Winter Blahs - Not Here

Many people were hopeful that the groundhog did not see his shadow and this season that chilled their bones would retreat. I, on the other hand, love winter. Yep I said it. I love winter.

I love that there's new things to play outside - why not turn the swing set slide into a snow hill? I love that the evenings get dark sooner which usually means an earlier bedtime and quite possibly more hours reading for Mom. Winter also means less pressure to DO; many winter evenings in the Wendel house are spent around the kitchen table playing games.

I love winter.

Christmas Morning by Molly

presents!

the girl of  the year from American girl!

and now it is Alec's turn

 s

he is not exsidid (excited)

mommy got wipes for Christmas

my dad and his dad

the end!!!!!

Living, laughing, and loving

I've been negligent on posting because we've been having so much fun living! Hopefully a few pictures will make up for our absence.

School Has Started

My mom always drew a smiley face on the first day of school on the calendar that hung in our kitchen. And maybe if I had 8 kids I would also be excited for them to head back to school but as an educator their return also means my return and this summer was so awesome I dreaded this day. 

In addition to starting new schools, this year has brought about new experiences for both Alec and Molly. Alec has learned to drive a zero-turn mower, resigned from his first job, and finally found something he liked in the cafeteria! Molly has tumbled out of the bus seat, made lots of new friends, and is slowly adjusting to waking up at 6:30am! 

If the first week of school is any indication of how this year is going to go we are in for lots of smiles and many proud moments.

The Best Laid Plans....

A week ago these two girls planned to spend the day together today. They were going to splash, jump, swim, and dive the hours away at the pool. We gave it our best effort but at 75 degrees we couldn't swing but two hours. 

One of the neatest things about kids is their resiliency - I think I was more heartbroken than they were and not because I needed to splash, jump, dive and swim but because I knew how excited they were to have this day. We made some adjustments and I think we did just fine by the smiles on their faces.

The Adventure Forest by Molly

 The beautiful clouds.

 The lost truck that we found in the woods.

 When we were hiking we found a monarch butterfly. It is probably one of my friends from my school when we let them go.

 I was feeling a little scared when mommy was already in the woods. I finally got brave and went in there.

We found a marsh and had to get across all these branches so we didn't get muddy. But my hands got a little muddy.

 This is the bridge that was in the marsh. It was all yucky and plants also growed on the bridge.

 I was peeking at the camera on our way to get lunch.

I was on the bars at the playground after lunch.

When we were leaving we saw a wild deer. My dad would have loved it!

Big Families

Big families are few and far between nowadays and by big I mean 6+ children. Being married to someone who just has a brother and sister compared to my 3 brothers and 4 sisters we marvel at the differences. 

Group texts have a whole new meaning when there are 8 siblings offering opinions. At 11:00. At night. When will Verizon develop the technology to leave a group text?

There are injuries. Often. Not always on purpose.

There are discussions, stories, and debates which usually start reasonably and just get louder and louder and louder. Which means the sibling not paying attention to the conversation keeps turning the TV louder and louder which in turn causes the debaters to....well you get the picture.

We can't just meet for dinner. We have to think about who can accommodate our group and which restaurant will be the least disturbed by our personalities.

Our schedules and proximity make getting together virtually impossible. Its taken us 4 years to be back together for a meal. 

Entertaining has a whole different meaning than on HGTV when the house hunter needs a dining room large enough to seat 10 because they do a lot of entertaining. HA! Try a dining area to accommodate 50 (thats just my siblings, their spouses, and their children).

But then look at this beautiful woman whose love, organization, and faith has been the heart of this family for over 5 decades. 

They may drive me crazy at times, I'm sure I annoy them occasionally and they certainly keep things interesting but I wouldn't want any other family than the one God chose for me. 

Photos courtesy of Jason Joseph Photography