October 31st

Windy Hill Apple Orchard

Our Bible study moms and kids journeyed to South Carolina for a little apple history and fun at Windy Hill Apple Orchard.  We heard the story of Johnny Appleseed (the Gospel message even made it's way into the story!), watched the apple cider mill, hopped on the hay ride, stuffed a life-size scarecrow, saw the pigs and goats, and ended with filling our goodie bags with pumpkins, apples and apple cider.  What a day!

Goofy Guys!

Tait and Grayson are never afraid to be goofy!  And if it's not initiated by their daddy, there's another main source--an uncle!  So thankful to have Uncle Matt here for his fall break.  It worked out well for this mama too because Chris was out of the town that same week.  Uncle Matty Boy was so helpful (and fun, of course)!  Lots of baseball, wrestling and shooting (result: one dead Terry, the squirrel).  I did ask Matt who was more excited for Chris to come home--him or me? :)

Wisconsin Visitors

We were thankful to have Papa Jim and Grandma Jeannine come down for a visit.  They took care of the boys while Chris, Ellie and I headed to Atlanta for a leadership conference with our church (check it out... called Catalyst.  It was amazing!).  Eating Costco raspberries with Papa, visiting the pumpkin farm and playing with new legos were some of the boys highlights.  I think Papa had to take a few naps!  Papa and Jeannine squeezed in the the Nascar race with Uncle Matt and the CROP walk for hunger with our church.  Fun! 

Ellie Crawling

Campfires in the Fall

Some of our favorite desserts--roasted marshmellows and/or s'mores over the fire.  I don't know who likes them more, this mama or her boys.  So as we are slowly having cooler nights, we look forward to having fires.  Thanks, Auntie Shorty, for the cool fire pit!  We use it a lot!

Riverbanks Zoo

We had a fun road trip to the zoo.  Charlotte is a growing city, but has yet to have its own zoo.  So with 6 mamas and 17 kiddos (yes, wow!), we spent the day at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina.  It was a great adventure, well worth the trip and craziness!  Feeding the giraffes and watching the noisy, active monkeys were two of the highlights.

Knight in Shining Armor

Here's to Raising a Modern Day Knight!  (For those of you who don't know...that's the title of a great book that Chris highly recommends.)  Careful for the underarmour!  Ha--why does this not surprise me...Grayson is a goofball!

Rainy Day Fun

What do we do on rainy days...get creative!  The boys got out their costume box, wrestled (even with Ellie) and played super heroes.  Always an adventure!  (Thanks, Cousin Tyler, for sharing your old costumes!)

Mmm, Mmm Good!

Ellie is loving the new world of food.  She's happy to try anything!  She's pretty good at opening her mouth and swallowing now too.

September Fun

Ellie joined her Mama and Dada in Charleston for a wedding.  While we enjoyed a weekend away, Uncle Matt held down the fort and chased the monkeys.

Making pizzas with our big buddies, Jamesy and Sage.  Jamesy and Sage got to spend the night one weekend---and Tait and Grayson followed their every move:)!

We had another buddy, Dylan, with us one weekend.  Tait was showing off his skills, reading the BOB book.

Milestones for Ellie

Ellie learned how to sit all by herself this past month.  After a little practice in the green bumbo seat (below), she's on her own now.  




Ellie is on the go.  Thankfully, not crawling yet; however, she can make a pretty quick 360 on her belly!  She's even trying to climb her brother's chair (photo above).  No more playing legos on the floor, Tait and Grayson!  (We've already caught Ellie tasting a lego piece a few times--ut oh!) 

Fall Fun

Tait is playing for Team Rwanda this fall.  Can't miss Team Rwanda in neon green and navy jerseys.  So fun to see his development, especially compared to last fall.  He loves it!  And loves having Daddy and Dustin as his coaches.  

Kathy, our NC Gma, and her husband, Paul, came to watch a game.  Rolling in an ant hill forced Grayson to lose all his clothes!

Here's my latest yard sale find for a buck...a new plastic lawn mower.  Of course, Grayson had to be just like Daddy or Mommy so he borrowed Daddy's IPOD and headphones.  Check out that thick grass in the background....still on watering restrictions this summer (only water once a week).   

Here's the Buttercream Bike Gang (a little reference for those of you who grew up watching Christian videos in the 80's).  Five boys and two girls...not bad for two families!  Definitely thankful that wearing helmets is the trend with this group of boys!

First Day

Tait's first day of preschool.

Trikes on Tait's playground

Ellie and Grayson going to pick-up their big brother

Tait's school is so fun!  Here's the "pet store" in his hallway.

Tait's school:

Carmel Wee School (less than 2 miles down the road--yeah!)

4 Year Olds, Tues and Thurs

Miss Mimi and Miss Danna Jean