Geese Galore

 We have had SO MANY geese lately!  Usually they're long gone by now, but these guys are sticking around and taking advantage of the open waters.   I'll take it... it's a beautiful view!

November 24th:

November 27th

As long as this lake is open, these geese are going to stick around.

Prayers for the People

 Ramsey was asked to read in church today.  Silly Mom didn't check emails to see the request that had come through the week prior, for said reading.  So... Ramsey was late getting the request, rehearsed once before church with the mic, and is depicted as "Child 2"!!

The video is difficult to understand.  But...

He loved it and is looking forward to the next time he's able to do this.

Day-Off Baking

 The day after Thanksgiving is always a nice little break from work.  Ramsey decided to take advantage of our lounge day.

"Someone" wanted to start making homemade gingerbread cookies late in the day.

Not sure why said "someone" isn't smiling about it!!

"Someone else" could use some make-up.  🤣😬

"Someone" got super messy eating cookie dry mix (ew) and batter!

Someone and someone else had fun cutting out cookies.   It was all about airplanes, stars, and gingerbread people today.

"Someone" couldn't stay out the cookies and ate about three before we started icing them.

"Someone" also wanted to eat a bunch of icing... just because.

And someone (+ someone else) had a good time icing these bad boys.  The icing was a bit too loose, so it was runny.

But.. NO ONE cared about runny icing.  These suckers didn't last long!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 We had a small crowd for Thanksgiving this year; Eric, Ramsey, Connor, Nana Karen, and me.  Still, we had enough chow for a small army

This year, instead of an entire turkey (with parts and pieces no one likes to eat), I made a couple of turkey breasts in the crock pot.   They were brined with the usual concoction and cooked to perfection. Yum!

And, we made the family favorites; peas, corn, mashed potatoes, Nana Vicki's special candied sweet potatoes, crescent rolls, mushroom gravy, fresh cranberry sauce... and French silk chocolate pie.

Ramsey was in charge of setting the table.  No one loves doing too many dishes on Thanksgiving, so we took a few shortcuts.  Another new idea we'll be adding to the yearly tradition; paper plates!

After stuffing ourselves to the gills, we chilled and played games, visited, and watched some football.

We're thankful we're able to spend time together as a family.  We were missing others, but they were in our thoughts and heart.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

 Twas the night before Thanksgiving and we could agree... we definitely MUST put up the Duven Christmas tree!

I took the day off... so... let's DO THIS!

...might as well do the rest of the living room, as long as we're at it.   We have some new Christmas stockings this year (the red ones went to Goodwill).

There were a LOT of leftover decorations this year, as we didn't cover every surface with green, gold, white, and red.  This year, we're taking it a bit easier.  Nonethless, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Bingo & Pie Day!

 Ramsey's school always has something fun going on, to incorporate interactive time with parents, students, and the faculty.

Today was BINGO & PIE day!   Bingo... FUN!  And free pie?  Time with The Little?  Count me in!

This event drew in quite the crowd!  

We didn't win BINGO, but we sure had a good time.  :-)

Thanksgiving Art

 As part of a fun Thanksgiving art project, kids were tasked with taking a stencil of a turkey and then disguising it as something else... so the turkey wouldn't get captured and eaten for Thanksgiving.

As we were all shocked (not), Ramsey wanted his turkey to be a soldier.   I found some camo fabric that I had from another project and we went to work.  I helped cut out the fabric, as it was really difficult to cut.

Ramsey cut out a Delta Force patch to place on the turkey's arm, plus a US flag.  Sidenote: Ramsey's DREAM is to go to West Point and then someday become part of Delta Force!   Big dreams, but he knows he can do anything he puts his mind to.  😉

At school, the second part of the assignment was to write what the turkey would be saying, trying to convince all that he was NOT a turkey.   It seemed as though he channeled Gunny Sargeant R. Lee Ermey with a bit of an "angry defensive slant"!! 

"Hello!  I'm not a turkey as you can see... I'm in the US Armed Forces!  Why did you think I was a turkey?  I am defending the USA!  If you eat me, your country won't be safe from enemies!  But, you can always change your mind if you want a happy country!  You made up your mind, right?  So, what's it gonna be - the food, or the country?  So leave me alone, I got to go to another battle!"   🤣

Veteran's Day Celebration at School

 Veteran's Day is always celebrated on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to remember the end of The Great War ("the war to end all wars") in 1918.   Since then, the holiday is the day set aside to thank and honor all of the great men and women who served honorably in the military - wartime or peacetime. 

Ramsey's school celebrated veterans and their service during a school assembly on Monday, November 13th.   Students were given the opportunity to invite special veterans that they knew.  They could write letters to them.   Ramsey wrote a letter to a Korean war veteran that we know (the kind older gentleman that we purchasing fishing bait from).  He invited him to the school's program and thanked him for his service.

Prior to the assembly, every student had written a thesis on "What Veteran's Day Means to Me".  Of all of the children in the school, Ramsey's was of the few chosen to be read on the Veterans' Day Remembrance Video.  The video was played during the school's celebration.  The link was shared with everyone so it could be forwarded on to veterans that the children new.  

Ramsey's words can be seen starting at around the 4:40 mark here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&feature=shared&fbclid=IwAR1ZzBB6bCaOOFyf2MpIcDekqQFbmApyEhuSGdWJ5Tdr1eHIZNfJnh_xQVQ&v=tmZzRLccKEM

Ramsey's words:

What Veterans' Day means to me is a symbol of courage, liberty, and sacrifice.  As a young World War I soldier said, "I will fight, I will die, I will endure, I will sacrifice.  I will do my utmost as if the entire struggle depended on me alone."

That information comes from one of Ronald Reagan's speeches from the 1980's (one of our favorites).  

The principal, Mrs. G, presented Ramsey with a SOAR slip for his excellent part in the Veterans' Day assembly and video.

In this household, we are patriots.  Ramsey is a patriot.  We celebrate and honor our military and country, with all of the sacrifices countless Americans have made to keep our country strong and GREAT.   God bless America!