they did chores.

We all gather at days end around a candle to read scriptures before bed.

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we did our annual pumpkin carve! Unfortunately, Daddy had to be in Calgary for work, and he was so missed! As soon as the kids got home from school they went outside to play for a bit in the fresh snow while I got dinner ready.

These boys are so great! I love it when they actually get along...

I had picked up a big pumpkin at the beginning of the month and then had some kids who were excited to carve the tiny pumpkins we grew all on their own!

I was grateful that Grampa came over to help with the carving part because stretching myself between six kids when sharp knives are involved is not an easy task.

Oliver told Grampa exactly how he wanted the mouth, nose, and eyes and together they created a cute little pumpkin.

Camilla and Hyrum were able to do their own this year and they did awesome!

Joe and Fin wanted their pumpkin to have glasses. I fear that my carving skills are quite terrible in comparison with everyone else. Ha!

The Stannix pumpkins of 2019!

Date Night

Tonight Mr. Stannix and I escaped for a date! Downton Abbey finally made it to our small town theater and we were excited to finally see it. Anticipating the theater being quite busy for a new show, Mr. Stannix made sure to pick up tickets in the afternoon. As we were leaving, he peeked at the tickets and realized that the girl had given him the wrong show time. On our way to dinner, we swung by the theater to exchange our tickets for the late showing. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Grillers. We ate slow and talked about life and the kids and future goals.

After dinner we made our way to the theater, a little bit early because it was opening night and we wanted popcorn and snacks. When we showed up there was no one else around. We got our popcorn, waited in the lobby for a bit while the staff cleaned up from the early showing, and then made our way into the theater. Mr. Stannix strategically seated us near the back behind two seats that had an "out of order" sign on them. He knew that if we sat there, we wouldn't have anyone directly in front of us and would have a better view. We waited for more people to show up, but when the lights went out we were still the only two in the entire theater! Mr. Stannix loves the theater and is always extra early to avoid lines and get a good seat. I leaned over to Mr. Stannix at the end of the movie and said, "It's a good thing we sat here so that nobody would sit in front of us!" We had a good laugh. Perks of small town life I guess!

Weekly Rhythm

I have been pondering a lot lately about our home and have had a huge desire to write out a more concrete weekly rhythm. I feel as though I am treading water most days, trying to keep on top of the house work while still finding time to intentionally mother and play with the children. I know that if I instill something a little more concrete, yet flexible, that our home life will run smoother and I will be able to accomplish more as we look forward to the next task of the day. I am still not sure what that looks like for our family, but I love the idea of the Waldorf rhythms and would love to explore it more.

In a sense our home already follows a bit of a rhythm with our morning routine, chore lists, baking, and clean up. In the late afternoon I always seem to find myself in the kitchen finally cleaning up the dishes from the day and putting together an after school snack for the kiddos. This afternoon I tried making pumpkin donuts covered in cinnamon and sugar. They were a huge hit!

 By the time the sun dips down we are finishing up dinner and getting ready to gather the family for our bedtime routine. I am always mesmerized by the colors of the sky. What a beautiful world we live in!

Autumn Days

Today was so wonderful! I have been loving these Autumn days so much. The air is crisp and full of delicious smells, the aroma of fresh raspberry jam fills Gramma's kitchen, the leaves are beautiful, and the temperature is perfect.

We started the day off with hair cuts for these two handsome boys! Finley loves having his hair spikey like his older brothers and always looks so grown up after a good trim.

Sawyer loves exploring outside, letting the grass tickle his fingers. I love watching the wonder and awe in his eyes as he soaks in his environment.

Naps are always a must after a long morning outside and I always have to check on him because he looks so sweet.

In the late afternoons we always end up gathering on the west facing deck to catch the last of of the suns rays. The kids love spending all day outside running around the acreage.

The big kids are always fighting over who will carry Sawyer on our adventures and it's so fun seeing their relationship with their baby brother. 

If the Seasons ever got stuck on Autumn, I definitely wouldn't complain!

Fox in the Hen House

This morning I sent the kids out to feed and check the chickens, just like they do every morning. As I was rinsing some dishes I looked out towards the coop and saw the kids waving hysterically in the lit up doorway. I quickly opened the door and Camilla shouted through tears, "The chickens are DYING!!!" I threw on some boots, instructed Joseph to care for the littles, and sprinted out to see what was the matter. There was feathers everywhere and the chickens in the back run kept screeching. A fox had gotten into the hen house and was stuck in the outside run.We blocked off the doors to the coop and I went to the outside run with a flashlight and yelled at the fox as tears welled in my eyes (I was angry). Hyrum ran to the house to wake Gramma and Grampa while Camilla held an injured chicken and guarded the door. It was quite the fiasco, and the poor kids still had to catch the bus to school a half hour later. We had a good chat at the breakfast table about life on a farm and how these things sometimes happen. Dad, Mom and I went back out after the sun finally came up to assess the damage and try and figure out where the sly fox crept in. We cleaned up the feathers in the back run as best as we could so that the kids wouldn't see them when they got home from school. It was a hard morning for all of us I think.

The rest of the day was thankfully uneventful! Sawyer napped for a few hours while the little boys painted some wooden pumpkins.

Everyone has been counting down the days until Halloween, especially Finley. It's his most favorite holiday!