SPOOOOKY house....

The new neighborhood goes all out when it comes to decorating houses for the holidays. There are several that go all our for Halloween and of course we had to be one of those houses. The boys LOVE driving through the 'hood to look at all the SPOOOOKY houses.

Monster Houses in the entry way

Main entrance

Side entrance

The BEST Day...

This video is for ALL you mommas out there...I hope you know what an influence you are on your kids' lives and how although MOST days seem mundane and repetitive to your children it's The BEST Day of their lives.

Apple Picking...

We spent the morning at our favorite fall spot...picking apples. We love to ride the wagon out the orchard and pick 2 bags full of apples and then ride the tractor back to the barn and get our freshly made apple, cinnamon doughnuts before heading back home. London LOVES apples, not picking them so much, but eating them. The boys were a lot of help this year picking apples, and earned their doughnuts. Fall is upon us as you can tell from the last pictures and from the kiddos' clothing.

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time FLIES....

Sweet baby girl had her 15 month check-up today. Don't ask me where time as gone, because I have no idea...I blinked and here we are...15 months since this sweet little lady entered this CRAZY house of boys. Boys who have grown to love their little sister more than any other little girl on the face of this planet, boys who LOVE to make this little girl squeal with joy, boys who fight over her attention and who hugged/kissed her first, boys who think their little sister hung the moon! She truly is the light of our family, she makes everyone who sees her smile. She has grown so much these last couple of months, walking, running, trying to talk{hia, eaton, wyht, dadda}, following simple commands, eating only big girl food, drinking only from sippy cups...but she is still my little baby...FOREVER and ALWAYS!!

For all the grandparents{her stats}:

weight~20lbs 11 oz{25%}

height~30 and 1/4 inches{45%}

head circum.~45 and 1/4 cm{30%}

Perspective...

Sometimes LIFE becomes so busy with the little things...cleaning, wiping noses, looking for lost library books, listening to fighting siblings, hearing "MOMMA" 500 times a day, wiping bottoms, making meals...the list could go on. And sometimes something SO great happens that you stop and look at things a LOT differently and you become so THANKFUL for what you have that you cling so tightly to it. That happened to me this past Saturday. If you recall I wrote a post a little while back about one of our previous neighbors and her battle with cancer at 9 years old. Well, Mia's 9 month battle with cancer ended on September 20th and I was blessed and honored to attend her memorial/celebration of life. Mia was such an amazing little girl so quiet and SO smart. My heart aches for her parents and her little sister. While the memorial was BEAUTIFUL, it made my heart ache for my own children and long to hold them and treasure them a little more. To try and remember that our lives whether long or short are exactly what we asked for. I prayed for these children and sometimes need a little change in perspective to enjoy them to their fullness...enjoy their asking for help constantly, enjoy their whinny baby voices...just enjoy them EVERY moment of EVERY day.

BIGGEST FAN...

Easton LOVES the Army. While waiting to get our rental car in TX, Easton spotted these "Army Heroes" {as he calls them} and wouldn't leave them alone. He walked up to them saying "hi"and asked if he could get his picture with them. They were so sweet and generous to Easton. With all the fake heroes exposed to him through other kids and school, Ian has been explaining to Easton how Superman, Batman, Xmen and others, are all fake super heroes but we have real life super heroes all around us...police officers, fire fighters and of course Army heroes. Being in Kindergarten Easton has learned "God Bless America" and "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and we have spent a lot of time teaching him what the words in the songs mean and how other people don't have the same freedoms he has and we have a lot of heroes who fight and die to make sure we have those freedoms. As he was saying goodbye to the Army Heroes the guy on in the far right in the picture took his arm badge off and gave it to Easton...it was one of the nicest, most generous things ever and brought tears to my eyes. Easton was amazed and took the patch everywhere telling everyone the story of the Army Hero who gave it to him.

Thank you to real life heroes who make this country the BEST place to live and raise my family!