Our Annual October Trip to Wisconsin (2024 Edition)

I can't believe it's November already!  (Time for my monthly check-in at the blog...)

October was a busy month for us.  There was a trip to Wisconsin, for one thing.  It's a two-day trip, but my husband and I love taking long road trips together, so we didn't mind that a bit.  We were able to spend a week with our oldest son and his family, including seven children from age 13 down to not-quite-one.  Our boy has six daughters and one son, and they've been homeschooled since day one (our daughter-in-law is quite the rockstar homeschooler!).  They lived near us here in VA for about four years, and we miss them terribly, so it was a joy to spend time with them at their relatively new homestead out in the rural Midwest. Incredibly, they own about 20 acres, and have two large outbuildings. They garden and raise chickens, and our son has become a beekeeper.  Over time, they hope to add more animals to their place.

Our son's two-year-old daughter is a hoot (that age is so much fun!).  She's a devoted mama to her twin baby dolls, and even "nurses" them.  She is incredibly verbal and has some of the funniest sayings.  ("What the heck in the world?!" is our new go-to, after our sojourn in WI.)

We were able to celebrate our firstborn's 41st birthday with him before it was time to go. My husband and I also re-strung four American Girl dolls whose joints had gotten dangerously loose.  And my handy guy was able to help our boy with a DIY project: building a fire-proof platform on which to put the new wood-burning stove they just purchased for their great room.  (He is such a handyman, I tell you--our boys are lucky to have him!  He just helped son #4 in VA put new shutters on an upstairs window, and is currently helping son #3 get all the framing and electrical wiring/outlets done so that his basement can be refinished as a playroom for his five kids.)

Our four oldest granddaughters out in WI wondered why we couldn't just stay forever when the week was up and we finally had to head home; but we had three little ones' birthdays in a row back here in VA in late October (literally, three days in a row!), which means three cakes for Grammy to bake and decorate!  (I have the best job!)  Our home was calling us, so we sadly said our good-byes.  But we took with us some wonderful memories, which I can share in pictures.

No two babies were ever more loved!

Mommy has her baby carrier on, so of course...

A freezer full of chickens raised and prepared by our boy himself!  
(I would say "slaughtered," but when I used that term on our family text stream,
I was told that it was unnecessarily graphic!) The tomatoes are also home-grown.

Not only was the chicken "farm fresh"; the potatoes were planted and harvested
by one of our granddaughters!

Our son, with the chicken's heart.  He and a few of his kids think it's a
yummy treat.  [Insert barfing face emoji here!!] 

When she's not tending to her twin dolls, this little one likes to help in the
kitchen.  She is quite the little homemaker.

Learning at the kitchen table.  These identical twins are two of the loveliest
teenage girls you could ever meet.

Papa, doing what he does.

The kids made a scarecrow shortly before we left and seated him in a chair out in front of their house.  So this was one of the last things we saw as we pulled away: Steve, the scarecrow.  Along with the six oldest, who came out to wave us off.

It's hard having people you love so much living so far away.  But they are in such a good place for them, with a large and supportive Traditional Latin Mass and homeschooling community around them.  Their kids are busy with music lessons and activities, have lots of sweet friends, and are thriving.  Our daughter-in-law's folks are less than two hours away.  It's all good.  I wish our son and his wife could have stayed here near us in VA, but if they did, it is doubtful that they would be living their dream to the extent that they are.  And we are deeply grateful that despite the distance between us, we have been able to maintain such a close bond with those kiddos of theirs.  It's all good.  God is good, all the time.

I'll be back soon to do a Halloween re-cap.  I've never been a dyed-in-the-wool Halloween enthusiast; but since moving here, our house, with its perfect triick-or-treating neighborhood, has become a hub of Halloween fun for many Pearls in the area.  So I enjoy October 31 festivities more than I ever have before.  

For now, dear readers, Happy All Saints Day!  (It's also my sainted mother-in-law's birthday.  Thinking of you today, Mom, and missing you.)