Pumpkin Patch 2014

We made our annual visit to the pumpkin patch this weekend and had a great time! We opted to go somewhere close by and local that had the perfect mix of things to do for our kiddos and their ages and I think the whole fam is excited to go back! Yay for family traditions. =)

They had tons of places for cute pictures so that was another huge bonus for us. I love this picture of my big boys! Layton is in such a daze he could pass for a baby doll. Ha!

The big boys loved the massive playground they had. It's the biggest one we'd ever seen and it was all connected. Talk about crazy huge. They were actually playing somewhere on this playground when I took this picture. 

We all enjoyed the hayride (minus the hay) too. The farm owner/hayride driver said this year they decided against the hay... and our family in particular really appreciated this decision. We couldn't get a family pic during our ride because we were squeezed in pretty tight but we did get one of our view. =)

The big boys also loved the life-size sensory tub (that's what I called it) full of deer corn. They thought it was the best thing ever and probably would've stayed in there playing for like an hour if we weren't encouraging them to do other things so we could fit everything in before having to think about lunch and naps...and the Georgia game. Ahem. (Although I am super thankful my hubby agreed to miss the start of the game. I appreciate him so much. =))

Garrison loved feeding the animals right out of his hand...

 

Austin was a little more apprehensive and chose to throw his food at them. Haha.

 

I think Layton enjoyed his first trip to the pumpkin patch too. He strolled around, got his picture made lots, sat with pumpkins, felt of hay, got fed in the car, and people watched a whole bunch. Definitely a good time for my littlest man.

Mini pumpkins everywhere! Plus 2 out of 3 sweet brothers. =)

My 3 babies and handsome husband. This picture just fills me to the brim with gratefulness and joy.

 

Me and my boys. (Clearly daddy isn't as impressive behind the camera as mama because he can never get all 3 boys to look at him. Ha!)

We had a great visit at the patch and after much searching and debate and discussion, finally found "the one" to bring home. The boys can't wait to turn it into a jack-o-lantern. =)

And just because... Here are my big boys at last year's pumpkin patch. They are growing so fast! *Tear*

 

We had a super fun weekend and this was definitely the main attraction. I'm so thankful for Fall, pumpkin patches, fun weekends, special outings with my family, AND that my husband is home almost all week long. =)

Friday Favorites: Fall Break Edition

We've been on Fall Break this week and have really, really enjoyed the down time and laid back routine. And I think we've all loved having Garrison home with us all day. There is something so sweet about my big boys playing together and having tons of fun and coming up with all sorts of things to do with unlimited time on their hands. I love how well they play together and how much they enjoy spending time together. Close knit siblings are something special that I hope my boys always experience with one another. We sure are going to miss Garrison next week. Waaaaahh!

It's still Fall Break for now though so we're going to focus on enjoying every last minute of it!

Our week hasn't been super exciting..everyone has been under the weather, Layton hasn't slept well, and Terrell's been out of town most of the week, but thankfully I've had help and we've managed to still have a pretty fun but low-key week. It is such a blessing being back here!

Here are my favorites from Fall Break...

*Garrison has really gotten into "decorating" his bed. He's just festive that way I guess. =) I have a sign hanging in the kitchen that says "Happy Fall" so he asked me to write that down for him and then he turned it into a decorative little sign... and got pretty creative by hanging it on the end of his bed. I just love his festive, creative little mind. He is always coming up with something unique to do!

*I planned some crafts for the big boys this week and one of them was handprint bats. I thought they turned out pretty cute!

*We took Garrison to the library here in Bville for the first time ever. (He loved it and was very impressed with everything it had to offer.) Since we moved a week before school started and are pretty busy on the weekends and in the evenings we hadn't had a chance to take him until this week. Things went GREAT with all 3 boys until Austin dumped tons of puzzles out while I was busy looking through books. It was awful. These weren't the simple 10 pieces or less wooden puzzles, these were the 25+ piece puzzles with no picture to look at or go by. I was so flustered trying to put together 10 different puzzles and with like 200 different puzzle pieces everywhere. Ughhhh. Thankfully our library experience was redeemed with a fun story time. However, my middle is now banned from touching a puzzle at the library... indefinitely.

*This little man still tastes his toes every now and then and it's one of the cutest things ever! Poor baby has been so congested this week I'm just thankful he was able to be happy some too.

*During naptime this week, Garrison and I have enjoyed several games of Who Shook Hook? This is a game Austin isn't ready for so it's been good quality time with my biggest and a great chance for him to do something he normally doesn't get to do.

*We spent the morning at the park one day this week and all 3 boys had a great time. Yay for nice weather and fresh air and not letting these little colds interfere with a morning out.

*Another craft I did with the big boys was "silly spiders". They painted toilet paper rolls, made a face for their spider, and then picked out some colorful, pipe cleaner legs. I had to glue the legs and faces on but they loved painting and picking out legs and seeing the finished product. =)

*This sweet boy has a new favorite toy... a little rattle that neither one of his big brothers were ever impressed with. Layton thinks it's the greatest thing ever!

*Yesterday afternoon during naptime Garrison got a little discouraged and sad about our break coming to an end (poor baby is definitely my child), so in an effort to cheer him up and offer a fun distraction we started on his Christmas list. And as you can see it's quite the variety of items. Oh how I love this boy. =)

*Favorite not-pictured moment: We hosted my parents for supper on Tuesday night. Our first time to have someone over for a meal since we moved back. It was a little crazy with the kiddos being wound up and Layton feeling worse as the night went on, but we had a good time and enjoyed having company over. Hopefully once we find a new house we can invite family and friends over more often. Hosting is not something I've done a lot of (which I'm blaming on the fact that we've always lived away) so it's a tad out of my comfort zone, BUT, I'm feeling totally motivated by a fellow blogger's Breaking Bread series. It's really good... especially for people like me who haven't done a lot of hosting and who stress easily over having people in my home... but you should check it out. =)

Terrell gets home this afternoon and we are SO excited to see him! We did the whole long distance thing for years while we were dating... since we got married, not so much. Not ever really. So him being away lots this Fall will be a BIG adjustment for me (and the boys). For now however we're hoping everyone is well enough to enjoy some really fun weekend plans with daddy! Happy Friday!!

Our Weekend & My Birthday

It's the day after my 31st birthday... and I'm feeling 31. Haha! Between sick kids and a workout at the library this morning (long story) and the anticipation and anxiety that's coming with Terrell's first out of town trip this Fall, I'm definitely feeling older. But on the bright side it's still Fall Break, we had a fun weekend, and I had a great birthday. Yay!

Saturday morning started pretty bright and early for us at the soccer fields. And I brought my real camera in hopes of getting some great action shots of my firstborn having fun doing something he loves... playing soccer. Unfortunately this particular game turned out to be a tough one. Real tough. Most of the game looked like this... 3 on 1. That's my baby in orange.

5 year old soccer is super fun and all about the kids...until it isn't. Sigh. This was our first game with difficult coaches (from the opposing team) and Garrison playing hard, practically by himself, all the while getting pushed down and knocked over lots.

Exhibit A:

Just kidding. Sort of. It was a frustrating game for everyone but I was SO proud of Garrison for hanging in there, playing hard despite the adverstiy he was facing, and never giving up. He stayed determined and did a really great job start to finish. And in the end lessons were learned. They were lessons I was hoping could be avoided at the 5 year old level, but lessons nonetheless.

We shook it off and moved on afterwards by cheering on Austin at his game which was totally fun and carefree and all about the kiddos. Yay. (I had every intention of getting some great shots of my middle at his game but my camera battery went dead.... so instead I got a great iphone pic of AnAn and Layton at the game. It was cooold Saturday morning!)

Saturday night my parents took out the whole fam to celebrate my birthday. And we had tons of fun! We always laugh so hard when we get together and have the best time. =) Afterwards we went back to their house for presents, cake and ice cream, and baths. (We woke up Saturday morning to no hot water. The issues of this old house are numerous...ugh.) All the boys singing to me and helping blow out my candles was the funniest, craziest blowing out candle experience ever! My big boys were hilarious. Singing Happy Birthday and blowing out candles is a BIG DEAL. Ha!

*PS... That carbon monoxide alarm you see on the counter was a gift from my parents. With all the issues we've had with our rental house, they don't trust it either. Haha.

Monday for lunch my mom took us out for my birthday and AnAn and Frankie came too. Such a treat to enjoy a meal out for lunch! Garrison decided to take our picture to document the ocassion... He worked hard to squeeze us all in. I love it! =)

Last night since the big boys were both under the weather and coughing up a storm, we decided to stay in and order pizza for supper... and Dairy Queen for dessert! Yum! Then I got some sweet cards and gifts from all my boys. My family really spoiled me and made turning 31 pretty special.

Now if we can just fight off the crud that's hanging around here maybe we can enjoy the rest of our break! We have some fun things planned for the end of the week when Terrell gets back home, so hopefully we can all get well soon. Happy Tuesday! =)

Friday Favorites: Almost There!

This week has been a doozy. Very draining and tiring. Very emotional. Very busy. Very challenging. But we've finally reached the end of the week and are almost to the weekend. Almost to some down-time. Almost to Fall Break! And almost to celebrating my 31st birthday. =) We survived a tough one and now we're ready to put it behind us and move on.

But first, I have to highlight the good this week. Because there was lots of good. Despite the challenges and exhaustion and issues we faced, God's grace and blessings were present and were felt. And I'm so thankful.

*Going way back to last Friday night as Terrell and I celebrated the contract on our house filled to the brim with joy and gratefulness, we went out to eat and the boys got draw on a chalkboard table while we waited for our food. Perfection! They loved it, we loved it, everybody was happy... I think we're going back tonight! Haha. =)

*The preschool division of our church held a little superheros party with lunch and bouncies and obstacle courses last Sunday. It was super fun for my big boys and we loved getting to hang out and catch up with friends and other parents. Needless to say Sunday afternoon at our house took on a superhero theme. =)

*The biggest "school" activity Austin and I did together this week was a Fall alphabet leaf sort. Uppercase letters went on the tree while lowercase letters went on the ground at the bottom of the tree. We didn't glue the leaves down or anything, but sorting through 52 small "leaf letters" and discussing their sounds was a pretty tedious task for my 3 year old. He still hung in there and did a great job though! Then, we counted all 52 letters as we put them back in the bag for storage. Lots of learning going on for my middle!

*Typically every afternoon my big boys will reach a point of getting wild and crazy. Sometimes it's a friendly, playing hard and having fun together wild and crazy, and sometimes it's a too rough-out of hand-quickly escalating into fighting wild and crazy. So things around here are just wild and crazy in some form or another most afternoons. So one of my go-to stategies for reigning them in is to give them choices of things to do that require sitting and calming down. I KNOW they need to move and I KNOW it's good for them to play hard, but after a while they have to settle down. So on one afternoon after giving out choices like building with something, coloring, puzzles, games, etc, they chose legos and were PERFECT building together. It was heavenly.

*This little man has become a huge fan of playing War. It's great practice with comparing numbers and really fun for him so we've been playing at least twice a day all week. I'm loving it almost as much as he is.

 

*Somehow I only got one picture of my littlest. Poor baby. I promise he wasn't overlooked all week! I'll try to do better next week. Anyway, one of my favorite things ever is going in his room after his naps and seeing him immediately roll over to watch me walking in and smiling so big at me. Melt my heart. Sooo precious!

*Garrison and I went to Literacy Night at his school last night and visited the Book Fair! I really enjoyed my one-on-one time with my biggest. We had a fun night together and I'm super proud of how well he's doing in Kindergarten. (Terrell took Austin and Layton to Austin's soccer game where he was a star and scored like 7 goals or something crazy. =))

 

We made it to Friday and are thankful for God's grace this week. Next up- weekend fun, birthday celebrations, and Fall Break! Happy Friday!!

Mid-Week Struggles

I am struggling this week.

Behind on laundry.

Exhausted from my busy, always moving, always chasing somebody days.

Overwhelmed with finding time and energy to plan Austin's school activities and crafts.

Forgetting to make my big boy finish all of his homework.

Too worn out to go to soccer practice.

Stressed about Terrell having to be away for like half of the Fall season.

I'm physically tired, mentally tired, and even a little emotionally tired.

(Trying to figure out when to take care of everything with the house in Covington with NO time being convenient... and trying to plan a visit to the pumpkin patch and make some other fun plans for us as a family while Terrell is home and in town for a limited amount of days is stressful and draining.)

I know in the grand scheme of things it isn't that bad. Deep down I know this. Not even deep down really, I actually know it pretty front and center. I'm just feeling it catching up to me now and not handling it so well.

Welcome to my pity party.

Sigh.

Everything just seems to be piling up this week and I'm finally caving under the pressure. It seems to happen every single time I have a lot going on at once. As confident as I feel multi-tasking here at home during the day on a regular day (which is when I'm totally in my groove), add 10 more things to my regular responsibility load and all of a sudden I'm overwhelmed and worn out and stressed out and just can't seem to get it together. Ugh. This is one of my least favorite qualities about myself. Because as much as I want to head off the overwhelmedness and stress and possible meltdown due to all of the above that's about to take place, I just can't seem to do it. Somehow it always seems to get the best of me. Boo.

I think this week I've actually had some "working mom" issues going on. Because even though I'm in my own home, I'm working and busy and constantly moving and have very full days. While being a SAHM is definitely work and almost always busy, it's something I'm totally accustomed to and comfortable with and *usually* at my best doing. Adding a sweet baby girl to the mix however has been keeping me on my toes, giving me a workout, and wearing me out. (I do love my job though and I'm sooo thankful for the opportunity to work... especially when it involves such a sweet baby.)

Then there's the fact that because I'm "working" I'm falling down on some of my other jobs. Like homework coach/assistant, soccer mom, laundry queen, etc. Oh the guilt.

Then there's the issue of all of Terrell's upcoming trainings and meetings and overnight trips. They are numerous and they are coming fast and furious. They start next week and wrap up the week before Thanksgiving. Then he'll have more after the first of the year before he's finally finished. And just call me spoiled because I am NOT used to daddy being away. We tag team everything around here and to say I'm a little nervous about him being away several nights both this month and next would probably be an understatement. I live with wild little boys 5 and under remember? And I'm already getting myself worked up about how I can't feed them fast food every night daddy is away and how the TV can't be own 24-7 the whole time because that combo is just crazy unhealthy. How will we ever manage and survive it all?

Just kidding. I know we'll be fine and I know I'll have help and I know we'll survive. It's just going to be different and overwhelming and exhausting I'm sure. Military wives and single moms amaze me.

Then there's just being plain tired. New job tired. Busy family of 5 tired. Giving myself anxiety over stuff tired.

So that's what I'm struggling with on this lovely Wednesday. I know everything will work out and eventually I'll get back in my groove and feel more together about everything. And I'm going to pray that happens sooner rather than later. Fall Break is next week so that should really help... at least until Terrell has to go out of town. It will still be really nice to just plan some fun outings for my boys and sleep a little later and not have to worry about homework or lunches. And the Fall is my favorite season so there's no time to be down or stressed, I must get it together and make the most of it! I will snap out of this pity party. I'm determined to. Blogging helped, now I've just got to set my mind to positive thinking, enjoying my family and my days, and REST.

Weekend of Blessings

Exciting News........

 

***OUR HOUSE IS UNDER CONTRACT!!!***

 

This weekend was full of blessings, as most weekends are, but this weekend we celebrated, rejoiced, shed tears of joy and excitement, and praised God from Whom all blessings flow because of a BIG answered prayer. After almost 4 months on the market (which felt much longer to us by the way), after a financial struggle that was really starting to weigh on us and concern us, after being 2nd choice to 2 different buyers twice, and after many, many prayers for a family/couple/individual to fall in love with our home, we are celebrating the blessing of an offer we could accept and anxiously awaiting for it close next month!! Thank you for all of your prayers with us and please continue to pray that everything will go according to plan and that it will close!

 

So that was like the main highlight of our weekend. Our house was shown 4 different times to 3 different people between Thursday and Friday after somewhat of a drought in the home showing department, and on Friday afternoon an offer came in and we worked out a deal and signed the contract Friday night. We are THRILLED!!!

 

The financial burden this will lift for us, particularly for my husband who has been working so hard trying to figure out how to stretch our money and make ends meet without totally depleting our savings, is just huge. We are so, so, soooooo thankful!

 

The next challenge after closing will be finding a "forever home" here. While this won't be the easiest task ever due to lack of homes for sale here in our small town, we are super excited about God leading us to "the one".  A home we want to be in long term. The place where we'll raise our boys and send them off to college. (Gulp.) The place we'll share holidays and special occasions and make memories galore. This next house (we hope and PRAY), will be it.

 

We are just so thankful for God's faithfulness and goodness to us. We are so thankful for His provisions... Terrell's new job that allowed us to move (something we prayed for for years), a home to rent while we waited for our house to sell, financial needs met during this stretch of "tough times", a contract for our house, the list goes on and on. To God be the glory great things He hath done! (I can always think of a song to sing or reference. =))

 

This weekend was also full of other blessings too... a fun night with the fam Friday night going out to eat and watching a movie with the big boys, a fun soccer game for Garrison Saturday morning, a fun Saturday day date for me and Terrell (although dates during the Georgia season are a bit challenging...haha), a relaxing Saturday night after our boys crashed from their day with Granna and Papa, and a super awesome Sunday at church that included the cutest ever Superhero party and lunch for preschoolers and families.

 

It was a GREAT weekend and one that left us counting our blessings over and over and over again. 

 

Now for praying hard and holding our breath til the end of next month when our house is scheduled to close... I'll let you know when I exhale.

Friday Favorites: Fall is Here!

We have had a pretty great first week of Fall. Austin and I started a new theme this week, things went really well keeping Baby M (and I'll be keeping her 3-4 days next week too), we thoroughly enjoyed the weather and spent lots of time outside... it's just been a busy, fun, different but still normal, good week. Yay. 

Here are my favorite moments...

*The new thematic unit I decided on for Austin was Fall... apples, leaves, pumpkins, weather changes, etc. We'll do our Fall theme into the month of October and then eventually switch our focus to more Halloween related fun. =) Austin's favorite activities this week were "Apple Tree Comparing" and "Leaf Patterns". (Just for my own memory so I can repeat this for Layton one day I'm going to elaborate.)

With the apple trees, we made our trees first and then used red pom poms for our apples. I wrote down a number and he placed that many "apples" on one tree, then I wrote down a second number and he placed that many apples on the second tree. Then he had to tell me which tree had the most apples. Number recognition, counting, number sense, and fine motor practice all had a place in this little activity, AND, he had fun doing it. Success!

With the leaf patterns I just pulled out my fake leaves and started a pattern that he had to finish. So simple but really engaging and really good pattern practice. We also made patterns with acorns and pine cones we had stashed away.

*Student of the Month lunch with our biggest! We are sooo proud of Garrison. Big school continues to be a bit of an adjustment for him (the days are still long) and he definitely has his faults, so this honor was a big deal. We loved having lunch with him (he picked Zaxbys!) and he felt SO special. And, we let him decide if he wanted to check out after lunch or stay at school... he decided to come home early. =) It was a fun and special day. (BIG thanks to my mom for taking her lunch break and coming over to hold down the fort with Austin, Layton, and Baby M so I wouldn't have to miss a special lunch with my favorite Kindergartner.)

*A morning at the park! I ventured out with Austin, Layton, and Baby M to the park on Wednesday morning and even though we couldn't stay as long as we would've liked to (feeding schedules and naptime schedules always take top priority when wrangling 3), it was a beautiful day and I think the whole crew had fun! I am definitely getting the hang of things with my new job. =) I'm still not keeping her full-time but definitely more regularly and I think I have a good system down... especially since they are all on pretty much the same schedule. God's provisions are never ending.

*Austin, Layton, and I got to have lunch with my Nanny yesterday. Such a treat! We love living in the hometown!!

*Last night I took the big boys to Garrison's soccer practice... and while Garrison practiced with his team, Austin and I practiced on a separate field. We had so much fun running and chasing each other down and honing our soccer skills. And I think the one-on-one time for my middle has been great for him. I'm hoping to carve out lots of one-on-one time for my firstborn during his Fall Break when his little brothers are napping. Alone time with mama or daddy for each little man is always a good thing. =)

*Favorite quote of the week:
God has no problems, only plans. There is never panic in heaven. ~ Corrie ten Boom
I LOVE this. It's so comforting and reassuring to remember.

*Least favorite moment this week: Austin had a MAJOR, MASSIVE, AWFUL meltdown leaving the school on Thursday morning after we dropped Garrison off. (The days I keep Baby M, Terrell has to take him to school and my mom has to pick him up and bring him home... at least until we can upgrade our vehicle... so I was really looking forward to Thursday and walking in my Kindergartner. Sigh.) I think this particular meltdown goes down in history as our worst ever due to the number of witnesses. How embarrassing! Thank goodness my friend Megan was walking out with me and took over pushing Layton in the stroller and getting him in the car while I fought and wrestled and wrangled and struggled with my kicking, screaming, wailing, flailing 3 year old. It wasn't pretty. Thankfully I know Megan understood (and probably, *hopefully* most other parents too), and this morning was MUCH better. Thank you Jesus.

This weekend we are looking forward to good family time tonight, Garrison's soccer game in the morning, a day date (12 noon til 7:00 PM... woohoo!) for mama and daddy tomorrow, and a fun Sunday at church with a special preschool/chidren's party and lunch afterwards. So excited about another great weekend! Happy Friday!!