Farewell Fall

It's baaack...

The cold weather has moved in. The icicles on our fish pond say it all.

The forecast for Sunday shows a high of 33 degrees. This may not be such a big deal for some folks (our neighbor left for Maine this summer to escape the "hot New Jersey summer" - her quote, not mine), but my southern blood is thin. And I'm going into a state of panic. So send warm thoughts our way. Literally. Please!!

THANKSGIVING

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Our good friends Richard, Angie and Ian came up from Alabama to spend the week with us.

It was a busy week - taking in the local sites, going to The Museum of Natural History, seeing the parade balloons up close, playing games, eating, talking, more eating, and of course, the traditional viewing of Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

But the highlight of the visit, from Dylan's perspective, was her ultimate show-and-tell moment when she took Ian to school with her on Tuesday!

KATHERINE'S BIRTHDAY

Katherine celebrated her birthday at Build-A-Bear with 15 of her "closest" friends. That's Katherine for you. (And this was after I shortened her list!)

Eight years old. It's really hard to believe. But it's been eight wonderful years.

Katherine has always been our easy child. Good sleeper. Good eater. Even tempered. Consistent. And, even when we didn't live up to her standards, she has been patient with us. For instance, she developed a habit of dressing in evening attire for dinner when she was 2 years old, yet she rarely turns her nose down at us as we humbly share her table in our lowly peasant attire.

She has certainly brought lots of love, laughter and joy to our lives!

Dad Update

Scott's dad had surgery yesterday. There were a few glitches, but things went well overall. He is recovering in the hospital for a few days, but should get to go home by the weekend if there are no complications.

Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes. I will keep you updated on his progress as we know more.

I did dat!!

There is something so wrong about going to the pantry, opening the canister of rice, and finding that someone has filled it with dry dog food. Wrong on so many different levels.

You know, at first I wasn't absolutely certain of who the culprit was. It might seem obvious, but the girls have been known to pull a prank or two. (Lest we forget the dead mole they had waiting for me in the mailbox two summers ago. The one that was left over a long weekend in 90 degree south Alabama heat and humidity before I stuck my hand into it.)

So, I walked around with the canister.

"Dylan, did you do this?"

No, Mama!

"Katherine, did you do this?"

No. It wasn't me!

"Isaac, did you do this?"

(Big grin) I did dat!!

Parents In Town

October was a blur. Really, I don't know where it went. So I'm backtracking.

Scott's parents came up during the 3rd week and spent a few days with us. It seems like they arrived, we blinked, and they were gone again. But we did manage to cram a lot in the few days they were here. Especially considering the rain (actual downpours) for the first 3 days!

We spent some time in Pennsylvania where we shopped (a very little - we had Isaac and Pawpaw- Need I say more?) and toured the area where George Washington crossed the Delaware. On Sunday, we took Scott's mom to New York City where we hit some familiar spots and then saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. Scott's dad stayed behind with Isaac and they had a fun day at the park.

His name is T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Don't let that innocent smile fool you. He flashes it just long enough for you to let down your guard, and then he strikes.

The latest casualty? My laptop computer.

Friday morning had been really nice. Isaac had been unusually patient and good while we were out running errands. So when we got back home, in a moment that can only be described as temporary insanity (although it's leaning more toward the more permanent kind here lately - soon I'll be writing about my moments of temporary sanity), I thought I could leave him for just a minute to grab a quick shower.

I got him all situated on the couch with his bunny, his covers, his chocolate milk, and his favorite tv show. I ran upstairs and took a super quick "mom" shower and then bolted back downstairs, drying off as I went. Hearing the same show still on, I felt confident that my little angel would still be sitting just as I had left him.

He was still sitting, alright. Sitting at my computer. All around him, the floor was littered with the keys that he had pried off the keyboard. EVERY SINGLE KEY. Broken off.

When he saw me, he just flashed another one of his great big, innocent looking smiles.