taking a breather...

catching my breath today.

we've been crazy busy...

a midst non-stop school craziness,

flu shots,

practicing patience w/ a new puppy,

and one medical procedure,

we've also...

picked apples

 

and pumpkins

and  hosted 10 middle school girls for a youth retreat.

(check out queen bee in the center - she had 

those 12 & 13 yr olds wrapped around 

her little Chinese finger - B.O.S.S.Y.!

the medical procedure mentioned earlier?

Gracie had a tooth pulled from inside her nostril...

crazy stuff, I tell ya. 

life w/ a cleft treasure is always exciting!  

in less than 45 minutes, she had

that bizarre tooth extracted, another tooth

extracted and a root canal done.

as always, she was a brave, brave girl,

and we were so grateful for Father's care 

for her as she recovered. 

we face more decisions in

the near future as far as future surgeries go.

I CANNOT believe that my calendar tells me

it's the month of November, and that Christmas

displays have been in stores since mid October...

must not panic

must not panic

oh, and God's up to some big things around here...

more to come on that one!

cupcakes, mooncakes, and some bumps in the road

over the weekend Quinn had a few buddies

over to celebrate his birthday.

check out those gooey s-mores cupcakes

mwhahahaha

a sticky, sugar-coma time was had by all

on Sunday we headed to the Harvest Moon Festival

"I love me some Chinese food!!!!"

ah, the famous mooncake himself

(an acquuired taste, for sure)

this

will be

me

when I grow up.

we got to spend some sweet time with Ecko too!!

as for those bumps in the road,
my mom's been in the hospital.
she seems to be doing better tonight,
and we continue to believe
for her complete healing!

and

Gracie will be having an outpatient
 procedure early Friday morning
IF
we can work through some
  insurance craziness.

never a dull moment...

the big day in pics

birthday-donut-wakeup call!

it's a bloomin' boomerang, mate!

"I could get used to this sugar high

every morning..."

dinner @ 5 Guys

"hmm...lego or nerf wish?"

how absence makes the sibling heart-love

grow fonder. so glad Ali could be here for 

Quinn's big day!

miss Diane!!!!!!!

lego wish...granted

thank you Grammie & Grampie!

  thank you Aunt Sue...my birthday buddy!

nerf wish...Bam!

eleven

today our

handsome

funny

adventurous

compassionate

daring

smart

loyal

lego-lovin'

nerf-totin'

Spirit-filled

baby boy

turns eleven!!!!!

happy, happy birthday Quinn Samuel!!!!!!

twenty-one

today Brian & I celebrate 21 years of marriage.

really?

that makes us sound so...old!

old enough to have a child in college?  check

old enough to both need reading glasses?   check

old enough to both have gray hair?  check

old enough to not get upset over the "little things"?   check

old enough TO get upset over the "little things"

because "he/she should know me by now"?   check

old enough to know exactly what the other person

is thinking or about to say?   check

old enough to have been through more

better/worse, richer/poorer, sickness/health

than you can begin to count?   check.check.check.

we feel blessed beyond words at how Father

has loved and cared for our marriage over the years.

He is the Source of our love, the Giver of the lives 

of our children, and the 

Sustainer & Master of all we have.

Happy Anniversary honey!!