pumpkin patch...

this past saturday we took the kids to a pumpkin patch. this is something we have done each year we have been here and the kids really enjoy it. the weather was alright except that it was rather warm. something seems wrong about walking around in shorts at the end of october. here are some of the pictures from our day...

baby kyle update...

as of this afternoon baby kyle sherrill is doing very well for the severity of the situation. his ventilatior is down to 24% oxygen and 35 breaths per minute. this is fantastic and God deserves all the glory and honor! many other blessings are told on the family's website which i have linked under my blogs section.

please do not stop praying for this little warrior and his family!

please pray...

as i am sure some of you might do, i found myself traversing through friend's blogs and the links to other blogs they read. this can be a fun way around blogville. today i was checking on our friend kevin's blog and a link he has to a friend of his. ross knew this couple in college and i met them once or twice.

all that to say that on monday, kelly (the wife) gave birth to their third son, kyle. kyle came unexpectedly at 23weeks. he is very sick and struggling. the husband's blog specifically asked that we pray for supernatural miracles from the Lord in Kyle's life. John and Kelly are christians and follow hard after Him in their personal lives and ministry. John said that he has faith but is struggling with the why? oh how i understand.

Lord, You are near to the brokenhearted. i know that You are omnipotent. i know that You can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. today Lord would You bring hope to the sherrill family? Your word says that You knit kyle together in kelly's womb and that all his days are ordained- Lord I pray that the sherrills will draw near to You and You to them today and in the days ahead. I am asking that you miraculously heal this little boy so that You will be glorified in it all. I know you will heal kyle even if it is not how we might desire but oh Lord I pray that You give them the grace to trust you in the "why"s of each moment.

cinderella sunday...

another exciting adventure this weekend was when daphne and i got to go on a mommy daughter date to the disney princesses on ice. we enjoyed this fun filled evening with none other than ellie and her mom, jennifer.

for halloween daphne is going to be cinderella and so for this special event she was able to wear her cinderella dress, tiara, earrings and sparkly shoes. i think she felt like the real deal. i was even able to get her hair into a little bun...well it only lasted till we got to the show.

during the show daphne sat in my lap mesmerized. every time a skater would lift her leg daphne would smile, look up at me and say, "mommy she did an aravesque". her fascination with doing an arabesque in ballet transcended its way even to the ice skating show. i think that in the time that it took the show to go from start to finish i heard her tell me about 500 "aravesques".

an exciting weekend...

our weekend was filled with great fun! friday night henry's first ever school friend sleep over happened here in our living room.

henry's buddy sage came over around 4pm and the adventure began. the boys did such a great job of letting daphne play with them and never making her feel like a third wheel.

after an hour and a half it was time for some pizza. i had the kids all sit outside not only for the avoidance of a big mess in the kitchen but also because these two boys can be very loud when they are together. i figured they could eat and be loud on the patio in the hopes that the late hours of the night might be quieter.

next came some hang out time in the back yard. ross mowed the grass and the rest of us played on the swings. the weather was perfect!

once we all had come inside and cleaned up a bit it was time for making ice cream sundaes! we let the kids make their own with toppings, whipped cream, sprinkles, the works! it was so fun letting them create their own masterpieces.

i think what made me laugh most about the ice cream sundaes is that neither of the boys ate much of them. they seemed to enjoy making them far more than eating them.
















of course they had to brush their teeth after their special treats. and then with pjs on and sleeping bags unrolled we watched Homeward Bound. what's a movie without some popcorn. sage is a little more active than henry and so he had to get up and burn off some energy. by 9pm the movie was done and we got the boys settled into their bags and prayed with them. ross and i went to bed and could hear the little voices that were in on our living room floor. at 10:30am we were ready to go to sleep and yet those boys were chatting away. i went in and told them that if they could not go to sleep we would have to put henry in his bed and sage on the couch. we didn't hear another word till 6:30 the next morning.

with that early wake up call ross heated up the griddle and made pancakes for everyone.

the boys had a great time together as did we. it was fun to watch them enjoy one another and to play hard and to grow their little friendship.

what a great first sleep over!

a right of passage...

see ross' blog for the whole story!

party time...

though daph turned 3 two weeks ago we waited to have her party so that we could share the fun celebration with her best friend, ellie.

there is such ease in hosting a kid's party AT a location instead of in my home. i have always had the kid's parties here at home but with the success of doing henry's in a park last year my friend, jen, and i decided to do the girls party at gymboree. i tell you, they handle everything- the worker was even willing to cut and serve cake. wow! at the end we just gathered up the gifts and anything we brought with us and she cleaned up. i loved that!

the girls and all their little friends really seemed to enjoy themselves. there were plenty of activities both guided and not for them to do and what kid doesn't love a giant parachute?

poor little ellie was still recovering from a cold and cough so after she had run around about 45 minutes she was done! even when it came time to blow out the candles, ellie just wanted to be in her daddy's lap. leave it to the best friend to blow out your candles for you!








after we got home daphne was able to open her gifts and she has been in la la land ever since. she was given so many sweet gifts and i think she has played with them all non stop for the last 24 hours. one of our friends gave her this adorable cheerleader outfit which has been on her body every possible moment we are willing to allow. she was also given a tiara and clip on earrings which are new favorites. we have had many a tea party throughout the day, we have played magnetic dress up dolls often, she has painted our bathtub, read a sweet book from her 1/2 aussie friend, put the loving family mommy and daddy on their new potty several times, has enjoyed putting her new barrettes in her hair and is now sleeping with a new zebra named henry.

what a fantastic time it was to celebrate our precious girl and her best friend!!