Going nuts....

...with packing peanuts!

I ordered a little train for the boys...it came in the mail the other day. It came in a HUGE box...filled with packing peanuts. I was letting the boys dig into the box to find what I had ordered...but instead of being excited about what I'd ordered, they were excited about the packing peanuts that were inside. At first they spilled a few on the floor...before long the entire box was on the floor. Packing peanuts were everywhere....

I did what every good mom should do.....


I let them play!!

They rolled in them....

made snow angels in them...

threw them in the air...

and picked them out of their mouths!

We must have played with them for an hour. It was a blast. (Daddy was at work...so he missed it all!) Then, we worked together to pick every bit of it up. The boys were great helpers. Connor even asked to vaccuum. He did an awesome job...even told me that it could be one of his chores from now on.

By the way...did you know that packing peanuts can break into a thousand and one pieces....and they stick to EVERYTHING!!! Oh well, it was worth it!

You should be in pictures....

Last week, Sawyer and I headed to Jeremy Hess photograpy for a photo shoot. Our dentist asked if Sawyer could be included in her ad campaign. Of course, we think Sawyer is about as cute as they come...so we said SURE!

The photo shoot was awesome. Jeremy is great. He has three kids...two boys and a girl. I told Craig that if we got married today...I'd choose Jeremy to do the pictures. As much as I love the pictures he shoots...he was even cooler. It was so nice to meet a great human being who is awesome at what he does.

Jeremy sent me a link to the proofs...take a look. I think they're too cute. The ad is done, but I haven't seen it yet. I'm sure it'll be awesome.

http://www.jeremyhessphotography.com/proofs/09M2Dec/

On a side note, I'm gearing up for a big day. On Saturday I'll join with three of my best friends to run my first ever 5K. I've always wanted to do one...so with the prompting of Mel, Steph and Chrissy....here I go. I've been training for a few weeks now, but with sick kids, work, and family stuff it's been rough. I'm scared to death and super excited. I'm praying that it'll be a positive experience and I'll be a good role model for my boys. (The boys won't be able to be there though as they have swim lessons and church choir).

I know that this is just a run...and the victory is already won. I'm blessed beyond belief and being able to run...walk...or crawl 3.2 miles is a something that shouldn't be taken for granted.
I'm reminded of the scripture verse that I call me life verse. Phillipians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I'll be drawing on that strength.

In the swim of things

Connor and Jackson got up bright and early this morning...and we headed to the pool! Yep, we started swimming lessons! The boys really enjoyed it. Connor hollered at me from across the pool...Mom, this is awesome! then gave me a big thumbs up.

Poor Jackson (who has no fat on his entire body)was shivering as he got out of the pool....

Here's Connor...talking the entire way out of the pool. He can't wait for the next lesson!

Sweet Treats

There were some pretty cute trick or treaters in Lancaster last night. I'm a little biased I know..but...

Craig headed over to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Steve's house without me for dinner (I was stuck at work)...then Grandma, PopPop, Aunt Lisa, and cousins Lindsey and Seth headed out to fill their trick or treat bags.

Here's a look at our crews....Connor even got a brand new spiderman outfit to replace the shredded old one...

Jackson loved being Thomas...

Mitchell wasn't feeling so well....poor guy...

and of course, our wild pony, Sawyer.

What a fun...sugar filled...night!

By the way, I finally figured out how to rotate my pictures! Yeah!

On any given day

This is something you'll see a lot in our house. Little boys surrounding the train table. One of the best things we've been seeing lately is all of them playing together. They really take turns nicely. I love seeing them help one another find a train or put together a piece of track.

While his big brothers were playing at the train table, I put Mitchell in his swing. He loved it. As you can clearly see....

I actually took this picture in mid-swing. Look at that face! I could just cover it with kisses. Anyway, as Mitchell was swinging, his brother would occassionally walk over to the swing. Sawyer would push the swing....Jackson would try to give him a kiss...then they'd go back to their trains. Well, at one point, I looked in the room and I knew I had to grab my camera because I saw this....

The picture isn't very good, but Connor had pulled out a book and was reading to Mitchell. It was soooo cute. After Connor would "read" the page, he'd hold the book up so that Mitchell could see the pictures. What a sweet thing.

Go Phillies!!!!

Of course, we are big Phillies fans in our house. Daddy wouldn't have it any other way! So, in honor of the teams return to the World Series...we got as close to Phillies wear as possible.

Connor's been wearing his Phillies hat to school everyday...even the bus driver is a Phillies fan.
(I'll have to get a picture tomorrow. )

Mitchells shirt...underneath all that drool...says Daddy's team! Sure is. He and Jackson were waiting for the start of the game with anticipation.



Here, they're so excited they can hardly hold it together. Okay, not really. The truth is...we got everyone bathed and pretty much to bed before the end of the first inning. Daddy eventually went downstairs to watch...and hoot and holler all he wanted. He came to bed around 11:30-ish...with a big smile on his face and told mommy that the Phils had won big time. 6-1, I think. Yeah. Go Phillies.

Fabulous Fall

We've had a fun fall here at our house. Granted it's rained more days than I care to count, but we've been enjoying the season none the less.

In the beginning of October we went to our neighbors and picked up some pumpkins. The boys had a blast...and helped me to arrange them on the porch. Here's the results...



This weekend Aunt Lynn was over. She pulled out our biggest, best butcher knife...and performed major surgery....

Here's the end results! She drew out a few options for the boys to choose from. They picked the happy, nice jack o' lantern! Pretty cute, huh...

Here's another big milestone to report. Mitchell is sitting up by himself. He's not rock solid quite yet....but he's getting there. He loves to sit up and grab whatever is in front of him....which of course ends up in his mouth. (Excuse his dirty, dirty face...he just finished with a bitter biscuit and I wanted to take the picture quick while everyone was still happy!)

Whenever the boys see me with the camera out...they all get really excited and want to pose. So, I always try to get a few pics.

Here are the boys going head to head...in a good way. Sawyer was too into watching Thomas the Tank Engine to join in. Look at those smiles! What a bunch...


Again, ignore Mitchell's stained face...and the big toes sticking into the bottom of the picture. Details...details...

I am amazingly blessed.