School Halloween Party

I was one of the mom helpers in Sofia's Kindergarten class on Friday for their Halloween party and costume parade.  Being that there are 18 classes in the afternoon it was quite the parade; hundreds of excited five and six year olds walking through the hallway and parking lot all dressed up.  Adorable!

When I wasn't fixing tiaras, tying shoelaces, or keeping kids in line, I managed to take a few pictures.

Waiting in the hallway to lineup for the parade.

Sofia being a kitty cat during the parade.

Back in the classroom they received instruction on how to make their pumpkin craft.

Enjoying candy with a couple of her best buddies, Julie and Bree.

October = Fall Fun!

We have had quite the October in regards to weather.  Most of the days were unseasonably warm but we did have our fair share of cool days (thus some pictures the girls have on shorts and other pictures they are wearing sweaters).  No matter what, we thoroughly have enjoyed Fall.  It is an amazing time to observe God's handiwork up close as we watch the leaves turn colour.

Here are some of the activities we have enjoyed. 

Susanna Farms

The girls enjoyed picking out pumpkins, petting the horses, and sitting by a bonfire (this happened to be one of the cooler days) and Isaiah enjoyed his afternoon nap.

Royal Oak Apple Farm

Every year we LOVE going to this beautiful farm.  We usually pick our own apples but because of some cranky kids we decided it was best to just buy our 1/2 bushel from the farm store.  

Backyard

The warm days allowed for a lot of outside play which included tree climbing.

Waterford, WI

One of our favourite activities as a family is to simply hop in the car and take a drive.  We don't usually have a destination in mind.  We just stop when we want.  On this particular day we decided to stop in this cute little town just north of the IL/WI border.  It was one of those crisp, sunny days.  The girls LOVED running around, hopping on the rocks and playing tag.

Leaves

And there is nothing better than capturing smiles on your kids.

Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth, k but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

14 l “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 m Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so n that they may see your good works and o give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

There are many options for our children when it comes to schooling. Kevin and I understand we do have a choice as to not only where our children attend school (public or private) but also as to the content of what they are learning (homeschool).  At the beginning of this year, knowing that Sofia would be starting Kindergarten, we began to seek and pray what would be best for Sofia and our family.

Private school was out because of cost.  Homeschooling was out because honestly, teaching is not my strength. And the thought of doing so while nursing and the fact that the student was our strong-willed child, this didn't seem to be best for our family.  Thus, it was public school.

We are thankful the school district has a respectable reputation.  We are also thankful for how God has confirmed that this was the right decision.

How did He do that?

First by some friends encouraging us with the words, "You can be Salt and Light."

And secondly, by God providing the opportunity to be Salt and Light.

The first day of school at the bus stop we met two families with Kindergartners from our sub-division that we had not had interaction with before.  Over the next couple of weeks I met other moms of older school age kids at the bus stop during drop-off time.  The bus stop itself has provided for some amazing times of interaction.

Needless to say, just talking isn't necessarily being Salt and Light.  God has given me courage and boldness to share and to invite.  There are now three neighbourhood children attending AWANA with Sofia.

God is good.  He encourages, he confirms, he strengthens, and he challenges.  

We pray we can be the Salt and Light to many because of Sofia attending public school (and taking the bus).

7 words for 7 years.

LOVE

AMAZING

ADVENTUROUS

CHALLENGING

ENCOURAGING

REWARDING

WANT MORE!

And she's getting THIS!!

This morning was such an encouragement!!

At the breakfast table this morning I read this verse to the girls,

"Do not make light of the Lord's discipline and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves..."  Hebrews 12:5b-6a 

In our discussion of how much God loves us, and also as parents how much we love our children but still need to discipline, Sofia shares that that is what God did to Adam and Eve.  God sent them out of the garden even though He loved them.  YES!!!  That's right.  I loved how she was drawing upon lessons learned from Scripture.  We talked about how we learned that from the book of Genesis in the Bible.  And without a blink she quotes Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..."

SHE'S GETTING IT!  This is the beginning of Scripture being in her head and making it to her heart.

She's getting it.

Tonight as we were on our way to church, I looked into the rearview mirror at the stoplight and out loud said, "Oh, I forgot to put on make-up."


To this my eldest reminded me, "That's okay because being pretty is about the heart and the smile."

Our Pumpkins.

God doesn't make mistakes.

 Sofia accompanied me on some errands.  One of the stops was our local CVS. 

As I am looking for a certain shampoo that was on sale, Sofia comes up to me holding a bottle and asks, "Mommy, what is this?"

"Oh, that is called Sun-In.  Sun-In is used if you want to make your hair blonde."

I went back to my search and I hear Sofia talking to herself as she puts the product back on the shelf.

"Oh, I don't need this.  God made me with brown hair and I like it.  God doesn't make mistakes."

I had a big smile on my face (and so did the elderly lady standing in the aisle).

Uncle Matt is real!

This past weekend Uncle Matt and his girlfriend, Kelly, came for a visit.  It had been 5 years since we've seen Uncle Matt.  You see, Uncle Matt is an actor.  For a couple of years he was in Europe performing at a comedy club and over the past few years each time we've been in California he has been on set either shooting a commercial or movie.  

The funny things is that the girls know Uncle Matt from his Midas Touch commercial.  This commercial ran for about year in our neck of the woods.  Every time it came on the girls would say, "Uncle Matt!"  

But now he is for real.  We had a great time catching up as well as meeting his girl.:)  The picture above is obviously Matt, Kelly and the kids.  But notice Selah, or least her shoe and top of her head?  She DID NOT want her picture taken. 

Here's a cute pic of Matt and Kelly.  

Of course, Sofia is never one to be camera shy.

Then this is big sis with BIG little brother.

You can see Matt on the series "Breaking Bad".  He plays Badger.  For the younger crowd, you can catch him as the voice of Gunther on "Kick Buttowski", an animated series on Disney XD.  Last week he wrapped up a Hallmark film that he is co-starring in with Jane Seymour.  And tomorrow he begins filming on an upcoming Kevin Smith film.  

Four month stats

We finally made it to the doctor for Isaiah's four month check-up.  Needless to say he is doing just fine.  

The girls' stats at four months:

Sofia --- Ht:  24 3/2 in.  Wt:  12 lbs 7 oz

Selah --- Ht:  24 1/2 in.  Wt:  13 lbs 11 oz

And our boy's stats:

Ht:  27 in.  Wt:  16 1bs 6 oz

We thank the Lord for a happy and healthy baby.

Selah's Sayings 1.2

This girl continues to say things that make me laugh:

 "Mommy, can I have some more chipmunks?"

 "Well, they aren't called chipmunks, however, you may look like one after eating them." (in  

 response to having a treat of fried cheese curds.)

But she does say some things that melt my heart:

"Mommy, I love Jesus and God."  pause.  "But I really, really, love my S'fia."