settle in.

and prepare yourself.

this is merely a snippet of the wonderful trip to chicago that

L, Auntie B and i made. 

there are tons and tons and tons more photos. 

can you believe it?

you can always tell when i'm having a wonderful time... 

i take an extreme amount of photos.

now sit back, settle in and enjoy your glimpse of our vaca. 

the Os.

and yes, they are that goofy.

all.

the.

time.

oh, how we miss them so. 

my sweet friend, Annie O and Miss G

just like old times.

except in chicago.

and only for the weekend.

we were so worried that we missed it.

but sure enough, 

while we were there,

fall fell.

can you even imagine this view?

and her momma said that she doesn't like cameras.

sweet little Miss G is going to love living in this city.
i can just tell.

she was absolutely enthralled by the leaves.

i think i was too.

sharing the love. 

with the biggest grin in town.

the backyards there are so different than out here.
most don't even have fences.
even the elementary school only had a three foot fence around the play yard.

this is one of my favorite moments that was captured. 

who can resist a tickle photo though?

not i. 

L holding Miss G's hand in the car.

i think he has a thing for her.
i think she was worried he was going to try to steal her snacks.

she would have run around the block all by herself if we let her. 

Auntie B, chasing Miss G down the street.

if any of you know me 
(for reals), 
then you'll get this photo.

aren't they so cute?
they're nearly the same size.

she's just 2.5 months older. 

we asked Miss G to hold L's hand.
she wouldn't do it so he reached over,
grabbed her hand
 and hammed it up for the camera.
thatta boy. 

this is a shot of the skies opening up right before we boarded our flight. 

we were so grateful to make it home before the winds really picked up.
thankfully, our flight didn't get cancelled 
and we didn't have to hear an airline personnel say, 
"oh, i can reserve you a flight coming back from chicago at 5:55."

ahh, now don't you feel like you just 
returned from a great time in the windy city?

me, too.

and to the Os:
i think it's time to get the old band back together.
don't you think?

411. non-stop plans

412. being able to clean the kitchen while L had OT

413. the sound of music on oprah

414. feeling (somewhat) organized

415. the bouncy seat being put in the garage

the show must go on.

it's {embrace} the camera day!

we had

such

an incredible time on our little trip. 

so incredible in fact, 

that i thought about it about 759 times today.

the colors of the leaves were breathtaking.
truly.

the trip was so full.

so full of

laughter 

&

heart to heart chats 

& 

rest 

&

food 

&

boutiques 

&

loveliness. 

i simply cannot wait to do it again.

i think that L's got a new smile.
it's so big and joyful.
and you can't resist smiling along with
that happy face, now can you?


it's been quite a transition for him to realize that he must again share his mommy.
no, he would prefer that i would be his and his only.

let me just say that i am so

sick and tired of 

lifegetting in the way of 

life.

you know?

yeah, you know.

you know exactly what i mean.

unfortunately.

but, you know as well as i do that the show must go on. 

406. getting things done

407. staying in my pajamas all the live long day

408. sweet drawings D made

409. welcome home signs

410. packages ready to be sent

the windy city.

L and i just returned from a little trip to the

windy city.

which was in fact, 

windy.

so windy,

that we almost didn't get to come home yesterday. 

the flight 

right before

and

right after 

ours were both cancelled.

but, the skies opened up for us

and the sun shone

and soon enough,
we were on our merry way home.

Praise the Lord!

do you think i was missed?

yeah, i think so too. 

this was B's attempt at doing pig tails.

i appreciate his effort. 

i'm not sure she does though. 

I know that the LORD is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
The LORD does whatever pleases Him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from His storehouses. 
Psalm 135:5-7

401. taking 629 photos in three days.

(yeah, i always take a lot of photos.)

402. quiet, dark basements 

(L sleeps so well in them)

403. the return to high noise levels

404. sunny skies 

405. sweet, dear friends

whispering.

why, oh why can't my children whisper?
seriously.
at what age does that begin?
they try, they really, really try,
but their words just end up coming out
really, very
l     o     u     d     l     y.


yesterday we went to trader joe's.
5pm was not the ideal time to go.
i know that.
but we really needed food.
and milk.
mostly milk.
oh, and bananas.
i think i have a bunch of monkeys.
truly, truly.
do you want to know what the best part about going to tj's today was?
when we were finished shopping 
and 
all three children were in the car
and
i closed the passenger door.
the children were inside the car
and
i was outside.
i heard silence for five whole seconds.
it was lovely. 
i took one deep breath 
and was ready to jump back into hearing the 
incessant call for
"mom!"
it's a great world, don't get me wrong.
but quiet is really nice sometimes, too. 

isn't this bounty absolutely fabulous?

basil, tomatoes and bell peppers galore.

all from Grammy's garden.

don't the baskets make it even more lovely?

yes, yes they do. 

396. picking out pumpkins (at tj's)

397. obedience to God

398. another amazing day at CBS

399. B's famous egg sandwiches for dinner

400. B making dinner AND doing the dishes

whoa nelly.

this is going to be a big post.

it's {embrace} the camera day!

on our way up to the wedding that B and i went to,

we took the kids to a

fabulous park

that was near where B's first house was, growing up.

we all had a lovely time.

a truly, wonderful time.

i can always count on this guy to give a good smile.

and to think that the docs didn't think he ever would smile.

the main attraction at this park is this pirate ship which is filled with sand.

there is a zip line that runs from the ship to a giant post in the sand.

the ride is over when the zip line bounces against this huge tire,

and your body is flung into the air.

seriously.

everybody rode the zip line.

(don't worry, i took L out of the ergo before i rode on it.)

L enjoyed watching.

K wanted to go again and again and again.

D even enjoyed himself on this thrill ride

(which says plenty).

every part of that zip line is original.

the rust gives its age away.

yikes.

i do love how this rust from the playground

looks against the blue, blue sky.

our Christmas card will probably look a little like this this year.

the kids don't do so well when they're asked to smile.

but B sure does.

we spent the morning playing in the sunshine,
whispering to each other,
and simply had a glorious time.(it's official.i now have too many favorite photos.)
we even went on a nice walk.
but of course the kids didn't want to walk back to the car.i think it's safe to say that we have our hands full.

391. rainy afternoons

392. connecting with two new special needs moms

393. family time

394. incredible sermons

395. hot apple cider

something new on the way.

i have an announcement.

there's something new on the way.

more like someone new.

and no, it's not us.

my baby sister

(who's married to an army man)

is pregnant!

we are jumping for joy over here

and praising God for this new little life.

her dolly babe and L will be just short of two years apart.

my dolly babes can't wait for a sweet little cousin.

in other news

(not nearly as exciting, though)

K and i have really been enjoying our time together.

doesn't she look like tarzan's wife, jane, here?

swinging might just be the very favorite activity of all of my children.

she's got her daddy's eyes.

again i say, who can turn down that smile?

not i.

386. the new babe

387. chaos

388. noise

389. squeals

390. a new yard (more on that soon)

ocean breezes.

last weekend, B and i went to my second cousin's wedding.

without any children.

it was almost a date.

well, except for the fact that we carpooled with my parents.

and that there probably wasn't one other place on earth

we could be with more family.

but whatever.

we'll take what we can get these days.

the location for the wedding ceremony was absolutely lovely.

it was outside, amongst the swaying palm trees and ocean breezes.

i told B that if he closed his eyes it was almost as if we were on a tropical island.

with my parents, of course.

and obviously, with a ton of my family members.

but whatever.

it was still a break from reality.

a much loved break.

they had a photo booth at the reception.

B noted that photo booths are this year's chocolate fountains.

B told me to make a serious face in photo 2

but i could see out of the corner of my eye

that he was making a silly face.

we (i) got better and better at making

the appropriate faces with each visit to the booth.

B on the other hand, can keep a straight face like nobody's business.

and this was our interpretation of what happens to you when you have kids.

photo 1: elation

photo 2: confusion

photo 3: anger

photo 4: going cuckoo crazy

381. ocean breezes

382. a night out without the kids

383. ending the night with finding your children happily sound asleep

384. photo booths

385. B making me laugh.

all.

the.

time.

the birthday girl.

K turned 3 yesterday.

i know.

how did that happen so fast?

i don't know.

the festivities kicked off with waffles for breakfast.

B is our expert pancake maker and i do the waffles.

she and i made this sweet little headband

for her to wear while we celebrated.

and yes,

i let her have mini m&m's at 10am.

Auntie B and i took her to get her nails and toes done.

she picked the two brightest pinks

(of course).

doesn't she look like a pro?

the happy birthday girl

with her momma.

she's been practicing showing how old she is.

any guesses on the color of cake that she wanted?

yep, nothing but pink

(of course).

three.

the celebration was made complete

when we

may

or

may not

have

lit some sparklers in the backyard.

yeah, we love birthdays here.

376. exciting baby news (not us!)

377. playing outside

378. L sleeping in until 6:30am

379. a night out at the most wonderful restaurant

380. peaceful afternoons