toadally cool

The weather stayed beautiful many days into October-- 

and

the adventures of little boys ensued:

this kid knows how to ENJOY life. 

his wonder is so easy to capture on film. 

and if you listen carefully, you also catch the sweetest commentary. 

here he was simply whispering, with much glee, "He hops!"

i love that he's my dirt under the nails boy.

the other one would never think of picking up a toad with his bare hands!

catching leaves with his bare hands-- now that's another story.

it involves skill, competition, and results!

definitely right up his alley.

fortunately he caught one in this round-- 

or this pic would have been much different.

both my boys are contemplaters. i love to watch them take in the little things in life.

 like an airplane high in the sky, or the way the rake handle feels on the back of the neck.

they are both so creatively adventurous-- 

though the littler monkey is always the first to initiate a climbing challenge

fortunately bigger monkey has problem solving skills.

this one was so happy and content to be "high up".

this one just wanted to get down!

They are so different ... so unique in their boyhood ... and yet both ALL boy. I love them so strongly, in all of their intricacies, more each day, and can't imagine ever looking at falling leaves or hopping toads the same way again.

oops, it's thanksgiving

i guess i need a reminder on my computer to blog once a week-- i'm REALLY not sure why it's so hard to remember! Sorry boys! In fact, I have NO clue at all where November has disappeared to! Even though there's a whole 10 more days of it-- it might as well be over-- thanks to the Christmas invasion that seems to start it's encroaching earlier every year. I must admit, however, that this year IS the first where i've actually been thinking about Christmas long before Thanksgiving. Maybe it's because I am anticipating the magic of the season for my little cutie pies. But mostly because I'm a total cheapskate, and when i see a deal on ordering FREE Christmas cards the first couple of weeks in November, I'm suddenly Santa's most conscientious elf. So here i sit, one day before Thanksgiving, with all of my Christmas cards piled in front of me, some of them already addressed. And now I don't know what to do with myself. It feels...wrong. So in response, and perhaps in an effort to mask my shame, I am refusing to listen to any Christmas music before Friday, I scoff at the wreaths on every lamp post downtown, and judge everyone who already has their Christmas lights up.  But really, I'm getting excited in my heart... even though next week is going to still be a clash of the seasons in my mind.
So...while it IS still Fall, and there are still yellow and orange leaves adorning our trees, let's do a quick recap of all things Autumnal.

first fall field trip together

Last year I got to accompany C on his first field trip to the Orchard. 

This year I got to go with both my boys! 

It was so exciting-- and so fun to watch them together-- Kyren was so in awe of the whole "first time" experience. He was precious. 

We got to go on a hayride, pick our own apples, press some apples in the apple press, eat some appley goodies, and pick out some cool gourds to take home. It was a beautiful sunny day and perfect for pictures!

our sweet little sunshine

mesmerized by the tractor

pick me a winner!

got one!
(he looks happy here, despite the vast amount of time he spent whining and worrying about stepping on the apples that were already on the ground, rotting)

i found an apple!

found the perfect Golden Delicious (decidedly his favorite, he asks for one everyday now)

love vest weather!

so happy to have a front row seat to watch the tractor!

listening to the Farmer tell all about apples while enjoying the apple cider and apple cider donut!

the class helped to build this scarecrow. K was fascinated... talking to him and patting him.

action shot

what could be better than hay jumping?

our little "punkman" (as he says)

he liked this one b/c it had legs. :)

Wedding of the Century

So many dreams came true on October 6, 2012. 

So many details came together.

So many people were blessed.

And all because God is good. Even when life is bad. 

He is in the business of restoring what is broken and making it beautiful. 

And in this case, He didn't just make all things beautiful in His perfect timing...

He made them RADIANT.

These two souls have been through more than most could ever imagine in their individual journeys. Pain, suffering, heartbreak, loss, longing. Beyond belief.

And yet rather than giving up hope, they chose to believe. To dig in. To forgive. To heal. 

To allow God to re-create them from the inside out. 

They chose hope.

They were willing to go through whatever it took to become whole. 

And even when the dark clouds remained over their futures, they chose to trust. To wait. To be faithful. 

And here they are. 

In all their glorious redemption...

(this side of Heaven)

Shining.

Radiating.

The LOVE of God.

a wedding is the painting of a picture of Christ and His church;

you are truly looking, here, at the most beautiful image of His love.

I didn't get too many pictures of the bride, due to the honor of actually being allowed to stand by her side all day. But what I did get was the eternally beautiful image of her face aglow as she worshipped her Healing, Loving Father, and vowed by His grace to bless this man-gift until her dying day. 

I got the chills down my spine at the sight of her walking down the aisle with pure peace and grace all over her being.  And I got the greatest view of all during the whole ceremony. Their precious, emotion-filled faces, taking in every moment and soaking in the power of what was taking place. 

What a true miracle to behold.

And the very BEST part?

 They are living 11 minutes away now-- we get to be NEIGHBORS!!

God IS good!!!!

...

here are a few shots from the celebration:

Rehearsal time-- cannot believe this is actually happening!

his first wedding-- he was so excited!

i wish he was my date! sooo handsome!

lucky grams got to be his date instead!

my main squeeze bringing the videography skills

my cute parents, without whom we wouldn't be here!

this girl was on FIRE!

the sweet send-off dance--
we all circled around them and danced them off into their new life together!

could she be more Radiant??

Could not be happier for this sweet couple. 

Can't wait to do life together-- 

to learn from them, laugh with them, and enjoy the goodness of our God together! 

Such a blessing to us all!

A Crazy Fall-Fun-Filled Month

The first month of Fall has been full of fun and festivities galore!

So full I haven't even thought about recording any of it. 

Let's see... the day after k's birthday was my dear sweet husband's. I surprised him that morning by donning a Phillies' tshirt (something i've never thought about owning til that week) and presented him with a birthday card full of Phillies' Tickets-- we've never been to a game together, and neither had Maddy or Tim-- so they came with us, making it 2 double date weekends in a row! Being such a multiple-y momentous occasion, the girls (of course) wanted some extensive photo documentation. Luckily the guy sitting in front of us was so excited about the team's excellent performance he hammed it up with us and did a whole photo shoot!

My Love and his birthdate, #21!

Still so surreal that we get to do life together with this couple!

a first for her, me and US!

This would be the winner of the awkward family photo contest, "double date edition".
We were laughing so hard it was hard to keep our lips together!

A very happy birthday to you, my sweet!

In the last weeks of warm weather, we finished up the flagstone patio together as a family-- 

and now all it needs are the finishing touches of paint and a ceiling and our porch will be good as new! 

Taking every opportunity we could to be outside before the cold weather comes, we have been excursing (a new word) to as many parks and playgrounds as we can... ok, really just a few... but it's been a fun mommy-sons adventure month-- spontaneously picking up and going on picnics and playdates together...

catching raindrops on his tongue while waiting out a tiny rainstorm at the park

oh, and sometimes Gramsy joins us :)

the joys of teeter tottering for the first time!

Oh and someone is learning how to write and draw... 

and is stealing my heart in the process!

Here he is on "C Day" at school, with the class's Mystery Bag, in which he had to place 10 things that start with C to be discovered by his classmates at circle time. 

He wanted to put himself in the bag, but decided it wouldn't be too comfortable in there...

He then came home and proceeded to illustrate his favorite C things:

a crab, a cat, and himself

 More Fall Fun to come...

The perfect day

K couldn't have picked a more gorgeous day to celebrate turning 3! 

It was sunny and 75 degrees, with a gentle breeze. 

We spent some time chasing balloons.

That was perfect.

Aunt Joan stopped by with the perfect present, wrapped in the perfect paper!

(hint: both had to do with trucks)

We rode bikes, and took our beloved truck balloon for a ride on the p-car

Poppy came home with logs!

(perfect surprise for a 3 yr old boy)

Mickey Mouse Cupcakes were the perfect centerpiece for his biggest fan!

He was so excited when he saw them:

Gramsy found a Mickey Birthday Book: perfect!

helllooooo birthday boy!

Mousekatools are important for killing time while you're waiting to open presents

YUM-- cake time!

selecting the perfect cupcake:

mmmmmm....

a mickey toothpick duel:

a cupcake liner = the perfect homemade party hat

He was lovin the Mickey on a stick-- he tried to eat it!

can i PLEASE open this now???

Daddy got to open some presents too, since his bday was in a few hours:

It was such a joy to celebrate our once little, tiny Baby-- turning into a little boy! 

He warms our hearts more and more as the months go by, with his sweet scratchy voice and his love for life (and all things vehicular)! He impresses us constantly with his growing vocabulary, his wild imagination, his climbing and jumping skills, and his amazing ability to bounce back after an injury. 

Always been a tough one, that Koo-Bear!

We are so thankful God chose him to remain in our family-- it would not be the same without him!

Our PERFECTLY Precious Miracle!