"Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children." Charles R. Swindoll

This was the first Friday I've had off in over a month. Shane was able to take a half day today so that we could get out of the house and go enjoy a "family day." We had a blast picking out our pumpkins(Liv had about 15 in our cart,) playing in the trees & leaves, picking a few apples, and enjoying a quiet lunch. The first farm we went to was packed out, so we drove around and found a little quaint place and the kids had the entire pumpkin patch and orchard to themselves up until the end. It was so nice! Of course Nolan thought every pumpkin was a "ball" and was trying to eat everything around him. Liv was so docile at his age, and didn't stick everything in her mouth like her little B. He's a stinker, and typical 1 year old I'm sure. We wanted to hit one last place on our way out. It has a huge glass case which is full of honey bees and I thought it would be fun to search out the queen bee. Olivia and I did this a couple weeks ago. Liv got a rather worried look on her face and said-
"No mom, I don't want to go there, I don't want to see the queen bee with the big red back." What I think she meant was the red dot? And then I explained why the queen has the red dot. Next she says-"that poor lady bee has a big red dot on her back from the sun, the sun burned her back and she's sun burned." Oh the mouths of babes!

I have missed hanging out with my little tribe, all of us together. My husband is doing a stellar job at picking up were I leave off when I head to work, thank you babe! The kids love spending time with their daddy too, Olivia got sad on Monday when it was Shane's turn to go back to work. Our schedules have been like a 3-ring circus over the last month, but things are FINALLY smoothing out, and I feel like I can breathe again. But most importantly spend more time with the people I LOVE SO MUCH!

Happy Fall Everyone! Hugs~

Afternoon Delight

Feeling a little "mother guilt"

I was just looking at my picture files from the first week of October 07. That's right, a year ago, October 2007--I'm at least one year behind on both my kids pictures, albums, etc, and I haven't rotated pictures in my house since last fall--It's sad, I know. I used to be so prompt with picture stuff, but unfortunately, that's changed. I'm unorganized in this area of my life for the time being. Maybe the upcoming cold, Fall weather will give me some inspiration to get inside projects done. AT LEAST that's what I'm hoping for. Anyhow, just wanted to post a few dusty pictures(which at this rate are on their way to being archived,) from last October, during this same week. Not a lot of exciting things going on in our world right now. Just a sick little munchkin :-( and babysitting our neighbors goldfish(Dorothy--who Olivia insists on checking every 5 minutes.) Hope this note finds everyone well! Xoxo

I can't believe how dark Nolan's hair was--he's such a Blondie now!

We're still working on the thumb sucking, but it's at a bare minimum now--crossing our fingers she'll be over it soon!

Daddy & NJP

The good ole' days when your baby would sleep right on your chest-oh how I MISS that!

Nolan & Sis, he's looking at her with blank stares :)

Surgery Day

First off, I want to thank everybody for their prayers for Nolan and his eye surgery. All I have to say is thank God Monday is over! The surgery went as perfect as I hoped & prayed it would. I hope I never have to revisit a day of surgery for either of my children ever again. I seriously feel like I've aged 10 years in the last couple of weeks. The procedure for the actually surgery, and getting the cyst(which was around 8 mm) out never really bothered me. It was the anesthesia, and knowing that he'd be fully sedated that scared the heck out of me. Most everybody that knows me, is fully aware of how anti-drug I am unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary. I don't even like giving my kids Tylenol, and have yet to try Motrin on either of them. So, the thought of anesthesia for Nolan gave me quite a few new grey hairs.

The hardest part(s) of the morning were handing my baby over to a nurse(who I did not know until that morning,) and watching them walk down towards the OR, and then watching Nolan come out of the anesthesia. At the same time, it was amazing how fast he came out of it, and more interesting, how quickly he seemed back to normal in personality/behavior. He looked up at the nurse that was with him in recovery and said "HI," and then started pointing to everything around him saying "that" It made me happy because he was acting like Nolan again. When we got home he was still a bit groggy and kept saying "down" because he wanted to play. He napped a lot that day, and slept pretty darn good that night. He's definitely back to normal now, except for a swollen, & bruised eye. Poor little buddy!

Adjusting to NEW chapters of our lives

This has been a very busy couple of weeks for us. Olivia started Pre-K, Nolan turned 1, and I accepted a job. Most of the time I think our lives(with children,) are pretty typical, but adding all three of the above to the equation has kicked me in to high gear.

Olivia has been stuck to me like glue since the day she was born, and most of the time prefers to be near her father or I. She has come so far over the last year. She was not emotionally ready to start preschool last year. Prior to this last couple of months, rarely could I leave her, unless it was with Shane, or one of her gams. She was even hesitant in her ballet class(which I found myself sitting in the corner of the dance floor, as close to her as the teacher would allow.) However, The Lord has moved mountains for her in this area. She started ballet again this summer and was 100% ready to leave my side and go out and enjoy herself, without the fear of being away from me. Equally important, this year she walked right in to her Pre-K class and was okay with me leaving her. I really did not think the day would come. I'm so proud of her, and more importantly, thankful that she feels safe, and secure in these new environments. Thank you LORD!

Nolan turned 1, and I still can't believe it. This last year has flown by! He is such a FUN little guy. He's really starting to walk well, and I think will be ready for his first pair of little stride rites any day now. If you think of it, you could pray for him. He has to have a dermoid cyst removed near his eyebrow next week. Something Shane and I have been dreading for months. I just pray it goes smooth, uncomplicated, simple, pain-free, and easy. We have an amazing surgeon and pediatrician. Thank God for that!

I accepted a job and am so blessed because the hours are perfect. My schedule was pretty much tailor made. It still allows me to stay at home with my kids most of the time. Shane will be here in the evenings, and weekends with the kids so they won't be in daycare. It's part time, but will be a perfect balance for me. While I've enjoyed this last 4 years of being a full-time stay at home mom, I realized that I need a little something for me. Not to mention that this job is so much fun, I spend my time picking out clothes, and dressing people :-)

Above are more pictures of NJP's 1st bday bash. Hope you enjoy~

Turning 1 is Fun!

This is Nolan's first experience eating cake--he wasn't too thrilled about the taste(that a boy, hopefully he won't like junk food-ya right!) There are a couple pictures of him climbing on his birthday gifts like a little monkey. More 1st birthday pictures to come! It was a great day, I love this boy so much! HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY NJP! May God bless you, and always hold you in the palm of his hand.
*if you click on the collage it will enlarge the pics

Long boat ride, sleep over at our dear friends cabin(kids staying in comfy cozies 24/7,) & one last night fish=PERFECT WAY TO SPEND LABOR DAY WEEKEND!