We've been SMARTIED!!!

So... have you ever been SMARTIED??? We have! We received 288 packages yesterday and then another 1440 today! I can't believe it. How did we get hooked up??? It turns out someone Keith knows owns Smarties and decided to bless us with a load of candy! Be sure to stop by our house on the 31st for your share! (I'm sure we'll be donating several bags to the church too.)

Buzz Lightyear and His Launch Pads - Pumpkin Patch

October!!!

So it turns out that Luke LOVES his costume. He MUST wear it whenever it's on his mind. I find myself hiding it in his closet so that it's out of site and out of mind.

Today we had a little photo shoot of Emily (Jesse) and Luke (Buzz Lightyear) at the mall. Luke was on cloud 9 about being able to wear his costume. And yes, he hit meltdown when I made him take it off to eat a late afternoon snack and then take a nap.

Upon arrival home, he insisted on wearing his costume again. He has since tested many launch pads around the living room. Everytime I look over to check on him, he's standing on another new surface. A raised surface... ahhhh! Pretty much anytime I don't hear the plastic rubbings of his costume, I can assume he's either thinking of a new surface to try or he's found it and is on top of it, waiting for my approval. Thankfully he waits for approval before testing it!
We now have 'Mother Approved Launch Pads' through out the house (couch cushions lying on the floor) and several 'Non-Approved Launch Pads.' It's a bit scary!!! I'm still rather new to this little boy, super hero thing and am much more comfortable with the challenges of raising a little princess.

On another note... thankfully his costume had BIG knee pads built in!!! It must have been designed by a mother of boys. :-) (And... there sure is a lot of sweat inside his costume when I take it off of him. It's gonna stink by the 31st!)

~ Non-Approved Launch Pads ~

~Mother Approved Launch Pad~

And... then there was the visit to the pumpkin patch!!! We sure had fun with hay rides and pumpkin pickin'! Enjoy the pix.This is our 'ugly pumpkin pick' for the year.

Emily Writes Her Very First Rhyme

Here is Emily's first Rhyme

One, two, chase a Whoo
Three, four, chase some more
Five, six, lollipop licks
Seven, eight, pick up Nate
Nine, ten, throw him in a pig pen!

We thought it was pretty cute, and so we're sharing it.

Romans 12:2

Life is filled with fun and laughter...

Emily is very proud of her little brother and excited for him in his new costume.

Here are her Super Hero muscles!!! (Just a note... she's still trying to convince me (mommy) to be her horse for Halloween since she will be Toy Story's Jessie. I'm not too thrilled about being a horse... so she keeps offering that maybe she will be the horse (since she's wearing all brown and has the clothing for it already) and I can be Jessie. In the end, she chose to be Jessie and agrees that I can be Lil' Bo Peep. Daddy will be Woody.)

Let it rain...
Luke found a new toy with our paper towels!!!
Luke reads to Georgie just like big sister reads to her pig, dolls, etc.
Luke checks out all of the gadgets on his new Buzz Lightyear Costume.

And then he has to test it out and make sure that it's truly Super Hero Quality!!! (I keep losing my laundry baskets and find them next to this chair.)
Step One: Set the StageStep Two: Ready for Jump Step Three: Go!!! Step Four: Mission Complete
Emily learns how to make a mural.

Luke's favorite pass time while he waits for Emily to finish her school work. (Emily made this little fort for him.) What is he watching you ask??? Well, Toy Story of course. LOL. He has to learn all of his super hero tricks before the 31st!And then one night I was trying to find Luke for bed time... and here he was, laying on a pile of laundry. He thought it was quite comfy and wanted to set up camp.
Luke and Emily read their own bedtime stories.

Emily and Ethan

The two friends had another play date. It was very sweet to see them together. I still have a hard time with the two of them believing they will get married some day. Ethan's mom and I talk about this from time to time and try to make sure it's guided appropriately. Emily and I have had countless talks about how God has a special person picked to be her husband some day and that she will need to patiently wait and see if Ethan is that person or not. And... that she needs to remember that she has many years ahead before she needs to think about his. It doesn't matter how much I talk to her, she always responds with comments of how nice he is and that he loves Jesus too and that God has told her in her heart that he is 'the one.'
Ahhh... Deep Sigh...
Nevertheless... They send each other letters and talk of the other frequently (though they rarely see each other inspite of living really close to one another). Here's a couple of pix.

So many new things...

Luke is growing up so quickly.
Here's the cliff note version:

1. He frequently responds to my requests with, "Why momma?" in such a sincere sweet manner.
2. He decided he wanted to wear underwear today and flew around the house pausing occasionally to say, "No pee pees, go in the potty."
3. He tried to use the potty several times but nothing happened. If Emily was around he would pretend to pee pee using sounds while smiling. (He knows he's silly.) If she wasn't around he would let me know he was trying but nothing happened.
4. He LOVES Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
5. He recently decided it's fun to set up camp and ask to have a pile of laundry as a bed.
6. He enjoys talking on the phone and asks for a turn to chat. (He even answered the phone for me tonight upon my request.)
7. He now helps with regular activities including setting the table, throwing things away and doing the laundry.
8. He has an opinion about his clothes and what he wants to wear.
9. He prompts Emily to join us at the dinner table by saying, "Mi, time to eat. Come on Mi, time to eat!" (Yes, he's stilling calling her Mi.)
10. He learned how to say, "I love you mommy/daddy/too" and started adding a kiss afterwards.
11. He is getting better about putting his own shoes on and taking them off. He almost always sits on the rub by the door to take them off when he gets home.
12. He always shouts with delight when he sees the golden arches. (I truly don't know how it is that every child can assume they love this place when they don't see the ads on TV and they rarely visit. Oh well.)

I could keep going but I need to stop for now. Pictures to come...