Fall Days, A Happy Thanksgiving...and a christmas tree!

The days up until Thanksgiving were beautiful! And then...the cold came. :( But during those nice days Wells got a lesson in mowing the lawn. He loves playing with the lawn mower and blower in the garage. When Josh let him help him for a minute he was in heaven. :) Let's hope the enthusiasm lasts a looonnggg time. :)

We visited my favorite park again! This time we fished off the dock....with no luck. But it was fun trying. We had more luck attracting people than fish. Tell me this, who comes two feet from you with their child, narrates what someone does and then sits down right there and watches you? Without talking to you or thinking their being annoying?? This was very strange behavior....

Anyway, Wells had a great time.

Thanksgiving was a great day for us. We didn't get to play our normal football game {just too many little ones that can't participate and need supervision}, but we had family time all day. The boys and I made Sweet Potato casserole {I'll post the link to the recipe under the Recipes tab} and mashed sweet potatoes the day before. Thursday morning we made cinnamon rolls and got coffee for the family and headed over to Josh's parents' house around 10am. Josh fried a turkey and hung out with the guys while I played with the kids and caught up with the girls. After an early lunch there and Fielding's nap, we headed to my grandparents' to hang out with my side of the family along with all the random people and adopted family members. It was a full day. I love that we have a day set aside for remembering to whom we are thankful and what we are thankful for. I'm thankful for my husband, children, family, health, provision of more than I need, and to be able to stay at home with my children. I know I am very blessed and hope I am being a good steward of all God has given me. I always think of what Andy Stanley taught about making wise decisions when I think of being a good steward. He says to think about this ~ "In light of your past experience, present circumstances, and future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing to do?" I know that doesn't exactly go with a Thanksgiving theme...but it was in my train of thought so I thought I'd share that too. :) Along those lines, we're thinking about moving...more about that later :). Here are some Thanksgiving pictures!!

Wells cleaning potatoes for me.

Fielding being happy on the floor...this was a huge help!

Me in my new apron that I made ~ after making like 8 I finally kept one! :)

Fielding at Poppop and Grandma's.

Sweet potato topping - yum!

Josh's turkey pot.

Cooking the turkey!

Wells just wants to do whatever his Daddy is doing. :)

Looks like Fielding isn't so sure about this frying business.

Getting ready.

I didn't get anymore pictures of the feast...guess I got caught up in everything but it was beautiful and fun and couldn't ask for a more loving family ~ on both sides.

Next up ~ Christmas tree shopping!!

Every year we try to get a christmas tree on November 27th. This is a special day as it's the birthday of my brother, Hanson, who passed away at 6 months old. This year we were all together on the 26th doing family pictures so we decided to head out for convenience sake. It was freezing!!!! We went, cut down a tree and then sadly everyone headed to their own home. It had gotten late and things are just more complicated with the three little ones. Here is a picture of Josh, Wells and Dawson {my brother in law} warming themselves by the stove {really they are trying to get a glimpse of the Auburn game}.

Family photo...expect that you can't really see the kids ~ HA!

Dane, Mia and little Josiah. Since we hadn't planned on going to get a tree that night we all bundled up with whatever we had. Luckily my mom had room in her jacket. :)

Wells helped cut down the tree too!

We didn't get a tree {again...maybe next year} but we did get greenery. I made a garland for the door. Looks pretty good! I'll take a some pictures after I get all the decorations up.

Wells helping me cut the garland I just spent an hour making and hanging....it doesn't matter. Kids learn through being able to try new things and sometimes I just have to let it go....it's not a big deal and he had a great time thinking he was helping me. :)


Have a great day! Thanks for reading such a long post!

Helen

A little of this and a little of that

The Fall weather is here and we are loving it, although it we have been inside a lot lately. The boys are really developing their personalities these days. Fieling is my angel child right now and Wells....well, I guess the "terrible two's" have begun. Some days it takes all the patience I can muster just to keep calm with his constant whining. Here he is below trying on my boots. He likes them as you can see. The other day I came down the stairs in them and he said, "Hey! Nice boots!" He's so funny. :)

So on days that are nice and I feel like getting out we head to a nearby church play ground. The boys LOVE it! There's never anyone else there and it's close enough to walk ~ so I love it too. Fielding played for about 15 minutes in this little car the other day and we even pushed him around the playground in it. He was so cute. :)

If you look closely at the picture above, you can see that Fielding is standing. He has started pulling up on everything ~ the couch, the dishwasher, the toilet (eekk!), the toy box...! I think he'll be walking before a year old. His personality is starting to come out and he is very social. He loves people and hates being alone or missing out. Wells is still shy but he's getting better. I was a very shy child, so I know he'll grow out of it.

Here are the boys again....just watching the cars go by...Fielding wants to be just like Wells. :)

Among our other activities, Wells and I have started having tea together. He wanted to play with the tea cups the other day so I made tea and got cookies.... He really enjoyed it and we've had tea a few times since.

And last but not least, I wanted to provide proof that I did get out and vote! The boys came with and were very good. However, Wells did say, "Go home. Go home." the entire time...but oh well.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!!

Sick house - edited

Hello all. Hope you are well and enjoying this great weather. We started the week out great. Wells had his first riding lesson on Tuesday. We went up to my grandfather's farm and rode with my mom, Mia, and Tate. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

Wednesday I got sick at 6:30am. It hit Wells later that day and it's been rough. I forgot to mention when I first posted this how great my husband has been. He came home Wednesday afternoon to check on me. I think seeing me laying on the bathroom floor with the baby crawling around made him realize how bad I felt. He called back to work and stayed with us the rest of the day. I don't know what I would have done without him. I couldn't move without throwing up, and Wells, not really understanding, was worse than me. He got us all in bed and calm. He is wonderful! Josh came down with it yesterday but has faired a little better than Wells and me. I have such an appreciation for health now! Wow...I can't imagine constantly feeling like this. I feel like I'm on the mend as long as I don't eat, which is a problem because I'm still nursing Fielding and my milk supply is dwindling. Please pray we all recover quickly and I can continue to feed Fielding. Fielding seems okay...he's in getting a tooth and isn't feeling great but hasn't thrown up....Maybe we'll be better tomorrow!

On a different note, you've probably noticed the constant change in the look of my blog...sorry. It's not that my mood changes that much, it's that I haven't yet gotten it to something I love. It's a work in progress...sigh...as is everything in my life. :) But I love projects. :)

Take care and enjoy your health!!

Rosetta flower

These are so easy and cute! Thought I'd share.

Frayed Flower

First fruits and Cowboys

Rainy days at home are always nice once in a while. My morning started off with Wells throwing up all over my bed and me. Amazingly, I wasn't grossed out. Movies and saltines seem to be treating him well right now.

I finally got to pick something from my garden! My Swiss Chard has done really well. I made a creamy pasta dish with it....It was alright. Not something I think I'll grow in the future. But it does look pretty!

{Swiss Chard}

This weekend I made apple sauce for the first time ever! It was easy and tastes great. I had my little helper with me. He just loves to bake.

{The finished product! Fielding has been enjoying this mixed with his oatmeal.}

Since I had so many apples, Josh was great to make one of his apple pies for me. Ya'll ~ he makes the dough from scratch and it is soo good! We had it for lunch Sunday right out of the oven. Yum. :)

Halloween ~ Josh and I were brought up not celebrating this holiday. We had planned on not participating but it now just seems like a fun day to hang out with friends, dress up and eat candy. Obviously, our convictions have waned. Thus, Wells and I went trick or treating for the first time together. We hung out with our friends Steven, Karen, and William. It was a fun low key night. Here are the boys. Wells was a cowboy and William a cute pumpkin!

{On our way to the Hoffers.}

{The choochoo set was the highlight of the night. I think I'll have to get some for Christmas.}

{The boys. :) I hope they are friends forever!}

{Poor Fielding. He was just along for the ride.}

So that was Halloween....Sorry for so many pictures! I just couldn't choose which to leave out. Monday was errand day. And I must confess that I tried to do too much and was a bit selfish with my time. I feel bad for making Fielding skip a nap and not keeping my promise to go to the park with the boys. Luckily the boys don't have great memories right now. :)

Last night was date night! We haven't had a date in a very long time. We went up to the park and played tennis for about an hour and a half then went and had wings. It was fun! My mom watched the boys for us. They love her so much! I've said this before, but it's so nice to leave them knowing they're in great hands and they enjoy their sitter.

Okay....now I need to get on with my day. Laundry and banana bread are on the agenda for today. Then trying out my new Dutch oven! I'll let you know how it turns out.