Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin hunting

Looks like a good one!

Sweetie Pie

Clean toes, wrinkly toes

Storytime/ Sleepytime

I love this picture. Two or three times this week, David has fallen asleep towards the end of storytime. He runs and plays so hard during the day, he just zonks when he's still for a second. (In case you are wondering, his face was still dirty from lunch which is just before storytime.)

We seem to have a pet..

"Mom, I think her name is Dabney"

Tuesday, Dabney and David found a ladybug.
Dabney immediately asked for a jar in which to put her captive. Actually, I shouldn't say it's her captive. Dabney says goodnight to the ladybug, gathers grass for her and reminds me to give her water, and when Dab comes downstairs in the morning, the first thing she says is "Where's my ladybug?" David, on the other hand walks around with the jar and says , "Coot! Coot!" (he's trying to say "cute") I assumed after they caught her that she would die within 30 seconds~ remember the 6 hour goldfish for her 1st birthday~ but here she is 3 days later. I'm beginning to really like her. Dabney told me yesterday that she was "the most beautiful ladybug I've ever seen in my whole life!"

Fixin' Up the Place

As you can see, my blog got a new "outfit". Do you like it? I'm aiming for the 'classical journal / homeschooler' look. I like it because it's a little less run of the mill, a little more personalized.

The kids and I took a crash course about Thanksgiving yesterday~ what happened at the first Thanksgiving, what we do to celebrate the day, why we celebrate, what a feast is, and why Thanksgiving should be an everyday part of life as Christians. We checked out 20+ books about the holiday from the library a few weeks ago and we plowed through about 7 yesterday.

Also, last night was Josh's first night by himself. *Sigh* For the last 10 weeks, Tim and I have been seriously exhausted while Joshua was in the bassinet in our room. He's also a kind of noisy baby ~ just fussy really. Plus, most nights I'd fall asleep while nursing him and obviously not put him back in the bassinet. Not only that, but I'd wake grumpy and impatient towards the other kids from lack of sleep. (I'm not making excuses for my sin...) So last night we had to do the hard thing and move the bassinet into Dabney's room and move Dabney into David's room so Tim and I could get some rest. I was pretty nervous about it... until I passed out from exhaustion when I hit the pillow. We would have put him in his crib in David's room but we really didn't want Josh to wake David by crying. We'll put Josh in his crib when he gets the routine down. I nursed him around 3am, put him back in bed and lo and behold, he slept until 8:15am! Praise the Lord! I woke rested for the first time since July and practically ran in to Dabney's room to see my infant sleeping peacefully. I'm so thankful for the sleep I got~ now I feel like I can be a better mom to all 3 children and get a jump on the day.

Our Smiling Chunky Monkey

Check him out! When did he fill out? He just cracks me up~ I can't believe how big (and pale) he is! David was a shrimp compared to Josh! Which leads me to wonder... How big will Josh get?!?! Last Saturday I had to accept the fact that at 10 weeks old, he can't wear 0-3 month clothes anymore. It also happened to be that day that he started cooing and smiling (at the same time).

October

I love October! Next to April it's my favorite month. And actually, April and October a lot alike. They are both gateways to a new beautiful season. Our maple leaves are red already and we're letting our lawn go dormant now. And it is definitely apple-picking time. We almost went last Saturday but time escaped us so we'll have to put it off for a few more days. An orchard near us will let me have all the apples on the ground for free and I plan on taking all I can find, and making lots and lots of applesauce and apple pie filling. Maybe they have pears (I can't remember) ~ we could use some more pear butter... Canning season! Not to mention pumpkins! I'm very excited. I'd like to get a few families to go with us and we can come back to my house for a canning party. Although I could be dreaming. I'm sure not everyone dreams about produce.

It's also at this time of year that I get excited about being a homeschooler. I leaf through the Veritas Press Catalog and practically drool~ such wonderful, beautiful books. I'm working on an Amazon wishlist composed of the books we'll need first. (I love Amazon because you can get the books used and save money. And saving money means more books!) The wish list will be really helpful, especially around Christmas time, I think. Ok, maybe I'm jumping the gun a little. Dabney is 3 now, but very soon, I'll be going through the phonics with her and hopefully she'll be reading within a year. First though, I want to be proficient in the phonics myself.

Happy October everyone!

Something funny from Dabney

It's Friday afternoon, so after the kids woke up (early) from their naps, I put Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on as a nice start to the weekend. (Not the scary old version~ which still frightens me at 28 years old~ but the funny one with Johnny Depp.) It was at the part when rude and demanding Veruca Salt wants a squirrel to take home and I mentioned to Dabney how rude she was being to her daddy. (I try to make object lessons out of just about everything.) Dabney turns around and says, "Yes! She should say 'Please, may I have a squirrel!"

I don't know, it just struck me as funny...

And Now For Something Completely Different

My beloved spatula collection



Mark Your Calendars!

I'm having a Pampered Chef Party!
Friday, November 9th
6:30

I haven't given out invitations yet but friends, family, and everyone from church is invited, and I think we'll have a great time. My Pampered Chef lady Leora and I think that Nov 9 will be perfect timing~ the things we order will be delivered in time for Thanksgiving and hopefully we can plan a little ahead and do some Christmas shopping, too!

Please plan to be here (at my house) and we'll have good food and good fellowship.
Be there or be square!

(Let me know if you need a catalog beforehand)

Wedding Pictures

How fun to go to a wedding! We had a blast at Lindsay and Andrew's beautiful wedding last Friday. Good food and great fellowship and dancing away into the night. David especially loved the dancing- first with his Mama and then when the really fun music came on, he really got down with his buddy Daniel. They bopped together, with their daddies watching and laughing. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of that great scene, I was tending to the tiny one. Not only that, Tim and I got to dance to a few songs too! That really doesn't happen a lot, unless it's in the living room.

Going to weddings almost makes me relive our wedding~ it was so fun but at the same time so heavy with meaning. I think the part that gets to me most is when the bride and groom drive away. It seems so final for them to leave the party. We blew hundreds of bubbles at Lindsay and Andrew but I couldn't help but feel a little pang for Judy and Marty and Meri (the family of the bride). It was at that point I cried my eyes out, just like a baby, at my own wedding. Things change and people grow and it is just beautiful to see a new family form before your eyes.

More wedding pictures

My Beautiful Little Sister

Pre-Wedding Picture

All of my children were clean and dressed at the same time~ I had to take pictures!These were the only ones that turned out "ok".

Auntie Cait came to visit...

Thank you Aunt Rebecca!

(I've become so so awful at thank you notes that I've decided to do a blog thank you note~ this way it's instant and I can include a picture or two.)


Dear Rebecca,
How thoughtful of you to send gifts for Joshua! We love the romper- so cute- but all the excitement has come form the sweet elephant towel. Of course we use it for bathtime, but when Joshua is not all snug and warm in it, Dabney (with David in tow) is running around with it on her head saying, "Call me Elephant, Mama!" What a girl! *She wants to be an animal when she grows up.* And you were so kind to not leave out Dabney and David (and me) with your gift giving~ Dabney carries her princess case around a lot (candy has been long gone) and we will definitely be trying David's balloon rockets soon. (And I love the bath salts! What a treat.)
I'm sorry this note is so late, it seems that these kids have me on my toes all the live long day and I even find myself dozing off during the 10 o'clock news. Last night, I actually dropped the book I was reading because I fell asleep! Excuses, excuses. I should have written you a hand written note, but I will post this anyway out of fear the former will never come into existence.
I check your blog almost every day and I love every picture and story~ I really must post more comments. As you well know, my blog is definitely lacking but I hope that one day soon when things level out around here, I will catch up and I'll be back to normal. I've got piles and piles of scrapbook pages to do and books to read and letters to write and recipes to try, but I think the Lord is humbling me some and I must be content if the toys are picked, the laundry and diapers are clean, my family had a hot dinner and I've read at least one book with my kids. I think about you and your sweet little ones out in "Happy Valley" and I know one day our girls will be playing dress up together and our sons will be playfully wrestling together or catching frogs and you and I will be sipping coffee and watching them all with smiles on our faces. Gotta go for now~ there's at least one diaper to change and (thank goodness) it's almost naptime.

Love,
Mandie

P.S. Now that you have high speed internet, I am officially the last person on the planet with dial-up!

Haircuts All Around

(He didn't need a haircut...He's just cute)

Family Hike- Waldo Canyon

A week ago Saturday we took a hike up Waldo Canyon and really enjoyed ourselves and the creation around us. We got about 1.5 miles up before someone with little legs (not me) started complaining, "My legs are broken! I need water for my legs!"


Yep, Davey took the easy way up.

This picture is at the top of the hill that overlooks the highway. When we lived in Divide, we'd see hikers here at the top and after 9 years of living in Colorado, it was nice for me and my family to be at the top, looking down at the car whizzing by on the highway.

I hear what you're saying, "Where are you, Mandie"? Well, my husband did in fact take a picture of me on the trail~ remember, I'm 5 weeks postpartum in this picture. Here I am.