Wild Turkeys

November 5th was Chloe's heart anniversary!  It has been five years since she received her pacemaker.  I am so grateful for the Lord blessing us with doctors who knew how to take care of our sweet girl!   We celebrated with heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes, balloons, and a tiara!  I am so glad that we were able to spend the entire day together. Before, I would have to wait till school was over to give her all of my love!  She just had a check up and is doing really well.  The doctor made it so the pacemaker would slow down while she sleeps,  I know!  It scared me too!  I asked and they said she would be fine.  We love out Heart Princess!  

 Luke has a new trick!  He is constantly finding new ways to have fun!

This month we did a unit study on Thanksgiving.  We started with the history of the first Thanksgiving.  Did you know that this year will mark 397 years since the first Thanksgiving!  We had fun learning about why we eat certain foods and what the symbols and colors of Thanksgiving mean.  We also chose to study how other cultures celebrate Thanksgiving.  One of the places we chose was Korea.  We chose to learn about this when Jared had a day off of work.  We really enjoyed learning from him.  He taught us how to write Thanksgiving in Korean.  Chuseok is how they say Thanksgiving.  We learned about traditional clothing called Hanbok.  They also make and eat a special rice cake called Songpyeon.  We wanted to make the rice cakes, but needed rice flour and powdered sugar. I did not have those, but was able to make them.  It was a fun science experiment to see rice turn into flour and granulated sugar into powdered sugar.  It is really easy to do.  Throw it in a blender and turn it on for a couple of minutes.  The Songpyeon didn't quite turn out though, because we needed a steamer.  We had a lot of fun spending time with Jared and learning about where he served his mission. 

We have completed an official 73 days of school.  We are excited to have a nine-day break for Thanksgiving!  Luke was ready for a break.  

Acorn Soufflé

We had a good October.  Our activities included a visit to a display known as "The
Compassion Experience".   Here is an excerpt from their website:

"The Experience gives visitors a chance to see life for some children from a different perspective. It’s our hope that this perspective provides a continued awareness to both this type of poverty and the opportunity we all share to make a tangible difference for kids still stuck in the cycle of poverty.
Visitors will be given headsets and invited on an audio-guided journey through wheelchair-accessible and kid-friendly exhibit space, featuring replicas of the homes and environments of real children who have grown up under the weight of extreme poverty. Visitors will journey with the children from poverty to hope and will experience new countries and cultures along the way. Guests will hear the child’s life story through headphones, as told by professional voice actors in an immersive experience. The stories featured are all true and told with permission and direction from the Compassion-sponsored children who lived them."

 We heard stories from three different countries.  We walked through Uganda, the Philippines, and  Guatemala.  The children's names were Olive, Carlos, and Kiwi.  Each section had several rooms separated by curtains.  We stood in one room and moved to another as the story progressed.  All the stories had a happy ending.  It was amazing to hear the testimonies of these children who relied on Heavenly Father through all of their trials.  We had a wonderful experience and gained a greater appreciation for our conveniences and the life we get to live.  

The cold weather prompted us to use the hats Uncle David sent from his mission.  Chloe and Luke wanted to play outside and I knew those hats would keep them warm!

Halloween!  We were characters from Harry Potter.  Luke was Harry, Chloe was Luna, and I was Professor Trelaney.  Luke also lost both of his front teeth!  Now we know what he wants for Christmas. ;)