So grateful for...

My boys.

Fall leaves.

Yummy food. And Cade, who was more than ready to say the prayer and the get the party started.

My mom.

My dad and their coming to celebrate Thanksgiving with us (sorry for the blurry pic Dad!)

My girl.

And most especially, my girl's surgery going well and her fast recovery this week. Delaney has had some issues with one of her kidneys. Meaning that one of her kidneys is basically not working. I am beyond grateful for the fasting and prayers on Delaney's behalf this week as she underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on her kidney. I am so grateful for a good doctor and for those prayers being answered as the surgery went off without a hitch and Delaney has recovered beautifully.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Visitors, Part II

A few weeks ago we blessed this little sweetness at church and because of it our house was full of people who love her and her brothers (and I think Evan and I fall in there somewhere too).

My mom had been saving the dress I was blessed in for years on the off chance I had a girl of my own. When it came time to actually find the dress for Delaney to use, it was nowhere to be found. My mom tore her house upside down but no dice. Lucky for me, this is my mom's first granddaughter and the woman had herself some fun getting the outfit together. After seeing the dress Evan told me he was a little confused if Delaney was getting blessed or married. Obviously, the man doesn't appreciate the girlier things of life. Of course, when Evan saw her all dressed up, he melted into a puddle like we knew he would.



Our little family, though the belle of the ball was pretty much done with pictures at this point.


And to make this weekend even better, Chanel showed up for a quick visit from Colorado! It was so great to have her here, get to chat and laugh like old times, and just soak up time with her and two of her cute kiddos. We didn't get any pictures together but she did take this one of me and my sweet girl. I owe her big for all the times she's documented little moments for me and this is no exception.

Lucky for us, tomorrow brings round three of visitors, starting with Evan's sis, Carolynn.

Halloween Recap

This year for Halloween we deviated from our usual course and lived it up like it was going out of style. Here's the rundown...
We kicked off the festivities by watching Cade parade around with the other preschoolers in his grasshopper costume. The boy had a dream and was lucky enough to have his Oma make him a costume that he was beyond excited to wear. Because as Cade told us, "Grasshoppers are scary." Not so sure about that buddy, but you looked darn cute anyhow.

Next came some pumpkin carving.

Then our annual spooky dinner. New on the menu this year: Bug Punch and Bloody Toes.

Then some trick or treating (with Megatron making his debut, not to mention Miss Delaney in her pumpkin onesie).

Showing off the loot. And obviously the boys were a little transfixed by it.

Sneaking in some candy before bed. Throw in an elementary school carnival, me helping in Colt's classroom for his school party, and a church trunk-or-treat and suffice it to say that I was one tired mama with one messy house. Good thing I had my boys' candy to reward myself with.

On a side note, here's the conversation between Colt and me the morning of his class party...

Me: "Are you so excited to have me come to your class today?"
Colt: "Are you so excited to come to my class and see how pretty Samika is?"

Apparently, Colt couldn't wait for me to check out the girl he's crushing on. Does it really start this young?