thinking halloween

I was going through my new Parents magazine last night & noticed a really cute wreath they had made w/ a orange & black feather boa & googly eyes.  I think i'll have to try to make it.  I also found this super cute costume idea for Lydie on their website lamb costume... thought it could also be made into a cute little poodle w/ pink pom poms.  Think it looks easy enough!

enjoyable things

I've been collecting in my head lately some things that really strike me, things we're enjoying right now...

*Lydie feeding herself.  For the most part, she is an independent little lady.  She would rather feed herself that anyone help her, including messy stuff, like yogurt {see above}.  Many times when she finishes, she decides to paint her tray & sometimes add style to her hair.

*Evan's funny takes on everyday things.  While he's at school, he's often quiet & he really does alot of observing.  This makes for some interesting questions, comments, when he gets home.

*How they all interact with each other when they see each other at the end of their days.  Collin & Evan often don't see each other after they get to school in the morning & Lydie doesn't see them all day.  When she sees those boys, she has a special little yell she does for them & is often ready to play.

*Brotherly love?  Well, we've had our share of fights between the boys over the last year, but sometimes they surprise me.  Collin came home upset the other day, one of his friends had gotten rough with him & made fun of him & he also was doing the same to Evan.  He told me he was trying to get to Evan to help him, but they were trying to keep him away.  I was so proud of him, so even if we have doubts & he doesn't want to admit it, he really does love his brother!

*Faith.  I grew up in a Catholic family & while attending Catholic school, remember all the lessons we learned in school.  Now, the boys are bringing that all back to me.  It's good to revisit everything I've forgotten & to help the boys learn what's really important in life.

*Fall.  Cool mornings, cooler days, new clothes, making oatmeal in the morning & of course, coffee just tastes better in the cooler weather.

*Lydia's little voice.  She really loves to try to repeat words right now.  Sometimes we can tell exactly what she's saying & others, well....  It's fun to hear her vocabulary growing.  Since Evan talked so late, we're a little mesmerized with all her words.

*Little friends.  Lydia goes to the babysitter 4 days a week & since she goes with 3 other girls roughly the same age as her, she has fun with her little friends.  Last night when I picked her up, I told her to give her friend Kody {who is only a few days older} a hug & kiss goodbye.  They both readily complied & I so wish I had a camera.  So cute.  The boys didn't go to a sitter when they were this young, so they didn't have the opportunity to have little friends their age until they were school age.  

these are a few things.......what are you enjoying right now?

update on GPaM

Well, the other day I mentioned Dan's dad was having a procedure done on his heart.  Evidently, when they got in there, they couldn't get done what they wanted & saw some other things that they decided needed more testing, so they stopped where they were.  Yesterday they did more tests & have decided early next week he needs to have a valved replaced/repaired to his heart & possibly some other work.  They think he'll do just fine, since otherwise he is in good health.  I think he's relieved to know what's wrong & that they have a plan to fix it.  Hopefully we'll get up to visit him over the weekend.  Lucky him, he got to see his new granddaughter Ashlyn for the first time the other day!  Dan says she's changing alot.  Keep Joe in your prayers... we appreciate your thoughts!

prayers, please...

Just heard from Dan that his dad is going in for a procedure on his heart this afternoon.  Since falling about a week & a half ago he's undergone some tests & yesterday before he got the chance to do a stress test, his heart rate went a little crazy, reaching almost 200bpm.  {Apparently this is what has been happening for a few weeks, but he didn't know how to explain it}.  They immediately sent him by ambulance to IC & after monitoring him yesterday & overnight, they did some tests this morning & apparently found something that needs to be mended.  So, all & any prayers sent his way would be much appreciated.  I'll let you know how it goes..... 

Butterflies......

We noticed while we were out on our porch last night that there were some monarch butterflies fluttering around & while I was showing Lydia, I looked closer & noticed there were loads of them in our trees out front.  I think there were at least 30 of them clustered together.... it was really amazing.  I've never seen so many at one time.  Evan just read a book on butterflies & I didn't realize that they migrate south for the winter like birds do, so we're wondering if that is what they were doing.  Nature is so cool, isn't it?