Thanksgiving in Pictures

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As Trina put it, "It was pretty awesome." Several people took the camera around and captured several viewpoints of the day. Here is a conglomeration of some of the best.

We all pitched in and got dinner on the table.

Getting all the food on the table was a challenge. We are so blessed!! Note Timo getting gravy lessons in the background here...

Benjamin spent the morning working on the tractor. It ran the other day, and now he is closing in on getting it out on the real live ground. :D

Caught in the act!!! Not that it was a problem, we ate three whole meals of leftovers alone! I think I forgot we don't eat as much as we used to...

Yep, more "sampling".

I think this one speaks for itself.

While eating we all said things we were thankful for. Each person ended up saying a list of things, complete with several addends as they thought of more. I think we thought of more things this year than any other year. God has truly blessed us!

Everyone helped clean up. I think they might have been dancing a little here.

When it was all cleaned up we took votes on what movie to watch. Tarzan won. That one never gets old for me... :D

We spent the rest of the afternoon in various activities.

Generating works of art.

Not sure. I am going to guess fixing things.

Just hanging around.

This is my favorite picture from the day. They played for hours, and when Dad was done, Trina and Benjamin and Leah kept on for a while longer. They just kept going through the book singing praise song after praise song. It brings a smile to my face whenever I think about it. It was a very relaxing, blessed day. Thank you Lord for a wonderful day of thanksgiving!

Today Part 2

Leah named the turkey Harold. We all approved.

"Poor Harold!"

A change of heart...

Sampling the cranberry sauce. I think it passed.

"People, this is Thanksgiving. We are not going to be health freaks, no peels in the potatoes..."

1.5 cups packed brown sugar.

Leah is to awesome what her pies are to delicious. Just saying.

Total disaster on the table round two. No, we don't serve peanut butter for Thanksgiving, Timo is trapping mice. He got two within the hour. Way to go, mighty hunter!

The traditional listening to "The Legend of Squanto" from Focus on the Family radio theater. Highly recommended. It provided poignant moments for me to cry at whilst cutting the onions as well.

I can't believe it took me 22 Thanksgivings to finally figure out why they call it stuffing. Maybe it was thinking so much about the meal tomorrow that finally made it click...

Jeepers! How are we going to eat all that in one sitting!! And this is not even all of it!! Thank you, Lord, for your abundant provision. I really feel like the Pilgrims this year, with so much bounty in the pantry. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.

Today....

I think the picture says it all...

Happy preparations, everyone!!

Happy (Belated) Birthday Benjamin!

Somehow I managed to miss blogging for Benjamin's 14th birthday, which was on Saturday. So, here is a belated birthday post. Better late than never, right??

Benjamin is an awesome 'little' brother. I put 'little' in quotes because he is actually much bigger than me now. :) A few facts about Benjamin:

1. He can fix anything. Windows, refrigerators, doors, light switches, tractors, flat tires, you name it, he can fix it.
2. The shop is his favorite place to be, well, except maybe for the dinner table.
3. He shares a room with John.
4. The room he shares with John he not only "John proofed" but also made special arraignments for John such as his own flashlight he could take to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
5. He is a great dancer and much coveted as a dance partner among his sisters.
6. He is the second tallest Hipps child. That might change by his next birthday though, there is not much left for him to grow to be the tallest.

A very Happy Birthday, to Benjamin, with love, from Emily. (Even if it is a little late... )

A Squirrely Tail

It started out innocently enough. I was waiting at the airport in the only free parking, across the street at Carter Lake. The plane upon which I was waiting was scheduled to arrive in about 20 minutes, so I settled back to take in the scenery and perhaps text a few people. Then I saw him...

He had that insatiably twitching tail, that curious nose, and those pleading eyes. And, he was digging through a garbage can. He was so stinking cute, I just had to have a picture. I imagined myself showing the picture to my siblings and telling them how much fun it had been to watch him eating just a few feet in front of the car. Little did I know...

Alas, the window caused splotches on my picture. Not acceptable. I rolled it down to get a better look and the most astonishing thing happened. As soon as the plexi-glass was fully enveloped into the door, he stopped eating. He started running. Right for my car! My open window to be precise. I started frantically pushing the "window up" button with all my might while he jumped onto the door and then the rear view mirror. I barely got it closed before he was able to jump in. As soon as I recovered from my near heart attack from being held hostage in my own car by something potentially rabid, I started to enjoy the show.

He checked everything out. The windshield wipers...

The mirrors, everything. He even ran across the top and down the back hatch a few times. However, I was not interesting enough, and he gave up on me. I was somewhat disappointed, until I realized I was not his only interest in the parking lot.

He started his "checking out" routine by making sure the tires and exhaust were in good condition. He tried the trunk a few times, but it was locked. Next, he made human contact by jumping on the front window. These girls were much more patronizing than I was and fed him out of their moon roof. Once he had finished eating, he climbed down from the roof and showed his gratitude by posing quite congenially for them to take his picture...several times. I promise I shall never underestimate the mental capacity of a squirrel again, nor complain about waiting for planes when there is such exciting entertainment.

Being a Little Kid

Being a little kid rocks.

You get to bring lions, tigers and dinosaurs to school with you.

You get to tear apart the furniture and make "houses" out of it.

You can spend literally hours a week coloring.



It is perfectly normal, when you are a little kid, for dogs to have blue ears and orange eyes, or green and orange eyes.

While you are helping your sister make lunch, you get to pretend you are Master Shifu. Yep, I think being a little kid is pretty awesome.

Dancing with Rosie

Rosie has been one of my best dance partners ever since we started "dancing". I put that in quotes because for the most part we just move to the music and try not to hurt ourselves. Some of us are natural dancers, and some of us are not. For this reason, having Rosie as my dance partner always improves the quality of my dancing...


You will note I am wearing shoes to protect my severely broken toenail, a trophy I earned in our last dance down. You will not note the condition of the messy kitchen... please. :)

Meanwhile, in the other room.... They are so cute when they dance together. We keep telling John when he gets big he is going to have to learn to do the lifts from the other end.

Rosie likes to "lead" the dance by doing something and I copy it. Sometimes I have to draw the line, but for the most part I follow as best as I can. Let me tell you, she can exhaust me in 4 minutes flat and still be jumping around for more.

Thanks for dancing with me, Rosie!! Someday you are going to be a pro on Dancing With The Stars, I just know it!! :D

Leah's box

Leah spent several afternoons out in the shop recently. I was wondering what she was doing when she brought in the item in question to be photographed for Hillary. I was so impressed by her craftsmanship, I had to share it with you all too.



Behold "Leah's Box", full view.

And a close up. She did all the work herself, including inscribing her "trademark" in the corner, the Star of David with the "L" inside. Excellent work, Leah! Anyone wanting custom woodwork done, be sure to give her a call...

Coming Soon!

So, what does:

This odd table setting in the middle of the living room,

Serious conferencing,

Taking apart the table,

Um, this,


And this have in common?

The second ever Hipps Homeschool Thanksgiving Play! For any of you who were around, the first ever play would have been the, "He ain't getting any deader, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!" production of 2005. This year the students are putting it on themselves, and showing their creativity in props, costumes and acting. Be sure to look for pictures of the event sometime after November 25th.

Sunday at 14th and Cass

It all started as a hunt for the mother of all donut shops. We have been trying to find the perfect donut shop for months now, and have gotten rather acquainted with the tastes (and hours) of many shops around Omaha. Last Sunday we found one with delectable pastries, yet somewhat lacking in seating for which to eat them. The weather beckoned us to the outdoors anyway, so we went around the corner to where I saw some grass sticking up between the parking garages.


Right there in the middle of parking garage central we found a lovely little park.



It had trees and soft grass, perfect for those of us who are inspired to take naps after eating donuts. For those of us on whom sugar has the opposite effect, there was plenty of room to run and explore. The park also is home to a large collection of statues representing Nebraska's pioneer past.

I do mean large in every sense of the word. This was the teacher with her students on their way to school. The kids promptly named her "Miss Honey".

I love this picture. Every time I look at it I laugh. I am sorry, but enough time spent around cows tells me exactly what the position of this one's tail means and John just hanging there....

Rosie and John decided to try their milking skills. I don't think they got anything.

This statue was carrying a baby and the kids said it reminded them so much of Sarah and Caroline, they wanted their picture taken with them.

I was very impressed with the size of the horses. Here Benjamin is being a pal and posing for me to demonstrate just how big they really were.

The statues were all "frozen in time", including this one where the wagon was stuck in the mud. The kids were glad to lend a helping hand.

John had to go to the bathroom, so I took him on a quest to find one. We went all the way to the other side of this building where we met a man that looked like the twin of Billy Ray Cyrus who informed us that while he had keys to the building (which was locked) he could not let us in or he would get in trouble. But, he helpfully directed us to a nearby Starbucks where we could use the restroom. He neglected to mention (or perhaps did not know) that the restrooms were reserved for paying customers only and could only be opened with a key kept behind the counter. I did not have my wallet with me and I thought all was lost until a kind 'paying patron' showed me the key and let me use it anyway. Little kindnesses can mean so much!

Back at the park... I am sorry to have given them any ideas, Herk!

I know this is not from 14th and Cass, but... We went back to the park with the gazebo and geese to eat our lunch. John tried very hard to make friends with the geese with limited success. I think they became more of fans, because as soon as he ran out of bread they all turned tail and swam across the pond. Here's to another awesome Sunday afternoon!