Just what they are doing these days...

I took just a little video of the kids today, Olivia is dressed in her everyday..., I mean, Halloween outfit, a ballerina! She did her disappearing thumb trick and some cart-wheels for the camera.

Logan's video is of what he likes to do best, besides playing with cars. He stands and the fridge and plays letters alot.

We are going trick-or-treating soon, this is the first time for our kids and one of the few times for me! Hope everyone is having a great fall!

Olivia's traumatic day....

After mom's group today we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch with some friends. Olivia was playing in the play area and fell on something sharp that really cut up her little finger! It was bleeding everywhere and she was hysterical.

It is in those moments when my heart is truly outside my body. I think at times like those we hurt FAR more than our children could ever hurt. Although it will heal nicely and she is really doing fine, the look on her face and the tears are something I know I will never forget. She said "I wish we never went here, it is going to bleed forever!" (her verbiage of course, :)) We came home, cleaned her up, got a new band-aid on, munched on some pink m&m's (they make ANYTHING better!), made a pact to go buy some pink marshmallows, and now she is off to sleep. No doubt exhausted from the whole event. In the car and again before she drifted off to sleep, we said a prayer, thanking God for healing her and making her all better, and able to climb trees again (her request).

I wanted to document this so that we can go back and remember times when God brought her through something hard. Its hard to think that someday I will be writing about bigger life events that will come her way, some may cause her pain. Things I won't be able to fix with pink m&m's and strawberry marshmallows, but I ALWAYS want her to remember that we can go to God in prayer and He PROMISES to be with us!

Olivia,

Please remember, the most important thing I can ever teach you, that God is ALWAYS with us, when we are happy, sad and hurting. I know you fell and hurt yourself, but he was holding you and lessened your fall, I am sure of it! Thank you for being so brave, you are such a big girl. Also, thank you for praying for me earlier today when I said my head hurt. You are truly my little angel sent from God.

Love you,

Mommy

Jungle Book

This Sunday afternoon, I was getting ALOT done while Tommy played with the kids. I found them re-enacting a scene from the Jungle Book movie! No wonder our kiddos are always jumping around on the furniture!!!!! Thank you Tommy for giving me some time to get some housework done! Love you!

Apple Orchard and more potty training....

We went to the apple orchard with some friends from mom's group last week. I just love how the kids love to play together! There weren't any apples left on the trees, but the orchard staff encouraged us to look on the ground and we found ALOT that just needed to be washed off! They sold them to us at a VERY good price. Logan stayed home for this trip, it was a mommy and Olivia trip!

(Thanks for the pics Christie!)

Onto the potty training issue, which is starting to consume me! Logan SERIOUSLY wants his diaper changed EVERY time he potties! But he still has no clue what the toilet is for.... I have let him run naked now and when he potties, he just moves on to a dry spot! ugh! I am documenting this because I KNOW that one day I will laugh. For now, I am too busy cleaning up pee!

Here is the source of my potty training frustration in a goldfish box. :) Love you silly boy!

Carving pumpkins, giving thanks

Our last week has been filled with fall traditions and spending precious time with family. Grandma went to the Kingdom last Friday, and we had services for her Monday and Tuesday. It was so great to see everyone and celebrate her life. The pastor's message yesterday was titled 'Giving Thanks for Nothing". We should remember to thank God that NOTHING separates us from His love. This reminded me of how grandma taught me to also be thankful for EVERYTHING! For example, when we found a parking spot, she would say "Thank you Lord for this great parking spot!" She truly knew how to be thankful in everything and for everything! We love and miss you grandma, thank you for who you are and your legacy in our family!







Tommy and Olivia carved our pumpkin this weekend! Olivia drew on it first, and then daddy helped her cut it out! We have it sitting on the front porch and the kids snuggle up in blankets right in front of the door to watch it!




While playing dress up I let Olivia play with my veil. I haven't let her play with my wedding dress yet, but won't be long I am sure. She is such a princess! SO you would thinks he would want to be a princess for halloween? Instead she wants to be a cat. Go figure.




Snuggling up!



I love fresh apples! Olivia does too, Logan on the other hand, must have some serious texture issues because he love applesauce but not the apple itself. We are off to the orchard tomorrow to get more apples! I NEVER get tired of picking fresh apples!

When will I learn???

Olivia is very busy making her birthday party invitations (birthday not until November 21st)... everyday.... new invitations... along with daily updates in her journal, and a couple updated Christmas lists. You get the picture, we spend alot of time at the table with crayons and markers doing alot of very important work. Logan loves to join us and now really loves to color too! This morning I left the room leaving a seated Logan coloring quietly. Why on earth would I think he would stay there and color until I got back? When will I learn?

Here is the before.....

And the after..... That's right! MARKER tatoo!!!!

Sidenote: Mommy confession - I found a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in the fridge. Tommy must have brought it in from the car (he took Olivia to her FAVORITE place yesterday, you all know the place right?) There was only 1 left. Could I have split it for the kids? Yes. Could I have said "Look what daddy brought for you?" and watched the excited look on their faces? Yes. But instead, this mommy, who is honestly having a very rough week, decided to sneak off and enjoy it all to myself. It was the perfect pick-me-up at the end of a long week! I will take the kids for ice cream later.... this just became an expensive indulgence. (smile)

8 Things

I got tagged by Jamie and I too am going to be able to only come up with 4 things! Thanks for the tag Jamie! This is fun!

4 Things that happened yesterday
1. Took the kids to the library
2. Went to a meeting at church
3. Skipped doing laundry
4. Tommy came home!!!

4 Favorite places to eat
1. Qudoba
2. Sullivan's
3. Puccini's
4. Eagle's Nest

4 TV shows I love to watch
1. Samantha Who?
2. 90210 (ugh, I know!)
3. Survivor
4. My Boys

4 Things I am looking forward to:
1. Spring vacation with Tommy
2. Olivia's birthday
3. Putting up our Christmas tree
4. Pacer game with Tommy tomorrow night

4 Things on my wish list
1. 7-8 passenger vehicle
2. New digital camera
3. Bigger home (someday, right now our home is perfect for us!)
4. Cruising the French Riviera

People I tag:
1. Susie
2. Kerri
3. April

What do they make these days????

I have a question and I really need feedback. How much do you pay your babysitters when you go out for the night? We have had the LUXURY of having Tommy's parents as our primary babysitters. But there are times when they are not available or times when the adults of the family want to go out for a dinner, etc. So I am curious, I know rates have gone up since I was 10, but how much? Can you all give me some ideas on what to pay someone? Thanks a bunch!

Charlie and Lola

Olivia and Logan love Charlie and Lola, a cute British cartoon. We recently rented one of the DVD's from the library, and one of the episodes is about planting a seed and watching it grow. Olivia has been so excited! She has been playing in the dirt, and we planted an apple seed and she can't wait to pick the apples (smile). I love the accents that Charlie and Lola have, too cute. I am cracking up because Olivia has picked up some of their sayings. She now pronounces the word "vase" with a short 'a'. Also, she ate an apple with her lunch and we dug out the seeds. She said "Can I put these in water and then I can look after them" I laughed right outloud, "look after them" too funny!

Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch today! It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we tried to arrive early to avoid some of the crowd. The kids had a ball, we rode the little train, visited the little farm they have and walked through the pumpkin patch. Then Olivia led us on one of the trails around the pond and back to pick out apples (you don't pick them at this orchard). She also picked out a pumpkin, she and daddy are decorating it as we speak! (I can't wait to get a new camera, ours is soooo slow! By the time the camera is ready, the kids have moved on to something else!)