Here's what's happing in my neck of the woods

I wanted to do a catch-up post of various happenings around here that I haven't mentioned. It's hard to keep up with everything! Prepare yourself for a very scattered and disjointed post.

We hosted our annual Hallogivingmas (added to dictionary) party in October, and our friends becca, Ben, Jennifer, Geoff and Amy with their kids, Eliana and Isaac, all came down for the weekend! We had a wonderful weekend just spending time together, and ate most of the time, per usual. I took like 2 pictures, and I think there were just a couple other pictures taken by people? We were too busy having fun, cooking, and possibly napping to take the time for pictures. Here's one Ben shared on facebook and one from my phone, both of the kids. Also the traditional ornacornalantern.

I decided to retire from the Thirty-One business recently, so I sold all my extra products and supplies to make back my investment, which I certainly exceeded. I still really like the products and it's a great company, but it's just not for me right now. I still have contact with a couple consultants so I can shop the outlet sales and such :)

Desy just finished getting his 2-year molars, which is a relief. He was pretty grumpy for a couple weeks- they must have been hurting him pretty badly. He's been much happier lately, and has especially been enjoying playing with Duplos and building blocks. He's very focused and meticulous about his building which is very fun to watch. I love seeing him so content doing something creative/productive for an extended period of time.

Orion has been glued to the Nintendo this week during Desmond's nap times. He plays Super Mario 1 and 3, as well as Duck Tales and Ninja Turtles. He especially likes to play with Nathan or me. He also loves to help bake/cook... he usually bakes with his Ra and cooks with me.

I've been reading more lately. Nathan is reading Patrick Rothfuss' books to me (The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear) and I love them. They're incredibly long, which is a good thing when you don't want a book to end. There's another volume coming, so I'm excited that the story isn't over. I also read Tedd Dekker's Green last week because my sister-in-law, Rachel, just read the Circle series and wanted to talk about it (I'd read the first three but not Green). I'm anxious to discuss it. I've also started the third in Veronica Roth's "Divergent" series, Allegiant, which just came out last week... so far I'm not impressed. I'm not sure what happened, because I enjoyed the first book so much. The second was ok...and the third... the writing just seems so bad. I'm only a few chapters in, so I'm hoping it gets better. I'm thinking I want to reread The Hunger Games next.

Yesterday was a very full day. In the morning the boys had their preschool Christmas party at church, so we enjoyed breakfast, games, crafts, and a Christmas story from Miss Mary Lou (Desy's Sunday School teacher and the sweetest woman in the world).

When we got home, we bundled up and went to Christmas in Springboro, a local festival, for a parade. It was SO LONG! It was a great parade. The best part was all the dogs from the animal shelter- Orion petted all the ones that came within reach. Des sat there and waved almost the whole time :) We wandered the festival after the parade and got delicious festival food and saw super cool local birds like owls and a hawk. The boys really liked them. Desy said the tiny screech owl was a baby, and then said the barn owl was the mama and the great horned owl was the daddy :)

In the evening, our friend Kaylee and her roommate stopped by, so we ordered Fu Lin (my favorite Chinese) for dinner, then our Sunday School class (9th and 10th graders) came over for fondue and a movie. We all had a great time- we have such a fun group of students... they're all a bunch of nerds, so we get along great ;)

I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks. This week is Thanksgiving, of course, so Nathan's sisters will be here! We're celebrating both Thanksgiving and Orion's birthday. The following weekend, my parents are coming down for a visit! I love having family around (and so do the boys!), so it should be a very enjoyable time!

We get to go see the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special in the theater tomorrow! I'm excited :) Do you think I'd get in trouble for sneaking fish fingers and custard into the theater?