happy halloween!!!

We had a fun evening trick or treating with the DuHadways.  It was a frigid 7 degrees so the boys and I stayed home and welcomed chilly friends into the shop for hot chocolate and brownies.John & Stacey Depriest hosted an fun Halloween party tonight.  I have NEVER seen a home so decked out for the day before!!!  Stacey paid attention to every detail with amazing food & treats to boot.  Thanks for including us John & Stacey!

surgery

Today was surgery day.  Thomas was a trooper and we have great news to report!  The dye showed the surgeon that Thomas' parts looked completely normal and healthy.  He doesn't feel we need to be referred to a specialist...YAHOO!  I prayed a lot today, walked a lot (did what felt like MILES in the stroller with Owen...he was not a bit impressed with the hospital or waking at 5am)  and thought a lot.  I've held Claire after two surgeries as she's come out of anesthesia and now Thomas twice....nothing can prepare a momma's heart to hear those cries from her babies.  I'm praising God for another surgery BEHIND me and praying there will be few, if any, AHEAD of me.  To those of you who prayed...thank you.

pumpkins!

Well, the annual pumpkin carving took place tonight at our house.  

I grew up carving the basic 3 triangles and a crooked mouth.... Ella took the plunge tonight and attempted to carve using one of those stencils.  She did the top part and I did the word/letters on the bottom...I think she did a better job!  Any guesses what my word is supposed to say?


Thomas looked at the whole process but didn't want to dig in and help.  He wandered the shop as we carved.  It wasn't long before he figured out how to open up the door to the Expedition...climbed inside, opened the garage door (I removed the opener) and got the keys in the ignition (I then quickly removed the keys too!)

A couple quotes from recent weeks....

Claire had the stomach flu not long ago.  At one point, she said, "Mom, my tummy is getting madder and madder!"

As I was cooking venison for supper, Ella came over and said, "Mm.. are we having cantelope again for supper?" (referring to the antelope in the freezer)

A neighbor girl was over playing with the girls and came up to me while holding Owen, "He looks just like Trig, Sarah Palin's son!  Does he have Down Syndrome too?"

water boy

Ever since Thomas broke his leg and I spent hours doing water play with him, he LOVES to dump, pour, spill, drink, stir,  & splash in the water.  He has another abscess on his bottom, so we are to bathe him 2-3 times every day.  This is no problem for Thomas as he loves the water!  Seriously, we meet with the surgeon again on Thursday and will decide what to do next for Thomas.  Surgery is likely on Friday, but not certain.  Please pray for Thomas, that he would be healed and that we would get to the root of the problem and understand why his body is making these.

big!

I had a mommy moment at supper...Owen joined us at the table tonight for the first time in his highchair.  With each spot around the table full, it felt so complete, so good. THIS is our family.  I also remembered the debate I had in my head years ago as we tried to decide if we should have three children or not....one of my thoughts was that there were only 4 chairs at our table.  Well, we fixed that problem, didn't we?  

4 and a photo

4 kids in one photo....I've begun to wonder how likely it is that I'll ever have all 4 looking at me at once.  It may be a few years, I think!  And a family portrait...that makes my head spin!  Is it possible?  The ONLY complete family photo we have is hours after I gave birth to Owen.  Maybe, just maybe we can pull this off for a Christmas card.  It's October, I better start now....

first snow

We got our first big dump of snow today.  Mom made the executive call of "no homework tonight...we're going outside to play!"  Life is just too short.  The kids had a grand time and I know very well, it will all melt away oh so soon.

owen

Owen is growing and changing so fast! He had his first rice cereal this week, rolls like crazy, sucks his thumb more and more and is just beginning to sit.  Sweet little one...where has the time gone?

harvest

We have been enjoying garden carrots at most of our meals for the past few weeks.  Mmm...They're not huge, but I still get happy as I crunch them knowing we grew them ourselves!

the trick

Tom has done "the trick" with each one of our babies, holding them high in the air as they balance both little feet on just his hand.  They are always so proud of themselves and it tickles dad as well!  I could barely watch as he did this with the girls, but have relaxed a tad bit over time...4 children will do that to a mom! 

blessed

As we were finishing supper, I saw a swan fly over the woods.  Grabbed the frozen bag of bread crusts I keep in the freezer and ran with the kids to the lake.  I am amazed each year at how fearless these trumpeter swans are.  They swam right over when they saw us coming and the girls had so much fun feeding them.  Thomas laughed and put his little arms out, asking to hold them.  All I could think of was how blessed we are to live in such an amazing place.  Thank you God.

go ella!

Ella ran in her first cross country meet today.  She did super and seemed to have fun despite falling on the course.  Tom & I wondered what happened to her and afterwards she explained that she fell and got freaked out by everyone running around her and jumping over her, so she just waited until they all passed and then started running again:)  Way to be polite, girl!  We celebrated with caramel apples afterwards...