Joy

These two little guys bring so much joy to our home. Sometimes the little things just make you smile and realize how precious and fleeting these days are. Lately, I've just been so tickled by the things they say and the way they talk.

Luke:

"Mama...how do you spell Efan?"

Me:

"E-T-H"

Luke:

"No....EEFan"

"Efan...you scared me to deaf!!! Mama...what's deaf?"

"firty, firty-one, firty-two, firty-fwee"

Me:

"Luke what did you learn about today?"

Luke:

"Cigawettes. Does Efan have cigawettes? Cigawettes are bad for you......"

Me:

"what else did you learn about?"

Luke:

"cigawettes and beer"

Ethan:

"I've only had beer once. It was a long time ago at Papa's house."

I hand Luke a muffin. He laughs and says " it's kind of like if you give a moose a muffin. We DO have Mooses in tennessee but only in alcoa!".

Bird Watching and Babysitting

Yesterday we watched Ryan for a few hours. He is such a cute kid and so full of personality. We had a lot of fun. Ethan has been so sweet lately. He just loves little kids and babies. He's usually a little embarrassed to admit it for some reason, but, lately he doesn't care. He followed Ryan around talking baby talk. He wanted to hold him so bad. He's a great kid with a tender heart.

Today we got to watch some birds that finally found the feeder we put out. I don't know what kind of birds they are, but, they're cute. The boys got a kick out of watching them. The pictures were all taken through the screen, so they are not great.

Buddies

Saturday night we picked up Dada and Jeremiah so we could hang out for a little while. The plan was to go to World's Fair Park, but, we forgot about the UT game so we headed over to the botanical gardens. The boys just ran and ran and ran....that includes Chad! He raced with them, spun them around, etc. We took our dinner, but, most of the time the boys ate on the run. The leaves were great there...beautiful and fun to play in. We played until it was pitch black and headed back. We hung out with all of the boys and their granny for a little bit. Jaqwan left Chad the sweetest voicemail yesterday...it ended with "I love you Mr. Chad". We really love them too. :o)

When we were in this little old house, Jeremiah looked at Chad and said, "This my house!! You better get out my house now!". He's so funny. He tells me on the phone..."you got come pick me up"...over and over.

My Favorite Season

I love fall! I've got pumpkin candles burning, the windows open, and the leaves are turning all different colors. It's perfect at our new home...we're surrounded by huge trees so the boys actually get to play in the leaves.

They went over to mamaw's house the other day and made jack-o-lanterns with her. They turned out so cute.

An Eventful Day

Saturday was a great day for the most part. I had a shoot first thing, then Luke and I head out to Shining Stars at Water Angels. Meanwhile, Chad and Ethan went for a hike with the Cub Scouts to Look Rock. Then we all got home and worked around the house. Luke then took a ride down the zip line and smack into a tree. So, we all made a trip to Children's Hospital. Fortunately, after some xrays of his skull, we found out he had not fractured his skull. So, we headed home at about 10pm. I know that God was watching over him....as fast and as hard as he flew into that tree, he should have broken his nose or something! We are blessed and so thankful!

Ethan has an awesome Cub Scout Leader...he seems like a great guy and is great with the boys.

Doesn't look so bad here...he had a pretty big bump and today he's got a bit of a black eye.

Fall activities

We had a great day today. We did not leave the house one time...that's pretty rare for us. I'm trying to get our week scheduled out better so we can have more days like today.

I found these "baby soda bottles" at a thrift store and knew the boys would have a blast with them. They started out making all kinds of mixtures, "waves", and "tornadoes". Then we headed outside.

Awhile ago, a friend shared a link to a free fall leaf guide. It tells you how to id the trees that grow here. We went for a walk and collected a bucket full of leaves. But, most of the leaves were just brown. We are not having the usual pretty colors this year so far. But, we did the best we would and we may try it again in a week or so.

Of course, they collected some critters too.

Bobcat Badge

Ethan recently started Cub Scouts. He had been looking forward to it for so long! So had Chad, actuallly. Well, Chad has been working with him and last week he earned his first badge. I got to go up and Ethan gave me a Bobcat Pin. It was really neat...but, I don't deserve it. Chad really enjoys doing this with him and I really haven't done anything! But, he was glad that I got to be a part of it too.