Thankful.

This morning, I asked each of the girls and Kevin to tell me five things they are thankful for. 

Sidney
-I am thankful for my family, because they love me and take care of me.
-I am thankful for my teacher, because she teaches me new things.
-I am thankful for my friends, because they play with me.
-I am thankful for my dogs, because they lick me.
-I am thankful for God and Jesus.

Kendall
-I am thankful for my home; that it keeps me dry and warm.
-I am thankful for my family; that they are loving and sweet.
-I am thankful for my playful pets.
-I am thankful for my friends.  They are very kind.
-I am thankful for the healthy food I get to eat.

Heather
-I am thankful that I get to spend another holiday with my husband.
-I am thankful that my parents are here.  I have been needing them a lot lately.
-I am thankful for my two beautiful daughters.  They are a gift from heaven.
-I am thankful for how blessed we are.
-I am thankful for my sister.  Her strength and wisdom are incredible.

Kevin
-I am thankful for my family with the journey that we have been through this last year.
-I am thankful for my friends and all of their support.
-I am thankful for my doctors and nurses and all of their wisdom.
-I am thankful for my career, and the opportunity to make a difference to others.
-I am thankful for the outdoors, and the pleasure I have hunting, fishing, camping, etc.

Montana Hunting Trip 2015.

Kevin made it back to Montana this year to go hunting with Roy and Cody.  He had a surprise waiting there.  It was none other than Uncle Bill.  The boys had a great time together.  I suspect there was some hunting, a lot of eating, a lot of sleeping and some major story telling.

It looks a bit too cold for my taste.

 As I suspected, Billy was asleep by 7pm.

Apparently Kevin was asleep right along with him.

Kevin did get a nice little buck.  Sidney is anxiously awaiting some cheddar sausage and pepperoni sticks.

Love Languages.

There is a very popular book by Gary Chapman titled The 5 Love Languages.  They also have a book for children titled The 5 Love Languages of Children.  I have always assumed that I know the primary love languages for each of the girls, but it is always great when something magical comes along and affirms it. 

Kendall's class has been working on a dojo point system.  Kids are rewarded for being responsible, being a hard worker, showing respect, etc.  The dojo points show up electronically on an app that Kevin and I each have.They appear to be rather hard to earn.  Last week Kendall hit a milestone.  She earned 30 points.  Once a student has earned 30 points, they get to choose a special reward.  Kendall had a number of choices including:  15 minutes extra free time, 5 minutes extra white board time, writing with a pen all day, a toy, etc.  She chose something entirely different.  She came home with a sealed pink envelope.

Inside the envelop was a note to Kevin and I from her teacher.  Kendall was beaming ear to ear as we read the note.

She had chosen 'a positive note to parents' for her dojo reward.  Yes, her love language is Words of Affirmation.  Nailed it!

As for the rest of us...Sidney's love language is undoubtedly Physical Touch.  Kevin's love language is Quality Time.  As for me, my love language is Acts of Service.  Now, if I can just remember this.

An Update.

Kevin had another scan a week or so ago.  The scan showed that the tumors are still stable.  None of them have shrunk, but they have not grown measurably larger.  Considering where we were a year ago, this is incredible news. 

The side effects from the chemotherapy are compounding.  In particular, Kevin has experienced extreme neuropathy.  The oncologist is very concerned about this.  He has talked with Kevin about the possibility of taking a break since the cancer is not being aggressive.  The thought of taking a break is very scary to Kevin.  They decided to schedule another round of chemo in four weeks and talk more then.

We continue to take one day at a time, and spend time together as a family doing the things we enjoy.

The Chore Chart

A few months back, we combined ideas from a number of different places to come up with a system that works fantastically.  Below is a picture of Kendall's chore chart.  Each of the girls has a chart that is laminated.  The black writing is sharpie that stays there week after week.  The girls each have a dry erase marker that they use to check off the items once they are done.  We tried to keep it pretty basic.

How does it work?  Each girl starts the week off with 20 marbles (equivalent to $2).  The center jar is full of extras that they can do.  Each extra has a pre-determined marble value ranging from 2 to 5 marbles.  If they do an extra, Kevin or I have to make sure it was done correctly.  If so, they can place the stick in their marble jar.

What happens if they do not do what they are supposed to?  On the right of their chore charts, we all agreed on a few basic rules and consequences.  If they break a rule, they suffer the consequence.  Parent trick:  The last rule pretty much covers them all and then some "be respectful". 

We also agreed to pay them once a month.  This way, they can actually earn a decent amount of money.  They have come to realize that if they spend it all right away, they have awhile to wait before the next payday comes along.  This month has been a pretty rough one.  The first month, I believe they each had earned just over $10.

 We are three months into this now.  It has been simple and effective.

...And They Talked Us Into It.

We had two Halloween celebrations this year.  Our church had a party the Sunday before Halloween.  The girls were excited to get all dressed up this year.

 

They have made great friends with the neighbor boy, Jackson.  He came along for the party.

Kevin was thrilled to see the Monster High Grizzly Cheerleader.

Kendall was definitely more into the older games as opposed to the carnival games this year.

I love a good piñata.  These kids get really into it.  We had to hold the line to make sure none of the kids got nailed with the piñata stick.  Here is Sid taking a swing.

It was mass chaos once the piñata broke (truth be told Nate broke it open to prevent injury from swinging kids).

As we were watching the kids scoop up the candy, we saw this sweet moment with Sidney.  She picked up some candy and made sure this little toddler had a few pieces.

Kendall joined the older kids for piñata number two this year. 

We were so excited to have my sister and Hallie come down for the weekend of Halloween.  Hallie and the girls talked my sister and I into dressing up as Elsa and Anna.  I must admit, we had a great time.  There were several haunted houses in our neighborhood.  Then we took a cruise to some friends houses for trick or treating. 

If I was going to have to dress up, there was no way Kevin was getting out of it.  He made a great Zeus!  Here he is with the girls.  Gotta love the pout on Sidney's face, "Is it time to go trick or treating yet?"  Enough of the pictures already.

After she realized the picture pain and suffering would go on for a few more minutes, she decided to join the fun.

Steph and Hallie. 

A serious family picture.

Then it was time to get the wiggles out.

 

One quick story before I go.  Whenever I go out of town for work trips, Kevin lets the girls camp out in our room.  Last week while I was away on a trip, he woke up to Sidney staring at him.  She had obviously been up for quite some time, patiently waiting for him to open his eyes.  The second his eyes were open, she did not say "good morning" or "how did you sleep".  She was poised with a question, "What is a pirates favorite letter?"  Give up?  "Rrrrr".