Us in October....

Have I mentioned how I absolutely love this time of year? Well....now you know. I am one of those odd balls who long for the dog days of summer to end and for the cool crisp beautiful autumn season to begin....it took a lot longer for it to arrive here in Indiana compared to New Hampshire, (I heard they even have snow already!)

Last night we spent time with our church family. It was Battle of the Chilies...an awesome harvest party with a huge bon fire and hayrides....oh and lots of good chili. 

Our lovies had an absolute blast. I took lots of photos, but since we are still getting to know folks, I did limit taking photos of others, I decided to only post photos of my kids on my blog. (I do try to protect other people's privacy) Our new family will soon get used to me carrying my camera around. In the above photo Nate and Lauren are playing "Ring around the Rosies"....their new favorite game to play together...so cute.  

Their little faces had curious and amazed expressions as they lit the bonfire. I love these sweet moments when I get to witness my lovies getting excited over something as ordinary as lighting a fire. Luke stood there trying to blow it our for a while....he makes me laugh.

Noah of course had a great time. He loves getting together with his buddies. I love the way he naturally steps in and cares for his brothers and sister when we're out and about, even without me having to say anything.  If he sees Luke wander from Mama, he guides him back to me.  He is maturing right before my very eyes....I guess that is what is supposed to happen. Sometimes I just stop and look at him, and can't believe that he's eight already....I am cherishing every moment. Some days my hug lingers extra long, he nestles close and I thank God for him.

The times we get to spend time together as a family mean so much to me.  And we love the fellowship that we are able to have with other believers. People that have embraced our family, truly making us feel so loved and welcome...so hard to believe that we have only been here for less than three months and yet have been blessed with love from so many.

This Daddy loves his "Littles".....and "The Littles" absolutely love their Daddy....especially when he throws them high into the air. Their giggles are the best....just something about a belly laugh from a toddler....sheer joy! 

As it started getting dark, I put my camera away. I am too lazy to spend time using my camera on manual, adjusting the settings so I can do some cool night photography, (I am not a huge fan of flash photography)....so some day I will sit down invest time into learning more, but for right now capturing memories is my goal.

Lots of great memories in the making that I am thanking God for.

Luke....Never A Dull Moment.....

It was one of those days {smile}. 

Luke is 16 mos. old and of course at the age where I can not leave him for more than a minute unsupervised. However, if he is sitting down looking at his books, coloring with markers, or dumping out all of the wooden puzzles then I know I have a solid 3 min. to switch the laundry and put a new load in and get back to him in time....in time that he doesn't get into too much mischief.

Well...as you can see by the photos below....it was more than a minute....and Luke just happened to see Lauren's yogurt unattended, sitting lonely at the table just begging to be eaten.  

Noah is really great at keeping an eye on Luke when I am helping one of the other lovies with something.....but this day I just ran into the other room for a minute. Then I hear Noah's voice...."Mom, come look at your son!" (That's what Noah calls Luke when his baby brother is up to no good.)

Lauren was thankfully not upset at her brother for eating her yogurt....she was too busy giggling at his face.  

I'm not quite sure why he had to smear it all over the table...I guess it just makes eating more interesting or something. I cleaned him up after I took a couple of shots and got Lauren another yogurt.  

Note to self....never leave any food unattended that is within my toddlers reach....you'd think I'd have learned by now....sigh.  

Finally....it feels like Fall!

Mums on my windowsill.....

Homemade pumpkin muffins fresh out of the oven, making our house smell oh-so-good.....

 Beautiful colors against the bright blue sky and cool crisp air filling my lungs.....

Yes...Fall is finally here.....my most favorite time of year!

Music in Our Home.....

Noah and Nate are now my little musicians. They each had their first ever music lesson yesterday.  We have been blessed with a very talented music teacher from our church to mentor our boys. 

We of course don't know where these lessons will lead Noah and Nate,  but if they do decide that this is something that they each would like to pursue, then our prayer is that they will make music that is pleasing to our ears and to glorify God.

My lovies are each getting up one by one as I type this and I can already hear the keys of the piano. Each of my lovies love music ... I always have music playing in the background, but I am especially looking forward to hearing my boys and their own sweet sound of music playing in our home. 

The Little Mama.....

Lauren spends a good bit of her time playing with her baby dolls everyday.  And I just think that it is one of the sweetest things.  Lauren was out on our back deck this afternoon and I was quietly watching her through our glass doors...my heart was warmed as I saw my little girl being a mama to her babies. I smiled as I watched her swaddle her babies, feed them, hold them close as she swayed back and forth...I could see her lips  gently saying, "Shh shh."  I couldn't resist and had to grab my camera to capture this moment.

I am really enjoying this season of childhood that she is in. All of the different stages have their joys and challenges of course, but right now her imagination is flourishing and it is such a delight to see her be so loving to her babies.  

Oh...and in case you were wondering, I picked up that wicker baby bassinet at a yard sale for her when Lauren was only a few months old (one of those awesome finds, I think I paid $1 for it!)....I knew someday she would put a baby doll in there. I saved it and gave it to her on her first birthday.....and now this is where she puts her babies to sleep....everyday. 

I just had to include this photo of Luke on this post. I was going to take a picture of him picking up the baby, but first he puckered up for a smooch....it was so cute.

Luke's First Haircut...

.....the before

.....and the after

I know, I know....you're thinking..."Who is this big boy?"  I am still getting used to Luke's new look. Why is it that the first haircut makes them look a whole year older? 

 He did a great job....it may have had something to do with the fact that I was feeding him M&M's while he sat on my lap....he barely noticed he was even getting his hair cut....the chocolate was way too much of a distraction. 

Noah, Nate and Lauren sat nearby and watched their baby brother get his first hair cut.....and yes I did keep a few locks of hair....if you know me, I'm sure that doesn't surprise you at all.

Life Lately.....

It is way too late and I should be in bed....but I was going through my photos that I have taken this past week and felt the urge to share some of them on a couple of posts before I headed to bed.

Life lately has been good....but really busy.....something that I am not used to, but I am adjusting.  Our house looks totally moved in, that is until the garage door is opened, only to reveal the plethora of boxes.... still needed to be unpacked.....sigh.  Since we've started school, not a whole lot of unpacking has taken place..."slowly but surely"....I just keep telling myself.

The weather here has been gorgeous which has meant we have been spending our afternoons outdoors....we even did some school outside today....one of the many perks of homeschooling. You can see in the photos that our play gym is now up....and our lovies are having a blast on it.  We still have to build the sandbox that goes under the main tower....a favorite to all four.

All is well with Jared as he is getting settled into his new faculty position. He gave his first mid- term last week....I looked it over as he was putting it together and was thanking God that I did not have to take Biochemistry!  He is really looking forward to getting into his lab and doing the wet science that he so loves.

We are enjoying our life here in Indiana and are really getting to know folks as we spend time with different families from our church.....such a huge blessing.  These people are warm hearted and just as an added blessing, lots of them are huggers.....this is a big deal for someone who loves hugs!

I have been attending a Bible study one evening a week. We are studying the book of James. It still amazes me how nourished I feel after being fed God's Word....and the fellowship I am able to  have with my sisters in Christ has been very uplifting....there is just something beyond special when we bow our heads together and pray...and I know that some of them are praying for me throughout the week.

School is going well as we are getting into a daily groove which is nice....although we do have a schedule, I do hold to my motto which is..."life happens, so just go with it"....hey, it works for me, especially on those days where life really does happen and we have to adjust.

Hope these photos bring a smile to your face....they did mine.

I love this last photo. This is what made me run in the house and grab my camera. I savor the  sweet moments in life....and this day was definitely one of them. 

Brothers.....

This post needs little introduction.....I will say though that I am usually in a state of constant amusement.....they make me smile everyday.

Enjoy these photos of the boys....as I always enjoy capturing them!