I absolutely LOVE the festivities that go with this time of year :) Since we moved to IL, Fall has quickly become my favorite season. Here are some of the reasons why...
I LOVE pumpkins!
I love to eat pumpkin ANYTHING and decorating with them during the Fall is so festive and fun too...so we had the kids paint pumpkins this year :)
Here's a video of the festivities...I'm trying to capture as much as I can on video these days because the kids say the cutest things ALL the time and to gather snapshots of this stage they are in now I know is priceless and worth the effort so I can share these memories with them years from now when they are older and have kids of their own :)
(and, YES..I realize how silly I sound on this video...oh well, this is me...I've decided to stop making excuses and just embrace it! Call it my silly mom voice...)
Finished product :)
Onto CARVING Pumpkin #1
This one was carved with a pattern...
Pumpkin #2...
Our "shapes" pumpkin
Ryder picked hexagon eyes,
Cora picked a triangle nose
Cole picked a rectangle mouth
My favorite little pumpkin...
required no carving at all, just 9 months of baking :)
and I'd do it all again...stretch marks and all!
The BIGGEST treat this Halloween was having my mom with us for the week!!!
We took this picture while Cole was in school...sorry Coley! If there's one thing I've learned with all these kids and their different schedules, it's not to hold back on an outing or idea because one of them can't make it...we've all got to keep living life! And, Cole has BLAST at school :) Such a lucky boy!
Our favorite pumpkin patch...this is their house, and next to it is the field where they grow pumpkins (of ALL sizes!), squash and gourds. After harvesting them, they line them up on their front lawn, and people come buy them. This is where we got most of our pumpkins this year, and all the squash and gourds you see in the next pictures :)
Here is what my mom worked on while we carved pumpkins...their faces are made with whole cloves :)
Do you see the birds in this picture? She is so creative!
What a TREAT it was to dress my little ones up this year! We had a blast this "costume" season with our Toy Story crew...
Cole wanted to be Woody this year since we got him for his birthday in July :)
I have to be honest...once Cole wanted to be Woody and Cora wanted to be Jessie, I tried to talk Ryder into being Buzz...he really wanted to be a transformer, until his sister said in her sweet little voice..."Ryder, Buzz?" That's all it took, and our Toy Story Crew was complete :)
Actually their relationship is very much like Woody and Buzz...not without a fight here and there, but best buds to the end :)
Here we are before going out around our neighborhood...
Trick or Treat!
Sleepy little horse...
Finally home!
We had the kids pick 10 pieces of candy they wanted to keep and the rest they got to trade in for a new game :) Here is Ryder picking his 10...
All bathed and trying to wind down from a fun night with a book before bed...I don't know if you can see it, but there is spit up on my shirt...that's just the way it is, folks :) No air brushing around here! Just the real deal with 4 real kids! I love them...every single one :)
What a joy it is to share such fun experiences with them! I'm already thinking of what we can all be next year! Whatever it is, I thank the Lord for creating us to have FUN together...it's such a refreshment to have a time set aside for FUN when so much of life seems to fly by us while we are working so hard toward worthy but also costly goals. John and I have been learning lately, how important it is sometimes, to put down that "to do" list, no matter how long, and just PLAY! Our kids DELIGHT when we are focused solely on them, and give them our FULL attention, free from distraction. I'm thankful for times like these that remind us that our call to THEM is our greatest joy and most important assignment from God...the role of husband and wife to each other, and MOMMY and DADDY to four of His most precious gifts. While we are thankful for the opportunity for John to be earning this degree, we are also incredibly mindful that no letters after his name are more important than the ones he earned the moment Ryder was born...D.A.D. There isn't better man in the world to be father to these munchkins than the one God chose for them the moment we said "I do." God saw all 4 of them before I knew John's name. What a joy it is to live the life He dreamed up for us...watching it all unfold day after day, diaper after diaper, cry after cry, joy after joy is the great call I'll ever receive...thank you Lord. You are so good to me and I'll never stop praising your name!!!
Great pics Danice. What a cute Toy Story bunch you've got...and I love how you can see Jesus in everything. What an encouragement you are to me!
What fun! I love all of it!!! And what a great idea, picking 10 pieces of candy and trading the rest in for a game. Genius!
I LOVE your "silly mom" voice!
It's the sound of love to my ears!
XOXOXOX