Happy Halloween, my friends!!!
Do you decorate?
Cozy or spooky?!
October 9, 2017
Our Halloween House
We decorated our house for Halloween on a dark and cloudy Thursday afternoon. Halloween Decorating Day has always been a favorite in our family. We wait for a spooky-looking day...no sunshine, thank you...and carry the orange and black tubs up from the basement. We find the Halloween CD we have had forever and put it in to play. Then we spend an hour or so creating a cozy, happy Halloween home. Peyton always makes a special treat for us too.
October 6, 2017
Random Photo Friday...October Edition!
Our weather finally caught up with the calendar, and suddenly...it feels like fall! We enjoyed every moment of this beautiful week here in our October home.
I pulled out one of my autumn mugs, and am convinced my morning coffee tastes even better.
Cool air means a sweater for my tiny Mocha...
And baby dolls with sniffles who need snuggled up. : )
We continued our apple painting tradition during our week of apple fun.
A new month meant our schoolroom transformed from Back to School apples and pencils to October pumpkins and ghosts.
October is my favorite in the schoolroom too. : )
And this is one of my very favorite autumn books.
If you aren't familiar with this story of life and purpose and death and seasons told from the perspective of a leaf on a tree, you may want to check it out.
Beautiful.
We took advantage of the beautiful weather and had lunch and "recess" at the park one day this week.
It was so fun to see all the kids enjoy themselves.
As did the biggest kid of all!
Rhett snapped this picture of his 48 year old mother swinging at the park.
I was not going to post it here, for obvious reasons, but I reconsidered.
Because. Real life.
And. Memories.
Random picture of these two best friends.
Our days were not the only things to share their October beauty.
Flynn called me to see the sky looking like "Heaven on Earth!"
My firstborn was so happy to find and enjoy her first Pumpkin Spice of the season all the way over in Denmark. : )
Back at home, my second born Peyton began her Halloween baking with this awesome dark chocolate spider web cake. Complete with a cute little chocolate spider on top.
Me. Just sayin'.
Have a wonderful October weekend, my friends.
Our weekend includes a Jeep ride to enjoy the beautiful leaves, the wedding of a sweet young lady, and a Sunday at home with football and food.
Whatever your plans are, I hope you enjoy them with your people.
Thank you for visiting!
October 4, 2017
Pumpkin Patch 2017
The weather finally turned cool and once it did, we headed out to our favorite local farm and pumpkin patch. We were so happy my mom joined us this year too!
My girl...skipping around the pumpkin patch...
How many more times will I get to watch this??
Annual Pumpkin Patch picture...
And selfie with my pup on the way home. : )
We finished the night with take out pizza.
And decided to wait until tomorrow to decorate outside. : )
And that is what we did.
Enjoy this glorious month, my friends.
However October looks in your world.
October 2, 2017
An Open Letter to Parents...Kindness Counts
As I sat in the waiting room at the orthodontist this morning, I found myself witnessing an all too familiar scene. A young girl was happily chatting to herself about the new toothbrush and bag of goodies she received, yet each time she spoke, her older brother criticized and mocked her quite rudely. Meanwhile, their mother sat right between them, either oblivious or unconcerned.
Unfortunately, I see this kind of behavior from both children and adults so often, I almost become immune. Almost. I refuse to admit that rude, disrespectful, inconsiderate behavior is the new normal for our society today. I don't want it to be. I expect more from people, especially parents. Why parents? The fact is, as parents, we are charged with raising our children to be kind, empathetic, respectable members of society. Yet how can we do that when so many adults are modeling the exact opposite behavior in front of their own children?
This past summer on our family vacation, my children and husband witnessed a grown man literally berating a server over whether or not a jar of seasoning was crushed garlic or not. This man was outright bullying an employee in front of many people, adults and children alike. Another time, I stood next to an older man who belittled a chef because he did not add enough cheese to his omelette. Lastly, that same day, I watched as a mother asked her young child what she wanted to eat, only to chastise her for saying pizza when the mother wanted something else. She grabbed the little girl and ignored her confused face as she pulled her away.
My husband and I used each of these incidents as an opportunity to teach our children the importance of a simple human virtue: kindness. We try to instill in our children a sense of empathy and respect for others. We want them to see that other people are just as deserving of a kind word or smile as they are. And we expect them to treat them that way. It just doesn't magically happen that your children see others as deserving of a kind word or smile. As parents, we must teach them as well as model the appropriate behavior so as to instill a desire in them to do the same.
For example, just last night, my son and I were in the drive thru of our favorite fast food restaurant. Yes, we eat fast food. Too much, I'm sure. Anyway, we waited a long time for our food, and when the young girl at the window went to hand the box to us, the bottom fell out, and everything fell onto the floor. The poor girl froze in fear. My heart broke for her as her manager came over. It was clear the manager was looking to me to see how to proceed. I smiled and told the young girl that it was fine! Things like that happen to me all the time. I offered to pull ahead and wait. When she returned with our fresh food a few minutes later, she was almost in tears. I reassured her again that it was not a problem. And she was smiling before we left.
Another time, in the same drive thru...I told you we eat there too much...a young girl was short with me when I asked her a question. I smiled and said nothing. As we waited for our food, I remarked to my children that you never know what another person is going through at any given moment. Maybe she was having a bad day? Maybe she didn't feel good? Sure enough, when she returned, she was very apologetic and told me she was having a very hard day. I assured her I have those days too. And not to worry about it at all.
Both of these incidents were opportunities to teach not only my children but also the young women that kindness matters. I was able to demonstrate that feeling empathy and having respect for others is a necessary social skill in our world today. At least it should be. Before you begin to think I am Mary Poppins, Ma Ingalls and Mother of the Year all rolled in one, I assure you I am not always successful in modeling appropriate behavior. I am human after all. My children are not always perfectly behaved. They are human too. Yet we try. We respect. We talk kindly to others. We smile. We treat others as we want to be treated.
And you know what? Others notice. And appreciate it. More than once, people we meet remark that our family is kind and special. They say they don't meet people like our family everyday. Do I say this to boast? Not at all. I am way too paranoid for that. I say this as an affirmation that kindness matters. People notice. And they appreciate it. And they in turn may show others the same kindness. Wouldn't that be nice?
I sound preachy, I know. I am simply tired of unkind people. Am I a Pollyanna? A Holly Hobby? You bet. Do I wish the world were all rainbows and unicorns? Not at all. Do I want my children to grow up in a world filled with more kindness and less rudeness? You bet. So parents, let's put down the phones and laptops and television remotes and do what we are here to do...raise our children to know this one simple thing...kindness matters.
Edit: As I sit here in sadness watching the news, I humbly ask you join me in prayers and love for all affected by the tragedy in Las Vegas last evening.
Unfortunately, I see this kind of behavior from both children and adults so often, I almost become immune. Almost. I refuse to admit that rude, disrespectful, inconsiderate behavior is the new normal for our society today. I don't want it to be. I expect more from people, especially parents. Why parents? The fact is, as parents, we are charged with raising our children to be kind, empathetic, respectable members of society. Yet how can we do that when so many adults are modeling the exact opposite behavior in front of their own children?
This past summer on our family vacation, my children and husband witnessed a grown man literally berating a server over whether or not a jar of seasoning was crushed garlic or not. This man was outright bullying an employee in front of many people, adults and children alike. Another time, I stood next to an older man who belittled a chef because he did not add enough cheese to his omelette. Lastly, that same day, I watched as a mother asked her young child what she wanted to eat, only to chastise her for saying pizza when the mother wanted something else. She grabbed the little girl and ignored her confused face as she pulled her away.
My husband and I used each of these incidents as an opportunity to teach our children the importance of a simple human virtue: kindness. We try to instill in our children a sense of empathy and respect for others. We want them to see that other people are just as deserving of a kind word or smile as they are. And we expect them to treat them that way. It just doesn't magically happen that your children see others as deserving of a kind word or smile. As parents, we must teach them as well as model the appropriate behavior so as to instill a desire in them to do the same.
For example, just last night, my son and I were in the drive thru of our favorite fast food restaurant. Yes, we eat fast food. Too much, I'm sure. Anyway, we waited a long time for our food, and when the young girl at the window went to hand the box to us, the bottom fell out, and everything fell onto the floor. The poor girl froze in fear. My heart broke for her as her manager came over. It was clear the manager was looking to me to see how to proceed. I smiled and told the young girl that it was fine! Things like that happen to me all the time. I offered to pull ahead and wait. When she returned with our fresh food a few minutes later, she was almost in tears. I reassured her again that it was not a problem. And she was smiling before we left.
Another time, in the same drive thru...I told you we eat there too much...a young girl was short with me when I asked her a question. I smiled and said nothing. As we waited for our food, I remarked to my children that you never know what another person is going through at any given moment. Maybe she was having a bad day? Maybe she didn't feel good? Sure enough, when she returned, she was very apologetic and told me she was having a very hard day. I assured her I have those days too. And not to worry about it at all.
Both of these incidents were opportunities to teach not only my children but also the young women that kindness matters. I was able to demonstrate that feeling empathy and having respect for others is a necessary social skill in our world today. At least it should be. Before you begin to think I am Mary Poppins, Ma Ingalls and Mother of the Year all rolled in one, I assure you I am not always successful in modeling appropriate behavior. I am human after all. My children are not always perfectly behaved. They are human too. Yet we try. We respect. We talk kindly to others. We smile. We treat others as we want to be treated.
And you know what? Others notice. And appreciate it. More than once, people we meet remark that our family is kind and special. They say they don't meet people like our family everyday. Do I say this to boast? Not at all. I am way too paranoid for that. I say this as an affirmation that kindness matters. People notice. And they appreciate it. And they in turn may show others the same kindness. Wouldn't that be nice?
I sound preachy, I know. I am simply tired of unkind people. Am I a Pollyanna? A Holly Hobby? You bet. Do I wish the world were all rainbows and unicorns? Not at all. Do I want my children to grow up in a world filled with more kindness and less rudeness? You bet. So parents, let's put down the phones and laptops and television remotes and do what we are here to do...raise our children to know this one simple thing...kindness matters.
Edit: As I sit here in sadness watching the news, I humbly ask you join me in prayers and love for all affected by the tragedy in Las Vegas last evening.
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