I think she just called me old!

This is such the season to be busy! I really wanted to share some recent pictures, but because of a shortage of time (and brain power) I will send another kid funny your way.

Yesterday, Kate crawled in bed with us earlier than usual. I decided to go cuddle up on the couch with her so that we could watch cartoons together until everyone else woke up. We both pulled a white blanket up to our chins, and she turned around and laughed and said, "Mommy! You look like Abraham!"

And it's a good possibility that I'll be as old as Abraham before everything is ready for Christmas here. We've had our tree up for several days, but we still haven't decorated it. I'm not finished Christmas shopping yet, although I did get quite a bit of it finished yesterday. I've got to get on the ball!

Back In the Saddle Again

The past month has been an absolute whirlwind here! I thought I'd ease back into the blogosphere with a kid funny for you.

Just before Thanksgiving, we traveled to Indianapolis to visit with Jonathan's family. Ben and Lily were killing time in the backseat and decided to entertain themselves with a game of rock, paper, scissors. Things went well for a while until they both chose scissors. Lily stared down at their hands for a second, looked up at Ben and said, "Well....mine are sharper."

Sibling rivalry at its finest.

Before and After Pictures

Before wrestling with Ben:



After wrestling with Ben:

Lily finally lost her first tooth! It had been loose for weeks, and the new tooth had come in behind it. We visited the dentist to get things checked out, and he told us not to worry, that the baby tooth would fall out very soon. Looks like he was right!

Our sidewalk

It was a perfect fall day yesterday, so the kids decided to do a little outdoor decorating to welcome our friends John and Kim, who were coming down for the weekend. Lily first wrote "welcome" at the end of the sidewalk, and then added their names. She and Kate quickly decided that wasn't enough, so they started adding everyone else's names too.

Ben was much less thrilled with the artistic process.

I'm glad I got pictures of it all, because the rain has now washed it away! I suppose that just means a fresh canvas for the next time.

Scarlet Fever and Furry Rodents

Yeah, it sounded like a downer, but it's really not!

Since Jonathan had to work this afternoon at his "third" job, the kids and I settled in for a movie afternoon. Every year when the weather begins to get colder, I pull out Little Women. It never fails to put me into the mood of fall cleaning and thinking ahead to preparing for the holidays. It also never fails to make me blubber like a baby... throughout the whole movie, in fact. But the worst part for me is during Beth's initial bout with scarlet fever, where Jo wakes up and rushes in to check on her. There is that split second where I see the empty bed, and even though I know the outcome, I hold my breath every time until I see Beth sitting up, and then the waterworks begin.

The older kids were already prepared for this yearly phenomenon, but it came as a bit of a surprise to Kate. She saw me crying and climbed up in my lap, asking, "Mommy, why are you crying?" I answered, "because Beth was sick, but now I'm happy because she's better."

Kate looked at me matter-of-factly and said, "Oh...she was sick and had a beaver."

I must say that she totally ruined the rest of the sad scenes for me. Anytime I started to cry I would think of that and begin giggling instead. But at least if I go back to the blubbering next year I'll know that there's a beaver to dam up all my tears.

The Louisville Slugger Museum/ Old Spaghetti Factory

Wednesday we traveled to Louisville with our homeschool group. It was an absolutely perfect fall morning! We were so excited to get our jackets out, even though we found that Ben has outgrown his!

First we toured the Louisville Slugger Museum and watched them make the baseball bats. They described the different ones they made, as well as the processes for each of them. The kids' favorite "exhibit," though, was this ball glove made out of limestone. It was better than a jungle gym!



I'm not sure what Lily was pointing at, but she said she felt like she was hiding in a cave.

Kate was not feeling her best that day, but she still managed a quick smile for her mama!

A rare shot of Ben actually using the bat as it was intended before deciding it worked wonderfully as a sword.

After the tour, we walked a few blocks over to the Spaghetti Factory. I love walking in downtowns, especially with the weather being as cool as it was. We walked over with another family that has a son around Ben's age. Their conversations were just too precious! Here's a snippet...

Wow! What's that?
Hmm...I think that looks like abstract art.
Well, I don't think it looks like art at all.
Oh, well, it's not supposed to.

LOL! Then they spent most of lunch dreaming up their own company, which included coordinating their "schedules". I just love boys!

We didn't have time to go home before church that night, but I am so glad we went on anyway...we had five new boys show up for our Wednesday night service. Two of them were brand new Christians that had attended Bible school last week. They were all very well-behaved for me.

It was a pretty exhausting day, but it hasn't taken us too long to recuperate! We're in full "fall mode" now, cleaning and switching out our seasonal clothes. We also have company coming this weekend and a special dinner to celebrate Kate's birthday from last week. Now that I think about it all...I better hop to it!

Joyful Milestones

After such a long couple of weeks fighting illness, we really needed a good day. And boy, did we get it!

Yesterday was Kate's 3rd birthday. It's hard to believe that our youngest is already three! Her birthday party won't be until next weekend, but we made cupcakes to take along to VBS last night to celebrate. I know, it might sound odd to some of you that we are doing VBS in October, but the public schools are out on fall break, so we thought this would be a great chance to do something different.

VBS this year for me has been a whole different experience! One of my helpers is a fairly new Christian, and it has been wonderful to see her learning the Bible stories along with the children. Everything is so fresh and new to her, and she's so eager to learn. During the ending ceremony last night, Kate started acting up so I left the class with my helper and took Kate outside. Little did I know what was going to happen inside! As soon as we were on our way home, Jonathan told me that four children had come forward to receive Jesus, and that our Lily was one of them!

Two momentous milestones on the same day...my mama's heart is awfully proud!

Where did the term "under the weather" come from?

I've always wondered that....

Wherever it originated, we have definitely all been through The Crud this week. And yes, I meant to capitalize that. Lily and Kate were both at the doctor's office for bronchitis last week, and the rest of us are toughing it out. I never realized how hard it would be to keep three kids under control with very little voice.

We have Vacation Bible School this week at church, since the local schools are out on fall break, and I am hoping to sound like a normal person by tonight!

Pictures from the Critter Dinner

Yes, you read that correctly!

The girls have been under the weather all week, so needless to say there has not been much "school" done. I, however, think that cuddles and picture books should be part of the core curriculum, so if you use that definition then we're right on schedule.

I wanted to post some pictures from the Critter Dinner at our church a few weeks ago. This is an annual event, but it's the first time we've been brave enough to attend.

Kate got right down to business munching away on rabbit...or is that squirrel?



Lily was a tad more delicate. I'm surprised she hadn't raised her pinky finger:



In the end, both girls decided that the watermelon was much better! Although I'm pretty sure that Lily ate a chunk out of this napkin at some point:




And just in case you're wondering why there are no pictures of Ben...well, he took one look at the food and whispered, "Mom, that's really gross! Can I go outside and play?" I couldn't think of a single argument that wouldn't require me actually having to eat squirrel to back it up.

Spiders everywhere!

Take a look at what we found during our walk Saturday...

We are blessed to live directly across the road from a memorial forest, and we love our nature walks! Lately, however, we have had a little more "company" than usual. We tried to take a walk Saturday with our friends Ryan and Starr, and ran into a spider web every time we turned around. They were stretched completely across the trail at some points.

It was a short walk!

Lily-isms

We are certainly looking forward to the weekend here! I thought I'd help you get your weekend started off on the right foot with some funnies from Lily.

We attend a homeschool co-op twice a month, and Lily is taking a writing class there. This past assignment was on the Statue of Liberty. I was telling her that I had been, but hadn't walked up to the top. She cocked her head thoughtfully and said, "Well, they probably don't let people up there because they don't want them to knock off the nose. It's really heavy."

Yesterday, Lily was in the kitchen with me while I was cooking. She said, "Wow, mom, you look like a real chef!" I laughed and told her that maybe I would be one when I grew up. She gave me the typical Lily eye-roll and told me I was already grown up, and I pretended to be all upset over this little announcement. We argued back and forth for a while before she finally said, "It's okay, Mom, grown-ups are just little kids who already know how to drive!"

And then, my favorite...

Lily was very energetic yesterday, and I told her I was going to start calling her Tigger. I started explaining, "you know...because Tigger always jumps all over Rabbit..."

She looked at me with a perfectly straight face and said, "Rabbit's grumpy." Hmm...I sure hope that was an observation and not an accusation!

Here's Lily last month at my best friend Kim's wedding:

Ahh, that explains it!

We've had a very busy week around here, and our internet connection is all wonky today, so I'm just going to pop in for a minute and share a clip with you. If you ever find yourself wondering if you're the only one in the world who is technically-challenged, pour yourself some hot water and enjoy!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new home in the blogosphere! Whether you're an old friend or just joining me, I hope that you'll pour a cup of coffee and read a little bit about why I blog.

Before I was married and had three beautiful children, I used to dream about traveling to the far corners of the earth whenever I chose. I wanted a life full of adventure, of exciting people and beautiful places. I wanted to experience everything that life could offer.

So how did a woman with such big dreams end up writing a blog with a title taken from Winnie-the-Pooh, you might ask? That's an easy answer. I've been blessed with a life of adventure far beyond what I could have ever dreamed.

When our oldest child reached kindergarten age, we embarked on a little family road trip called "homeschooling." And although we may have taken some wrong turns, read the map upside down, and even ran out of gas at times, it has been and continues to be a better adventure than I ever could have dreamed.

Some may not see my life as very adventurous or exciting, but I would tell them that I didn't know the meaning of excitement until I started learning to see the world through a child's eyes. Being a parent that teaches their children at home may be a sacrifice, but that pales in comparison to the blessing of truly getting to know and enjoy your children. And that's where the great philosopher Winnie-the-Pooh comes in. What I blog about may not seem very "thingish" to some people, but I believe that there are many of you out there who want a life that's not just...well... stuffed with fluff.