The Saturday 7

1. On Sunday, the day after our beautifully warm Halloween, we woke up to big ole snowflakes falling from the sky, and actually accumulating on the ground! 

The first snow is always magical.

Levi was actually quite disappointed that it stopped/melted. He totally expected inches of snow to play in. Haha. I'm sincerely hoping we can hold off on that particular treat for at least another month.

2. A mere six days after that snowy Sunday, we were outside pressing cider at my parents' house in shorts and t-shirts!

My dad doesn't have his orchard anymore, so he had to scrounge apples from various sources, but he kept his press, and today's beautiful weather lent itself perfectly to a cider making day!

Where's the juice?

Libby's a good mom and rarely lets Nash drink juice, so he was a biiiiig fan of that cup full of sugary goodness!

Putting some muscle into it!

The boys were big helpers.

The girls mostly talked to Grandma/read their books.

Can you tell Libby is 24 weeks pregnant?🤦As a reminder, this is what I looked like at only 22 weeks with Levi:

#Lifeisnotfair

3. We had conferences with Levi's teacher this week. He got glowing reviews and is doing well in all areas. The teacher's only minor criticism was that he sometimes talks too much - although she was quick to assure us that he's in a talkative class, and this is a talkative age. Haha. Whose kid is this?? He also continues to have zero problems with using the bathroom at school, even though he consistently pees his pants multiple times a day at home. Uggggghhhhhh. At least it's not the other way around!

4. We set our clocks back an hour last weekend, and Levi has been so perplexed about how dark it gets so early in the evening. Today, he asked me at 4:55 "Is it almost my bedtime?" Haha. When I told him no, he ran to the window and said, "But the sunset is already setting!" Welcome to Michigan winters my sweet, innocent child. 😭

5. And now to the news of the week: the election. I know this is nothing new for anyone reading, but I need to record it. Tuesday is one of my kid-free days, so I voted without a child in tow for the first time in years. Everyone on facebook was posting about the long lines, but I was in and out of the polling location in 11 minutes!

I had to document the occasion by putting my "I Voted" sticker on my mask to remember that not only was this an historic election in its own right, but it also occurred during an historic pandemic! #2020 

6. That night I stayed up to watch as the vote counts rolled in. I wasn't really surprised that no winner was declared, because we all knew the influx of absentee ballots was going to slow things down this year. I don't think we realized how slow it was actually going to be. Haha. I also don't think we realized how close it would be! I kept sending screenshots to my sisters, saying, "Look at how close these numbers are!"

Of course, the real story is how colossally slowly Nevada counted. It seriously boggles my mind. Look at Nevada's numbers compared to everyone else's. They have a million less votes to count than the other states! And yet, as of yesterday, they only had 87% of their ballots counted!

Of course, the delay allowed for the creation of memes galore at Nevada's expense. Here are a few of my favorites:

My fave! 😂

7. For the sake of history: the AP declared Biden the winner this morning. And of course Trump and many of his followers are refusing to accept it. There have been allegations spread far and wide about fraud, but very little evidence aside from social media claims - which are hard to substantiate. And again, I'm left in the position of wondering who's telling the truth. The news outlets have been vehement that election-rigging is impossible and there is zero evidence of fraud. But the news outlets notoriously lean left, so it's hard to consider their facts unbiased. 

I've written and erased so much of this paragraph because I have readers on both sides, and I'm trying to straddle the line so I won't be eviscerated. Haha. But here's the deal: God is sovereign. Whoever is our next president is a part of God's will. That is NOT to say that God appointed Biden because he is the best choice for our nation. It's only to say that Biden as president is part of God's plan for us. I've been reading through the minor prophets, so I know that God often allows evil and corrupt leadership - often as punishment for the people's unfaithfulness. Again, I'm not declaring definitively that Biden is evil and/or corrupt. I don't follow him closely enough to make that statement. My point has very little to do with Biden vs. Trump and everything to do with trusting God's plan - even if it's painful. We know his ultimate plan for us is good, and that everything here is temporary. We've done our part in voting based on our convictions, now we trust God with the outcome. And we remember that God is not limited by the president. He can rescue the unborn despite a pro-choice president. His name can be spread despite restrictions on religious liberty (see: China, Iran, etc.). And as Christians in an increasingly dark world, let's be the light . . . not sore losers. #bracesforimpact #pleasedontfightwitheachotherinthecomments 

8. Bonus point for pictures!

I'm a bad mom because he cheats . . . and I let him. 🤷

You better believe I bought that last two liter. I haven't been back to the store to see if this was an anomaly or the new norm. 

I watched Nash for a few hours on Tuesday, and he had great fun lining up Justin's Mountain Dew cans. Haha.

The kids' school had their annual auction fundraiser this week. Each class has a themed "basket" of items parents donate. I was in charge of coordinating the basket for Lena's class this year, and went in yesterday to set it all up in the gym. We got mostly big items this year (trampoline, outdoor chair/table, ladderball, etc.) so it was fairly easy to arrange - until I came to this plain brown box with no picture. Lena's teacher told me it was a flamingo planter and suggested setting it up so people would know what it was. I was totally on board until I opened the box and found this. Hahaha.

So many little parts and pieces!

Never fear! I did it! 👏