Middle-of-November Happenings

Every time Grandma Fisher comes for a visit, we get together with our Old Order Mennonite neighbors for dinner because they love to visit with Jeff's mom and she loves to visit with them!  We often host it here at our house, but tonight they had us over to their house and stuffed us with a scrumptious feast of breakfast-for-dinner foods: waffles (made from scratch and cooked in a cast iron press on their stove), syrup, strawberries & whipped cream, bacon, sausages, hash browns, grits (I LOVE grits, but rarely make them...note to self: make grits more often), gravy, fresh fruit salad, cottage cheese, rice krispie treats.  I wish I had two stomachs so I could have eaten twice as much; it was that good.  :)  Then we played Pictionary, and Douglas's version of "roommate" and Rosalie's rendition of "outhouse" stand out in my mind as being particularly humorous.  Good times!

Although we respect their beliefs and so do not take pictures of them, Jeff did sneak a picture of the table when we got there.  This was before most of the food was placed on it.  Their table, specially made by Wilma's father, extends through two rooms of the house when they stretch it out for company.

After we walked back home through the crisp fall air and got the kids in bed, I nearly succumbed to my introvert temptation to hit the couch with a book and then fall asleep; but eventually I rallied enough to pull some pictures together for this post.  These days are so precious, and they're going by so fast, and if I don't push myself sometimes to record them in this way, they'll be gone before I can capture a piece of them.  Here then are some recent moments of real life in our home.

It's special for Moriah to have two grandmas here to love on her!  :)

David is a great cuddler, and Grandma Fisher's lap is a good place for that even though he is a big eight-year-old now.  You're never too old to cuddle.  :)

If you were to peek into our kitchen most mornings, you would find Grandma Fisher at the table, playing a game with some of her grandsons.

One of the things the boys most look forward to when she comes is the hours she spends playing with them: Uno, Skip-Bo, Phase 10, Scrabble Slam, and many other games.

Moriah got to play with marbles for the first time!

I know, I know: they're a HUGE choking hazard.  But she's well past the stage of popping everything into her mouth, and I was supervising her while she was playing with them, and she didn't choke.  :)

She did, however, have a blast with them; and it was fun to see her and Shav and Tobin having so much fun together.  :)

They also played with these magnetic bars and balls, and Shav asked me to take a picture of what he built.

And so did Tobin.  :)

In Jeff's family, his mom was the one to teach the kids how to play chess.  She had the patience to instruct them in how each piece moves, etc.  But once they started getting good at the game, Jeff's dad would play with them and help them to really develop their strategy.

History repeated itself as Grandma Fisher patiently played chess with Tobin and Shav a few days ago.

Tobin already knew how the pieces move but needs to work on thinking ahead and figuring out what his opponent can do and planning based on that.  Shav still needs practice on the basics.  You know, playing chess with them is one of those things I could do, but never seem to find/make the time for.  I'm so grateful for a patient Grandma who spends her time investing in her grandchildren in this way!

How beautiful to me are these hands: old and young!