Changes on the Homefront

Things have been quiet here on the blog

even though things been anything but quiet here in our life.

In September our 18 year old nephew Noah moved in with us.

Christopher turned 10.

Linnea turned 15 and I didn't get any pictures. *sigh*

We had our annual family hayride at my parents' farm.

We had our 19th wedding anniversary.

The boys played a ton of football
and we drove to a lot of games.

In October my baby Cece had her 1st birthday
and started walking.

Linnea began to participate in a choir comprised of all homeschooled students that meets once a week.

Isaiah's football team had an undefeated season record.
We made it to every game, sometimes driving some pretty big distances for this farming family.
They won their section championship and made it through to the semi-finals for our state.

Linnea is going out for basketball this year and practice will start soon.
I'm excited for her but will miss her in the house knowing she will be gone often
for practice and games.

Starting in late July/early August, I got "promoted" to work in the barn.
haha.
I do the morning milkings now because Dennis has a job in town.
During football season, I also did many of the evening milkings so that we could be on the road as soon as Dennis got home from work.
I used to milk all the time up until Andrew was born so it's not exactly new to me
but Linnea and I have had to really work hard to keep the house running
with me in the barn every morning.
It took some adjusting for everyone
and the boys and I have admittedly butted heads a few times on a few things
but all in all it's been a very positive thing all the way around.

Andrew became a teenager last week
aaaaaand I didn't get any pictures on that day either.
He is really growing up in so many ways.
Today I heard him moving cows in the pasture and thought his voice is sounding more like Dennis' now.

Abram is adding words to his vocabulary daily.
He took his time speaking, but has a lot to say now!
I'm always a little sad when they change the sweet way they say some of their words...
He used to pronounce his name "A-mum" to "A-bwum"---still super cute, but I get nostalgic about stuff like that.

THM (Trim Healthy Mama) is still going well.
I highly recommend it.

I don't know how much total weight I've lost because I've been gaining
some in preparation for Baby #12 who is due to arrive in March.
(the farthest "down" I got was 65 pounds lost)
I have felt quite well this pregnancy, the only "ailment" being fatigue.
I don't know that I can blame that entirely on the pregnancy, though,
as there are several other factors in my life that are likely contributors.

I appreciate all the "checking in" since I've been posting so rarely.
I'm still here...just a tad busier and away from the internet,
perhaps a bit more guarded with what I say.

I cannot quite wrap my brain around the fact that we are almost to double digits in November.
I love the changing of the seasons and I find things to look forward to in each one.
Right now, I am enjoying the coziness of sweaters and multiple cups of tea,
kids with cheeks rosy from the chill wind as they play outside in the dusk before supper,
the quietness of the barn in the mornings
and the brisk wind that dries the clothes so quickly on the clothesline.