This Thanksgiving

Again this year I am overwhelmed with the blessings I've been given. I have so much to be thankful for - my beautiful family, our health, and the wonderful people who fill out all the corners of our lives.

We were so glad to have the opportunity last night to serve, as a family, the families of the Nicholas House, a local homeless shelter. The boys jumped right in.

And, a different kind of blessing ... I am thankful for this occurrence this week: I left Noah with my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and a friend of theirs on Monday to run to the grocery store. When I got home, I asked how he did. They nonchalantly said he was great - played with his toys, ran around, went poopy on the potty ... uhmmm, WHAT?!? He's NEVER done anything on the potty, and he waits until I'm gone to just announce that he has to use the potty, as if he does it all the time?! More funny, they said he asked them to leave the bathroom so he could have some privacy. When I heard about it I did the whole crazy-Mommy-happy-dance, clapping and making a big deal out of it, and he acted as if he just wanted to play it cool, like he does it all the time. Strangely, he asked to do it again later that night. Nothing since, but boy am I thankful for that surprise accomplishment!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody! Hope you enjoy all your blessings, big and small.

The Dream

I had to post this story because it's just so Ben. As we were leaving the park this afternoon, heading to our car, Ben started telling me about a dream he had last night (this has been a hot topic of his for a few months now). I believe it involved a police car and a magic phone and maybe a rocket, but I soon found the conversation going something like this:

Ben: There was a police car that had to drive up onto the grass ... (insert LOTS of details) ...

Me: Mmm-hmm.

Ben: And then ... (lots more details) ...

Me: Mmm-hmm.

Ben: And then ... (barely stopping for breath between run-on sentences) ...

And this carried on the whole way home. Finally, as we were pulling up to the house, he said, "Actually, I just really love talking. (Giggles) I just really love to talk."

Indeed, little man. Indeed.

Halloween Fun!

We had a fun-filled Halloween week with our little train conductor and firefighter!

On Tuesday, we had a Halloween playgroup party. These are most of our playgroup friends, but getting a shot with everyone is becoming virtually impossible.

On the big night itself, Ben and Noah's friends Ava and Eli came over for the REAL fun ...
Trick-or-treating!
The kids, of course, dove in as soon as we got back home.
And Noah was sorely disappointed the next morning to learn that he wouldn't be having candy for breakfast.

Earlier in the week, he had been dying to ride a pony at our church Fall Festival, but we decided not to wait in the mile-long line ...

Looking longingly at the ponies.

To his delight, there were also pony rides at Ben's school Fall Festival that we went to yesterday, so he got a chance to saddle up ...

and he LOVED it!

Seeing little brother do it gave Ben the courage to give it a try. He also loved it, and claims that his was so big it wasn't a pony, but a horse.

I love the unabashed joy that 4-year-olds have when they see a friend. Here Ben greets his classmate Sydney.

The petting zoo is always a favorite with our guys. This piglet was too, too cute. The boys said they'd be willing to take it home and share their bedrooms with it.

Noah wasn't so sure about brushing this napping donkey. He kept "shh-shh-ing" everyone who came near it so as not to wake it up.

'Til next year, happy Halloween!

Fall Sports

Ben has been playing a couple of sports this fall. I am really trying not to overschedule him, but these programs are very low-key, low-pressure, and he's doing great. On Mondays, he does "Munchkin Tennis" at our local tennis center.

On Wednesdays, Ben does soccer at his school. We did soccer last fall through the YMCA and it wasn't a big hit, but I think it may have been too overwhelming for him. This program is very low-key -- no games, just skills practice in a relaxed atmosphere. He's loving it.
Ben passes to his friend Amelia.

Some of the fun drills they do are ...

head on the ball,

and Superman!

Of course, Noah has to get in on the action with his own Superman rendition.

Ben's School Picture

I love fall. I think it must stem from childhood and all the back-to-school excitement. Of course, one of the quintessential back-to-school traditions is school pictures. I have fun memories of my Mom being a "picture lady," handing out those little plastic combs to all the kids as we waited in line for our turn in front of the camera. And it's so fun now to look back at all my school pictures and see how I changed from year to year. So, it's with a lot of nostalgia and a lot of "I can't believe Ben is already a pre-kindergartener, he's getting too big too quickly" sentiments that I present his '09 school picture ... Something about this time of year - all the change, I suppose - that brings both joy and heartbreak at watching these "babies" of ours grow up.

Apples, Pumpkins, and Parade

Fall is definitely in full swing, and we had our first crisp fall weather weekend here. A little too crisp for my liking, but it didn't stop us from enjoying some great outdoor activities that come with the season. Today we took the boys apple picking in the North Georgia mountains. My friend Marti (aka PictureMommy) came up and took some really fun family pictures. Here are just a few I took before she arrived.
Getting ready for the hayride.
Ben and Daddy in the orchard. You'll have to stay posted for Marti's fabulous pictures, coming soon ...

Yesterday morning we took the boys to the pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins. Because of the cooooold weather, the trip was short and sweet. The boys quickly picked their favorites, let me snap some pics, and we were on our way.

Later that day we went to the Little 5 Points Halloween Parade. L5P is a funky little neighborhood in Atlanta (we watched from across the street of my old apartment where I lived when Jess and I started dating - awwww), and the parade was, ummm ... colorful to say the least. Lots of crazy costumes, loud music, and unconventional floats ... and tons of fun!

This face says it all.

The boys actually had a ball. So much to take in, not to mention the gobs of candy that came our way.

There was a time this kind of parade would have scared Ben to pieces, but our big boy is growing up and becoming quite the adventurous little spirit. So FUN!

Hey, Good Lookin! Whatcha Got Cookin?

Ben has started taking cooking classes at Young Chefs Academy, and he LOVES it. Even though they provide aprons for the kids, Ben insists on bringing his own. We drop him off and then take Noah out for an excursion before picking him back up.

Poor Noah - the first time we dropped Ben off for his class, we got in the car with Noah and realized that he had never been on an outing alone with the both of us!

Noah riding solo in the backseat this morning - he enjoys his "only child" time.Ben showing off his cuisine du jour - black bean burgers and football biscuits - when we came back to pick him up.
He's always excited to share his dishes with us when we get there, and they're actually really tastey. Watch out, Emeril!