thanksgiving

hello world!
we returned from a nice time at debordieu with family and a wonderful visit with old friends in charleston. we are refreshed and have come home to lots of leaves that need raking!!! we're looking forward to advent, and the first time to really teach noah about the wonder of Christmas. we also have dear friends who are missionaries to visit this week, and we are so excited about that! here are some photos of our time away! have a great day! oh! and joshua is walking. yeehaw!

november

are any of you out there as shocked as i am that thanksgiving is this week and christmas music is already all over the radio waves? time goes by so quickly with children!!! for me it's a matter of finding those moments and remembering that THIS is the moment to be relished. THIS is the moment to stop washing dishes and play chutes and ladders with noah. THIS is the moment to sit in the floor and read joshua goodnight moon for eighth time! and also that THIS is the moment when i can lay in bed-eyes closed- and let 'mommy, mommy' go ignored for just another minute (ha!). otherwise it just passes and we haven't really BEEN there, you know?

as i feel fall blurring past me (which makes me sad...it's my favorite time of year!), i was elated yesterday when noah jumped in a pile of leaves and sat there for nearly 10 minutes, grinning ear to ear. joshua stood next to the pile (he's not quite walking but does stand alot!) just laughing and cooing and picking up leaves and throwing them. many of my autumnal goals have not happened....haven't made that yummy pumpkin cheesecake (thanks becky), haven't gone to the mountains to wind around the roads looking at pretty views, haven't even taken many walks in the crisp air. it makes me sad that i live on such auto-pilot, moving from one meal to one nap to one of load of laundry to the next.

sometimes we need to sit in the leaves and smile. at least in the flurry of children comes their beautiful perspective as well. what a gift!!!

ahhh it's fall!

so yesterday we decided to take a walk after naps, to give the poor poodle some exercise, and also to get some fresh air. our mission was to find as many red trees as we could. it's so beautiful outside! enjoy the fresh, cool air!

weekend in charlotte

this past weekend we visited family and the darlings in charlotte. it was so fun to hit the monkey joes (noah LOVES it!) and to go on a date with our dearest friends. time with yah-yah was also fun! are they cute or what?!!!

the disney review (a little late)

playing in dino-land at mgm
noah's first view of the magic kingdom
conquering the cars
the whole clan (minus jeff)

going to disney a few weeks ago was so much fun! having time away as a family, spending precious time with extended family, and seeing noah's face as he experienced these 'magical' moments was just beautiful. we were renewed and refreshed by our time there. tired, too, of course. it's not easy toting a 13-month old through the parks, but again, so fun, and man do they do it right there! we were really impressed. yah-yah spoiled us with scrumptious and beautiful meals, and we enjoyed the freedom of such a lavish trip.

some highlights for noah were dumbo, the cars, and the playhouse disney show at mgm. he also thoroughly enjoyed his time with cousin zoe. jeff loved our japanese meal at the steakhouse in japan (at epcot) and his mickey ice cream bars. i loved shopping in the world showcase at epcot, our beer in the UK and the parade at the magic kingdom. so fun! and joshua...he enjoyed the playgrounds and soft pretzels!

we look forward to our next trip! thank you yah-yah for everything!

the lion, the dad, and the lightyear

i'm so behind! i must get at least one post up about disney but that will have to wait until the weekend when jeff is home! i've been sick (again!) all week and jeff has been working non-stop.

in the midst of the fury we were able to pull together a decent celebration of the weirdest holiday i know of--halloween! we just try to celebrate the fun dressing up and the freedom to eat as many 'fun size' chocolates as possible. joshua was the fatest, cutest lion, and noah, thanks to target was buzz. 'to buzz or not to buzz?' that was the question, until we found the all-in-one costume at target!!! whew! we went to a fall party at a church parking lot (hmmmm), carved a pumpkin, and went trick or treating at favorite neighbors' houses.

we had our first puking party due to candy last night too! noah snuck some candy (thanks pappy!) during his quiet time in his room, and spent an hour puking the six tootsie rolls up of course just as we fell asleep ourselves! luckily i can smile about it all. nothing like the first time you catch your child hiding in his closet, with a mouthful, surrounded by paper candy liners!