A whole bunch of stuff!

I absolutely love when fall is in the air.  There's something about this time of year that energizes me.  Maybe it's the overabundance of ginger snaps I tend to consume.  Or the crispness in the air.  Whatever it is, I love it.  A burst of autumn energy has been a blessing in recent weeks as our schedule has left no room for fatigue! 

I spent two days at home with the kids last week to give Grandma a much deserved respite after pulling all-nighter duty with the munchkins when Jason and I were in Boston for the wedding.  These two days served many purposes.  First, I got caught up on just about everything on my to-do list at the house.  Once you're used to working at the pace of a person who has, at the maximum, one or two good hours to get things done at home each day to having more than 12 awake hours to work with, you can really accomplish quite a bit.  I even managed to start the dreaded toy cleanout that needs to happen here pre-Birthdays and Christmas lest we get overrun with toys and drown in all things Fisher Price.  We also managed a yummy pot of homemade chicken corn soup with rivels, and that made my tummy so happy I can't even begin to explain it.  If you're wondering about this, go ahead and read the first paragraph again about all things Fall.  And to me, there's nothing that screams "the weather is changing" like boiling a chicken into stock and dropping balls of dough into it.  But after all of this cooking and cleaning up and doing laundry and changing closets over to fall clothing, I realized that it was time to go back to work.  Evidently two days is the longest I may moonlight as a stay at home mom.  Perhaps you should all pray for me (and more importantly, the kids) for when maternity leave starts in January.

Speaking of the littlest one among us, who spends her days kicking me and rolling around in my tummy, we had a chance to take another peek at her on Wednesday so that, hopefully, we could get a good picture of all 4 chambers of her heart.  She cooperated well and even let the sonographer confirm that she is, indeed, a girl.  And now, let the furniture shopping and purple bedding shopping commence!  As always we are so grateful for what appears to be a healthy, perfect baby girl who is getting closer and closer to coming to meet the world.  It is looking like we will be marking our calendars for a January 11, 2012 birthday party for her, and I am already beside myself thinking about it.  Honestly, how lucky can we possibly get to have another opportunity to do this again- greet a new life, and by privileged enough to help her grow?

The rest of the week flew by, but ended with a bang as Jason made his business move and opened the doors to River Valley Financial Advisors.  We were so proud of him!  Hopefully this is going to be an exciting step for our family and one of those "leaps of faith" that we'll look back on in 30 years and remember how scared we were, but how God has blessed us through the transition.

We spent a wonderful, quiet weekend together at home and did some last minute Target shopping to make sure that we had everything we need for Lauren's big #2 birthday celebration on Friday.  (And let's just take a moment to ponder how on earth she is turning 2 already....................................nope, still doesn't seem possible.) 

Sunday morning marked an important step for Lauren as she agreed to go to big kids church with Joshua.  (Joshua might be the golden ticket in our transition, here, and I have no shame in putting him to good use!)  Lauren marched like a big girl into the classroom and had a good time with the bigger kids.  Apparently there was one moment of panic when she realized we weren't there with her, but she quickly rebounded and spent the rest of the morning playing nicely with the kids.  And I am happy to report that Jason and I both sat through an entire sermon without one up-and-down, in-and-out catastrophe.

The afternoon was a highlight as well, as the Mowry's came over to gloat as Earl's Browns beat the Dolphins.  But let me tell you, we ate like it was the Last Supper.  There were more dips and picky foods and treats than you could shake a stick at.  And suffice it to say we will be cleaning up leftovers for the rest of the week.  I love watching the kids play together and hearing the giggles of all 4 of the big kids.  Baby Kinley did what she does best--- snoozed, ate, and looked adorable.  A highlight for me was Lauren getting to hold her.  And despite the fact that Kinley was crying, Lauren just kept holding on tight, smiling at her.  If only she loves her baby sister like she appears to be smitten with Kinley, we are going to be in great shape.



Here are a few pictures since the last time I dumped the camera.  I hope you enjoy!

Here is a sneak peek at Baby #3, who to this point, still remains nameless.  For any taking notes, this ultrasound picture looks identical to the ones we have at similar number of weeks for Joshua and Lauren.  So it appears we can expect to meet another baby who looks identical to her siblings.  Why would I think we would have one who even remotely resembles me?