Dear Friends and Family,
At bedtime recently, Claire said, "Mom, I just realized something. You aren't a fulltime mom anymore." I was totally surprised by her comment, because I hadn't really realized that I wasn't a fulltime mom any longer. When I started substitute teaching, that job wasn't regular and I wasn't able to sub at all during Covid. Now that I'm working for the church (in a ministry that I love very much - faith formation), I have regular office hours and classes to teach. I'm also substitute teaching on some of my days off. (One student recently greeted me saying, "Hi Mrs. Supple! You look younger than I remember you being." ...I'll take it!)
I mentioned our busyness in my last post. I didn't realize it at the time, but by admitting that we were so busy I must have unconsciously announced a sabbatical from the blog.
Life has been VERY busy and it's a shame to neglect this blog. It truly is our family album where I record memories, photos, and funny stories from each week. When I don't write, I forget those special moments. It's definitely worth making it a priority again!
Although we are busy, it's been the fun kind of busy!
My Dad, Nana Dixie and Uncle Rick came through to visit us this fall! We had fun crabbing, eating crab, fishing, playing cards, watching Claire play field hockey, and eating lots of delicious food!
A few friends took us Fall boating! Kasey invited us and his visiting Pittsburgh college buddies on his boat and let Claire drive (she was in heaven). Our friend Gil took us to a local restaurant by water!
At the end of September when I was preparing the porch for Halloween, I started sweeping and came across a very tiny visitor!
For Halloween, Will asked to be a bat. Because Will can be funny, I made sure to clarify if he wanted to be a baseball bat or an animal bat. He said, "Animal bat!" Claire wanted to be a panda!
At Thanksgiving, the kids and I drove to Ohio where we got to spend a night with my brother and his wonderful family!
The kids smile big with their cousins Asher and Graham!
We also got a quick visit to see my sister-in-love Katie, kids, new house and new dog, Emma.
We stayed a few days with my bestfriend, Tara Bacon's family, who always makes us feel so warmly welcomed. My high school buddies even joined us for a dinner at Olive Garden.
And, I was also able to see my Grandmother and Uncles. We took Grandma for a ride one day looking at our family's old houses and sharing memories. We also went to lunch, and I'm still so impressed by how well Grandma gets around. The quality time we had with her was wonderful.
At church, I just finished preparing the children who are seeking their sacraments for their first reconciliation. We had a retreat before Thanksgiving and the prayer service last weekend. The kids did great! Now I'm preparing my lessons for the children's first communion prep beginning in January.
Claire has been busy selling Girl Scout cookies every chance she can. Her troop will likely win the highest selling troop award for our region and perhaps even the state. The year before COVID, we sold around 4-5,000 boxes of cookies. During COVID, our troop sold a surprising 7,000 boxes and won the regional top seller award, and this year, we are on course to sell 19,000 boxes of cookies! At our booth sales, we saw so many generous people. Some bought a whole case of their favorite cookie, some donated $100 bills to the troop, and we had a total of 750 boxes donated to troops, hospitals, police, and firefighters!
Claire also had an incredible end to her field hockey season! Her team made it to the championship game and WON! Chris said, "Claire, not many people can say that they were a part of a championship winning team! Way to go!" She won the team superlative, "Love of the Game," for her dedication at practices and her cheerful spirit at games.
Claire got to see her best buddy from Pre-K who played in a different division of her own field hockey championship. After Olivia's game, Claire ran to greet her and it was so sweet!
Will tried cross country this year and loved it! He made a few "running buddy" friends and he improved his time at every run.
Will also joined the basketball team. Claire and Will discovered a love for this sport. They even turned an old outdoor garbage can into a basketball hoop! Chris and I decided we should get them a real basketball hoop as a Christmas present. Chris was ready for the Black Friday sale and ordered the hoop. Days later, it was delivered in a huge, heavy box to our porch! I noticed this minutes before the kids got off the bus, so I ran and got wrapping paper. Unable to move the box, I pushed it down the deck and used the wrapping paper to cover the big picture on the box. I was prepared to tell the kids that this year I had decided to decorate the house with wrapped presents for Christmas.
Despite my efforts, Claire got off the bus, ran to the house and said, "Yay! You got us a basketball hoop!" So, Chris spent most of a day lovingly building the new hoop and we said, "Merry Christmas, kids!"
The kids play daily and Will's shooting has greatly improved!
Will has remained the school-wide leader for First in Math points. It's an app through the school that quizzes kids on math facts through games. He enjoys growing his lead and has mastered many of the levels. I sometimes play with him, and it's way more fun than the flashcards we grew up with!
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