Arayna's Art

You have probably seen Arayna on this blog from time to time and may have wondered more about her.  Let me introduce you to her right now.  She is a friend of Anna's who we all happily adopted into our family a couple of years ago.  She is incredibly creative, artistic, courageous and strong.  She is a lovely young woman who also happens to be tough as nails (did I mention she is in ROTC and is now officially in the army??)

And... she is an artist.  She entered college as an art major, despite never having produced any art up to that point!  I find that to be incredibly courageous.  She knew she had an interest and she definitely possessed the courage to follow her dream.  How marvelous!

Do you happen to recognize this scene?

Let me give you a hint...  :)

Our pond!!  I just love the way she captured the beauty of our pond with the autumn colors.  Of course I love her pond scene, but this one below sure captures my imagination, as well.  It is even more stunning in person.

And Arayna's talent spans more than one artistic form... check out her wire sculpture below!

She also works with fibers and has an incredible eye for decorating.  She truly is a talented individual and we look forward to seeing all that she will accomplish in the future.  Arayna, we are proud of you and all of your hard work!

Finishing up November...

As usual, running way behind here but determined to not miss anything here on the 'online family scrapbook'.   I'll finish up November with a catch all post.  :)

We celebrated Marvin's birthday with a family dinner.  It couldn't quite compare to the wonderful celebration we had for him last year, but we enjoyed remembering that special evening once again.   :)  I think you can only REALLY surprise someone once, or maybe twice...  But we enjoyed a meal together with family and Marvin got his new belt buckle.  Another tradition!   :)

Jonathan has been building lots of things lately.  I am impressed with his ingenuity.  He is a very detail oriented guy and it shows in his workmanship.

this is so cool to see in person... it is a spring-loaded 'knife'.  (made entirely out of foam board)  He has that nail attached to a ring he wears over a finger, then he can pull the nail which causes the 'knife blade' to pop out.

yes, another weapon...

the clip is removable

he can make just about anything out of EVA foam and foam board.  

We enjoyed dinner with our friend, Steve.  He even got to see Jonathan's minecraft costume.

I had forgotten to mention that Jonathan participated in a dodgeball tournament way back at the beginning of the month.  Not sure that was really his forte, but he had a good time with a great team of fellas.

School is plugging along.  I am continually grateful that Daddy is teaching Jackson Chemistry this year (along with my brother via our online science 'co-op').  Not only is it a huge weight off of my shoulders, there simply isn't a better Chemistry teacher out there ANYWHERE!  Jackson is truly blessed by this and I believe Daddy is also enjoying his time with Jackson.

Grandpa gave him this shirt... chemistry humor...  ha!  In case you can't read it, it says
"for a good time call 602-1023 and ask for Avogadro"    
(6.02 x 10²³ is Avogadro's number)

We have had some beautiful sunsets and foggy weather.

We are heading into a busy season - for everyone, I know.  I do so love this whole season from Thanksgiving right through the new year - and although it is crazy busy, I want to try to savor all the moments.  I don't know if that will mean I will keep up with the blog better over the next several weeks, or if I will just disappear again until January.  But, either way, I wish you all a beautiful, joy-filled holiday season.

Thanksgiving x 2!

Jackson and Jonathan were super psyched that we had not 1, but 2 Thanksgiving celebrations this year.  Jackson was heard repeatedly muttering, "Best Thanksgiving EVER!!"   :)

So how did we manage all this celebratory wonderfulness?  With the help of the incredible Matheney family, of course!  They were so kind and gracious to invite our entire extended family to their home to share Thanksgiving Day with them and their extended family.  What a lovely day!  The food was yummy and we so enjoyed getting to know both Matt and Brenda's parents better.

Anna, Grandpa and Grandma

Bill, Megan, Melina and Julie

Pierce and Matt

beautiful table setting

2nd beautiful table setting!

I only got a photo of this table...  Linda, Matt, Mama, Daddy, Betty, Julie, Brenda and Marvin

kids playing SET after lunch

I love this 'post Thanksgiving meal' photo!   :D

Then, on Saturday, we 'switched houses' and did it all again!  Everyone met at Julie's house for our 2nd Thanksgiving.  In addition to the Matheney family (minus Linda and Bill who had to leave town that morning) we enjoyed the company of Arayna, Shane and Betty J.  Again, a day filled with yummy food and good conversation.

As Jackson said, eating Thanksgiving food for multiple days was amazing!  Although, I do have to admit that by Sunday lunch we were all ready for a change and headed to the Lake Restaurant for a good old steak!   :)

 my yummy plate!!   :)

Shane and Arayna

Pierce playing for us

Megan having fun with the bubbles...

the 'after' shot - she got Jackson's face with the bubbles... AFTER he had gotten MY face with bubbles!
Megan, my hero.   :D

Even he was impressed!  :)  

The three Pierce Matthew's making beautiful music together.  Precious moment.

Betty J. and Mama

Betty M. and Brenda

Daddy and Marvin

Matt and Julie

Jackson and Jonathan

Pierce

Brenda and Anna

Mama, Betty J. and Daddy

Megan and Melina

Megan, Daddy, Anna and Melina

Mama and Betty M.

Arayna and Shane

Marvin and Megan

Laura and Betty M.

Melina and Jackson with the wishbone

Melina, little Anna (who came by for a bit in the evening), Jackson and Jonathan   :)