The End of October

This weekend started out with another fun, yet busy Friday. First stop this morning was Nonie's house, where we were lucky enough to catch Jordon & Aunt Alicia. We were sad to hear that someone had slashed all the tires on all their cars (and hundreds of other cars in their neighborhood) sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. :( :( :( What an AWFUL thing to do!We showed up "trick-or-treating" in honor of Halloween, but I was actually meeting my friends Donna & Dave from the Credit Union for lunch. I was also sad to hear my friend Donna found out she has skin cancer on her nose. :( We all had a great time catching up while Joshua played with Nonie and Caleb napped (Jordon, unfortunately, had to go to school).

I loved the following picture of Jordon & Joshua! So sweet!

Next, we went home for a little while before venturing out again to Petra Christian Fellowship. My sister Becky works at the church and invited us to come to their Fall Festival. She took time away from the stand she was working to meet us in the former sanctuary where the little kiddo things were. The first stop was a ducky pond, where I forgot to snap a picture. My sister's friend Mary was working that area, and she taught Joshua how to grab a duck. He had WAY too much fun and began to splash water everywhere. So, it was time to move on to the next thing. Of course, Joshua loves these corn "sandboxes."Caleb wasn't big enough to play this year, but next year he will be! He stayed in his stroller, and he began to get fussy....only this time I recognized the cry. Sure enough! I stripped him down for the car ride home...Before that happened, Joshua enjoyed the bounce house! (It was hard to get him out!!!) See him peeking through the window...And, he crawled through the choo-choo train, which surprised me because he normally doesn't like "tunnel" type things!

Then he was off to the races in this little car that you drive a round the indoor track!

And, he actually got the concept of the bean bag toss! He picked up his own bean bags once they were through, which cracked the lady up. I'm trying to teach him to clean up after himself!!! He won a little inflatable beach ball that's shaped like a softball. :)

Next, he took a lollipop off the tree. No prize on that stick! When they asked him if he would like to keep the lollipop, he put the one he pulled right back on the tree. I guess that means, "no thanks!"

Once Caleb got fussy, I knew it was time to leave. So, even though the Bean was having a blast, we high-tailed it out of there to make it home in time for trick-or-treaters. There weren't as many kids this year as last year, but Manheim Township also had a home football game, so that kept some older kids away. I made a turkey gobbler's shepherds pie for dinner, and it didn't turn out all that well...you win some, you lose some. We still ate it!Joshua's friend Evan (middle) stopped in for candy, and put his wig on the Bean. He just loves Joshua! Clayton (far left) is another kind young fellow, who is the son of our really nice neighbors from across the street. They are such nice little guys! Joshua had fun answering the door. We said maybe next year we'll walk around with the kids. We don't really want Joshua to have all that candy, and we can't afford to eat it either!!! This year, we're still hoping to get around to more folks with the boys in their costumes before the weekend is over.

Tomorrow night we're going to church and meeting a couple from our small group beforehand for sodas in the cafe. I'm looking forward to it! Sunday is small group, and Mom is going to watch the boys so we can actually enjoy our time with other couples and see how it goes just this once. Have a nice weekend!

Much Improved

Since my last post about sleep, we've actually been doing much better (thank you for your prayers!). Joshua is doing better at staying in his room, and Caleb has slept through the night since we put him in his crib in the nursery. While we still have to work on getting the boys to go to bed at a reasonable hour, we have made VAST improvements overall.

Joshua has also been eating like a champ the last several days. We went out to lunch with Mom on Thursday, and he ate his entire lunch at the restaurant, along with some of my dessert. Both boys were soooo good at T. Burke! In general, Joshua has been sitting at the dinner table, eating with us and getting better at using silverware (not great, but much improved). It's been great to see him finally start to eat again!

That's why we were surprised when Joshua came in our room in the wee hours of the morning. We had been doing so well! I softly asked the Bean, "Joshua, are you in here?" And, I heard a sweet little nearby voice reply back, "No!" I guess the next thing we'll have to teach him is that lying is wrong!!!

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat

Smell My Feet... (Poooo... 'tinky!) Give Me Something Good to Eat!

Have you ever seen a cuter Tigger & Eeyore?

Tigger: Exuberant Fun-Loving Tiger
Tigger is an exuberant, one-of-a-kind creature with the famously springy tail. He acts on every impulse, and his boisterous manner often leads him to leap before he looks. Tigger's bouncing is a pure expression of his utter zest for life - a joy he's always eager to share with his friends! His unique personality extends to his original use of language, which often results in his trademark twists of phrase and malapropisms.

Eeyore: "The Melancholy Donkey"

Eeyore is everyone's favorite delightfully dismal donkey. But Eeyore doesn't see himself as gloomy - he just has low expectations. He expects nothing from anybody, so whenever his friends do come to his aid his expectations of the worst are overthrown, and he is sincerely grateful. Though he may pretend he's helping because there's nothing better to do - make no mistake, Eeyore is always there for his friends.

Trick-or-Treat

Last night we started our trick-or-treating since I have class tonight and we'll be opening our door to little costumed children tomorrow night. We got to all of two houses. Our first stop was to my sister Jen's house, where Joshua picked out a lollipop and put it into his bucket. Even though he's too little for candy this year, we were trying to give him the concept a little bit. He was more interested in seeing his cousins and playing, though. But, we were off quickly to the next house!

Next, we stopped at Aunt Missy's. Unfortunately, Uncle Kevin was bowling so we missed him. But, we got to take a few cute pictures of the boys in their outfits with Aunt Missy, and we got to visit with her awhile. When I asked Joshua if he knew who was coming today, he said with a big smile, "MISSY???" Not today, pumpkin! Sometime soon, I'm sure. :)

Caleb was starting to get fussy so we called it a night thereafter. We gave the boys baths last night, and I no more than dressed Caleb and he gave me another explosion. Of course, wait until you're clean!!! That also explains his fussiness...now I know what's coming if I hear that cry again. Hopefully we'll get to do some more trick-or-treating with our adorable boys within the next few days.... Thanks, Aunt Jen & Uncle Mike and Aunt Missy, for letting us stop in last night!

Two for Tuesday

Yesterday was a fun day, even though it poured and was freezing cold! Me and my precious babies ventured out into the windy wetness because I had an appointment to receive a free flu shot from MU. I didn't get to pick the day or time, so I was stuck with yesterday at noon. Thankfully, my friend Julie offered to watch Joshua & Caleb while I went. I reminded myself how brave little Bean was with his shot, and overall it was less painful than I was expecting...until bed last night. My arm is still sore! We had a great time at Julie's, though. When I left MU - which is just a hop, skip and a jump from her house - I picked up Subway for us to eat. Joshua & her son Jude played very well together. Jude was supposed to say sorry to Joshua for pushing him, and instead he said with a very heartfelt look on his face, "I love you, Joshua!" while he tried to hug him. It was adorable! Caleb did not do so well for poor Julie, but I found out why later... Anyway, after eating and fellowshipping with our dear friends, we left again into the whipping wind and beating rain. Joshua said, "Bye-bye Chew-lee, bye-bye Chude, bye-bye Kate" as we drove down the street.From there, we drove straight to my sister Jen's house so I could watch her kids while she helped with pumpkin decorating at Grace's school (she was at her morning Bible study earlier and wasn't going to be home in time to watch my kiddos beforehand). Joshua had more fun playing with Emma & Grace at Aunt Jen's (Daniel was napping). Caleb's fussiness culminated in the largest mess I've ever seen...only I didn't bring a change of clothes. Normally there's one in the diaper bag, but I had used it recently when we were out and I was afraid he was too hot in his original outfit. Doh!Jen was soon home and it was time for me to get back to our house to prepare for company coming. Last night, Pastor Matt from the Lord's House of Prayer, his wife Joanne and their daughters Rebekah and Areanna came over for dinner. We decided to keep it simple, so Shawn grabbed pizzas on the way home from work, and we had sun chips and grapes and they brought salad with them. Joshua enjoyed playing with their girls (they are so sweet!) and we had a great time catching up with Matt & Joanne. Matt also played with the Bean quite a bit, as you can see in the above picture. Caleb was his normal calm sweet self.We had a great time. Thanks for a fun day, everyone!

God's Reaction to His Rebellious Children

Isaiah 30:8-21 has been the theme verses this week for Bible Study. "Breaking Free" comes when we stop rebelling against God. While it's easy to say, it's more difficult to do than you'd think. However, I love the following verses on God's grace and love for us, even when we have been obstinant with Him:

15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength...

18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!

19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Early Will I Seek You

Psalm 63
1 O God, you are my God,
earnestly (or early) I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

Throughout my Beth Moore "Breaking Free" Bible study, I've read so many applicable verses of scripture that have touched my heart. We sing this particular psalm in a song at church...right now I'm working on seeking Him "early" and trying to get up and do my devotions and exercise before Daddy leaves for work. I've been a miserable failure at it so far - please pray that I would be able to do this each morning! This morning I woke up after Shawn left (we had a late night) but before the kids, so I still did both. God is good! Even when we're not!
Last night we took Joshua to the park just before the sun went down to get out some energy. Caleb also enjoyed the sunshine for a little while. It's getting colder out each day, but yesterday was beautiful. Earlier in the day, Shawn went to a friend's house to watch the football game, so Mom came over and brought Grace along. She treated us to McDonald's (at Grace's request) and Joshua & Grace played and played together. They ran all around the house hiding and finding one another. Joshua was sad to see her go (she had a soccer game that afternoon). He said, "Bye-bye, Grace" forlornly. Grandma took Joshua to her game, then, and last night as he kicked the ball around the house, he told us he was playing soccer like he had seen Grace.
Joshua is really into shoes these days. When Grace kicked hers off, he put them on. I had to get the camera!

Joshua woke up from his nap upset, so Grandma rocked with him a little bit on our office/play room/Ebay central area/storage room/paperwork avalanche and he fell right back to sleep. So did she! That gave me time to do laundry, clean our leather furniture, and do some other household things. I also cleaned the bathrooms last night and Shawn vaccuumed, fixed the cable to our bedroom TV, and got a few other things done around the house. We had a productive weekend all in all. He hung the sheer curtains in the good living room, and we discussed what projects are yet to be done around the house. Shawn was so sweet last night as he told me he wants to get some things done since he knows it means a lot to me, and I mean a lot to him. He's the best husband in the whole world. I also try to do things for him, like getting all his laundry done and neatly hung so he doesn't have to iron, cooking meals (on Friday night we had an amazing pesto alfredo tortellini pasta with parmesan and bacon crumbles and tonight we're trying bruschetta chicken), cleaning the house and taking care of his children. While these things also benefit me, I do them because I truly love my family. Thank you, God, for blessing us!

Keep Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Last night, I put Caleb in his crib on his belly before grabbing Joshua to get his jammies on. When I looked back in, Caleb was already on his side almost completely onto his back. I screamed for Daddy to come and see his youngest son rolling...only I scared little Caleb Luke who cried and rolled right back onto his belly. Poor kiddo! Sorry for scaring you! Great job on rolling already!

Lots of New "Firsts"

Caleb has been growing in leaps & bounds. He's doing pretty well with being able to hold his head up on his own and doesn't mind belly time as much any more. Daddy also tried sitting him in the Bumbo today for the first time, and our little Caleb Luke did very, very well. As much as Joshua enjoys being snuggled in and held while singing, Caleb enjoys being sat up and able to look out. He enjoys being held - especially because it keeps him warm - but he prefers to see out and look around rather than good old fashioned cuddling. It amazes me how different the boys are already!Caleb got his first pair of shoes today from Grandma. They're so cute! He was wearing courdoroy pants and a button-down dress shirt and I was going to get a picture - but he messed that outfit and is now in his jammies instead. Such is life! I got paged out of the service because lil' Caleb Luke was woken up by a little baby crying and then couldn't get calmed back down himself until I rescued him. He was red all over, and I mean ALL over...I've never seen anything like it. They asked if he'd had shots lately or anything that would give him an allergic reaction - no, nothing! As soon as he calmed down, the redness went away, but it still scared me. I'll keep an eye on him and see if it comes back.

Caleb laughs a lot. He loves to giggle at Joshua mostly, but he also smiles and laughs for Shawn & me. He likes to make eye contact and be talked to...it doesn't take much for him to grin and show his adorable dimply cheeks. He also enjoys toys now and will grab onto things that you hand him. In the above picture, he's trying to grab Joshua's hand, and Joshua is loving every minute of it. Caleb also loves to swing, loves to keep moving, and loves looking up at the birdie mat that was Joshua's when he was a baby. In that way, the boys are very similar.Joshua has slept through the night the past two nights...only Caleb hasn't slept well at all. So, tonight, I'm going to try the nursery. He's still been sleeping in the pack 'n play in our room so I hear him well, but I'm ready to try anything to get more rest. On the other hand, I know this is a season and part of me misses rocking the Bean at night and singing to him in the nursery with him all snuggled up in my arms. The time does go quickly! I'm reminded of that every Saturday night now at church - may we all learn to cling to Jesus for His hope and enjoy each day of the lives we are given!

A Successful Shot

Joshua LOVES hats. Here he is wearing his Daddy's Redskins hat that lights up. He put it on backwards all by himself.

I was so proud of Joshua today, over and over again. First thing this morning, I took him to get his flu shot. As I put him in the car, he got anxious and said 'Baby! Seat! Baby! Mommy, Baby!' I realized he was frantic that I forgot Caleb. I explained to him that it was just Joshua & Mommy going out. He still wasn't okay with that until I told him that I left Caleb with Daddy at home. Then he thought about it and said, "Bye-bye, Daddy." He understood Caleb would be okay. What a good big brother! With my brain these days, I'm glad that he's a good helper in reminding me of things. :)

I explained on the way to the Kissel Hill office that we were going to the doctors, which he repeated. He didn't mind that I held him to get to the office (normally he would ask to get down instead of being held), and he was okay when we went in. I held his hand and explained that he was going to get a shot and it might hurt a little bit, but it was no big deal. I told him to squeeze my hand if it hurt. The nurse gave him the shot and a big tear rolled down his cheek, but by the time she gave him some animal crackers, he had forgotten all about it. I was sincerely impressed and told him over and over again how well he did. He let me hold him the entire time out to the car. I'm getting my flu shot this week, and so is Daddy. We must remember how brave little Joshua was when we're seeing that needle coming!

Joshua loves Caleb so much that last night during belly time, he got on his belly, too, to entertain his brother. Sooo sweet!

Afterward, I went and picked up Caleb Luke so Daddy could get some work done, and we also picked up Grandma and went shopping for new sneakers for the Bean. Joshua did pretty well at the Stride Rite Outlet, too, and I bought him a pair of sneakers and Mom bought him a pair of brown shoes and Caleb a little pair of blue shoes that are adorable (thanks so much, Mom!). When we dropped Grandma back off, Joshua was just devastated. He wanted so badly to go inside with her, but she had just painted her hallway and with his asthma, we weren't sure how he would do. He cried as we pulled away, until we got down the street where the cows are. He said "Cows down on grass? All wet!" I had explained to him that the cows lay down when it rains. He told me all day that it was "all wet!" and repeated "rain." I love this age of repeating (for the most part!).

When I was feeding Caleb this morning, Joshua dug out my old 'Elizabeth' doll baby and held her close, patted her on the back, and tried helping her walk. He'll be a great Daddy some day!

Joshua has been helping Daddy as Shawn is doing things around the house, and I am working on a writing project (and taking a few minutes to blog). The Bean got a time out today when he hit me after I told him no...can't remember what about now. I immediately took him to time out and he sat there while I picked up Caleb who was getting tired of being on his belly. I asked Joshua to come to me instead of the typical me going to him. He wasn't too sure if he was allowed to get up, but I asked him to please come right over to me so I could explain to him eyeball-to-eyeball that hitting is absolutely unacceptable. He came right over and said, "Sorry, Mommy!" It melted my heart. Shawn & I have been trying to get him to apologize with little success - we try to say sorry to each other and explain to Joshua what it means. Today, I think he may have understood. It was so sweet. I reinforced that there's no hitting and gave him a big kiss. My little boy is growing soooo fast!!!

A Thief in the Night

Well, the Good family hit an all new low this week...without even realizing it. It all started on Wednesday night after supper. As we were cleaning up, we discussed the need for a new trash can since the foot/step opener is broken on ours. Since Linens 'n Things is going out of business, we decided to check out trash cans there. After walking around the entire store, we found the selection of trash cans at the far side of the front of the store. Unfortunately, they were still well over a hundred bucks, so we opted not to buy one. Instead, we headed over to Home Depot to continue browsing things for our home. Even though it was frigid outside, Shawn moved Joshua & Caleb out of the Linens 'n Things cart into a Home Depot cart before going in even though the stores are right next to each other. I can say that my husband ALWAYS wants to do the right thing. (Which is why this story is so funny...)


We walked all through Home Depot. One of the first things we saw was our bathroom floor tile on sale, which you could buy by the piece. Since one of our tiles has shifted, we thought this was a great find! Shawn picked up three to be safe and placed them in our cart behind little Caleb Luke's carseat. We continued to look around at carpet vs. carpet tiles vs. area rugs. We moved on from there, checking out paint colors (we're thinking about painting our family room - not sure that we want to take on a big project right now, though). We picked up a few pamphlets of samples and kept going. But, Joshua was getting tired of being in the cart at that point, so we let him walk. After a little bit, we decided maybe we had been shopping long enough with two little ones. Caleb was getting hungry and almost eating his arm, and Joshua was restless. As we left the store with our cart, we discussed the logistics of who should carry who or should we take the cart across the parking lot. We opted for Daddy to take Joshua and me to carry Caleb (the opposite of what we did on the way in). As I grabbed the carseat, I noticed the paint pamphlets, which we had completely forgotten about.

When we got home, we all got into our pajamas, and I drank a nice cup of hot chai as I fed Caleb. We chatted about house renovations and started cleaning out our old entertainment center that we're planning on getting rid of...and it still didn't hit me, until later that night. We had picked up floor tiles! We had put them in our cart! And, we had taken the cart out of the store...not stopping to pay for them! Since it was pitch black out, I never even saw the tiles when I was in a hurry to grab Caleb and get him in the car out of the windy weather. I saw the paint pamphlets, but not the tiles. Hopefully a clerk found them and put them back. Either way, I think we can be classified as shoplifters now. Shawn & I laughed - and I was horrified at the thought that someone could have accused us of stealing as we left the store! He said that the workers probably saw us with two young children, stumbling throughout the store in our tired stupor and had mercy on us.

So, we stole and ended up with nothing in the end. And, we really wanted the tiles! Haaaa!!! So, now we can say "been there, done that" for shoplifting. Please forgive us of our sin!

Running Around...All Over Town

I can't believe it's been almost a full week since I last posted, but we have been busy!!!

FRIDAY

On Friday night, we had invited friends out to dinner who couldn't make it. We decided to go out on a date anyway, taking my mom up on her offer to watch the Bean while she was watching Emma. Grandma said Joshua & Emma had a great time chasing each other around downstairs while we had some Mommy & Daddy quality time. Shawn & I went to restaurant after restaurant where the wait was overwhelming, finally settling on Red Lobster for supper. Caleb Luke was a good boy in his car seat, and we had a nice time. Thanks, Mom, for watching Joshua!

SATURDAY

Saturday morning, I headed out with my sister Becky to "Dish It Up Dinners" in Elizabethtown. There we prepared seven meals each to take home with us and put in our freezer. The meals were more expensive than if you'd prepare them all at home yourself, but you didn't have to worry about recipes, shopping for ingredients, or clean up from the prep. We had a fun time together making our food. Unfortunately, DishItUp is closing this month since one of the gal's competitors offered her money to close. So, if we want to try it again, we'll have to find another spot. That afternoon, Shawn & I ate a Philly Cheesesteak Stromboli I had made, and WOW was it good! Hooray!

Saturday afternoon, Nonie & Poppy picked up Joshua to go to a pumpkin patch, which didn't pan out because of traffic. That evening after he came back, we all went to church as a family. The sermon was again from Ecclesiastes and again the video of a baby turning into a toddler turning into a child turning into a teen turning into a graduate turning into a married man turning into a father turning into grandpa turning into a widow and then a memorial sign was there. I once again bawled at it. Oh, how quickly the time does fly! We had put an outfit on Caleb that we distinctly remember the Bean wearing...now he's two and giving us 'tude! Thankfully, we have hope for eternity through Jesus Christ! One point that was made during the sermon was that it was better to have one fist full and a quality life than two fist fulls and you have to work all the time to support your lifestyle. How true! I'm so glad I'm able to be home with my boys even though sometimes "two fist fulls" looks appealing.

This weekend was also busy, busy, busy with a large writing project. While I was happy for the work, it added to my stress. And, I watched a Beth Moore video since I'm doing the Bible Study "Breaking Free," which I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone!!!

I realized that Saturday was Joshua's 25-month birthday AFTER the day passed. Sorry, buddy!

SUNDAY

Sunday, after getting very little rest at all, we went to an A/V team luncheon at Fiorentino's after church. Mom was gracious enough to watch both boys at our house so we could enjoy the thank you lunch. When we got back, we packed up both kids and headed to small group. Unfortunately, both our kids were horrendous there. This is the second time in a row that Caleb has cried the whole time. And, Joshua tends to steal other little girls' toys. I was embarrassed when we left. Please, Lord, deal with my pride and help me to do what's best for our family!

We decided that Joshua is no longer going to climb into our bed at night. This was a tough decision since we both love to cuddle with him. But, he didn't sleep much all weekend, which meant we didn't sleep much. I decided it's time to make the plunge. So, Sunday night, we didn't get any sleep as we kept taking him back to his room. Shawn did his fair share of it, too, as I fed Caleb. I think Caleb would have slept better had Joshua not been screaming and waking him. It has been a rough couple of nights. Please pray that the Bean gets used to sleeping on his own again! He breaks our heart when he yells out "Momma! Daddy! Sleepy with Josh!"

MONDAY

Monday morning after very little sleep, I watched two of Jen's kids while she went into Grace's school. That afternoon since the boys both napped, I finished the writing project. Hooray! I also finished another Beth Moore video for this week since two were on one tape. While I didn't nap, I got a lot done. Shawn was gracious and brought home Subway for dinner, knowing that we were both exhausted. We bathed the boys early that night and tried getting some sleep. Joshua is still stubborn and not sleeping well. Pray for us! We have to break this bad habit we've allowed him to form.

TUESDAY

Tuesday morning, I actually felt refreshed when I woke up, and we got ready and headed to the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. I got there late, but I didn't really care. I tried to relax and not rush so my kids would be in better moods. And, it worked! For the first time, Joshua didn't cry when I put him in his class. I had a great time there getting to know other MOPS, and we did personality profiles. While I've done this many, many times, it was interesting to see what each member of the rest of the group was. Talking to my leader, who is the gal also from small group, she made me feel better about how my boys behaved on Sunday night. She said she was concerned at her daughter and hadn't even noticed the Bean or C-Love. I think she's pretty honest, so it did make me feel better. I also invited the MOPS over to our house for a play date in a couple weeks. I've been feeling like we need to make this house a blessing not only to us but also to others...so here's my attempt!

Last night I made hamburger helper for dinner. Simple, quick and easy. I made veggies with it, and Joshua didn't eat a bite of anything but bread. So, he didn't get a snack later, which we've been guilty of. I realized that if dinner seems edible to me, then he needs to start eating what we give him and not waiting for junk food later at night because we fear he'll starve.

I'm convinced we live in the best neighborhood ever. Last night as supper was almost finished, we got to see a parade. It was the students of Nitrauer Elementary School (along with their parents and families) parading in their costumes through our development. They were escorted by police in front and a firetruck behind. Even though it was cold, Daddy had been playing with the boys outside as I was making dinner, and we all went out to see the very adorable dressed-up children. Joshua's little friend Evan got out of the "line" and came up to him to give him a high five. Other neighborhood children waved to us, and then we saw my sister and her family. Joshua loved it! I think even Caleb was amused, as were we.

WEDNESDAY

So, this morning since the Bean didn't snack last night, he woke up HUNGRY! I quickly dressed the boys and got them both eating, even though I was so tired from another night of stubbornness from the Bean. [Joshua actually woke up without a voice. So, when we were doing his puzzle, he told me the mouse "squeaked" and could barely get it out...it squeaked at the end. So cute!] Today we colored and watched Sesame Street (Joshua likes the Cookie Monster, the Count with the number of the day and Elmo so far) and I put chicken-fried pork chops in the crock pot for supper, and I also took the boys outside for a nice walk around the neighborhood. It was freezing! It's windy today and all the leaves were blowing. I love fall! I just miss it being lighter out at night. It's harder to get the kids outside since it's cold early in the day and darker sooner at night.

TOMORROW

Tomorrow I'm being evaluated at MU. Please pray it goes well! I must run and finish dinner!