On November 1st on our way to Levi’s state meet in Lewiston, we visited Monica at the monastery she was staying at for a month. She took us on a tour of the beautiful and peaceful grounds before we headed to the race. It was awesome of her to come support Levi and great to see her.

Levi went to a dance with a girl from Rocky and the pictures turned out so cute!

Liberty got to be a mother for a weekend. Her Parent/Child Development class assigns each student a robot baby that cries until you figure out whether it needs food, a diaper change, or to be held. It tracks all the care you give it and you get a grade based on how well you do. It even woke up in the middle of the night!

Levi got his wisdom teeth out just before Thanksgiving break. He was totally loopy afterward and we got lots of great video of him.

Also this this month, Levi grew a mustache for No Shave November. He was quite proud of it, but Libby was not a fan and kept bugging him to shave it. He made it all the way to the end of the month though and was proud of his work. He even got it immortalized in his Senior Yearbook picture. I had already paid a fortune for professional pictures, so I was not too concerned about the immortalizing of the stache.

Reagan came home for Thanksgiving and is staying for the whole month of December. He got two seasonal jobs to work while here. He sells meat and cheese platters at Hickory Farms in the mall and he discovered an quaint little antique store in downtown Eagle that he wanted to work at so badly, he convinced the owners to hire him even though they weren’t really in need of anyone new. This boy can talk people into anything.

Our Thanksgiving was a quiet one this year. We just had my parents over for dinner and then the Byam crew came over for dessert. We got to talk to Cade a lot that day. He is now out of his cast and has no pins in his pinky. He’s started playing piano again and has done some PT that has helped a lot.

I did not take one picture on Thanksgiving, apparently. Grateful for another good year. Grateful that Cade will be home soon. And grateful for all our blessings.

Levi just finished up his last season of high school cross country. It has been an emotional rollercoaster of a ride for him and for those who love to watch him run. He learned so much and grew so much through his time in cross country. It’s not an easy sport. It requires mental as well as physical toughness. He had an amazing first year and then a few harder years and then finished up with another great year and a time he was proud of. His competitive spirit often struggled with his “better angels”. But his highs and lows taught him to weather disappointment and bounce back. He learned how to lift and build his teammates even when he had a bad race. The most important lesson he learned is to always look forward to the next goal, not behind at the past. Play to Win, don’t just play to not lose. I’m really proud of this kid and who he has become through this awesome sport.

Levi was the only one on his team who got to go to state ALL 4 YEARS.

Congratulations, Levi! We are so proud of your dedication to this sport, your team and the perseverance you have shown throughout.