Our camping weekend

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We had a lot of fun, we're hoping to be able to sqeeze in another trip before it get too cold!

Autumn Times

I feel like I have a love-hate relationship with the season we're entering into,- Fall. I think this is my absolute favorite season, I always have the urge to bake and pull out the hot chocolate. But on the other hand, Fall always signifies that there is another season looming out there, dreaded Winter. I used to love winter, but lately I've not been so crazy about it. I hate having to take 30 minutes just to get the kids ready to go play outside. You all know the drill, they're out there 5 minutes and then decide that a potty-break is needed, here we go again! Not my idea of a good time. I hate the mess that the snow and slush makes in my house, lets face it, I'm just not much of a winter person. I am trying, though, to not let Winter ruin my favorite season right now. I'm looking forward to all the fun that Fall brings; leaf-raking and making piles to jump into, apple cider, pumpkin patches and petting zoos, and lets not forget all the gorgeous photo ops that nature provides! I 've certainly enjoyed pulling out my fall decorations for the house and thought I'd give a little tour of some areas in our house!

Our front door

The mantle - it's something I've always wanted to have to decorate!

On my sofa table

An extra swag I had that I just tacked above this photo

On my kitchen counter

Even the bathroom got a little touch of the season
Out the back door that Brianna decorated . . .
and to the garden where the pumpkins are almost ready!

That's my girl!

After polishing off a bowl of chicken noodle soup for lunch the other day, Brianna claimed that she still had some room left in her tummy for some candy. Then she said, "I'm not going to have gum because sugar is not healthy, so I'll just have a piece of chocolate instead!" I couldn't help but laugh, she comes by that opinion quite honestly!

Eager Beaver Days 2008

First, an update on Tyler. Well, there's not really much to update on. He's certainly not any better but not really any worse either. He continues to run a fever and the occasionally really messy diaper, if you know what I mean. He doesn't have an appetite at all either, which is a big difference for him, he is a big eater and snacker. Yesterday all that he ate was one of those squeezable yogurts and a few chips. Very unlike him. I think we're going to ride it out one more day and see if he improves any today, if not, I'll take him in the morning to see his Doctor. Thanks for praying!

On to our little town's celebration - the Eager Beaver Days. There is always a nice parade and the kids always gather lots of candy. This was the day that Tyler got sick so he just stayed close to Tim, he wasn't really interested in gathering candy.

Our church's little 'Awana' float. Awana is like a kids Bible club that we have every week for the church and community children. This was the first float Brianna has rode on and she loved it.

Brianna's turtle that she entered in the Big Turtle Race. Tim just picked it up off the road on night out in the country and she tried to paint it's shell pink with some nail polish. Didn't get a whole lot on their, she had a hard time getting it to hold still, it loved to get up and go.

Get ready, set, Go!

My crew with the their prizes. Brianna's turtle came in 3rd, and her prize was a candy bar and a powerade. Tyler's turtle didn't place but he got a candy bar anyway! :)

Please pray for Tyler

he's just not feeling well at all. He woke up yesterday, (Sat. am) very cranky and out of sorts. He does this every once in a while so we didn't really think too much about it, but as the day went on he didn't get any happier and late afternoon developed a fever. I've been giving him Motrin every 8 hrs. since and he has really needed it. He just woke up from his nap coughing, sounding all hoarse-like and with a fever of 101. 6. If he is no better by tomorrow, I'll have to schedule an appt. with his Dr., in the meantime, if you're reading this, please say a prayer for him that he gets rid of whatever he has! Thanks!

Applesauce and Memories

I'm still up up to my elbows, wrists and fingers in apples. I peeled so many apples yesterday that when I was done I had to pry my hand open to release the knife, I thought I was going to have to go through life with a claw as a hand, thankfully the cramp didn't last too long! All the suggestions were so great! I've got a batch of applesauce cooking in the crockpot right now and plan to make more pie filling also. I loved the idea of making and freezing apple dumplings, those would be might tasty when the snow starts flying around here!



I've always loved the idea of making handprints in concrete, the only problem is when you relocate, the handprints are left behind. Not anymore! My Dad bought these really cool kits for the kids that turn little hands into stepping stones or just artwork for your garden. I love them, and no, they're not perfect, thats what makes them so cute. Tyler hates getting his hands dirty so actually placing his hands in concrete, and pressing down on each finger, really messed with his world. He is really into trains right now so we pressed one of his little trains into it also, that's his favorite part, he loves checking it out.

Brianna loved making the hand prints, hers turned out really well. She thought
it needed a few more colored stones, hence the 'kinda scattered' look. Again, it's
the memories, not perfection, right? :)

When, ahem, the grandparents come to visit, we can make more hand prints for them to take
home with them, ahem. :)

Apples, Apples

Our neighbors have an abundantly producing apple tree and recently gave us 3 boxes of apples. After an apple pie and a batch of pie filling, and giving some to a friend, I still have a lot of apples left! I'm not really sure what kind they are, but they are great for baking so I'm planning on making some pies for our church's bake sale coming up this Saturday. That will use up some but I know that I'll still have a bunch left over. I'm planning on making another batch of pie filling today after school, and probably an apple pizza for dessert tonight. Does anybody else have any other ideas for using these apples? I would love to freeze some but I''m not sure what would be the best way. Any ideas?

Pure joy and Subtle advertising

The title of this post was the first thing that popped into my head the minute that I saw this picture on my computer screen. I couldn't resist posting this photo that so accurately portrays the relationship between my boy and his Dad. They adore each other. As for the advertising? Well, it never hurts!

America Remembers 9/11

Magic Erasers and such

My friend's grandmother was kind enough to let Brianna and Cierra use some desks that she had in storage. Way, deep, deep in storage, with spider webs and all. Needless to say, they needed a very good cleaning and thanks to this miracle product:



this dirty grungy looking desk

ended up looking like this in no time at all! ahhh, the wonders of Mr. Clean!

Scenes from our little school room

This was the 2nd day of school, she is always so excited to get started!

Little Bro loves to imitate Big Sis

Showing off her 'favorite purple dress'

Brianna and Cierra - my favorite 2 students

My little girl ~

Thanking God and you for all your prayers today. My Mom's MRI scan came
back today with no active cancer cells!

We're all standing with you, Mom! Love you!

I survived

the first two days of homeschool! We don't have all the wrinkles ironed out yet, but we're having lot of fun! At least I am, I don't know about my students! Brianna loves learning and really seems to be enjoying it, especially the worksheets, she speeds through those so quick, I'm having to actually slow her down. I'm also teaching my friends daughter, who is also 5. Those 2 sure keep me hopping! It's great though, Tyler is taking it all in stride and mostly plays by himself really well and occasionally watches 'Ahmo', Elmo!

And yes, as much as we are enjoying Kindergarten, I think we're all looking forward to the weekend off! Pictures coming later! :)

Our weekend

And oh, what a weekend it was. Can you believe that even though I took my camera, I didn't take a single picture? Somehow, Tyler, managed to come down with the stomach flu Friday night before we left and has since so generously passed it on to his big sister. We experienced things in the last few days that we hope to never have to live through again. Between multiple outfit changes for both Tyler and I, stained flip-flops, and car seats that have seen better days, there just weren't many photo opportunities this weekend! I think it's fair to say that our new car has probably lost it's 'new car smell' and has a new smell all it's own! Thank God for air fresheners!

As of this morning, Tyler seems great, he still isn't eating well at all, but is drinking fluids great so thats a plus. Brianna and I were up a lot last night, her stomach is just not settling down at all. I awoke last night to her breathing somewhere in our room. Our bedroom is pitch dark so I couldn't see her at all so I just called out her name to find out where she was. She answered and she was standing right beside me, talk about scaring someone to death! Her stomach was sick again and that ended up leading to a 2 am bath, a bedside trashcan, and wanting a Mommy-roommate. Thankfully we all managed to sleep in this morning a little bit and we've rescheduled our first day of school for tomorrow!