The bank by my house was reporting 79 degrees today. The lady at the grocery store thought that it was a record high for today. Record or not...today was glorious. And my favorite tree in our yard is the most amazing of colors right now. It is normally a deep purple but an amber color has filled it in so only the edges are purple. The girls and I love it and Isabelle is anxious for its leaves to fall so she can keep them as her treasure. And Macie is enjoying bonus time with her new wagon (Thank you Mum-Mum and Papa).

Our traditional Halloween dinner- Jack O'Lantern Pizza from Papa Murphy's

Poncahontas (or "Ponsi"hontas as Jamie was cleverly calling her)

Dorothy and Todo (just for Tara)

And our baby butterfly....(she would only take pictures if I let her have the bubbles)

Macie's first time "hitting the pavement"....

Pastor Gary and Mary stopped over to see the Pocahontas costume (Mary made it for their little girl who wore it about 10-12 yrs ago so they were waxing nostalgic...)


Our usual stopover to see the Petersons and visit our favorite dog Jasper

"open dis, Peez"

Happy Halloween.

The twins are finally here!!!!! Dan and Heidi have two beautiful daughters and are very proud parents. Aren't they just a beautiful family! The girls and I have been to the hospital twice and I can hardly wait to see those precious girls again. Here are some pictures of the little darlings....(some of them I swiped from Dan and Heidi)

Anna Joan (right) and Evelyn Sonja Shearer (left) (Anna was 5lb 13 oz and Evelyn was 7 lbs.)


Seriously, can you even stand it--oooohhhh, I could just squeeze them!!!!!









As for my crew, Jamie is baby-crazy. He told me he is heading up to the hospital tomorrow and he said he is going to hold both of them at the same time. Tori is a professional as you can see and Isabelle is following close behind (she needs a little help with keeping the heads up but she is getting there). Isabelle feels a special attachment to Anna because we told her that she weighed the exact same as Anna when she was born. Isabelle said she is the cutest thing she has ever seen. And I just love soaking it all in. Dan and Heidi are going to be great parents and have just begun to experience the overwhelming joy that is before them.




My friend Chuck is supposed to be posting more pictures tonight, so check them out!

So, it's a day late, but the sentiment is still the same...
The transformation from 1 to 2 is one of my absolute favorites. This year we saw a lot of Macie's personality emerge, her hair started to emerge a little more and our love for her simply exploded. She brings so much joy and life and fun into our home that I absolutely could not imagine life without her. Happy Birthday Mace!

My little nature girl has found her niche among the tiny critters and tall trees of the forest. The past two Saturdays she has been our guide on hikes at the Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington. Her whole face lights up at the sight of a newly discovered leaf or a teeny tiny acorn and my bag is full of her new "treasures". The uniqueness of children will never cease to amaze me...

Kindergarten Teacher for a day (well, more like 5 minutes)...but I was AMAZING! ;)

Macie and I were volunteers in Isabelle's kindergarten class today. Every Friday the kindergartners do stations and her teacher, Mrs. Sickman, has parent volunteers come in and help with their projects. Well, I drove the girls to school this morning and headed down to her classroom a little early. Mrs. Sickman was not there, but several of the students were sitting at their tables working on puzzles or reading books. They all stopped, of course, to say hello to Macie (she is quite popular) and then they would ask me what my name was again (I am not quite as popular). And then it happened, the bell rang and all the children popped to their feet. I told them to sit down, but then they told me it was time for school to start and they needed to do the Pledge of Allegiance. Mrs. Sickman was still not there and all 19 of their cute little kindergarten faces were looking at me to take the lead. So, I did it. I took my place at the front of the classroom, put my hand over my heart and said the Pledge of Allegiance. Then all of the children found their place on the circle and they helped me lead them through calendar time. Mrs. Sickman came in just as we were about to discover what day of the week it was today, and I handed them over to her far more experienced hands. So, there you go...my teaching debut. Not too bad, of course, it helps when their real teacher has them very well trained in the morning routine (she is an amazing kindergarten teacher) and the 5 year old kindergartners have a better clue as to what is going on then you do. But Macie and I had a great time helping making M&M graphs in the classroom today. As we left the kids all said goodbye to Macie over and over and over and over again, and then they said goodbye to me because the teacher told them to. ;) Happy Friday!

Happy Fall! I have decided that fall is my favorite season. I have been in denial for years I guess, but I will no longer hold the fact that winter follows fall to dampen my spirits towards her beauty. We are talking about bright red leaves, candy corn, apple cider, halloween, apple orchards, mums, pumpkin patches, jumping in leaf piles, Thanksgiving and football...what is not to love?

Jamie has now taught little Macie to say "Go Bucks" on cue...

We may not be in Ohio, but I am pretty sure we still have some of the cutest liitle Buckeyes on the planet! Go Bucks!

The girls had a great first week of school. Tori loves her teacher and is super excited that her recess overlaps Abegail's for about 15 minutes, so they have plenty of time to jump rope. Isabelle likes school, too. We did have a little trouble getting Ronsi out of bed this morning, but I don't really see that as an indicator of her excitement about school, it is more an indicator of her love of sleep and her love for being lazy.
Macie has had to make her own adjustments with the girls being gone, and she has gone through many emotions as she has dealt with their absence...the last picture really says it best. ;)

SHOCK/ DISBELIEF:

ANGER/ FRUSTRATION:

ACCEPTANCE/ CELEBRATION:



(Actually, she does ask for them throughout the day and she is really excited to watch for their buses. Macie is all about buses and airplanes currently)

These two pictures are from yesterday's orientation...she was being a real stinker about me taking pictures.



And today, my little Isabelle is off. She had a quiet excitement about her this morning. She quietly presented herself at the top of the stairs with the outfit she had carefully selected to wear (monkey hula shirt- classic Ponsi). She quietly went about her jobs of brushing her teeth and going potty--without me even telling her to do it. She had her backpack on from 7:30 on (the bus comes at 8:06) and she quietly went about eating her breakfast and getting some last minute instructions from Tori before heading to the bus stop. None of these things surprised me about her, and I wasn't sad--I have been excited for her to finally get her turn and make her own school memories, instead of living vicariously through Tori. But on our way to the bus stop Ponsi did something that took me off guard and left me with a decent size lump in my throat...she turned around. I have walked Tori down to the bus 3 times now for the first day of school and she has NEVER turned around. Tori walks quickly and resolutely towards the bus stop. She may turn around if I beg her to so I can get a picture, but even then she is normally reminding me that she needs to get going, so she doesn't miss the bus. But Ponsi, sweet Ponsi...she walked slowly (the only speed she knows) down the sidewalk and then she turned around and smiled. It wasn't a scared smile, just a quiet, excited smile that said, "Mom, I'm going to kindergarten!".

Dear Sweet Ronsi Ponsi...go and soak in every adventure that God has for you in life, just please promise me you will always stay as sweet as you are....

















You can barely see her little head!!!!!

TOMORROW Ponsi begins her school adventure (we just had orientation this morning) but TODAY was Victoria's Day. She didn't seem to be over excited for school this year, mainly because her BFF Abegail was not in her class. But last night as we were getting clothes ready and making sure we had all our supplies, her eyes started to dance (that is what Jamie said of her the night before kindergarten and it still holds true). Tori loves school and each time the whole family takes that first walk of the year down to the bus, she seems to get a little older. This year she asked me if EVERYONE was coming down to the bus stop and she told me people were going to think she was a kindergartner or something if we all came. I told her they would think she was so lucky to have a family that loved her so much. She smiled and I know she wouldn't want it any other way. She had a really good first day and is excited about being in Mrs. Jocketty's class and about what this year will bring. I just think second grade is so old...;(