In early December, there was some special moon (I think it had something to do with how close it was to the earth), so Jake and the kids took the telescope out front to take a look. Jordan took these pictures and actually got a few good ones. I was at work. You know, a full moon never means good things for a Labor and Delivery nurse!
We have a lot of trees on our 2 front acres, which means we have a ton of leaves in the fall. Since we maintain the lawn on that 2 acres, we have to rake the lawn twice a year to get the leaves and pine needles off the grass. It takes forever, but thankfully Jake bought me a pull-behind sweeper for the lawnmower, and I no longer have to rake it by hand, therefore eliminating blisters. Jake rides the mower sweeping and dumping; and I burn the piles, making sure the fire does not get away from us.
Jordan and Jayden raked up a pile of leaves one day and were playing in them. It reminded me of when I was a very little kid, my cousins would rake trails in my greatgrandmas yard and we would play. This also gave me the idea of the pictures for our Christmas Cards this year. Note the chocolate all over Jayden's face.
My Parents were here for Thanksgiving, and it was great. We all went out to Jake's parents for the day, and the weather was beautiful. We saddled up the kids horse "Love" so everyone could have a ride. Jamison hardly ever gets on her, so this is a rare picture of him on a horse. He would much rather have a gun in his hands hunting squirrels.
The story behind the pig? Well, actually that is a wild hog. Jamie, our nephew and his little girl live next to Jake's parent (or across the pasture rather, and he caught this hog as a tiny baby. He penned it up, and it is tame. Let's everyone pet it and plays with the dogs. I have never seen a "calico" hog before and it was quite entertaining.
Yes, we have a strange family.
Here is our newest addiction, I mean addition to the family. Macie. She is so sweet, and proving to be smart. I feel that she will replace my beloved Golden that disappeared 5 years ago. Macie was an anniversary present from Jake and the kids. I can not believe that we have been married 13 years. Time flies when you are having fun!
The donkeys are good at keeping the grass ate down on our back acre. They also start braying when someone or something comes into the back yard or the back acre, so they have been good at keeping critters away from our chickens.
Our silky chickens are my favorite to watch. Jake bought me these white silkies this fall, and they come running to me. 
Jessica played Upwards Basketball this fall, and had a lot of fun. Upwards is a Christian based group that does several sports. They have a short bible lesson at each practice, and during half time of each game. The teams are split evenly, and each child has the same opportunity to play the same amount of time in each game. During practice the coaches are able to given individual time to each player to build on the skills of the game, and I saw Jess learn how to handle the ball better and become more aggressive on the court. It was a great experience for her.
The kids are getting to wear their costumes twice this year. Here they are dressed up to go to the Fall Festival at the intermediate school, and then on the 31st they will get to wear them to our church's Festival. I was glad to be off at least one evening they were dressing up, so I could get some pictures and enjoy them.
There is a new Sheriff in town, and he is packing some heat. I learned something about Jayden this evening. He saw about 5 little girls from his class, called them all by name and gave them ALL hugs. One little girls mom said, "So, this is Jayden, the little boy that all the little girls like so much." Haha, I told Jake we will probably be beating girls off with a stick in a few years.
A snow angel. I reminded her throughout the evening how crooked her halo was. LOL She did not think it was funny.
Jordan really wanted this beautiful asian princess costume, but I could not find it in her size. She went back online to find something else, and she decided on Mary. I think that says a lot about her personality.
Going B-A-N-A-N-A-S. 
This was also red ribbon week, which is an antidrug campaign. One day the elementary school got to have pirate day. Since Jayden wore out his pirate costume from last year, and all that was left was the hat, we drew on his face. He was very proud of that curly mustache. One day was 60's day, and there are some great pictures of Jake as a hippie, but I will have to get the camera card from the teacher that Jake works with to get the pic's.
Texas has such unpredictable weather this time of year, it does not make for lasting carved pumkins. You can carve them, and just a few days later they are molding and smelling. So, we decided that this year we were going to decorate them. The kids had some ideas, and I went and gathered up some craft items, and we went to work. Now, please keep in mind, I am the least crafty/creative person I know, and patience is not one of my finer points; but this is what we came up with. Plus a few burns from the hot glue gun, and a huge mess on the kitchen table. Jake kept his distance, and did not lift a finger, but he did compliment me on how patient I actually was throughout the process. Then the morning of the Fall Festival at the intermediate school, I drove them to town and carried them in one by one. The PTO leader laughed and asked if I was ever going to stop bringing in more pumpkins.
Jayden and his pirate (imagine that). He complained the most when trying to cut out the sword he drew, he wanted SILENCE so he could concentrate. 
Jessica and her Brownsboro Bear Cheerleader. Cutting and gluing all those squares of felt for the skirt took FOREVER. Then she tried to use pipe cleaners for the hair, and it was not working well, so I sacrafised my mop head and we cut her some bangs.
Jordan and her Angel to match her personality. It took us a while to figure out how to make those wings stand up, but we managed. 
Jamison's turtle got Honorable Mention in the contest at school. He was proud that we could come up with a turtle. When he was picking his pumkin, he was looking for the shortes roundest one he could find. 
Oh! Wait! That is not a pumpkin, that is Garfield in his Halloween costume. I can not believe he sat still for a few pictures. The kids were laughing hysterically.
