Trick or Treat :: Cars!

We brought back the matching family costumes! This year was inspired by the kids' current favorite movie: Cars!

The kids wouldn't take a full family photo..but that's ok. I got a photo with my love :)

With some leftover Amazon boxes, masking tape, paint, and Mod Podge, I think we ended up with some pretty decent car/truck costumes! Of course, we had to do a pit crew stop about 5 minutes in...homemade costumes don't hold up as well to two 5 year olds and a 3 year old :)

This was a really fun DIY/crafty project for me. I haven't been able to work on many projects recently, with the move and not feeling great, but I'm glad I was able to work on these fun box cars. And I love that my kiddos were SO excited to dress up as their favorite characters!

{iPhone Rewind} :: October

Serenading us at the breakfast table :)

Stealing some snuggles!

How Aiden watches a movie...

He has been feeling left out in not wearing an eye patch...so he created his own

Nightly Bible story time 

When you don't feel well, and your kiddos take care of you by offering all the stuffies :)

Our sunshine girl

Bath time classical music

So glad to see him preaching again #proudwife

Finally finished our 10th year anniversary book! :)

Then and Now...stop growing up so fast!!

Date Night Box #3: Cruise Ship Escape Room challenge + Macaroons {which we cooked a little too long, but still tasted yummy!}

We had to give Pooh Bear a bath {a trip through the wash cycle}, and this little one was all out of sorts. So when Pooh Bear was nice and clean and dry, we had one happy boy again!

Breastplate of Righteousness

Minnie Maddie

A perfect picture of my children's personalities:

Eli: very meticulous and careful, following the lines, following directions

Maddie: refusing to hold her scissors correctly, "Maddie, we're not making sailboats, we're following the lines," she cut her fingers multiple times

Aiden: gets frustrated and throws his scissors, so had to take a break; "Mommy, YOU do it!"

Science! Water absorption and repellant...basically fun with water droppers :)

Bible story before bedtime :)

High Five for Friday!

{one} Last weekend, I was able to attend our church's annual women's retreat! I was so thankful to finally be at a larger event with the women in our church, and it was so good to meet more people and deepen relationships. We had a great weekend learning about how to fix our eyes on Jesus, and I am so encouraged by the faith of the women in our church. I love the diversity of age, stage of life, and cultures, and I look forward to further deepening relationships with these amazing women.

{two} While Mommy was away...the kiddos enjoyed fun time with Daddy! They had a pizza and movie night, and then went on a fun hike to Bear's Den Overlook with friends. It stretched them quite a bit, but they still did pretty well!

{three} We are super grateful that COVID cases seem to be decreasing. I did get my 3rd shot {since I am immunosuppressed}, and we are starting to find more ways to get more involved with church and friends here. So while I was able to attend the women's retreat {fully vaccinated and masked}, and we are going to more events than we were even a few months ago, we are still taking precautions. I am still not ready to put the kids in Sunday School, due to their little germ magnet ways haha. And we still require masks and distancing around those who are unvaccinated. But decreasing cases, higher vaccination rates in our particular area, and my own health improvements give me hope to doing even more in-person things soon.

{four} A lot of our decisions regarding COVID have depended on my health. I am still not in remission {it will be 2 years of active disease next month}, and I still don't trust my body to be able to fight off sickness {COVID or otherwise}. Since starting Stelara, I have seen improvement! While I am not out of the woods yet, I am having so many more good days, which is such a huge praise! But I am still dealing with fatigue and those pesky headaches. And I still have actual Crohn's flares, though those are starting to diminish. I have another follow-up with my GI next month, as well as with a Primary Care Physician to check my B-12 levels and hopefully get some help with the headaches. So I think we're finally headed in the right direction...I'm cautiously optimistic :)

{five} We have been making our way through our Pre-K curriculum, and overall, I think it's going pretty well! It's nice to have the structure in our days, though it can also be difficult on days when I am not feeling well, or the kids just aren't feeling it haha. We're still working on a good rhythm, as some days run more smoothly than others. But we're making it through, and I think they're learning :)  They ask almost every morning if we are doing Preschool {and aren't disappointed when I say "yes"}, so I'll take that as a win!

Learning our 10 Commandments

The Belt of Truth!

Building houses on rock and sand...Object Lesson time!

Science: sink or float?

Happy Friday!

Girls' Day at the Salon

On Friday, I was able to have a fun morning with my girlie at the salon! Poor thing has had to endure Mommy's haircuts this past year, so it was well past time to get her a legitimate haircut :)

She did SO well sitting and waiting for me to go first, and then it was her turn. She got the full spa treatment: wash, cut, blow dry, and braid. She loved every minute!

As I watched our hairstylist cut and braid her hair, I was blown away at how much she has grown; I can hardly believe that she is going to FIVE in just a few short weeks. 

Afterward, we had a picnic lunch in the car while we waited to pick up our groceries. I loved getting so much one-on-one time for her, talking with her and getting to know her little heart better. 

I am so thankful to be her Mama, and I look forward to having more fun days like this with my girlie in the future!

Cox Farms Fall Festival

Today we got to visit Cox Farms for the annual Fall Festival! This farm is really close to us, and we drive by it every time we go pretty much anywhere. We have seen the goats and llamas on the property, and the kids have been wanting to visit it all year! We have been anxiously waiting for it to open, and then we learned they would open just in time for their annual Fall Festival, and we finally got to go!

There was SO much to do, and the kids had an absolute blast. I took the opportunity to bring out their matching Fall outfits, which was perfect for the pumpkin patch portion of the festival. I'm glad I got a photo at the start of the fun, because there were hay bales to climb, slides to slide down, tractors to explore, goats to pet...  a whole bunch of kid fun!

There was a fun corn maze that we got to walk through, and the kids were equally as excited about the actual corn growing as they were the fun things we found along the way. We ended up having really great weather, and we were thankful for the cloud cover to keep things cool for us.

There were also a ton of really fun {and tall!} slides. Eli had zero interest in going down the really tall ones {though he did try a few of the smaller ones}, but Maddie and Aiden were all for it! I was so proud of Maddie Grace...she had no fear and had a blast! Aiden went down one of the really tall ones solo, then decided he preferred riding with Daddy. And he loved every minute :)

There were several farm animals, and we got to pet the goats! Again, Eli was not interested, Maddie LOVED it, and Aiden pet one and was done haha. But they got to see the goats and llama that we have only driven by until today, so hopefully the mystery has been satisfied. There were a TON of tractors that the kids could climb on, and Eli found his favorite part of the festival!

And no farm fall festival would be complete without a tractor-pulled hay ride! There were a lot of fun surprises along the ride, from dinosaurs to horses. We even got to see a friend from CBC, who is working at the Farm as an actor!

We had SO much fun today as a family, and we are so thankful for the chance to explore the Cox Farms Fall Festival! We look forward to visiting again next year!