It's Fall! (officially)

Nothing makes me want to celebrate more than thinking about impending cool weather and all the upcoming holidays at the tail-end of a summer here in the "Valley Of the Sun" :) So since we had a party for it last year, I thought we might as well make it a tradition. The kids helped me decorate and invited our favorite neighboring cousins...
And my little kitchen side-kick helped me make some pumpkin pancakes...
And Amy brought the fruit and Dan brought his favorite syrup...
And we had a little breakfast feast...
To eagerly welcome fall.
If I'd known I would love fall this much someday I probably would've named one of my girls Autumn! :)

What We're Into/Up to

Every single morning I have the pleasure of waking up to a cereal box banging into some part of my body. One day my head, the next arm, and so on. Probably whatever is sticking out of the blankets. The funny thing is, I'm always wondering what's happening for a couple seconds until I open my eyes enough to see a blurry little blonde girl holding a box of "Honey Bunches" telling me she wants "dereal". So far, I've been unsuccessful at preventing this from happening. It's almost always at 6 am exactly. The other day was 5:15. I picked her up, put her in her crib and she was obliged to stay in there for 45 mins until a more humane time arrived.

This brings me to some better news. She stays in her bed now. No more of the getting out at night and having to be re-put down in her crib. I caught her all wrapped up the other night. She's got such a fun personality. Unless she's waking someone with a cereal attack.Yogurt is her favorite food. And she loves preschool.
Holly's been a really good helper and great big sister to Sadie. She loves Kindergarten and is busy memorizing sight words and practicing reading. She's not in anything extra right now but we're thinking soccer for winter. She also wears the crown as resident comedian.
Eli has brought crazy bands (or silly bands?) into our home. They fly around the school yard like no one's business and he's collected a few. This one was traded for his sandwich. (blerg)
He's sooo into Star Wars suddenly. He's always liked it but now his light saber is always latched onto his outfit somewhere and every now and then I see a 3 fingers stretched out toward me shaking with the force. Happily, he has a friend who loves it as much as he does AND still likes dress-up! (yes!)
He and Emma are great readers- they both LOVE books. We went to the book fair Friday as is becoming tradition. Emma got a Kathryn Lasky book she's been wanting, blew through it and finished it yesterday!
She's really enjoying 5th grade so far and has started playing the flute. She loves it and even gets it out to practice without a reminder! I'm so excited because I don't play anything and I just love that she's gaining such a great skill.

Dana's even more into running than usual with his 5th marathon just a couple weeks away. He's shooting to qualify for Boston which means finishing in 3 hrs. 20 mins! So it'll be an exciting weekend. Keep your fingers crossed. I surprised the kids with some skeleton pajamas which I think they liked.

And I'm feeling the excitement that can only be brought on by the knowing that fall is here. We MADE IT and we're feeling very fall-ish. And "fall-ish" is another word for heavenly.

I'm also into loving my calling in young womens. And I'm fascinated by the idea that once in awhile I find myself all alone with time to do whatever I please. Which, as it turns out, is usually mopping or doing errands. But the point is I choose it and can think the whole entire time in silence. Who knew chores could be so refreshing :)

Immortalized

The kids are dress-up fanatics. Emma one year for Christmas asked for a "lion costume" from Santa. And when it's from Santa it's serious business for mom and dad. So I looked and looked and finally when it came down to the wire I bought this on EBAY. She was not impressed Christmas morning. Even though "Lion King" was about her favorite movie for 3 straight years, I think she was going for authentic lion. Not- 'Simba just ate my head'. She put it on that morning for me and never touched it again.Since then it's had a few takers. I love when the kids put it on because it always makes me laugh. Is it me? Or is there something hilarious about it? Awhile back I caught Holly with it on and ran for the camara. She didn't want to come out at first. But am I ever glad she did. Now the costume can be fully appreciated in all it's glory.
Forever :)

P.S. This is one of those pictures that makes me so happy to be a mom.

Sunday Talks

Any mother of multiple children will tell you that it can get overwhelming sometimes. Some mothers are unphased (or seem to be) by everyone talking and whining at them at once. This situation has never been my strong area. That's about the time I have been known to lose my cool. You know...on occasion.

Earlier this year, longing for some peaceful conversation with the kids, I decided to do something new. Each Sunday take turns talking to each of our 4 little ones in my room after church. We plop down on the bed and cuddle up. Then I start off with my standard question, "so what was your lesson about?" Since it's pretty much right after church, they can answer. In fact, overall I've been really amazed at the details and quality of the recap they give me. But no matter what, I love that it's just them and me (courtesy of that handy little lock on the door) and they get my undivided attention. Almost always, we end up talking about something else after the lesson. Something on their minds. Something I might not have gotten a chance to hear about without the one-on-one time. They are all beaming and smiling at me with bright eyes. And then I have the chance to tell them how much I love them and all the things they're doing right.

So now on Sunday when I say "who's gonna have the first talk?" they all shout "ME!" and I feel grateful for our new little tradition.