November

November 
Busy is definitely a good word to describe the latter half of November.  Basketball has begun, resulting in more stress--but it truly is a good stress!  God has for sure blessed my whole family with an amazing basketball family and for that we are very grateful:)

My students did a lot of group work this month and here is a snap shot where they were working with partners!

Joden wrote a riddle and got selected to go to the PTA meeting to read his riddle.  He is flying through elementary school, which is bittersweet, but also amazing to watch him grow each year!

We went to the Stoddards for a football game and Reeve snapped some pictures of us:)

Amongst all the chaos I am trying to be diligent about reading the Bible 10 minutes each day.  When I opened up my Bible the day after the election this verse was comforting in a time of uncertainty!

This is a great example of God blessing us with a great basketball family.  Alex is our head coach and this is his sone Miles opening his gifts for his first birthday.  We have grown very close with them and enjoy hanging out often!

 All the kids helping Miles out:)  

Every year right before season we (maybe more so I) enjoy going to a Husker women's basketball game as a family.  We enjoyed some sushi and watched the Huskers pick up a W.  Great times had by all!

Mike's passion that he is passing on to our children!  Sadly it is not a passion of mine....but I am thankful Mike is very passionate about deer hunting and shows our children each part of the process. What kills me though is that this man hates needles, but will clean a deer!!!

While they were cleaning deer I was decorating for Christmas!

And the first week of practice began...

Craft project I did with my sister!

Kids' idea to take a goofy selfie!  Love being their mama:)

In lieu of Thanksgiving I taught my students how to shake hands with others properly and also had them share something they are grateful for.  

Teambuilder:  With only a scooter and a jump rope get from one end of the court to the other.  I think we for sure had some cheaters:)  

This man is my rock!  I say it often and will say it always--God definitely blessed me with one truly amazing man:)

 Mike's family stopped by my sisters Wednesday night prior to Thanksgiving.  It was good to see them all!

 My sisters:)

 Licking the mixers from the mash potatoes!  They loved it:)

 Uncle Mike with Anslee<3

 Stem activities for the kids!  They had fun with it:)

 Some of my favorite people on Thanksgiving day!

 Cousins enjoying a game of Sorry before bed!

 Reeve wrote this in the car on the way home from Aunt Lindsey's :)

Ready for the jamboree game we had against Hastings.  I sure love doing fun things with Reeve's hair!

  
Jamboree game in Hastings to kick of our season!  I sure love getting the opportunity to coach every single one of these girls!  They hold a special place in my heart and I am incredibly thankful for this journey God has led me on.  

Great way to end the month...finding this picture on my phone that I did not know my kids took.  This is a great visual of their personalities.  They light up my life and make me smile each and every day.  

What a beautiful fall!

October
This fall truly has been beautiful...especially for Nebraska.  60-70 degree weather most of the whole month with children who have been involved in outdoor sports was definitely a display of Gods blessings!  Also as always I am very thankful for each and every one of these moments of joy experienced with both friends and family:)

For four Sundays we spent our afternoons up at the GISH practice field for some flag football action.  This year was really fun because it is neat to see the boys starting to learn the ins and outs of football.  It was also enjoyable to watch Mike help coach Joden's team:)

Here is Joden celebrating scoring a touchdown.  Of course as a parent it is great to see your kids perform well at anything they do, but one thing I LOVED about our team is that all of the boys got an opportunity to attempt many of the positions.  At their age it is really important to allow them to do so.  Therefore I enjoyed watching many of the boys try out all the different positions!

Harvest of Harmony parade in Grand Island.  These moments with my children are ones that bring me such joy and ones that I will cherish forever!  

She loves to takes pictures of herself on my phone:/

Everyone except Mike got a school picture this year:)  It is pretty neat to see the progression of pictures for Joden!  

Our staff encourages us to post on Twitter from time to time.  So, I occasionally take pictures of my students working and post them on Twitter.  This was a snapshot of the students doing a performance task, which was writing a nonfiction narrative.  Although I definitely feel much more physically exhausted, I have thoroughly enjoyed the middle school world!

Each year I create a scrapbook for both of my children. So, one Friday after work I ventured to the Chocolate Bar for a beverage and scrapbooking time.  I love being a mom, teacher, and wife, but some days me time is very much needed:)  For the opportunity to do so I am very grateful!

Dinner group for October included a visit to Third City Christian Church, which is where one of our friends goes.  They had a family fun night so we decided to go check it out.  The kids really had a blast!  Thanks Olsens for inviting us:)

This picture almost looks as if Joden is tired of being the only boy...in all honesty he was mad that no one wanted to be on his back for the picture:)  So pouting was the way he handled his frustrations.

Reeve and I had a girls trip to Kearney to visit Target and Old Navy.  We had a blast together!  

Mike and I sure LOVE spending some one on one time with each of the kids every once in awhile.  It really is fun to spend that quality time together and every time we do this they behave so well without the other sibling there to pester them!

Gates night out at Helgoth's Pumpkin Patch.  Dad was deer hunting so we went without him.  It was a beautiful night!

Several of us who either coach basketball or are married to a basketball coach thought it would be a great idea to do some meal prepping prior to the season starting.  Not only did we have fun, but we were able to stock our freezer with 10 meals.  I am for sure thankful for this opportunity as well as these ladies' friendship!

We enjoyed a wedding here in town for one of my co-worker's daughters.  Reeve enjoyed doing the sparkler as a send off at the church and of course Joden enjoyed doing the 'Wobble.'  I love the fun loving nature of both of my children.  They put a smile on my face every single day, which is definitely one of the greatest joys of motherhood for sure!

Football championships!  The boys worked hard and earned 2nd place. They championships are played where they start the ball on the 20 yard line and if a team scores the other team has a chance to match that.  Whenever the other team does not match it the game is over.  I thought it was a fun way to move through a championship tournament quickly!  

Snapshot of my students working in groups!

Our October date was our first ever Husker football game together!  We have tailgated many times, but I really wanted to go to an actual game together.  We had a great time, the weather was beautiful, and the Huskers won!  With all that being said though I do believe that I enjoy watching the game from my couch just as much:)  It is an experience that is a must to experience, just not one I would want to do every year for every home game.  So thankful though for the ability to do these types of things with my spouse!

Oh my goodness!  Reeve was looking through an old scrapbook of mine and came across this picture.  This was a beauty from middle school and not sure why I ever thought it was a good idea to do my bangs like that!  Oh to be in middle school again:)

Reeve has begged us to be in dance so we decided this year we would give it a shot.  These pictures are from the first parent visitation night.  She has loved it to say the least!  

These two LOVE going through the FROG car wash.  I let them unbuckle and they watch each cycle and pretend they are being attacked by zombie juice:)  Most importantly what I love is their bond as brother and sister...another blessing for sure!

Finally as for everyone else October is always wrapped up with Halloween!  I allowed both kids to pick their costumes this year.  Joden picked Darth Vader on his own and Reeve and I sat down and scrolled through Amazon for her to choose Bat Girl.  They got to wear their costumes three times: once Saturday for the downtown Halloween, then Sunday for Trunk or Treat at church, and finally for Halloween.  I would say it was a successful Halloween--especially because we did not have to carry Reeve at all this year:)

Pano of my class working with partners now!  I have absolutely LOVED this chunk on partner work because they have all been doing really well with it.  

I always feel I say this, but I truly hope that my appreciation for the gifts in my life and those around me is apparent.  My blog is never intended as a way to gloat, but more importantly as a way to reflect and truly thank God for each and every hardship as well as gift he has laid out before me!

~For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

-Jeremiah 29:11