Halloween 2010

Halloween jammies 2010 (about 6 months later..... geeez! Late and blurry...)

Happy Halloween 2011!

(pics and fun posted later.... give the gal some time!)

Twas the night before Halloween...

and all through the house,
all the creatures were at the Haunted Forest... and
Mommy was alone.

I am kind of out of it this year. Not sure why. I just haven't settled into fall and yet, it is almost over. I LOVE Autumn, but this year I just have different things on my mind and sadly none of them are really that important. It even snowed yesterday which really offset my brain.... It has been a fairly calm season, but I am just not in the mood for any of Autumn's delights. I really dislike that I feel this way.... It is so not like me and I am so hoping to shake the apathy before Christmas.

The Pavuks are here with is a real treat. Michelle Chapman and the Hartleys were here last weekend. It has been nice to have friends here. Usually I feel a bit overwhelmed when we have weekend after weekend of visitors, but no such thing this time. It has seemed easy, fun and even long overdue. No stress there. So what is it? Maybe......

I started to slowly (oh so slowly) clean out my house. I do a drawer here and a closet there. I filed paper til the sun came up and recycled so many magazines that I am sure my dear deceased Grandma Baker is jumping for joy in Heaven. I come from a long line of paper and pile addicts. We could be border line hoarders and I am trying my best not to fall into that bad habit and end up on TV. It is hard for me to get rid of paper, but I must. I think this has over taken my thoughts. I want to do more, but can't find the time..... It is personal torture. I am glad for the work I have done. I think only I can actually see and know what has left my grasp, but it is a nice start.

Oh course there are always personal and even private issues clouding my mind. Dang. Why does that happen too? I hate that rut and wish I could make everything better and all the "issues" just go away..... Trials and life lessons can be such a bummer. On a positive note, the boys are doing well. I think this is the best year yet, but I could be fooled. I hope not. I need to work harder on many aspects of my life, but feel so blessed to be receiving long time answers to my and our prayers. I feel undeserving, but very grateful.

Tomorrow is our Halloween party. I haven't done much for it, but look forward to seeing all the kiddies and celebrating All Hallows Eve. I went to the MHF with Jen and a bunch of church friends and Michelle a couple of weeks ago. It was very fun and I laughed so hard I cried. I used to laugh like that so often and now it is so rare. I hope that changes too. Work, work work.....

So, with that..... I hear the laundry room calling my name. (o;

We have a teenager in the house....

Today is Coleman Paul's 13th birthday. How did that happen? We are lucky in that he is still as sweet as ever and has yet to embrace the teenage sassy-ness that will eventually creep into all of our lives. I thought I would go through a few of our pics and pull out some cute ones with 13 reasons why I (we) love Coleman sooooo much. I think I only got to 2005 because we have so many darling pics of our precious CPM. Oh well.... there are many years to go and many more opportunities to post pics of our teenager as a wee one.

1. Coleman is a lot of fun. He is not loud (like his mother), but he is asks everyday, "what are we doing today/tonight?" And by everyday, I mean EVERYDAY. He is always ready to go and have fun. He hardly complains when the place or activity is not his cup of tea (except maybe Milkshake...) Lol!!

2. Coleman is a rule keeper. He would never ride a bike in the house now.... He keeps us all in line. He reminds me to be good and why we should be good. He is our voice of reason.

3. Coleman is a hard worker and very helpful. He often is the only one to help his father outdoors on projects, yard work etc. He is typical in that he needs indoor reminders (and never makes his bed... like his mother), but he doesn't need prodding and poking when the task is serious and really needs completing. I really appreciate that.

4. Coleman is serious. In fact, he still makes this very face (his serious face!) He is serious about all his activities. This makes him very focused and responsible. At times I want him to calm down and chill out, but this quality will make him a successful student, missionary, friend, husband and father.

5. Coleman is also silly. He does a pretty good job of balancing his serious and silly parts of his personality. He likes jokes, riddles, pranks and even a good laugh every now and then. I like it when he laughs really hard. It makes me happy. He makes me happy!!

6. Coleman has a very sweet, kind disposition. He is thoughtful and sensitive. He has a very special presence about him due to his sensitive nature. One day this will make him a very unique, special man (like his Daddy)!

7. Coleman is a loyal friend. I know that he will be blessed with many good, worthy friends as he gets older. He always treats people well even when they don't deserve it. He is a good example to his brothers in this aspect.

8. Coleman is very athletic, but definitely not a jock. He can do most sports well and with confidence, but is not a sporty boy. He got his black belt in karate after many years and is currently working on tennis. He is strong and healthy. He cares about taking care of his body and mind. I am very proud of him!!


9. Coleman loves the beach and is a lot of fun at the beach. The kid is a fish and will play in the water for hours. He make the beach more fun and I think he is the happiest at the beach playing in the water and spending time with friends and family.


10. Coleman is a great student and always has been. He does his homework, studies on his own, keeps an organized binder and cares about his grades. He loves to learn and is an avid reader. He is smart and curious. He makes me think and want to know more about life. He makes middle school look easy and I know it is actually not.

11. Coleman is a good brother. I know he gets frustrated with them at times (happens with a bunch of attention deficit kiddies), but I know he cares about them and wants good relationships with them. He is a protector and a great example to all of our boys. I know that our boys will grow up to be the best of friends because of Coleman and his determination to be a good, fun brother.

12. Coleman has the best smile... with or without teeth. He doesn't like to show it too much, but I love it and cherish the moment when he decides it is safe to show it. His smile warms my heart.

13. Coleman will try new things. He will try new activities, food, books, show, whatever and with a good attitude. He is so mature in this aspect. I really am grateful for this quality. It makes life a lot easier.

AND ONE TO GROW ON.... 14. Coleman and his Dad have a very close, special relationship. I should be jealous, but instead I am so happy. Coleman likes to cuddle (don't tell anyone) and especially with his Dad. They have a deal that they will hold hands until Coleman is 18 and he is still keeping that promise. They share stories, have deep talks, text one another and have a close and unique bond. They really love and adore each other. That makes me very happy. It blesses all of our lives and will be so good for the future with all of its road bumps. This is how our relationships should look like and be.

So, Happy birthday CP (are you with me?!) I love you. We love you. I am looking forward to the teenage years because it is so fun to see you grow into the amazing person I always knew you would be. You are wonderful. Thank you for blessing our lives!!

Good gracious...

This is how I feel. I get caught up.... and I get behind. Our days are carefully scheduled. Our weekends are full, fun and way too fast. We have had visitors, sicknesses, lack of sleep, October fun and organized chaos in all of our days. I love our life. I hate our life. I want to slow down. I can't fit enough into our days. It is bittersweet, with more sweet than bitter. I will eventually get caught up, but what will I miss....?

Life is good, but life is busy.

I am not complaining. Really.

does anyone else notice al bundy in this pic?

Catching up... catching up... so much catching up to do.

Fun at Waterford! Always!

p.s. Finn!!

i need to jump into holiday mode.....

"WHEN WITCHES GO RIDING, AND BLACK CATS ARE SEEN, THE MOON LAUGHS AND WHISPERS, 'TIS NEAR HALLOWEEN." ~AUTHOR UNKNOWN

that has got to hurt and.....

thank goodness for the DPaT shot!! We have been in this house 5 (or 6) years last May.... We have a beautiful yard with lots of glass. That's right, we have plenty of gRass and lots of gLass.... Charles buried his trash and he lived here a long, long time. There are all kinds of nonsense in and around our yard. Well, on Sunday, Tate stepped on not one, but TWO nails. They went through his shoe and majorly into his foot. One punctured deeply into the middle of his foot and the other created a deep groove in the pad beneath his big toe. He bled ALL over my house before I knew what was going on. It really looked painful and awful. I have been telling my kids and all their friends to NEVER go into the yard without shoes. Fortunately Tate had shoes on.... and still this happened.

The good part of this is he is all caught up on his vaccinations. No doctor or hospital visit for us. He hobbled around for a few days and we had to keep it real clean. He is almost back to normal except for two holes on the bottom of his foot. Ouch! Our Tate is a tough guy though. We sure love him!!

Eric's BRILLIANT idea

So, although we live in Darnestown, our zip code is in Germantown. I guess that "officially" makes Germantown our community. We do go there a lot to eat, shop, go to the movies and even attend the theater. The kids doctors are there and of course the Amish Market. In August a "flash mob" of African American young people (I am trying to be so pc...lol) went into a 7-11 around one in the morning (where are these kids' parents????) and looted the place. It was all caught on a pretty good surveillance camera (so hopefully MANY of them will get caught.... the police seemed pretty sure they would be). This type of dishonest and deviant behavior has been prevalent in Philly and a few other cities, but until August the DC metro area has been sparred.

We were disgusted that this type of crime practically happened in our backyard. It is ridiculous that teens think they can get away with such a crime because it is done in large groups. Eric decided to be proactive and show the community that we care. He posted a "flash mob buy in" at the same 7-11 on facebook and sent an email to friends in the area. The day of our flash mob, we had a pretty good earthquake which caused a lot of traffic (a lot more if you can believe that) so many people were not able to get to Germantown. All in all we had about 45 people there and that is actually MORE people than the criminals had that robbed the place. We all spent a lot of money and many families had dinner there (gross, but nice!!) The clerk was a little freaked out at first, but each responsible adult told them what we were doing and he calmed. We hung out outside of the store and ate treats, hotdogs and enjoyed ourselves. I am not sure that 7-11 has seen that many white people.... ever. Ha! I heard several people say they have never seen 7-11 so crowded.

I love Eric so much. This is a positive, proactive way of showing our community that we care and that we won't tolerate such behavior and crime. Our friend in Oregon is a newscaster and she remarked on her show about the flash mob buy in. If we do nothing, then nothing will be done. The earthquake messed it up a little, but it was a good lesson for all of our children. I think Eric is so positive and his "flash mob buy in" idea brilliant!

I love you cupcake!!

I've been smelling them for days...... delic!

Did I not say and PROMISE (or rather write) that we would go apple picking and..... we did! That very week! We have been making apple chips, applesauce, apple crisp and eating apples like we are addicted! Coleman was out with a friend, but we still had fun and missed him lots. It is finally starting to feel and SMELL like fall.

Tough guy apple picker dude. Cute boy in the corner.

Eating faster than they can pick. Now get busy!!

My darling boy!!

Bunny ears? On an apple?

This picture cracks me up because Finn was sneezing up a storm and this is in between a sneeze.... SO cute and funny!!

Hanging out with Dad (and eating too! Finn is chowing down!)

Sweet Tate

Finn likes the goats..... or not really.

Either the goats are hungry or my kids are leery.

Wilber


Leaving and eating.... Gabe just couldn't believe that it was okay to pick and eat. He couldn't get enough! Still can't!! Lol!!

This one is for Grandma Gloria. (ick says mommy!)

Going home happy!!

Mudrun Mania

I have 2 minutes....darn. Gabe's party was a HUGE success! It was a lot of fun!! We had so much amazing help and was loved by all. The pics are great, but I have lots to do so this will be it for today. Eric set up an awesome course! It really was one of our better parties!

Mud+ Kids= a whole lot of crazy fun!!