November Already

I feel like November came too quickly...maybe because September & October were still so warm that I feel like we went right from summer to holiday planning. On Friday night we took Chinese takeout (what Mom & Jamie were in the mood for) over to their house and enjoyed time together with them.

Then Saturday morning we got up bright & early to go get our Christmas family portraits taken at JC Penny's. I couldn't believe what a zoo that place was - we definitely weren't the only ones with this idea. We decided to go somewhat casual, with Joshua & Shawn wearing red and me wearing winter white...all of us were in jeans, although I don't think you can tell that in most of the pictures. Joshua was absolutely terrified. The gal put him on a present on the platform and he shook with shear terror in his eyes. I think the pictures turned out well, though, for the most part. After we were done, we rewarded Joshua with time in the "inside playground" in the mall. He was sooo cute watching the other kids and crawling on the winding blue 'road.'

Saturday afternoon while the boys napped, I made a casserole for a friend who had surgery, complete with rolls, peas & carrots and homemade brownies. A woman who used to go to our church organized the meal schedule and asked me to make something on Saturday. After calling several times with no answer, I decided to head over there anyway with my fresh meal. My friend Suzanne was in town and graciously came with me. (I forgot to take a picture while she was here, so I had to use an old one of her and Joshua.) We headed to a not-so-nice area of town with several shady characters walking around and knocked on the door and rang the bell. No answer! I called Shawn for the number of the organizer's name. When she answered, she told me that my friend was still in the hospital and would be for the next few days. Why she wouldn't have asked me to make it for a time after she came home, I'll never know. I ended up dropping it off at the organizer's house. Ugh!!!After that, Suz and I headed to the corn maze in Paradise. I had never been to such an event before, and it sounded like something fun to do outdoors. It was SOOOO cold when we started (after wandering around aimlessly for awhile, though, you start to warm up). I had a great time. We ended up finding a guy who was older than us carrying his four-year-old on his shoulders. He was "in our group" Suz told me (I am definitely not observant) and we followed him out of the maze. His little girl was so cute and kept saying, "Uh, Daddy? I think we've been here before..." We got out in less than an hour, but with the whole runaround with the meal, it was dark for most of our time in there, making it a little more scary. According to the person who sold us our tickets, they should have started the flashlight maze but we didn't have any flashlights and weren't given any. So, we were glad to find someone who seemed normal to walk with. All in all, it was a great time of catching up with a great friend. :)

When we got home, I realized we hadn't eaten supper. I had made us a casserole at the same time as the other one and ended up putting it in the fridge. So, since Suz had left to go meet her sister, I heated up our dinner, made crescent rolls to go with it and even dug out a bottle of sparkling cider I had bought and lit candles. Shawn giggled at my attempt for romance since it was Shawn, me and the Bean who was eating a snack with us. I gave Joshua a bath while Shawn cleaned off the table and then we watched a movie after Joshua went to bed, knowing that we had an extra hour to sleep that night since we were turning our clocks back.Yesterday we went to church. I had to get there early since I was on the worship team, and Shawn & Joshua got there late. I tried to put Joshua down in the nursery, but most of the kiddos were on the fussier side (why do we even change back to regular time - kids don't understand time changes!!!) so I didn't feel right leaving him when there were only two gals and a bunch of little ones. We played for awhile until it was about a quarter of noon, which would normally be quarter of one. I think Joshua was hungry and needed a nap, so Shawn took him home while I went up for the last minute or two of the service.

Last Sunday was the first time Shawn & I put Joshua in the nursery and came upstairs together to listen to the service. I was so nervous leaving him there and we kept watching for our number. Around a quarter of, we saw a number flash up. We both smiled proudly when it wasn't our number, and we saw a Dad we know jump up and run downstairs. Not even two minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder...they had meant to put up our number and hit the wrong one. Doh! We went down to find our Bean crying, and we left church then...he fell asleep in his carseat before I even buckled my seatbelt. I'm assuming when he starts taking only an afternoon nap, church might go a little better. I think Joshua also needs more time around other kiddos so he's used to those type of situations.

I love this kid!

This weekend we also had our second gigantic tree removed from our yard. They should be cleaning the rest of it up today, and our new furnace and hot water heater arrive Wednesday. Hooray! Time to go check up on Joshua...he's taken a rather long nap this morning although he was up at 12 am for two hours and again at 5 am to stay...I think he's got more teeth coming but who knows for sure?