Anatomy of a Slide

Gracie on a Bouncy Slide

Painting Pumpkins

With our newest Lil' Pumpkin around, I have neither the energy nor the desire to carve an actual pumpkin this year. Instead, the kids painted the little pumpkins they picked up on our last trip to the Patch. Spooky enough, I suppose...

The Ladies (and Bub)

Just some images from our day.
(Brystol is three days shy of being three months old.)

Back to the Pumpkin Patch: October 2009

Playdate the Pumpkin Patch
October 2009
We've already had one Pumpkin Patch visit this year, but we returned for a sunny fun playdate with our friends Ben and Rebecca. Brystol was tucked away the whole time, sleeping in her stroller.

Like Mother, Like Daugther -- Regarding the Laundry Anyway.

You know how I hate the laundry like nothing else?

I told Brystol she should take over the laundry responsibilities,
and this was the response I got:


Like mother, like daughter, I suppose -- regarding the laundry anyway.

Miley Cyrus and a Little Girl's Hero

Ever the Daddy's Baby Girl, James knew a displaced Gracie would need some daddy/daughter time once Brystol came along, so long before baby day, James purchased two tickets for the Miley Cyrus concert. He was most certainly this little girl's hero (and mine).

Pretty Little Rock Star


Miley on a Motorcycle




Miley photo credit: BobButtons (away)

Eighty Days

What a difference a day makes, or eighty days, as in this case.

Brystol, Four Days Old




Brystol, 12 Weeks Old
(or 84 Days Old)

Prepare to Be Greeted

I am a sucker for greeting cards. I love receiving greeting cards and I love sending greeting cards. When I used to go to the mall for those leisurely excursions way back in my pre-children days, I could often be found browsing around the Hallmark store, reading the cards, imagining who I might send them to and what sort of witty quip I might include.

Unfortunately, my capacity for wittiness went the way of the leisurely mall excursion, so imagine my excitement when I read about a new line of greeting cards from Hallmark called The Edge of Motherhood. It's a greeting card line with the wittiness built right in! Some examples for your perusal:



Then imagine, if you will, how much more excited I was when I saw that Kristen at We are THAT Family was hosting a giveaway for $60 in free Hallmark greeting cards from The Edge of Motherhood line. If you can imagine all of that, then you must know that I was THRILLED to discover that I won the giveaway. That's right, I won, I won, I won -- Hooray!

The parcel from Hallmark people arrived today, and it is just crammed with goodies -- twenty-six cards in all! Some with sound, some capable of a personalized recording, all chock-full of wit and humor. I love it!!

Now, a warning for those of you in my address book: prepare to be greeted.

The Prize

On Seeing Shadows

I see you. I see you in the glimmer of your sister's eye, hiding behind her smile. I see you as shadows, tiny shadows flashing on sweet baby skin.

I remember each one of you, how I longed for you, how my heart broke as you faded. Even now, as I hold a miracle in my arms, I feel you in the weight of her sleeping body, and I remember holding you -- each of you -- in my arms, in my hands, in my womb, in my heart. I hold you there even still and I remember...

October 15th is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, an official day to recognize, to remember, to mourn.

One Year Ago

Somber Linkage: A Resource List

www.october15th.com


"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
-- Psalm 34:18

Playin' Around Town: Going Bonkers

Last week, my friend Randi told me about an opportunity to participate with a group that coordinates free kid events around the Metroplex. In return, Moms visit the event sponsors on site and follow up with a brief survey by e-mail afterwards. It looked like a good deal that didn't require too much effort on my part (a bonus!), so we signed up right away.

For the first event, we went to Going Bonkers, a giant indoor play structure for kids. My big kids are in a weird life stage -- they're young enough to still love indoor playgrounds, but they're often too big to fully enjoy them (or to not be an intimidation to the other smaller kids playing there). Sadly, I think we've officially reached the end of our "playing at Chick-fil-A" days, so on that note, I was worried that they would be disappointed by the play area at Going Bonkers, or that I would be disappointed by having to drag my (weeping, wailing, teeth-gnashing) too-big children to the car. The advertising guaranteed fun for ages 4 to 104 (with a special play area for those 3 and younger), so we took a risk and went -- it was free, after all! Happily, thankfully, they weren't disappointed and neither was I.

The play structure was open and airy, made of netting instead of the enclosed plastic tubes. Both kids could stand upright and walk in some areas instead of having to stoop or crawl everywhere. There were places for climbing, obstacles to overcome, slides to enjoy. (My laptop and I appreciated the free Wi-Fi.) They played and played and were dissuaded only by tummy rumblings, and what we anticipated would be an hour or two of exploration turned into more than four hours of absolute fun.

Homeschool Co-op: Donuts with Dad

James joined us the homeschool co-op this week for Donuts with Dad, a special time set aside to honor all the homeschooling fathers with breakfast pastries and prayers.

James is an integral part of our homeschooling process. While he may not sit down to teach a lesson on long division or the function of a conjunction, his care for and support of us are vital. Without his support, we would have never begun homeschooling, and without his encouragement, we would likely often opt to quit. Thank you, James, for supporting us, for praying for us, for holding us accountable, and for pressing us on.

Wordless Wednesday: Footie Jammies/Bumbo Chair

Brystol, Ten Weeks Old

The End of an Era

James celebrated his 39th birthday this year, a surprisingly remarkable event. This birthday seemed to mark the end of an era. It seemed to be less about wrapping up the thirties and more about staring down the forties -- a nail in the coffin of his youth, if you will. This birthday was probably the mopiest ever.

To cheer him up, we celebrated James by spending very little money. (For some reason, James' happiness level increases in direct correlation to my decreased spending. Very interesting...) The kids and I made chocolate cake balls and we gave him funny birthday cards, Dallas Cowboys paraphernalia, and complete control over the weekend plans.

James used his power wisely, and we continued celebrating at Freebirds in Arlington where James had a monster and made himself happily miserable. We drove around Cowboys Stadium watching tailgating Aggies out in the cold rain. We considered picking up some tickets to the game, but opted for coffees and couches at home instead (a decision we felt even happier about when the Aggies lost). The rest of the weekend was a blur of football and lounging and napping and lazing -- so great!

Making Cake Balls for Dad


Rolling Away


Sweets


Happy Birthday


Make a Wish!


James --
We love you.
We appreciate you.
We hope this year is fuller and richer
than the 38 before it.

Happy Birthday!

Pick of the Patch

We took our newest lil' pumpkin out for her first trip to the Pumpkin Patch. We opted to go early in the season hoping to avoid the crowds and the illnesses that come with them. The dreary, rainy beginning of fall caused our favorite Pumpkin Patch to close for the day, so we stopped in at the smaller neighboring field where I took 9,637 photos for four good shots. At least one pair of socks got ruined, Brystol cried a fair bit, the kids complained about the sun burning out their retinas every time I instructed them to say "cheese," and we all left covered with mud and hay.

Ah, precious memories.


-- The Four Good Pictures --





Brystol Channeling Her Inner-Chef Boyardee


Who You Callin' Pumpkin?


-- The Pumpkin Patch Rejects --


Happy Fall, Y'all!