Bits and Pieces

So, along with all of the other momentous things of life, we've enjoyed lots of everyday fun. Here's just a glimpse of ...

Daddy and crew!
Peter and Matthew in matching shirts (Thanks Grandma!) ...

Hannah coloring a special picture for her friend ...

Matthew starting to really enjoy Toby ...

And Peter's standard mode of transportation ...

These last few weeks have been quite busy with some extra projects at work, getting some tree work done (some us, some professional), helping with a friends' wedding reception, finishing the bunk beds, etc. etc. etc. I'm sure your lists are all just as full, albeit with different items. Anyway, blogging will have to be lower on the totem pole the next few weeks as I prepare a special presentation for our Ladies' Bible study followed by Christmas preparations and a trip to Michigan. That will be followed by the removal of four wisdom teeth (anyone want to trade places?!?) ... and after that is Christmas! Wow ... this year is flying by!

Bunkbeds!

Before

After

The smiles say it all.

The kids were so excited to get to sleep in their new beds for the first time.

Many thanks to Daddy for his efforts in finishing the beds. Didn't he do a beautiful job!?!

We love fall.

The colors are beautiful ...

And the smiles are even better!

:o)

Peter's Fall

Earlier this month, Peter was outside playing when I suddenly heard crying just outside the screen door. When I came to investigate, Peter was obviously hurt.

None of us were outside to see it happen, but based on what he told us, he fell from the edge of the wall, and hit his head on the steps. That's about a four foot drop to concrete.

And he got up and walked to the house. Crying. But walking.

The Lord is so good.

What could have very easily been a trip to the emergency room, a serious concussion, broken bones, a cracked open head, or worse, was simply a scrape with a minor goose egg.

Here it is the day of:


And two days later:

And about a week and a half later:

All I can say is, "Thank You, Lord, for Your protection!"

:::

And while we're on the subject of Peter, just a note to self:

If you teach your children to use tools instead of toys,
don't be surprised when they decide to use nails
to afix a picture of which they are very proud to the wall.

We love you, buddy!
SO thankful you're okay!

Happy 6 Months!

What a blessing and delight we've enjoyed with our littlest big boy these past six months!!

Happy 6 Months, Matthew!

Just a couple of notes:

• His laughter and smiles are just plain ol' addicting!
• He's sitting up really well--not quite stable enough to trust on the floor yet, but he's doing great on the bed, and staying upright for longer and longer periods of time.
• "Blackie" is his favorite buddy. :o)
• He is chewing on anything and everything he can get into his mouth.
• He still loves his jumperoo, but he's also enjoying the activities on his exersaucer now as well.
• At his six-month checkup, he weighed 19 lbs. 12 oz and was 28-7/8 inches long!
• As evidenced by the picture taken this afternoon with Blackie, his eczema on his cheeks has completely cleared up! (We're praying that it will stay that way.) I try to use natural healthcare as much as possible, but nothing was working for his cheeks. Praise the Lord, our doctor was able to prescribe a cream that has taken care of it in just a week's time! (And He allowed us to find a coupon that dropped the price from $50 to $5!)

We love you, Monkey! You're a joy and delight!

Hannah's 1st PBJ

The other day Hannah asked me if she could help make lunches, specifically sandwiches. It was a first, but I'm happy to encourage helpfulness, so I set her to her task ...

She definitely enjoyed herself! It turns out that one of the other students in her class had told about helping make sandwiches and it took them one whole hour! She was mildly disappointed to learn it didn't take her quite that long ... I tried to make the fact that it only took her 25 minutes as a positive thing. Didn't quite work.

Here's her finished creation. :o)

It tasted good ... just a might sticky. :o)

Toby thoroughly enjoyed the excess peanut butter we scraped from the counters and put on his special toy for him.

She hasn't asked about helping make sandwiches again. Should she, I'll be glad to let her help. I think I'll wait a few more years before I ask her though. :o) Counting carrots, matching socks, and folding towels are right at her current skill levels. :o)

Classic Peter

The following pictures are so classicly "Peter," I wanted to share them as a post of their own. Needless to say, he was quite determined to use the apple picker. "All by myself, Mommy."

So enjoy the photostory ...

That's my boy. :o)

A Fun Visit!

We were so glad to get to see Grandma and Grandpa for a couple days at the beginning of October! (Grandpa needed to take his tractor back home for the winter and was squeezing that in along with a trip to California to pick up their church's new pastor.) We took some time off of work so that we could make the most of their visit, and we started with a trip to the apple orchard.

We squeezed all three kids into the back seat of the van so that we could all ride together. Hannah entertained both her and Peter by reading her new Bible story book to him. It is so exciting to see (hear!) how her reading skills have blossomed!

It was a wonderful day at the orchard. We've always gone on the weekend in previous years, so we really enjoyed how much quieter it was on a weekday. Here's part of our crew waiting for the "hay ride."
And the other part of the crew. Matthew was content in his carrier--not a bit fussy, but not particularly smiley either. Just content. We were glad for that.

Yep, we like hay(less) rides! :o)

Here's the ladies ... big smiles, big hair! It was quite breezy, if you can't tell. :o)

Then it was off to pick apples!

Awww, he finally surrendered ...

Ahhh, beautiful apples!

And wonderful fellowship!

Like Grandpa ...

Like grandson ...

After filling our baskets, we migrated to the animals ...

And of course, enjoyed plenty of snuggles and hugs along the way! :o)

Along with our trip to the orchard, Grandpa and Daddy cut down four trees, and Grandma and Mommy painted the hallway and all of the remaining trim upstairs. Yea!! We also played some games, ate plenty of yummy food, and made a very profitable trip to the recycling center. (Praise the Lord!!) We packed a lot into 2-1/2 days!

We love you, Grandma and Grandpa!
Thanks for coming to visit!