The Turkey Song

Meatballs

The following story really hit home for me. Since having Audrey, we've worked hard to try to keep things fair between the girls but sometimes it's just not possible and that's ok. I thought this was worth sharing. For some reason it's not posting is a very reader friendly format, sorry! - Meatballs by Jean Blackmer - One night at the dinner table our blonde, curly-haired, 6-year-old son sat remarkably still in his yellow booster seat, carefully examining his plate of spaghetti. He slowly stirred the noodles and sauce around with his little fork. “What’s the matter Jake?” I asked. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes, sighed so deeply his shoulders moved up and down, and said, “Sometimes you get a meatball, sometimes you don’t.” Then he scooped up a forkful of noodles, smiled and started eating. He didn’t get a meatball. And his two brothers got lots of meatballs, but he was willing to accept the fact that tonight he didn’t get a single one. After Jake’s comment I almost jumped up, counted the other boys’ meatballs and gave Jake the same number, just to be fair. But the reality is that sometimes life isn’t fair. Sometimes we lose our jobs, sometimes a family member gets sick, and sometimes even our marriages are difficult. Other times we have plenty. Our children are healthy, our homes are warm, and we have more than enough to eat. The trick is learning to find contentment in any situation. Like Jake said, sometimes you get a meatball and sometimes you don’t.

Princess Breakfast

A few weekends ago Anna and I enjoyed eating pancakes with princesses. It was very crowded but she loved wearing her Cinderella gown (a post-Halloween clearance deal) and having fun with her friends. Anna with her friends Bailey and Gracie Waiting for story time to begin in the "sea" of princesses. She was thrilled to listen to Cinderella read during the story time.

Piggie Tails

Preschool Halloween Party

Anna had a fun Halloween party at preschool on Friday. They sang songs, played fun games, and had some yummy treats. She dressed up like a fairy - a last minute costume as we figured her lamb costume would be too hot for inside. Even her teachers dressed up which the kids loved of course. Audrey wanted to be a 4 yr old just like the others! She kept me on my toes as always!

Trick or Treating

Here's our little lamb and pink poodle. It was way tooo hot for their costumes. We had a beautiful 75 degree day, not the typical cold and rainy late October day we've had in the past. Our county has trick or treating on the 29th each year thinking it's safer to do it on a day other than Halloween. I think it's silly to do it on a day other than Halloween but o'well. You have to be cautious no matter what day it is! Gotta love their cute tails! Audrey did not like keeping her hood up. But, she did love reaching into the candy bowls with both hands and grabbing as much as she could. People thought it was so cute and I was trying to limit her to 1 or 2 pieces. I think she scored 4-5 pieces at every house! Anna enjoys passing out candy as much as she likes getting candy.

Pumpkin Carving

Anna was so excited to carve our pumpkins! She carved a pumpkin at preschool so she had some practice before we did our's at home. If you look at Audrey in the picture below you can see that she's about to climb onto the island with the pumpkins - imagine that! Audrey wasn't too sure of the goop. But, it didn't stop her from digging in again. Good job Daddy and girls!

Grandpa and Grandma Smith

Grandpa and Grandma Smith came to visit last weekend and we had lots of fun outside and inside. It was great to have help entertaining the girls! We were excited to go to the corn maze but once we got there and saw how muddy it was we changed our minds. We checked out the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch and then headed home to play outside. Shootin' some hoops Playing airplane A birthday dance for Grandpa We celebrated Grandpa's birthday with a chocolate cake covered in chocolate frosting (Anna's request). :) Thanks for coming to see us!!

Busy girl!

Audrey is one busy girl! There is nothing out of reach for her. She will climb anything to get what she wants. After helping Anna in the bathroom I found her here on the kitchen table happily dumping the salt and pepper everywhere. She still gets on the table regularly but the salt and pepper have been removed! Oh how she loves chapstick but not just for her lips... she also puts it on her nose, ears, cheeks, etc. I think we tell her at least 20 times a day to get out of the desk. There are just too many fun things to play with in the drawers. Somebody could make a huge profit inventing child proof drawer locks. I guess she just couldn't get close enough. She loves to give me heart attacks going up and down the stairs. She does really well but I still get nervous. She squeals with delight when the gate is not up or closed and then runs up or down them depending on where she is. She's so fast! If I realize she's not in the family room playing, she's usually doing this... typing or clicking away. She can often be found on the coffee table playing with toys. Must be a comfy spot for her.

Pretty Trees, Pretty Girls!

The trees in our backyard are beautiful. I love maple trees that turn red in the fall and we have an entire yard full of them. AWESOME! I had to get some pictures of the girls in front of the trees. I wish this season lasted for months. :) Audrey does not like to look at the camera. She turns her head as soon as I point it towards her so I usually get pictures of her looking away. This one turned out pretty sweet I think.

Tennessee

We visited TN recently and had a great time. We stayed with our friends and old neighbors Lou and Debbie who are so special to us. They have a dog, Cammie, whom Audrey was infatuated with. Anna was afraid of her but Audrey was all about squatting down beside her and chatting with her. Thank you Lou and Debbie for opening up your home to us! We were able to visit with the Peters while we were there as well. It was great to see Mark, Kristen, and Emily. They were also our neighbors and we're thankful we've been able to keep in touch with them since we've moved. Audrey and Emily were born just 2 weeks apart and the girls had a fun time playing together. This is the view we used to have from our back porch. I was just in awe looking at it again...so pretty! Anna is standing in front of the first house she lived in even though it was only for her first 4 weeks of life. It tugged at my heart strings to see our house again. We built this house and lived in it for 2 1/2 years. They've changed the landscaping, but it's still our home to me.

Flower Girls

This past weekend the girls were flower girls in my sister's wedding. Anna LOVED being a flower girl and has told me numerous times since the wedding that she wants to go back to the wedding and be the flower girl again. :) She didn't want to put down her bouquet the entire night of the wedding and has played with it here at home too. Audrey tolerated all of it but wasn't feeling the greatest as she's been fighting a cold and getting her molars in. We had a fun weekend visiting family and celebrating Jen and Mike's wedding. Audrey ran down the aisle. :)

Pumpkin Festival

Last weekend we had a good time venturing out to the WV Pumpkin Festival with our good friends/neighbors Chris and Karri and their 2 boys. The festival actually got coverage in Southern Living magazine. It was fun to see lots of crafts and tradesman. We bought some sourghum and apple butter that was made right before our eyes and also brought home a yummy pumpkin roll. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to get out and enjoy this fun time of year! Anna, Audrey, Landon, Nicholas Anna had lots of fun with the sand art. The big boy! I can't imagine growing a pumpkin that big!