Halloween 2010

Our Halloween festivities started with the annual Moms4Moms Trunk or Treat. Grandma Marie joined us for the fun of watching to kids collect their candy and passing out candy to all the cute little ones.

Then on Halloween we met Steph's family in Lake Mary for some trick or treating. This year Ali dressed up as a mermaid (after trying on about 5 costumes at the party store.. she was wee bit indecisive).

Brooke wasn't quite sure what she wanted to be so I suggested something with wings since she's always talking about flying. And the Rainbow Fairy was born! Grammy got her the wings and mommy made her dress. We found a matching rainbow headband and sprayed her hair pink too.

What a cute bunch of kids!

These two are pretty cute too!

Mrs. and Mr. Potato Head

And we topped it all off with a hay ride in Uncle Joe's trailer. What fun!

Brooke's Wings

For quite a while now Brooke has had an obsession with flying. She desperately wants to fly with her own wings that grow out of her back; no substitute has been acceptable. After watching a fairy movie she discovered a way she could make her dream come true. As a mother it was so much fun to watch her bring this idea to reality. This is what the faith of a child looks like.

Brooke's First Sleepover

Brooke got invited to her first sleepover this Fall. Brooke was very excited and mommy was a bit nervous. My baby is growing up way to fast. I went with Brooke to the party so I could hang out with the mommies and keep an eye on my big little girl. The party had a Barbie theme and started out with manicures and makeovers.

After cake and presents, the girls cozied up on the floor for a few movies. I left a little after 11 PM and Brooke had already fallen asleep.

Another milestone has passed for my baby!

Welcome Baby Tyler

Congrats to Robbie and Jessica and their new beautiful baby boy, Tyler Thomas!







Ali was quite at home holding little Tyler. She is a natural "little mommy".








We love you Tyler! Can't wait to teach you how to rope swing into the river!

Steve's Birthday 2010

Homemade cards are the best!

Happy birthday daddy! We got you a Wii!

We spent Steve's birthday at a fall festival. The girls got their faces painted and we had a really great time.

One of Daddy's favorite desserts.. Funfetti Cupcakes!

We love you Daddy! You're the best!

Goliath the Moose

A few years ago Steve had the chance of a lifetime to hunt moose in Canada and was successful! I was thrilled for him, but knew in the back of my mind that Mr. Moosey would need a home and it was probably going to be on my wall somewhere. Months after the hunt, the mounted moose arrived in a huge crate, but Steve and I have very different visions of where he should take up residence. So, as a result, the moose sat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling for almost a year. In fact a local marriage ministry (http://www.themarriageshow.com/) made a funny spoof out of our conflict for one of their evening events. It was based off of the tv show the Marriage Ref and ultimately resulted in Steve deciding that since I life in a home with dead animals on the walls, at least I should get to pick where to hang the dead animals. :)



So once the location had been officially decided, we got to work in hanging the moose. Brooke named him Goliath.

Moose engineer hard at work

Yay! It's up!

Unfortunately, the hardware in the back of the moose only held up for about a week. I woke up one morning to find Goliath looking a little tipsy.

So now instead of talking about when we are going to hang the moose, we talk about when we are going to fix the moose. Hopefully that won't take another year. Poor Goliath.

Homegroup at Lake Hartwell

This October our homegroup organized a group trip to North Georgia to hang out and have some fun with our families. Steve and I have been in the same homegroup for almost 12 years. We all met doing the Crown bible study and got along so well that we have stuck together ever since. Their friendships are one of my most cherished blessings.

Amy found an awesome house in Lavonia, Georgia that was perfect for our six families.

We had 12 adults and 16 children ranging in age from 4 months to 12 years old. The house had 7 bedrooms and we stashed the kids in the two lofts.

We were there for 5 nights and the best part for me what that we stayed at the house the entire time except for one day trip to Tallulah Gorge, Taccoa Falls and the Dillard House. It actually felt like a really restful vacation. The kids all had a blast playing I the huge backyard, on the lake, in the clay, collecting bugs and lizards, making fairy houses, swinging on the rope swing, playing games, boating, hiking, geocaching and so much more. Just writing about it makes me what to go back as soon as possible. It really was heaven!

I have so many pictures from this amazing trip, but here are few of my favorites.

Starting to descend the 1062 steps into Talullah Gorge

Practicing with the bow and arrow. This was a big hit with all the kids.

Brooke and Danielle make fairy houses in the Georgia clay

Playing in the fall leaves.. our lazy schedule gave us plenty of time to enjoy these kinds of simple pleasures with the kids.

All 16 crazy kids! (Brooke and Ali are on the top left)

Our family at Taccoa Falls

Making nature crafts on the back porch

The Girls! Amy, Christy, Me, Becky, Jessica, and Heather

Ali Donates to Locks of Love

Ali's hair has been getting quite long and a bit unruly at times. Every now and then I'd ask her how long she wants her hair to be and she'd say, "As long as Rapunzel's!" Yikes! I was trying to subtly put a bug in her ear about donating her hair to Locks of Love and hoping she would like the idea. Brooke donated her hair in 2009 and it was such a great experience. Read about Brooke's hair donation here. I was pleasantly surprised when Ali, out of the blue, said she wanted to donate her hair. We waited a few weeks so I could be sure she REALLY wanted to do this and wouldn't be heart-broken when she realized her hair was gone for good. Once I was convinced she was ready, we headed to the beauty shop for a new do!

Ready, set, cut!

I love this picture! She was so excited with the way she looked. Adorable!

Ta da! My sweet girl with a whole new look!

Ali, always the silly goose!

Ali, I am so proud of you for choosing to show love to a stranger with your selfless gift.

Worm Farm

The girls and I had an opportunity to go on a homeschool field trip to a worm farm recently. We prepped by learning about all the benefits worms provide to our world. Mommy learned a lot too!

The first part of the field trip was worm school where we learned more about worms and all their benefits. In this picture the girls are looking for worms inside this little homemade worm farm.

Then we went outside and the girls got to make their own worm farm with an empty water bottle.

Just add worms!

After all this worm-talk, the only possible dessert would be dirt cake, with extra worms! Yum!