Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween from the three little pigs, little red riding hood and the big bad wolf!!  What a fun day with these four littles!

Fall Fun!

To have these three little monkeys together this week has been FUN!  They're old enough to start doing imaginative play (mostly Luke!) but they just have so much fun racing around and playing together -- hide-and-seek and tag are the current favorites!  We had a great morning (crisp, sunny, cool, perfect fall!) at the pumpkin patch and then let them try on their costumes :)  Yes, some day Luke may be mad that I dressed him up as a pink pig for halloween but when you have a chance to do the three little pigs -- you kind of have to, right?! :)  He's got a sister and three girl cousins -- being the only boy in the family is something he'll have to get used to :)  Addy was around all day too, of course, but she is such an easy baby -- she slept in the pack the whole time!  I didn't complain since it meant that I got some snuggle time in.  What a little love bug she is!

Gretchen and Gordon!

Last weekend we got to celebrate Gretchen and Gordon!  What an amazing day it was -- spent with amazing people, celebrating an amazing couple!

Fun in the fall leaves!

This video was sent to me at work by my (amazing) babysitter!  So fun to see the kids enjoying fall :)

Pumpkins and mud puddles and the joys of toddlers ...

Writing and words have always been my way of processing life -- whether that means long conversations with friends, journaling, praying, writing, blogging ... sitting in the quiet moments (if you notice, all my blog posts are posted at or after midnight!  When the house is actually quiet :))  I'm not sure exactly what words to use to describe this phase.  It is definitely one of change -- Scott started a new job today.  He'll still be working as a nurse at the same hospital but in a very different area.  Those kinds of transitions always bring with them so much new information to learn, new people, new ideas and new policies.  It's also a bit strange for me since he has been an ICU nurse since we met (in a cardiac ICU in Arizona as two nursing students), almost nine years ago.  It's a positive change for him and for our family (added bonus:  he won't have to be getting up at 4am anymore!  An especially brutal schedule when you have young kids and are chronically tired).  Scott also had his second ablation (cardiac procedure to try to cure his atrial fibrillation) last week.  We are hopeful that it might have done just that!  Which would be amazing.  Certainly, a fib is something that you can live with (several people in his family do) but it would be amazing to not have to always be thinking about where the closest ER is (he has to be shocked back into a normal heart rhythm if he is in a fib) or what medications to try next.  We are hopeful that he can get back to many of the things that he loves doing.  But we learned a valuable lesson with our pregnancy that has carried over into so many situations:  life must be lived one day at a time.  Every night in the hospital we would tear off one more link on the paper chain (that friends made for us!) and praise God for sustaining all four of us through one more day.  In my heart I couldn't think beyond that.  One day and one step and one foot in front of the other is how we must walk in faith.  And so that is what we will continue to do with Scott's health too.  Choose to be thankful that this recent ablation went well and keep walking forward in trust and in hope.  I also feel as determined as ever to find joy in the simple routines, pleasures and traditions that come along with children.  I love that a gigantic mud puddle in an alley by our house has been named "the lake" by Luke and the kids have hours of fun wading in in their rain boots and throwing rocks.  They've been very interested this year in pumpkins and costumes and decorations.  It's fun to see them developing into who they will be (and in many ways already are).  

Amelia:  Wow, that girl is amazing.  She is very much in a mommy phase right now (which I love, of course) so she'll follow me arounds cleaning the house and asking, "Mama, what should we do now?"  She loves to dance!  Anytime she hears music playing she'll pick up either her bear or elephant and start moving!  She is meticulous and loves patterns.  She could entertain herself for hours with sorting and organizing just about anything.  It's pretty impressive.  She is very independent but at bedtime she always wants me to snuggle her and sing to her.  I usually go for a few extra songs :)  I know she won't always want me to snuggle her into bed at night. 

Luke:  What a kind-hearted kiddo.  This kid loves books.  He gets very agitated if I answer the phone or get distracted when we're reading.  I'm pretty sure he'd let me read him books for hours on end.  My theory is that Luke was smooshed down in the womb with literally NO apace (thanks to his sister) and I always wonder if that snug womb environment lead to him loving close contact.  All of the preschool moms have noticed that Luke loves to carry a book over and find a lap to sit on and get read to.  Since I love books and I love Luke -- I find this so endearing!  He also loves anything that moves.  Trucks, planes, trains, cranes ... I find that I'm always pointing out road work teams while I'm driving.  Even if I'm driving alone.  Oops.  He tells hilarious stories -- about both things that have happened in recent days or about things he's imagined.  He keeps us laughing.  

Oh these two ...

The Lake!  Yeah, no boats or beers -- just rocks and mud :)

Glorious.

Oh I love these two.  Even on the hard days (ahem!) they light up my world

Painting the pumpkin family.  Amelia insisted that we pick out a pumpkin for Molly too!

Family shot!  Toddler style: one child distracted, one child protesting.  Perfect.