Fall Fun 2

Last Friday we visited local pumpkin patch number two, and this time we went with our friends and fellow homeschoolers. Fun! I would love to tell you all that we turned our outing into an educational field trip about how pumpkins grow and how crops are harvested, or something like that, but that would be a lie. Instead, we just had plain, old fashioned fun! The children played on all of the wooden structures, visited with all of the animals, and ventured into the corn maze with super Ms. Jenny. My children love, love, love their friends and every moment that they get to spend with them. This works out perfectly for me since I love their momma's. It's a win-win situation!

(Sweet Sisters)








(The Gang)








(Cheese!)








(Besties)

Seven Month Update

Yesterday, our boy turned seven months old. I am finding that hard to believe. One of my sweet friends daughter, Allye, said yesterday, "It really is hard to remember life without Jack!". She is oh, so right! With each one of my children's births into our family, life's abundant blessings have increased ten fold. Jack's addition to our family was no different. Life is just better with him in it!

Jack Ryan Huston,

Oh, how I love you little man! I love your rolls, your soft, big brown eyes, your contagious smile, and the way that you grab my face when you are happy to see me. You have really grown and changed this past month! I say to your daddy all the time, that I do believe this has been the biggest month for you to date. Let's see. What's new?

Well, you got your first two teeth! They are both on the bottom, and you look like a sweet little JACK-o-lantern when you grin! You also learned how to roll completely over this month. Before you would only roll from your tummy onto your back before getting angry and stuck. Now you can roll your chubby little body any which way you please. You can also sit up now and it is a whole new world for you! You no longer want to be strapped down for anything. I let you ride in the front of the shopping cart (instead of in your carrier) this week, and you smiled at everyone that we passed. You were happy to be up and free! You are turning into a busy, busy little boy. Mister Man, you love to eat baby food, and I do believe you have sampled most everything now. The only thing you are not too crazy about are green vegetables. You are your mothers child :).

The only negative thing would be that your sleeping habits are struggling a little bit right now. Clearly you missed the memo about how much sleep your Mama needs. Have no fear,I will resend it to you. You are no longer the little boy who will sleep anytime, anywhere. If you miss a nap you get overly tired and things get ugly. Sometimes the only solution is to put you in your bed and let you cry it out. Usually you are asleep within minutes. The problem seems to be that you have now started wanting to eat in the middle of the night again, and are waking earlier to eat as well. We love spending time with you buddy, but seriously, this needs to stop. :). Mama is hoping that this is just a little growth spurt and that things will return to normal soon!

This past week we packed away your baby swing and your bouncer and infant car seat are soon to follow. Right before our eyes you are turning into a chubby, sweet, rather grown up looking baby boy. Watching you grow and change melts my heart with sadness, yet fills it with an indescribable pride and joy at the very same time. I feel so thankful and blessed that you are mine!

Love, Mama

Hiking Hocking Hills

This past weekend was our monthly weekend of respite, so we headed to the hills with Grammy and Da.

















The drive there was breath taking. The leaves are in the process of changing and the colors ranged from yellow, to orange, to red.

















We hiked down to Old Man's Cave, played in streams, jumped in piles of leaves, and ate what will probably be our last ice cream cone of the season.











That night we stayed in a log cabin in the woods. We lit a fire, roasted marshmellows, listened to Da's campfire story, dipped in the hot tub, and played Domino's until the wee hours.











The next day we rode on an old fashioned train and enjoyed even more fall colors.











Before driving back to our little country home.





These are the moments that life is made of.

Fall Fun 1

One of my favorite things about living in Ohio is the abundance of pumpkin patches in our area. Seriously. They are everywhere, and I love it. This year my girls and I have made it our mission to visit and explore as many as we possibly can. Today we started with our first one. It was only about ten minutes from our home and it was oh, so very fun! Grammy and Da met us there and we had a great time. We slid down slides, did the hay maze, walked through the sunflower fields, posed for Momma's 1,000 photo's, completed the corn maze, and selected pumpkins. Super, duper fun. This is hands down the best season of the year. Love it.

A Simple Saturday

Today was a simple Saturday in our home. Sometimes I think those are the very best kinds. For starters, all three children slept past seven in the morning, which is pretty much a little slice of heaven for Boss and I. Sweet Jack Ryan even went ten hours straight in his pack n' play without even needing a paci put back in or a bottom patted or anything. He is sleeping so well these days, and I am so thankful for a healthy, happy baby. Once we were all up and dressed we went and ran some Saturday errands. We got some new wheels (to be shared in another post) and then we headed to the mall in search of polo shirts. One of our big girls must start wearing school uniforms come Monday, so we were on a hunt! We all enjoyed being out and being together, big girls included. After errands, we came home for about an hour before heading to a church family hay ride. It drizzled and was so cold the whole time, but my little girls smiles were enough to warm me up! They got to go on a hay ride with their daddy and then our sweet neighbor Mr. Aaron took them on a canoe ride around the lake. Their first ever. Yeah, it's safe to say they pretty much think Mr. Aaron rocks. He also takes all of the little children bike riding, plays Aggie Ball with them, and pushes them on his tire swing in the back yard. We have the coolest neighbors ever. I am so thankful for where we are living and raising our family. Most people think I give up a lot to live here and serve and bless others, and I always tell them if you only knew how others serve me on a daily basis, you would know that I am the one who is blessed! On the drive home tonight I was thinking about just how grateful I feel for this life that I lead. I have so many blessings. Most of which are not deserved. We ended our day with slipper jammies (footed zip up pajamas) for Kate, one of daddies big T-shirts for Emma, a fuzzy sleeper for Jack Ryan, and cups of cocoa all around (except, you know, for the baby). This simple Saturday was pretty super.