In Honor of Fall...

Last week I excitedly welcomed fall as it is my favorite time of year and planned our weekly menu accordingly. We enjoyed chili (my mother-in-laws yummy recipe), cornbread, apples, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin bread. We topped it all off with pumpkin pancakes, courtesy of Caleb and Daddy. Oh so good! Here is our little chef making and eating his masterpiece. How I love fall! Now, if we could just get the weather to cooperate!

Things I have been praying for this week

• an extra set of arms (preferably "go go gadget arms")
  
• patience
  
• friendship
• Kleenex... lots and lots of Kleenex
  
• strength
  
• endurance
• a personal masseuse
• a patient husband (which I have)
  
• patience
• patience
• did I mention patience

I have been practicing taking deep breaths this week. At one point my darling Caleb must have seen my distress because he said, "ma ma... deep breath...." and he sucked in as much air as he could. I don't know what I would do without my little "helper," except maybe be taking fewer deep breaths. Oh how I love my sons!

Prayers

A couple of months ago Caleb started to notice the noises produced by our neighbor, especially the sound of the water turning on when he would take a shower. Caleb is a very sensitive little boy who has a lot of emotions running through his little head. In my great wisdom I told him that the noises were just our neighbor Tom. At first he was fine with it, but for the last month he has been terrified by any bump, thump or whir that his little ears pick up on. His green eyes widen to the size of small saucers while his lower lip gets lower and he cries out in terror "TOM...TOM..TOM"! Again, in my wisdom I try to explain to my almost 2 year old that Tom is a nice man who lives on the other side of the wall. At this point Caleb thinks that Tom is a monster who lives in the walls and on the roof and pretty much anywhere else he hears a noise. I have tried making a game out of it, I have tried taking it back and telling him that Tom is "all gone", and several weeks ago I finally took him over to meet Tom, thinking maybe that would help. Lets just say that didn't go too well. With all of my ideas falling short and Cabe finding it harder to take naps, I had the novel idea to pray. Immediately Caleb calmed down. Now when he gets scared of something we are making it a habit to pray. He puts his chubby little hands together in prayer and says Gee, which I know means Jesus. Just like me, he is learning to find comfort in prayer. When I find myself overwhelmed or fearful, it's power over me is diminished when I take it to the Lord in prayer. It is wonderful to watch my precious son discover this truth. He still mentions Tom a lot, but Tom is no longer a monster who lives in the wall. According to Caleb, Tom is the man who mows the lawn, always seems to be at work and drives a big car that goes VROOM.

Labor Day Weekend

Enjoying some father/son time















Sitting still for a moment...




















Caleb's first time in the lake!












I am not a big boat person... but I wouldn't mind having one of these!

Blessed

There is no time like the present to say...
I am so thankful for these guys!

Our Artists Debut

With all of the smoke hanging around this summer we have been doing a lot of playing inside. This often means I must find creative things for the boys to do. Caleb loves to play with play dough and is getting much better at making things. Zach tried to eat it the first time, but to my delight he didn't find it enjoyable and has started playing with it instead. The boys have also been having fun playing the piano. Today they delighted me with a duet.


Caleb has completed his first painting, (non pudding) which we now proudly display in our kitchen. He doesn't get his creativity from me!


One of the play dough gifts Cabe made me

.

Trip to Seattle

Last weekend Brandon and I left our little men with my parents and drove up to Seattle for my childhood friends wedding! It was a blessing to be able to go just the two of us and enjoy the wedding festivities. We also got to spend some time with Jake and his girlfriend Alia. Here are a few pictures of our trip.



The beautiful bride... Yes she is wearing an apron... Thats my Mikki!


The four of us enjoying a nice dinner WITHOUT KIDS!


The birthday boy

A camping we will go...

A couple weeks ago we went camping on the coast. It was so nice to breathe fresh air and spend some time together as a family. Highlights: Caleb seeing the ocean for the first time and playing in the sand, spending time with my cousin Seth, feeling cool air on my face, wearing jeans, and making it home safely after a scary ride home.



Going into the smoke


Caleb's first view of the ocean. He was so excited!


My cousin Seth and I


Caleb and me playing in the driftwood


The four of us


Playing in the sand with Grandpa and Grandma


B and Z

My handsome man

Don't blink... you might miss something

These days the boys are growing and changing so quickly. Z has been scooting around for some time now, but last week he started to crawl. He is also pulling himself up onto everything and has started on table foods all in a couple days. It has been a busy week for the little guy and he is so enjoying life!

Our little Rocker

Last month he was stealing women's underwear and this month he has become the world's cutest rocker. Somehow I am not concerned. I hold Uncle Stephen responsible for this one.