Ongoing October

I know I had promised a post last week and did not deliver, I apologize. So here is a post for the past two weeks!

We went to "The Land" in KY. Emily did not join us. Her social calender had her at a friends for the weekend because of a birthday sleepover. She had an excellent time and even got to ride horses! Jason went down early on Wednesday the 15th with some friends to relax and chop some wood for the campfire.

I KNEW that we had some excitement coming up and I was right. While at the land, Saturday morning to be exact, Ella woke up with poison ivy ALL over her face. Her left eye was swollen shut and the right side of her face was all puffy not to mention the itching she had going on. Soooo, Connie (Jason's mom) and I took her into the local hospital and got to try out their emergency room. They were very kind and thankfully not busy at all. Two hours, two shots, two pills, and two prescriptions later we were back at the land and we could see Ella's left eye. The medicine worked well and the only leftover from the poison ivy at this point.is some dried skin.

The weather was a little chilly, especially on the Sunday morning, but it just made the campfire even warmer. I enjoyed holding my little ones in front of that campfire, wrapped up in a fleece blankets, and have them fall asleep in my arms. Aaaahhh, motherhood.

The entertainment for some of the weekend was provided by Shane in the form of Rockband! I personally do not see the appeal but most everyone else loves it!

On Tuesday, Jason and I took Emily to the place where we got engaged 14 years ago and surprised her by presenting her with a purity ring. This is something we had been talking to her about for awhile and we felt this was the proper time to do it. She gladly accepted it and the challenge that it represents. The purity ring shows her promise to God, herself, and her future husband (if God blesses her with one) that she will keep herself sexually, mentally and spiritually pure until she is married. We acknowledge that this an extremely hard road to follow but we do believe that it is what God has called us to do. It's our responsibility as her parents to help guide her as she grows and in this very hard and confusing world.

Monday, I got to take some photos of Finn, my nephew, at a local farm. It was at the end of a long day but the results speak for themselves........ what an adorable guy!

Today we went to a pumpkin farm to pick out our pumpkin! We hadn't had a chance to do this and it was obvious when we got into the pumpkin field that it was the last weekend before Halloween, the pickings were slim. The part we all like the best is searching for neat looking gourds that we call "Nyrts" (what David is holding in the photo above). We did end up finding a pumpkin and did the carving this evening. I say "we" but Jason did all the carving, and did an excellent job! The results are below for your enjoyment.

I probably won't post again until after Halloween so have a Happy Halloween!

More Fall Festivities

Oh, where to begin. Not too much has happened but certainly enough for a blog post, so here it goes!

This past Saturday the 11th we hosted a surprise retirement party for Jason's father, Tom. He retired from Kroger after working there for about 38 or so years. He started working there when he was 16! Connie, Jason's mom, lured Tom out to our house saying that we were all going to the pumpkin farm for a hay ride and so Tom had no idea what was really in store! He truly was surprised and we all had a good time of hanging out and for some, playing Rock Band in the garage (courtesy of Shane Beverly).

Tom "surprised" by his cake.

Our first official use of the patio!

The next day we had a visit from my best friend Jennie and her family. This time we really did go to the pumpkin farm (without Tom) and did not end up taking the hay ride. When we arrived we discovered Carolyn and her family were already there! The three families went back to our house for dinner and another evening of fun!

Kids in a big vat of dried corn.

On Monday, Emily decided it was time to get her hair cut. She has been growing out her bangs for awhile now and wanted to even up her hair. I've posted the cute results for you!




This weekend is our annual fall party at the land and so early next week I'm sure I'll have a post with those photos and any stories that may emerge. Until then, enjoy the beauty of this season. I'm always amazed when I see a tree in it's full autumn color, what a majestic God we have!

We had some possible beginnings and/or endings this past week. Only time will tell which they were. I'm sure some have no idea of what I write so I'll unravel the mystery.

This past Friday Emily performed with the junior high band on the football field for the first time. It was homecoming at our school and the JH band was invited to join the high school band in playing the fight song on the field during the pre-game show. Emily has said that she does not want to continue on in band next year and so this may have been the only time Jason and I had to see her perform with a marching band. :( We tell ourselves that she is her own person and we can not live through her but we also don't want her missing out on an awesome opportunity. I'm posting a shortened video of her performance. It's shaky because I was videotaping with David and Ella hanging on me and bouncing around. Emily also ends up behind a cymbal player most of the time but I'll take what I can get.







The next morning Emily ran her final race of this cross country season. It was run on the hardest course but she did an excellent job and pushed herself very hard. Emily also does not plan on continuing on in cross country next fall but instead hopes to get onto a high school soccer team.

Jason had a hopeful beginning this past Saturday. For the past several years he has been running in various 5 or 10K runs but always made it a point to participate in one in particular (it has a great after party). This run is the Reggae Run, which is a 5K, held at Ault Park in the beginning of October. He had a goal for his recovery from his broken leg of running the Reggae Run this year and he accomplished his goal! It was almost 10 months to the day from his accident. His time was about 29 minutes, not bad, huh? His leg felt fine but the next day he was tired and ached all over, but who wouldn't?

Jason and I at the after party

That's about it for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the cool evenings of this fall. I'm still waiting for the leaves to change color but I'm also thinking that this fall won't be as pretty as it could be due to the lack of rain and Hurricane Ike blowing through. Until next time!