The Saturday 7

1. Well I survived the first week of auction season. We got the online auction up and running, and I only had one small meltdown along the way! Winning! The live auction is one week from today, and it's going to be way more nerve-wracking than the online version, so I anticipate more meltdowns in my future . . . Honestly, I'm just feeling really inadequate. It's all the parts of this job that made me hesitant to take it in the first place. I'm realizing that I have a desperate need to be helpful and not to be a burden on anyone. But because I'm so unfamiliar with auctions in general, and the behind-the-scenes work of this auction specifically, I require a lot of help and prompting. I can't just guess my way through things because I'll mess it up. So I'm constantly asking questions or waiting to be told what to do, and I hate that. But the only way to get better is to keep trying, keep asking questions, keep taking lots and lots of notes. Maybe next year I won't feel quite so much like a fish out of water. In the mean time, if you live local to me, please come to the live auction on Saturday and spend lots of money! 😁

2. Lena had her well-child checkup on Friday. She's in the 5th percentile for height, and less than 1st percentile for weight. But more concerning, she's falling off her own growth curve, so the doctor encouraged her to try and take in more calories every day. (What a problem to have!) She's also been having a lot of stomach aches, lately, though, so she isn't eating nearly enough. I can't figure out if the stomach aches are because of her anxiety or a separate problem. But it's going to be a struggle to get her to eat more. And it's not like I can buy a whole bunch of delicious junk food, because no one else in this house needs the extra calories, and one member of the family in particular has zero self-regulation skills and will voraciously consume every extra calorie that should be fueling Lena. 🤦

3. We had a low-key Halloween. In some years, I've felt so overwhelmed by making all the stops on Halloween, visiting everyone we need to, and maximizing our candy-receiving opportunities. But this year, we just did dinner and pictures at Niki's, then trick-or-treated down my street. My siblings went on to do a trunk or treat in town, but Lena's stomach was hurting, so I sent Lucy and Levi with them and stayed home with Lena (Justin had a team dinner with his soccer players). It was kind of nice not to run all over the place. And the kids still got plenty of candy. We got one of our best cousins pics to date!

Brodie was Chuckie, and I seriously can't get over his knife and that devious grin on his face! 

Lena couldn't find a costume she liked at Once Upon, so she made her own! She was Violet from the Incredibles. I never took a picture of Levi's costume, but he was just a generic ninja.

4. I feel the need to address something I've seen floating around facebook this week . . . In light of the government shutdown and SNAP benefits not being renewed, a lot of my more liberal friends have made some disparaging comments about pro-life republicans. They apparently have seen a lot of republicans praising the SNAP shutdown and telling its recipients to quit being freeloaders. I would say 95% of my facebook friends are conservative republicans, and I have not seen one of them rejoicing about food benefits being cut off. On the contrary, it is my Christian friends who are asking, "how can we help?" It is the Christian organizations hosting food pantries and partnering with schools through programs like Hand to Hand to make sure that kids have food. I've seen countless calls to fellow Christians to take this time to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to serve in tangible ways, and to meet the needs of others. I would never claim that Trump or republicans or even Christians are always right about every choice they make - political or otherwise - but I hate to see them painted with a broad brush as vindictive and uncaring. Many of us are helping in unseen ways. Please don't assume that just because we're not posting Tik-Toks of our good deeds that they're not happening. 

5. Well it's already late, and I don't have anything else, so just enjoy these pics and memes:

Lena donated this adorable jellyfish she crocheted to the online auction - and it already sold!

This one took me a minute . . .

I think my kids would literally die of starvation.

Yes!! I cringe every time I see a fashionable teenager these days. And just around the time I finally cave and start wearing what they're wearing, the trends will have changed.