Pumpkin Patch

Pops and Nana came to visit this weekend and took us all to the Pumpkin Patch. The girls have been so excited to go this Fall and couldn't wait. It was a pretty day and we had a great time being together and came home with lots of pumpkins!

Caleb enjoying picking up pumpkins which he called "dall" (his word for ball) and throwing them down. Good thing he didn't smash any. Kate had a hard time narrowing down her choices. Lucky for her, Pops and Nana gave up their pumpkins so she ended up with 3 like she had hoped for. One to name "Kate", and one to name "Daniel" (her future husband) and one baby pumpkin! haha
Anna was happy to have found a pumpkin with a touch of yellow (her favorite color)
Nana and Anna looking for pumpkins together
Kate loved riding right up front on the hayride
Pops and Nana with Caleb and Anna on the hayride to the patch
Caleb "driving" the tractor
The girls loved walking on the tires and trying not to fall off
playing in the corn box. (much less messier than sand!)
petting the baby pigs
Anna enjoyed feeding all the animals
Caleb checking out the ducks. He liked looking at all the animals as long as they didn't get too close..
Feeding the goats

"How many are your works O Lord, in wisdom you made them all and the earth is full of Your glory" Psalm 104:24

I have been to Max Patch four times now and each time I visit I am more in awe of God's works and how He displays His glory on this earth. Romans 1:20 says, "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

I do not know how anyone could visit Max Patch and walk away still saying "there is no God", that such beauty and majesty could "just be". My heart is always so drawn to worship and praise God for His greatness when I visit this place, especially in the Fall, when all the colors of the world pop out through the mountains and the trees. Max Patch is our families favorite place and will always be special to visit.

We were able to go over Fall break with some great friends and it was such a wonderful day (despite the powerful winds at the top of the mountain). I love that here kids can run far and free and still be within our sight (and the kids love that fact even more!) and everywhere you look, you are surrounded by beauty. Our friends were brave and decided to camp out overnight with their three children. We chickened out (Caleb is still a little high maintenance to actually enjoy that)...but we stayed late at their campground and enjoyed some of the experience, roasting dinner over a campfire and enjoying smores together before we drove home.

Climbing to the Summit-beautiful blue skies and gorgeous fall colors

Family picture at the top (does not even come close to capturing how beautiful it is in person)

The gang- I love how well these kids all interact and love one another

The gang again (This time with Caleb :)

Kate was so happy all day out here!

Kate and Kate
Caleb loves finding big sticks to drag around
The kids had a great time in the crunchy leaves and throwing them all over eachother. Caleb enjoyed his "easy ride"
Kate and her "special friend" Daniel gathering sticks for a fire.

Here they are running free, happy as can be.
Little Anna was a trooper and worked hard to keep up with everyone!
Stopping to rest under a peaceful Oak tree.
How much fun they had on the huge bales of hay we walked up on our hike!
Enjoying a "real" camp fire cook-out before heading home
Who doesn't love a toasty smore right off the fire?!

The perfect end to a perfect day.

Homecoming

Last weekend we took the kids to Carson Newman's Homecoming. It was a gorgeous day and the campus is always so pretty in the fall. It was fun to see people we went to college with and see God's blessings (in the form of lots of children). Most of the people we graduated with now have anywhere from one to four little people. Amazing what can change in 10 years! Speaking of little people it is next to impossible to get all of my own three little people to all look at the camera at the exact same time and actually have a pleasant look on their face to top it off. So, at the very end of the day when my sweet friend Nancy (who also happens to very gifted with her camera) offered to take their picture in this cute little spot, I thought "Well, you can try, but they are covered in dirt, snot, and ready to hit the road" , so I just knew it would be a miracle to get a decent photo at this point, but I hated to pass up the opportunity. And can you believe it?! They are all 3 looking at the camera pleasantly and you can't even see all of the dirt that is really all over their clothes and body! Never say never!!

Day out at the Aquarium

We had such a fun day at the aquarium yesterday! What made it even better was that we were able to go for free with my sister for teacher appreciation day. It was a great way to pass the time until Jeremy got home from his trip. We hadn't been in such a long time and the kids all really enjoyed it. Caleb loved walking from exhibit to exhibit and looking at all the bright fish. I could hardly keep up with him because he would get so excited he would want to look and then run off to the next one. He was so fun to watch. The girls loved being in the shark tunnel and the new penguin exhibit.

The gang

"Scary Cat" faces.
The penguin dome
My sister and her little girl
We all thought he had such a cute little face
Caleb mesmerised by the big catfish
Anna loved the little yellow seahorse
Anna petting a horseshoe crab
The girls trying to touch a sting-ray fish as they swam by. Caleb threw a fit because we wouldn't let him get in with them!
Mommy and her girls
Mommy and her boy
This was Caleb most of the time. SO cute!

The blink of an eye

October! Is it really October? Where oh where did August and September go? The blink of an eye, and they are gone. Did we really even have those months this year? I know we did, but only because I can account for so many things that happened in those two months, and tell you so many ways in which three little people have blossomed in their own little ways; like Caleb turning into a one year old little boy that now knows how to walk and climb and explore, and who is beginning to have his own opinions, and Kate losing not one, but 3 teeth, and going to Kindergarten for the first time, and playing on a soccer team, and hiking all the way to Abhrams Falls and back without complaining, and Anna starting her very own dance class (the first thing she has done that is just for her without her big sister), and starting to learn to sound out words, and beginning to stand up to Kate and be a little bossy which is really funny. They are all changing so fast. That is the great thing about those amazing people who are able to blog every day. They have a daily journal to reflect on during a slower time and savor some of those sweet moments that feel like you are literally trying to hold running water in your hands. So, here I am two months since my last post, and I have the dilemma of, "Do I dare to try and find the time for several posts and catch up on what has happened in the past two months or do I just jump in and start with today, with hopes that I won't get so behind again..?"

And, for this stage of life that we are in right now, with three little people demanding every second of time and energy that we have in our bodies until they finally fall asleep at night and leave us so tired that often all we can do is collapse on the couch, and say "I'll get to that tomorrow" :) I think I better just start with today!

The perfect Fall day

Oh, Fall! We were all so ready for you to get here. The summer days have been so unbearably hot and muggy and we could not wait to feel the cool, crisp air and feel the crunchy leaves under our feet. Today was the first day of October and ironically it was the first day that really felt like true Fall. We picked Kate up from school and headed straight to the park for a picnic and some refreshing time in this new wonderful weather. It couldn't have been more perfect. I can not tell you how fun it was to watch this little boy romp around and explore. After having only girls, it is fun to watch this little boy play. It really is different! He loves to get in the dirt, and find sticks and rocks and bugs, and climb on anything he can hike his little leg up on! He is turning into such an independent little guy too and wants to be free to roam and this was such the perfect place to let him do that. The park had these small rock sculptures that were just the right size for him to climb, and climb he did! You could tell that he felt like such a "big boy". He would climb up on a rock and squeal and laugh with delight and then show major signs of protest if you tried to offer assistance! I have to admit that I had so much fun following him around and savoring his pure delight in the outdoors that I didn't get any pictures of the girls today! But, I can tell you they had so much fun running around freely pretending they were fairies in the forest!