- Lena was the only one awake this morning when I started hauling my laundry baskets to the kitchen. She had already made eggs and was well ahead of everyone else in the house. Soon though the whole house was stirring.
- Robby left a bit early with Campbell to pick up something on the way to church. The rest of us were not too far behind. Whitman had on a cute quarter zip shirt today, but when Keaton suggested that he was going to catch some girls with it, he quickly changed.
- Keaton and Graham did the offering today, and since Whitman was still in a sour mood from the clothing debacle, he did try his best to trip Graham as he came back into our row. I just about climbed over everyone to knock some sense into the boy. He later said that he wasn't meaning to trip Graham, but I'm not so sure.
- After church, we all had lunch at Grannymom's house and celebrated Dana's birthday. We got gas in the cars on our way home. Lena loaded up, and she left pretty soon after getting home. Anderson wasn't too far behind her. He had so many new clothes (2 shirts and 2 new pants) that he had to wear an extra shirt on the way back to school-plus it was pretty chilly out.
- Later in the afternoon after our naps, Robby took Campbell to Rock Creek for church. Reagan then left for school-I think that she was stalling a little bit. She eventually did leave, and she even had to bring Anderson something that he forgot.
- We ended the evening at the Wilson's house for Sunday night supper. We helped them finish a puzzle plus we enjoyed breakfast. It was a good end to the holiday weekend.
November 30, 2025
November 29, 2025
- I was the first one up this morning so I worked on the laundry and dishes before starting on Christmas in the kitchen. I don't think that I'm going to do my kitchen Christmas tree. I might change my mind because Reagan said it was her favorite tree, and others have also agreed that they liked the kitchen tree. I've found the replacement that I want, so we shall see.
- Robby and I left early to fill up Reagan and Anderson's cars with gas. Then we went to Nonna and Pops' house to help set up Pops' new tv. Robby was able to easily install it, but it still took a little while to go through all of the steps.
- When we came home, Reagan and Lena were making breakfast-eggs, bagels, fruit, and cheese. While they made breakfast, I made pumpkin muffin batter. Then I took Campbell to meet a few people for some shopping. She found a few more things that she needed today plus she had lunch out and hot chocolate. I think that she had a good day.
- After I dropped her off, I finished my pumpkin muffins, while Reagan, Lena, and Keaton went to the store for some raspberries and chocolate. They came back and made white chocolate raspberry brownies. They were pretty good, but I don't think that they were as good as Whitman's banana bread that he made once they finished in the kitchen.
- The house was fairly quiet tonight-I guess though I'm not really sure because after I picked up Campbell, Robby and I went out to eat with some friends. We enjoyed our dinner and came back to quite a few packages to go through!
November 28, 2025
- This was a busy Black Friday. I spent a good deal of time ordering things, and even in a few cases reordering things. However, by the end of the day I would say that 75 percent of Nonna, Jason, and Grannymom's presents are bought along with 75 percent of the kids' Christmas stockings are also done so that is a great thing. I even found a few deals for myself,
- Campbell and Keaton went with me shopping this morning. They wanted to go, and I could pick things up at 2 stores (though at each of those stores, I just ended up ordering what I wanted online so I didn't have to wait in a line.)
- The girls didn't find anything they needed at the Promanade which greatly disturbed them. At Old Navy they both spent money-Keaton bought a sweater, and Campbell bought 3 shirts. Next up was Target where Campbell found Christmas gifts for the girls' that they babysit. We did end our day with some Starbucks so that did make the Black Friday shopping worth it.
- This afternoon I had a nap plus I spent some time unpacking all of today's deliveries. I should have taken a pictures because it was a bit on the crazy side. Soon, everyone but Whitman left the house.
- Campbell and Keaton babysat this evening so Robby and I took them. We stayed out and did some shopping while they were working. Reagan had a Friendsgiving party that she went to-she took cookies and ham and cheese sliders. Anderson and Graham played pickleball with their buddies, so it was a pretty boring evening for Whitman.
- However, he is going strong right now-Keaton and him just rang the doorbell trying to "ding dong ditch" us. I just thought we were getting another package (at 11 does seem a little late though), but Robby was quick to realize there was lots of giggling and back door slamming happening.
November 27, 2025-Happy Thanksgiving 2025
- When we went to bed last night, I had my minute by minute list of everything that I needed to accomplish this morning. Campbell also had her minute by minute list of when she needed to do things to bake her sourdough turkeys.
- My first task was to turn on the oven for Campbell. After that, she went right to work on her bread. Well, she actually started working on them early yesterday. She did make the cutest bread turkeys-I just wished that I had pretty things to put around them to make them look like turkey or a good dip to eat them with. I'll plan better next year though.
- After the oven, I had to deal with the laundry-we washed two loads last night. I'm sure thankful that my people are all home, but why does everyone have to wear so many clothes on the same day? Once the laundry was folded, I delivered it and woke everyone else up.
- Robby went outside to work in the yard for 45 minutes-3 hours later he came in. He said that it was hard to find a stopping point. Since we had already made our desserts yesterday, all I had to do was cook the hashbrown casserole, make the mac and cheese, and cut the fruit.
- The kids all did their traditional fruit turkeys-some with better attitudes than others. Anderson even suggested ending the fruit turkey making tradition but I told him that is one of our only Thanksgiving traditions so we must keep it.
- Soon everyone started arriving-Jason, Nonna, Pops, Lily, Cash, Dana, and Grannymom. Everyone also came bearing food so we had a cabinet full, and even after eating we barely made a dent in what all we had.
- Everyone stayed and visited after we ate plus we took some family pictures. We even took a few pictures of just the kids which is always a bit stressful-more stressful than it ought to be.
- Ethan came over for a little bit this evening, and Reagan had another friend coming to spend a few nights later. While he was here, everyone ate some plus Graham, Campbell, Whitman, and I played Code Names. Reagan joined us later, and our game lasted over an hour.
- Now, the Hog game is off, and we are just sitting on the couch for the last little bit of this Thanksgiving day.
November 26, 2025
- Robby left early this morning to run some errands so when I woke up, the house was pretty quiet. I spent the morning in the kitchen straightening some and baking a little bit. I made a good dent in everything that I wanted to do-I even steam mopped the kitchen floors.
- I tried to get as much done as possible for tomorrow, but there is always a list of things that have to be done that day-plus there are probably a few things on that list that I could get up and do right now, but this couch is super comfy.
- The kids started stirring around 11 or so. This slowed down my kitchen cleaning since I had to wait until everyone found their lunch and breakfasts.
- Robby came home and then left again to take Keaton driving. She drove all the way to Grannymom's house where she stayed and helped to decorate her Christmas tree. Reagan and Campbell went to pick Keaton up a bit later.
- Robby and I left to run some more errands while Graham went to run an errand for us to pick up a free mini fridge. Keaton rode along with him to help.
- When we came home, Robby made the kids pizza and mozerella sticks while we ate leftovers from the fridge. I was trying to empty it out as much as I can before tomorrow. Maybe this is a hot chocolate night or possibly someone else will cook a dessert!
November 25, 2025
- This was a pretty busy day. When I woke up, I went upstairs to open the boys' door so Bentley could come downstairs. She will eventually wake someone up when she wants to leave their rooms. I was trying to get up there before she did, but Graham was already sitting up in his bed with Bentley whining at him.
- Graham never went back to sleep, but Bentley had a mini spa day-teeth brushed, hair combed, and nail trimmed. That pretty much happens every day for her, but I had a new nail trimmer which made it different-more so for me than for her.
- The big boys left to go and play basketball, but they didn't get very far before they discovered that the gyms were all full or closed. Just a few minutes later, I dropped Campbell and Keaton off at Nonna and Pops' house so they could decorate Nonna's tree.
- I hurried home so I could make potato soup for tonight-Campbell had 3 friends over, Keaton had one friend over, and Reagan also had a friend over tonight.
- The big adventure of the day was the dentist for all the kids and me. It was a bit chaotic since the boys were planning on playing basketball and then coming late. I had given them the time of their appointments, but they moved pretty fast so I text them to come on. They made it just about 10 minutes before they were ready for them which worked out perfectly.
- I did leave with the girls before the big boys finished. We went to Sams so Reagan could get her flu shot. Robby picked up some ChickFilA to use our free nuggets before they expired, and then when the girls left, the boys arrived.
- Graham went home with the girls and Whitman while I went in with Anderson to get his flu shot. Sometimes my head hurts because I am doing the work of a computer trying to organize who is going where and when. The dentist was better than I had guessed-only 2 people with cavities (total of 6 cavities between them). He also recommended that Whitman and Keaton go to an orthodontist.
- We all made it home, and Campbell and I figured out how to start the fire on the firepit for her people. Then it wasn't long before the house was full of people scooping up soup. The big boys went to play basketball at Immanuel with Brett, and now Reagan has gone to Sonic with her friend to get a drink.
- I'm trying to make a plan for tomorrow on how I can be productive but save some time for some fun things tomorrow too.
November 24, 2025
- It was a rainy and messy morning. I knew it was raining but sure didn't think about it any when the big boys and I backed out of the garage. I was driving the white van and to get around Reagan and Anderson's cars, I had to back up the other way which I do often.
- However, it must not always be raining when I back up in the grass because today I backed up well, but when I put that big van into drive, we didn't go anywhere. Stuck!
- I am incredibly thankful for big boys-they stood out in the rain trying to figure out how I could get out. After they placed a few rocks and some branches, I was eventually able to drive out. It took a while, and they were drenched. However, we did make some memories.
- We were first in line for our hair cuts so that was nice. What was not nice was my tire pressure light coming on while driving there. I was convinced that we had some how poked a hole in my back tire trying to free it. Fortunately, that wasn't it. Unfortunately, it was a nail in a front tire. Robby discovered that tonight when he was checking them so he will get that fixed in the morning.
- I made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch for most people here. This afternoon I was chilly the entire time and even had to have my hot chocolate early. Campbell and Graham worked this afternoon, but they finished early so were home by a little after 4.
- Tonight was Campbell's turn to make supper so she made chicken bacon potato ranch casserole-it had a fancier name, but here is the important part: everyone liked it. That is rare around here to find such a winner, but she did.
- When we finished supper, Robby and I left to go and run some errands. I helped him shop, and then he delivered while I stayed at the store doing our own shopping. I bought quite a few Christmas things, but my Christmas list just keeps growing...and I don't have any idea what I'm getting my people! I'm not sure what exactly is happening.
- When we came home, the girls were finishing a movie and now Campbell has started on another sign to paint. The big boys are playing on their xboxes while Whitman is on his ipad.
November 23, 2025
- Robby and I were up way too late last night-think 2 at least. I did pop right up when my alarm went off. Well, I didn't pop up and get out of bed, I popped up and grabbed my phone and played until it was time for me to get up.
- I had my shower and then started waking everyone else up. Reagan was already in the shower upstairs, and the other girls were stirring. Not so for the boys; they were not moving at all. It took a few trips upstairs to make sure that they were all awake. (Again, I am not sure how Anderson makes it to all of his classes!)
- When we pulled into the parking lot at church, someone noticed all of the cars and said that we were late. However, we weren't late at all-we were about thirty minutes early. The kids Sunday school classes were not very full, but our class was pretty packed.
- After Sunday school, we all headed to Nonna and Pops' house. Nonna had spaghetti for lunch, and it was really yummy, but not as good as her chocolate cake. The girls helped Nonna put the lights on her tree, and some of them will go back on Tuesday to finish the tree job.
- When we came home, Robby helped Tony with their Christmas lights while Campbell, Keaton and I went to Walmart to buy a few things for the puppy. Then since we had some coupons, we went and bought a few drinks (one free, one half off, and one regular price-it was no surprise to me that the regular price drink was over 6 dollars)
- Afterwards, we headed to Costco to buy a shirt for Anderson. Keaton ran in with me and found a jacket for Christmas for her. Then we came home and soon left again to take Keaton and Whitman to their life groups. A bit later, Campbell and Graham left again to go to their dgroups.
- We all made it back about the same time, and all pretty much looked for supper at the same time. We all ate, and not Keaton and Reagan are planning a movie night and are trying to make chocolate croissant out of a can of cinnamon rolls. I have a plan B dessert picked out just in case theirs is a flop.
November 22, 2025
- Robby and I slept in a little bit this morning, but soon he left to run some errands. I thought that I wouldn't see the kids for a while, but they all came trickling down the stairs. Anderson was first, and I think that Whitman was the last, but everyone came down near each other.
- Keaton and Reagan made themselves a dirty soda while Campbell worked on her sourdough bread. I do think that she perfected it today. Graham did run, but Anderson and Whitman spent a lot of time on their devices. (I don't think that Anderson plays on his too much at school, so he was catching up today.)
- Keaton needed to drop something off at Lily's house so she drove us there while Campbell drove us home. Those girls plan to be out driving quite a bit when they are old enough.
- We watched the ballgame-well, I slept through some of it, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Robby and I then left with Campbell to babysit for the family in Bauxite. We dropped her off, and then Robby and I ran errands until she was finished at 11:30.
- We did stop once for me to grab us a snack and soup dumplings for Reagan to eat another day. We also had supper-We were driving by Moody's, a hamburger place in Benton, and the sign said "if your name is Tara, you get a free meal." Of course, we couldn't pass that up. It wasn't exactly where we had planned on eating, but it was free.
- I ordered a hamburger, and the man asked if I wanted to upsize my fries and drink for free too-well, of course. Robby ordered some soup, so we both ate some of mine and were tickled with our supper deal.
- Campbell was finished around 11:30-a little sooner than we thought. We were in mid errand so we were late (just by like 10 minutes) picking her up. She didn't get supper so we stopped at Taco Bell for a taco on the way home, and since we were already out, we did one more delivery down Springhill as we drove home.
- Once we were at home, the house was straight, and everyone was in their beds (I could tell Reagan was home). It is nearly 1 so I'm going to skip my shower and head straight to bed!
November 21, 2025
- This has been a really good day-all my people are home. Well, they aren't all home right now because Robby and Campbell are actually gone while I'm writing this, but we all were home this afternoon, and everyone will be home later.
- It was kind of a slow morning. I woke up a little bit later, and then Keaton and I went to Hobby Lobby for a few errands. I did let her drive half way to the store-I have let her drive on Lawson and now Sparks much earlier that I have anyone else. She did good, and I never even had to raise my voice.
- Campbell and Graham were planning on going to work this afternoon, but they got a call saying that they didn't need to come since the server was down. This caused much excitement-Campbell decided to make some sourdough since she was going to be home (she is trying to perfect it).
- Soon Anderson came in-I tried my best to get all of the information from him. I was pretty successful. He is still enjoying school and doing well.
- He did register today-and his schedule is well, horrible. The only slot for him to register was late in the week, so now he is having to petition to get 4 of his 5 classes. All of the classes are full, so who knows. If he doesn't get into his classes it will pretty much be a wasted semester. (So say a prayer that it all does work out.) I think that it will be fine, and we are going to give it a few days back at school before he starts asking people for some help.
- Robby came in about 5 minutes after Anderson, and Reagan came in 5 minutes after him. Reagan said that she was going to do all of her work for finals week this week, and after chatting a while, I think that she went upstairs and got to work.
- Campbell and Robby left before 5. She was babysitting tonight possibly for the mom's surprise birthday party so I will be interested to see how that all worked out. Robby took her, and then came back home because the upstairs air conditioner was not working. After a bit of tinkering (and probably some prayer too) it started to work. It has done that before-like it got too hot and stopped cooling.
- He then left again to run errands until it was time to pick up Campbell. Keaton had her friendsgiving tonight. She had the table set plus a banner along with a turkey banner with all of her friends' heads on it. We made corn, green beans, sugar cookies, and ham and cheese sliders while her friends brought more sides and desserts. It all turned out super cute, and they even spent time around the fire pit.
- I'm on the couch trying to decide if I should get up and work in the kitchen, read some of my book, or just sit here and do nothing on my phone.
November 20, 2025
- Campbell and Keaton went to Mother's Day Out this morning, and it was a pretty long day for both of them. They both went to babysit after they finished at church. Robby did stop to get them a drink.
- Campbell left at 6 to go to a Friendsgiving party with some hashbrown casserole that I made for her while Keaton stayed and babysat until 8. It was a long day for both of them.
- Meanwhile, back at the house this morning Whitman and I worked together, and then Graham woke up and started on his school work. Whitman took most of the day on his school work, but he eventually finished which made me more happy than him.
- I went on a walk this afternoon for a little bit after it had stopped raining. I thought that it was going to rain some more, but it never did. Bentley never did get her walk today, but she only went to potty early in the morning and then again when I made her go this afternoon-she thought it was still raining and didn't want to leave the house.
- Campbell is still out partying while Robby is running some errands. Keaton is about to make some cookies, but Graham just put cookies in the oven before Keaton could finish hers.
November 19, 2025
- No one was awake this morning when I went through waking everyone up. Thankfully, everyone did wake up pretty quickly. Whitman and Keaton were both wide awake this morning while I was reading so I was glad about that-it makes things a lot easier. Otherwise, I have to read a few sentences and then shout at Keaton to wake up.
- We did school plus I helped Graham with quite a bit of Spanish. I can definitely say that Spanish 2 will be a challenge, but it will better for him to take it now than later. Keaton and Campbell were both finished super early which was a good thing.
- Campbell and Keaton being done early was a good thing because Campbell made sourdough bread and rolls. Keaton made cookie dough for later in the week. And tonight in the youth was the feast. Keaton made her puppy chow yesterday, and Whitman made his corn flake cookies last night. This afternoon Graham made corn casserole while Campbell made hashbrown casserole. It was quite a busy day for my kitchen.
- On our way to church tonight, we stopped at the library and then ran to two stores at the outlets. Plus there was a big discussion in the car if Keaton could have successfully driven to church. Graham said she could while I said that she could not have. (We were talking about driving to church when the roads were a little bit quieter and not when things are crazy at 5:30 when we normally drive there on Wednesday nights)
- The kids enjoyed the feast, but afterwards we still stopped at ChickFilA to pick up our free nuggets. Most people saved theirs for later, but there were a few that were eaten this evening. I never really did get supper so maybe I will have some now or maybe some hot chocolate!
November 18, 2025
- Whitman was the only one awake and downstairs this morning. I guess Campbell was awake too because she was on her phone when I came upstairs to wake everyone up. I thought I woke Graham up-I did make sure that his alarm was going to ring again soon, but he sure didn't get up. He had plenty of time to get things done today so he was good.
- Everyone did their school work, and it seemed that everyone was finishing at the same time. Campbell and Keaton were both waiting on me at one point, and I sure ruffled some feathers when I did math with Whitman with math before finishing with Keaton.
- At noon, we went to Nonna and Pops' house for lunch. Nonna made quesadillas, and we all gobbled them up. We stayed over there for a little bit visiting, and then we headed home. On the way home, Campbell, who had driven, stopped in Plantation Acres for Keaton to drive. She did good and probably could have driven home, but we were all ready to get home by then.
- Whitman worked on his school this afternoon while Keaton and Campbell organized our paint. I decided to put up the living room tree so I did that-I still need to put the ribbon on it tonight, and I'm saving the ornaments for another day.
- Robby and I made grilled cheese for everyone's supper, and then we ran some errands. I was able to mark quite a few things off of my list (page 1 and page 2). Then we came home to make cookies with Whitman for tomorrow's feast at church. When we had finished, Graham came in from his ACT class, and now we are sitting on the couch-I'm going to read for 5 minutes and then work on that Christmas tree ribbon.
November 17, 2025
- This was an odd morning-as I was walking through the living at 7:30 with my laundry in my hands, I spotted Whitman casually sitting in the living room on his ipad. He told me that he woke up at 7 to which I asked why. He said that he tries to wake up early every morning but usually doesn't.
- I then went on my walk and returned to see Campbell sitting where Whitman just was. She said that she woke up at 6 and hadn't been too sleep since then. With everyone awake so early you would think that we would have finished school super early.
- Campbell and Graham left for work at one, and by 2:30 my phone said that they were back home. They had finished everything for them to do-I guess they work pretty hard and get things done while at work. They do not even have to go back on Wednesday which helps me on Wednesday but doesn't help their bank accounts.
- When they came home, they were a bit perplexed about what to do with their bonus time. Campbell went right to work painting while Graham migrated upstairs to play on his device.
- Since the kids were home early, Robby moved our evening appointment up as well. At 4, we left the house to go and pick out Bentley's new sister. There were a lot of girls to choose from, but when we told them that we wanted a light one and one who was also a big bigger, they showed us Polly (they have been calling her polly-but we will probably choose Marley as her name.)
- We all enjoyed holding some little puppys, but little Polly was definitely a favorite. Everyone was pretty excited on the way home today for sure. I have a list of things to buy for the puppy plus I have one more area that needs to be cleaned a bit before she comes (Whitman's bookshelf with lots of little things on it.)
- We came home and started working on supper. We have manicotti and soup left, but my crew didn't really eat any of that tonight-they did have some soup for lunch. Robby and I worked on finishing off the soup for supper. We still have a lot to eat though which is a very good thing since we all really enjoyed it.
- Now, Robby and I are on the couch on our computer. Campbell is also on the couch working on her new Spanish curriculum. Graham is on his xbox while Whitman is on his ipad. I think that Keaton might be cleaning her room since she saw a spider near her bed this afternoon.
November 16, 2025-Battle of the Ravine Weekend
Graham was the first one awake this morning followed by Campbell and Keaton. They headed to church this morning so they had to leave pretty early. They made it in plenty of time-maybe because Graham drove a little faster than we would have liked.
Robby and I stayed in bed for a while. Whitman was wide awake so when we all did get up and start working on packing up the camper. He was even so wide awake that he offered to walk with me to the trashcan. We walked there, and he talked to me the entire time.
Picking up this morning didn't take too long, but Robby super cleaned out the tanks which does take a little bit of time. We left the campground around 11:25 and zoomed on towards Little Rock. We only stopped once at a gas station, and thankfully there were no surprise tire stops.
Campbell and Graham had to stay late at church today to practice for the Christmas program. Since Keaton went to church with them, she had just planned to stay. Robby thought of asking if she wanted to pick her up, and she jumped on that idea. I think that she was glad to head home a little bit early.
We were glad to have the extra set of hands to help us unload the camper. We had most things boxed and piled up ready to be taken out so Whitman and Keaton helped with that. Soon we were finished unloading, and I went to town washing everything.
Campbell and Graham came home this afternoon, and he immediately left again with Whitman. They went to Nonna and Pops' house to help move some wood. They needed a Sonic drink afterwards, so they stopped by there on their way home.
Robby cleaned the camper this afternoon, and then when he took Campbell to Rock Creek I reloaded it. The camper is now ready for our next camping trip-even though that will probably be in 2026. While Robby and Campbell were gone, I heated up some soup along with leftover manicotti for our Sunday night super with the Wilsons.
We ate and visited, and then it was eventually time for the saddest part of the week-Sunday night! This should be a fun and kind of slow week so that is nice.
November 15, 2025-Battle of the Ravine Weekend
This has been another great day here in the Delph. I guess, we are actually in Bismark, but we have had a really good day. Robby left before 8 to go and buy our tickets (the line was pretty long at the game to buy tickets so that was a good call). He also bought ice to ice down drinks for tonight, and then he picked up some doughnuts to make this camper super happy.
There wasn't a whole lot of time this morning before leaving for the game. Robby and I did walk Bentley, but when we came back, it was time to leave. We did get stuck beside the Henderson football team walking to the stadium, but other than that, we found parking spots fairly close.
I climbed out of the car, and pretty soon afterwards felt something on my foot. It took a second to register that the little black dots on my shoes were ants. I threw down everything in my hands and took my shoes and socks off. (We were all thankful that the ants did not crawl up my pants, or they would have had to come off too.) Graham worked on one shoe while I worked on the other one. I only really had one or two bites, and they stopped stinging by the time that we made it to the stadium so that could have all been much worse.
We found seats way up high in the stadium, but we were luck to have gotten those. They were decent though we were all winded each time we walked up to our spots. Robby and I had a loaded frito chili pie as our snack before the ballgame while the kids had ChickFilA sandwiches-and those were really the best parts about the game.
The game part wasn't great. I can say that the weather was actually wonderful. It was a bit windy, but once the sun did shine on us, the wind kept us comfortable. We left a little bit early and came back to start preparing our food for tonight.
We were able to sit a bit before everyone arrived but soon we were feeding quite a crowd. Shannon counted 29 college kids there tonight plus the rest of us so we fed 37 this evening. I had 4 recipes of potato soup (we ate 2.5), grilled cheese (4.5 loaves worth), 2 boxes of brownies (1/2 of a pan left), and cornflake cookies (quite a few left). Shannon had taco soup, cheese dip, oreo delight, and banana pudding.
It was so fun to see all of the kids. Last year, Reagan's group was kind of quiet and didn't really know many folks. This year that wasn't the case, but Anderson's group was the new group though they did still know most of the other folks-at least the guys. I believe that Reagan brought 8 friends with her, and I don't really know how many guys Anderson brought, but I think that it was about 7 or 8 as well.
The kids were all very thankful and polite this evening. Many of them offered to help us clean up. It was a fun evening-at the end, we did a bit of planning on how to manage for next year with Brett, Reagan, Anderson, and Graham's friends.
They all left around 8:30, and we started picking up. We had a lot of chairs to clean up. All of our kiddos helped, and when we were done, we sat by the fire for a few minutes with Shannon and Tony before taking the dogs on a walk.
November 14, 2025-Battle of the Ravine Weekend
We slept wonderfully last night in this camper-even with a lot of people in here (just 4 kiddos, a dog, and us), we still slept well. There is just something about sleeping in the camper.
Before we really got out of bed, Robby and I had breakfast-I had a cinnamon bagel with cream cheese and so did Graham while Robby had 2 pancakes on a stick. Then we laid around in bed for a bit longer before getting up and going on a 2 mile walk.
Shannon walked Annie while we walked Bentley. It was a little warm in the sun, but the breeze was pretty crazy. We even had to add more weights to our tents. After walking, it was, of course, time for a lunchy snack.
Then we all loaded up and went to Arkadelphia's new pickleball courts. We were going to go to another set of "free courts," but you had to pay to go there making them not so free. The ones we went to were brand new, and only one other court was being used.
I'm not sure how long we actually played, but we all played some games-we all played enough games that we needed a Sonic drink to cool off. We not only bought ourselves a Sonic drink, but we also bought one for Brett and Reagan. We offered one to Anderson, but he declined-he did come and visit us though.
After seeing all of the kids, we ran to Walmart where we found quite a few things that we needed. I always love a different Walmart or a different store in any town. Anderson says that when they are bored, they go to Walmart and just walk up and down every aisle-that sounds wonderful to me. We didn't have time for that today though.
We came back to the campground and took the dog on a short walk. Then Shannon started on supper while Robby organized the camper some. I sat and read. Then it was time to start the fire, and when Tony arrived, we had supper.
The fire was perfect tonight as we watched the Hogs play basketball. It was a bit warmer tonight but still incredibly windy. We went on one more walk before calling it a night-except that is when Graham left to go and play basketball at OBU.
November 13, 2025-Battle of the Ravine Weekend
This Thursday began like most-Robby took Campbell and Keaton to Mother's Day Out while I started on school with the boys. Actually, Graham slept for a bit, but Whitman and I started his school work. A few weeks ago we started a new book that we just read on Thursday mornings, and today's readings were about entitlement-I wanted to stop reading with just him and read it with everybody.
School was a little hectic as it is on any trip day. Whitman really only finished about half of his things by lunch time-so that was a bit frustrating to me, but memories and all. Robby, Whitman, and Bentley pulled out around 1:15
It was just a little bit after that when Robby text me saying that he had a tire problem. He could see that it was going flat so he hurried to the Craft house on the way so he would have space to work and not be in someone's parking lot or on the side of the street.
Thankfully, he made it there. I had a few things left to do at home so I carried on while keeping careful watch on my phone. I wanted to wash my hair so I did it quickly knowing that Robby might need me. He struggled getting one of his lug nuts off, but other than that things could not have worked out any better.
He was able to borrow a car and go to the tire place to get a new tire before Keaton and Campbell were even finished with Mother's Day Out. When I picked them up, we went to the tire place since I wasn't sure how long he would be there.
Keaton went to the bathroom at the tire place so we made it back to the Crafts after Robby. He pretty much had the tire on by the time we got there. It probably only took him 10 minutes to put it on and clean things up. Then we were all on our way.
I stopped at a gas station for an errand on the way plus grabbed a pizza before going to the campsite. Robby already had the camper back in and set up when we arrived. The tire was frustrating, and after all of the tire problems we have had, it is a bit un-nerving. However, we have already had a really good time which reminds us that it is all worth it.
We set up our tents and lights, and before too long it was already dark. Robby turned on the oven, and we baked the manicotti and bread for supper. Then we ate outside before sitting by the fire for the rest of the night. It was a pretty perfect evening!
November 12, 2025
- Graham was up early this morning because he headed to Ouachita for the day. It made me kind of sad looking at the my phone seeing three Dennie kids at Ouachita and just three Dennie kids at home. Though it also makes my heart happy to see three Dennie kids at Ouachita.
- He was there for a Sports Communications meeting-they had over 400 kids and different sessions to attend. I think that he enjoyed the day, and we were happy that the suburban delivered him safely there and back home.
- While he was gone, the rest of us did school this morning. I am trying to finish a few things so we can have a few less things to do during the first few weeks that the new puppy is here. I'm sure I've forgotten how challenging those first few weeks will be so anything to lighten our load.
- Campbell went to work by herself this afternoon. She wasn't sure they would have things for her to do, but she stayed busy all afternoon.
- While she was gone, I did a few things, and then thought that I would be able to take my time making some soup this afternoon. Unfortunately, I guess I don't manage my time to well because I was scrambling making 4 recipes of soup. I did have to leave in the middle of my cooking to pick Campbell up. Thankfully, I was able to finish and clean things up before we all headed to church.
- After church, we all went to ChickFilA to pick up our nuggets-Whitman had already eaten so much pizza at church that he tried to give his away. I told him that he could just have them tomorrow for lunch so we will see if he does!
November 11, 2025
- I walked once again in the chilly weather this morning While I was gone, Robby left for his outing with Grannymom and Dana to Memphis. The rest of us hung back home and did a full day of school. Well, I did skip one bit of reading this morning plus tonight after 5 when Whitman was still working, I let him skip one or two things.
- On days that Campbell and Graham do not have work, things are a little bit slower and a bit more happens. Graham and I were able to get around to applying to a scholarship that we had been putting off.
- Campbell would have had more time today, but her alarm clock didn't go off this morning. I thought she had told me that she was going to wake up at 11, but Keaton thought it was 10-she was right, and it was near 10:30 when I did text and call Campbell to check. She had already finished most of her school so her only real project was working on his sourdough bread that she made today.
- After lunch, we all loaded up and went to get our flu shots. Our first stop was the gas station to fill up the suburban for its trip to Arkadelphia tomorrow. Then we all went into Sams-we didn't have to wait too long, and it was incredibly easy but a bit expensive. The shots weren't expensive, but the coat, pair of pants, jacket, slice of pizza, two pizza pretzels, and a slushie.
- The kids ate their snacks while I ran into Walmart-I found most of what I needed, but my list-I dropped my list. I had written out a list with a zillion things on it for all of the next few weeks-and its gone. Thankfully, Robby took a picture of it so there were just a few things missing from my list when I rewrote it today. (And don't worry, I took a picture of it myself-I know I should just do a digital list, but that's not me.)
- When we came in, Whitman and I worked together, and then I scurried around making manicotti for tonight (I had class meeting). I was barely able to get it in the oven in time. Then I hurried to class meeting, Robby came home with supper, and Graham left for his ACT class.
November 10, 2025
- It was pretty chilly this morning as I went on my walk-I did move pretty quickly and even had to unzip a few layers. I came back in and soon started waking up the kids. No one was moving too quickly this morning plus there were lots of complaints about it being cold-I couldn't sympathize too much since I was still warm from my walk.
- We did the school thing this morning with Whitman finishing later this afternoon. Keaton had to hurry a bit because not only did she have to make her muddy buddies for tonight, but she also had to babysit this afternoon. She was there for about 2 or 3 hours, and the kid was asleep for most of that time.
- Campbell and Graham went to work this afternoon which just left Whitman and me at home. I walked again while he finished school, and then I quickly made dips for tonight before jumping in the shower.
- I took the girls to their Mother's Day Out teachers party while I went to eat with my momma group. They had fun at theirs, and I had lots of fun at mine. We both did have chicken tortilla soup which is a soup that I never make. I came home fairly late, and the kids were all in bed when I did make it home-no one was asleep though.
November 9, 2025
- Keaton had to be at church super early this morning. I made sure that she was awake and finished getting myself ready. I thought for sure that Campbell would want to go early with us, but she waited to ride with all of the boys.
- Keaton drove down Lawson this morning and did very well-of course, it helped that there were no other cars on the road. She went in to go and stand by her door while I stayed in the warm car for a little bit longer.
- When everyone else arrived, I went to my worship care room-we only had 3 kids. Campbell was also working worship care and had bigger kids. There were some babies that were pretty upset on that side of the building this morning, but thankfully, they were not in our room.
- Sunday school was next, and then Campbell and Graham stayed afterwards to practice for the Christmas Sunday coming up. They had pizza and even made it home before they thought that they would.
- The rest of us went to Nonna and Pops' house to eat chili for lunch. We enjoyed a warm meal and stayed around visiting for a bit. Pops and Robby both took their blood sugar with quite different results! (Robby's was excellent-Pops' not so much)
- We came home for a little bit before all leaving again-Robby took Keaton to her life group, Campbell and I took Whitman to his life group, Graham went to his dgroup, and then Robby and I met up at our Sunday school fellowship while Campbell hung out with her friend.
- We all made it home at different times too, but now we are all snug in the warm house and ready to start the week!
November 8, 2025
- Robby left decently early this morning to run some errands and to work on my grocery list. I have created a fairly long list lately of things that we need for all of the holiday happenings that seem to have already begun.
- While he was gone, all of the kiddos slept-Whitman was the first one to get up. He came down about 10; he thought it was it was 11 though. Graham has not changed his clock since time change, and Whitman told me that he would have gone back to sleep if he had known he was actually "up so early."
- By this early time that Whitman was up, I had washed our sheets, cleaned the downstairs bathrooms, dusted, cleaned the windows, straightened the school room, unloaded the dishwasher, and folded this morning's laundry.
- Soon the other kids started waking up-probably because I started vacuuming. Campbell had worked some on her decor for her party tonight while Keaton started making something for her shin dig next week.
- Robby came home, and after unloading his groceries, we hung lights and sat our chairs around the new fire pit. When we finished that, I worked on making potato soup-I was a bit worried when I started, but it was absolutely delicious. That recipe was definitely a keeper.
- I then made some hot chocolate and put it in the crock pot so when Campbell's 11 (I think) friends came over, I really didn't have to do anything at all. It was wonderful-last time Keaton had friend's over I was racing around like a crazy person trying to get everything warm at the same time so today things went much smoother.
- Graham went to play basketball tonight which worked perfectly because he also left at the same time that Keaton needed to go to her party. Robby was able to watch the bitter end of the basketball game before going to pick up Keaton.
- Now we have some party clean up and then the rest of the night can be spend on the couch!
November 7, 2025
- I don't really have too much to report from today. I left the house at 7:30 to meet some Sunday school girls. We loaded up and met another car full of people in North Little Rock and then headed to Des Arc for the Guess Warehouse sale.
- It is a huge warehouse of Christmas things-beautiful Christmas things-beautiful and expensive Christmas things. There were lots of things that would look super nice, but nothing that I had to have. I enjoyed walking around and seeing everything, plus there were even some samples that I enjoyed.
- After everyone was finished shopping, we went to Nicks to eat. It was fine, but our service was a little bit slow-that was also fine too because there were lots of visiting happening.
- While I was gone, all of the kids had a pretty lazy morning. I would bet that no one really woke up until around 11. Keaton babysat this afternoon so Robby took her there. Campbell and Graham had work all afternoon.
- I made it back into town around 3 and headed home. When I came in, I chatted with Whitman for a bit and then straightened some. Then since I was kind of in the Christmas spirit, I put up on more Christmas tree.
- This Christmas tree used to be prelit, but I guess it is not longer prelit-so I had to untangle and then put lights on it. It makes me sad though because what I really should do now it cut the old lights off so there are not light bulbs that are not on everywhere on the tree. As you can imagine, this made me lose my Christmas spirit.
- When Campbell came home, we left with the girls to go out and eat. Then we picked up some pizza for the boys and came home. I made some chocolate cobbler-I had been wanting to try out the recipe. The Wilsons came over and visited some, and now it is almost the end of this Friday night.
November 6, 2025
- I walked upstairs to make sure that everyone was awake this morning at 8:30. I could hear Campbell from the hallway saying, "Keaton, we leave in 10 minutes." I was quick to open the door and tell them that they had 15 minutes, but there was still some panic.
- The girls always wake up without any help from me-except they didn't today. They seemed fine though and had time enough to grab to their lunches before they left. They were not going to eat meatloaf made at church for sure for lunch.
- I did school with Whitman and then Graham today. Whitman took forever to finish his school-forever! He is just not in any hurry at all-he is that way about most things in life too.
- I picked up the girls from Mother's Day Out, and we ran to Crumble, but they were out of their free cookies. Campbell drove to that store, and then she drove us to the Wilson's street. From there, I let Keaton drive the rest of the way home-even on Lawson. I did very well-I didn't panic, I didn't raise my voice (well, I did once...or maybe twice), I didn't even pray (probably should have.) The girls did fine too driving, but gracious, this having little people drive is not good for the stress levels.
- When we made it home, Robby and I left again to run some errands tonight. I even did some of my grocery shopping-I mainly bought non refrigerated things for Saturday night. Then I even had some extra time and started on Anderson's birthday box and even bought some of a Christmas gift. It was quite fun.
- Robby and I ate out and then went to the Wilson's house to visit. We didn't get home until 10-usually I might sit on the couch, but I've straightened the kitchen, wrapped some boxes to mail off, and now, I'm possibly going to bed or putting up a Christmas tree.
- Graham is upstairs on his xbox, Whitman is on his ipad, Keaton helped me get the kids' care packages ready, and Campbell is painting-everyone is pretty busy right now!
November 5, 2025
- This was the last school day of the week for Keaton and Campbell. That does make me happy since I am able to pull out all of their school which makes me happy. Another thing that will make me happy is getting another box of books in the mail which I think should happen soon.
- We did the school thing in the morning, and it was quite a busy morning. Soon though Campbell and Graham went to work this afternoon. While they were there, I ran over to Nonna and Pops' house to help Pops figure something out.
- When I came back home, I helped Robby make a fire pit for Campbell. Then I baked some bread which Graham and I ate a whole loaf of right before church.
- Before church I ran to the library and then to Old Navy to pick up new jeans for Graham. We made it to church in plenty of time-the girls jumped out of the car, but I was able to sit for a few minutes. I could have taken a nap or read a book!
- After church, Graham and Campbell went to ChickFilA while Keaton, Whitman, and I drove through ChickFilA. They just made it home in time to help Robby unload the groceries. Now, I'm once again on the couch with my hot chocolate.
November 4, 2025
- School morning this morning, and it was one of those mornings where I seemed like I was trying to do everything all at once. I was a bit scattered for a while-actually, all day. The school morning really flew by, because soon it was noon.
- Campbell, Keaton, and I left then to run a few errands-our first stop was Walmart where we walked across the store about a dozen times. We had fun though and found most of the things that we needed.
- I have a whole list of things and groceries that we need to buy over the next few days. Tomorrow I need to organize it for when each things is needed-it is like we are already in the holiday season taking food to different places and having parties.
- I feel like I need to get shopping for Christmas. We will have a new puppy by then so I may be tied to the house a little bit more come the beginning of December.
- After Walmart with the girls, we dropped Keaton of at Grannymom's house so she could go and practice driving. I was planning on going to Old Navy by the church but decided I would just go tomorrow on the way. Instead Campbell and I went to run an errand with Robby-she even was able to keep the profits.
- We came home and soon after Keaton and Grannymom made it home as well. Campbell then decided to make and decorate a cake-she really did a great job, and it was a beautiful cake. Robby came home with supper for some, and I settled into the couch with some hot chocolate.
November 3, 2025
- I walked this morning, but it was chilly-but then I took off my hat, and the next time I passed the driveway I put my gloves down. The final time I passed the driveway, I had to take my jacket off. I'm glad that tomorrow morning will be a little bit warmer, but I was also glad that I was dressed appropriately this morning-even if I did get a little warm.
- We did the school thing this morning, and things went incredibly smoothly. Campbell had done most of her work last night so she slept in. When she did wake up, I worked with her right after I finished with Whitman.
- Graham and Campbell went to work this afternoon. They came home to paychecks where they realized they both also earned a pay raise. That made them both happy-Graham a bit happier than Campbell because his raise was a little bit more. (He has been there a year longer than she has.)
- While they were gone, Keaton waited on the mail-she checked it at least once, and she sent me out there twice. It didn't even come until after we made it home this evening. Whitman worked on his school work throughout the afternoon, while I walked with Bentley and did a few things around the house.
- When Graham came in from work, I went to Old Navy with him and Keaton. He needed new jeans so he tried them on, and then we ordered them online once we knew his size. Keaton found a little present for a friend there, and Graham found a sweatshirt that he wants for Christmas so it was a successful shopping trip.
- We made it home a bit before Robby did. He had the groceries for supper-Graham wanted to make meatball subs so that is what we had. We baked them while we watched some of the basketball game. After the game was over, I played a game with Whitman while Graham and Keaton made dessert pizza.
November 2, 2025
- This morning I was laying in bed wide awake with plenty of time so I thought, but I forgot that my oven takes a few minutes to preheat. This caused me to jump out of the bed to turn the oven on. Thankfully, I had plenty of time plus Campbell helped find pans for me while Keaton helped to ice them.
- When we pulled into the parking lot there was not a lot of cars at church; however, the church house filled up by the time that the service started. It was actually full of people saving their seats-it took us a good while to find seats and ended up on the opposite side of our row than usual (it was all still good though).
- After Sunday school, we went to Grannymom's house-she had chili which Graham thought was better than ours. Plus she made peanut butter brownies, and I certainly have a weakness for peanut butter.
- This afternoon Robby and I took a good nap-the house was pretty chilly when we made it home from church. When it was time for Campbell to go to the U, Robby left with her while I worked on the kitchen some.
- I worked some and then sat on the couch for a little bit because I didn't want to get supper ready too early. However, before I knew it, I was scrambling worried that I was going to not have supper ready in time-I'm not too good with time management.
- Soon the Wilsons, Robby, and Campbell arrived, and we dug into the chicken spaghetti, green beans, bread, Plus we had been craving a blueberry cobbler so we had that as well. The Wilsons stayed and visited for awhile, but now it is the saddest part of the week-the end of the weekend.
November 1, 2025
- I began my day in the kitchen and that is where I ended my day too-well, actually, I'm on the couch right now, but I was just in the kitchen so that counts. Last night my sourdough starter looked pretty good, so I made some cinnamon roll dough.
- This morning I rolled the rolls out, and when I pulled them out of the oven, I was surprised at how pretty they looked. I feel like I don't really have too many successes in the kitchen, but my cinnamon rolls today were definitely one of those.
- Robby and I sat and ate some cinnamon rolls before he left to run some errands. Then Graham was the next one awake this morning. It was a fairly slow morning, but this afternoon was fun. Robby figured out how Graham could watch the football game, and while they were working on that Graham looked outside and saw Santa Claus. He was quick to screech, "who's that?"
- The rest of us knew that it was Campbell since I had spent 15 minutes getting her into the Santa suit that Keaton bought off of the internet. After Campbell had shown us, she went outside to walk around which is when Graham looked out and saw her.
- Whitman was just as surprised to see her bust in the bonus room where he was. He thought that it was Robby dressed as Santa.
- Keaton babysat at 3 so Robby took her, and the Campbell babysat at 6 so I took her. We both stayed out until it was time for Keaton to be picked up. Robby and I ate and then ran some errands while we waited on the girls.
- When Keaton and I did come home, I made some scones to put in the fridge for Campbell and Keaton's Sunday school classes. Now, we are just waiting on Campbell's babysitting folks to come home so Robby can bring her home, and then all my people will be in for the night.
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