The best thing about Autumn...

or one of the best things about Autumn, is the start of a fantastic season of food!!! So many cook- and bake-worthy holidays and events!! Yummy!!

It started here on Friday when I puled out the baking ingredients. The kids weren't feeling great so we didn't go anywhere that morning and I was trying to figure out something to get us from lunch to naptime. I mixed up some dough, and when they got done eating lunch we started making cookies!! Lawson LOVES to help me cook...this is Jordan's first time to really get in on the cooking action...(Yes, I know they're in their jammies...I was too! We just don't get dressed when no one feels well!)

Just wondering...

The other day as I was showering and in a daze I noticed the directions on the back of my Body Wash bottle. I read them, then read them again.

I wonder, if I actually bought this and didn't already know how to use it, would my body ever actually get clean? You know, since it says nothing about actually applying it to my body...

On Green Mountain

Did you know this place existed? Some friends told us about it a few weeks ago, and we finally made it up for a visit. It's a Nature Trail and Wildlife Preserve on top of Green Mountain. It's clean and well-maintained, with very easy-to-walk marked trails. We went to some yard sales this morning, then grabbed Subway and headed up for some picnic and hiking action.

We hiked about a mile around this 17 acre lake. It was beautiful!! There were so many things to see--A covered bridge, a log house, a chapel. There were also several foot-bridges to cross. We saw geese, fish, spiders/webs, crickets, and many stunning autumn leaves! The kids were fascinated with every little thing...

Our hike was about and hour and fifteen minutes, and each kid only needed about a 10 minute ride on Jon's shoulders towards the end. They did great, and I love that they love to be outside so much. We are so fortunate that there are so many great places in Huntsville to do things for free.
Sitting on the crooked tree...Jon made fun of me b/c this was really the first photo-op I took...First of many...
Daddy is a GREAT spider/spider web finder!!

Turns out Jordan likes to horde acorns!! Thank goodness for pockets!

Did they both look? And smile??? Oh my...These days, that alone is worth blogging!! :) Rock Climber
Covered Bridge

A couple things about this bridge...Jordan was scared to walk on it b/c the floor slats were far enough apart she could see the water through them. She needed to hold a hand, or she was frozen and wouldn't move.

I was standing next to Lawson while he was looking out one of the windows. He looked down at the water and saw the current flowing under the bridge. He told me, "Look, Mommy, the water is floating this bridge away!" I thought it was so cute, and observant...b/c it really did look like it.

Lawson in the covered bridge...

I love this picture of Jon and Jordan walking hand in hand...
Doesn't it look like he's trying to pull this tree over??
Just kidding...he was just hanging on a crooked tree!!
Lawson found a Daddy Long Legs all by himself and watched it crawl under this bench.

A Log Cabin, built with wood, cut down by the original homesteader, I think, Or something historical like that....

Lawson really loved finding different leaves.
A beautiful Fall day
The Chapel in the woods
The kids threw their collected acorns to the geese...because we didn't have bread, and we didn't want to bring the acorns home!!!
I would SOOO recommend you visit this wonderful place if you are local...It is a great place to walk the trails and see nature! It is at the top of Green Mountain. The main trail is 1.5 miles, but we didn't take take the large loop at the east end of the lake--we only did about a mile. We all had a great day! They also allow fishing for children under 16 on Monday-Friday.

A day of remembering...

This morning I woke up at 3:40. Got in the van and turned off my street...to see SEVEN firetrucks, THREE police patrol cars, ONE ambulance and THREE Huntsville Utilities trucks lining the street--which was the only way to get out of the neighborhood. WHY? Because the house and one, maybe two, cars on a corner a couple streets over were ABLAZE!!! I saw a million blaring lights and thought I was dreaming! This is my second fire to see in as many months...Remember the last one? At least I wasn't the one who found this one. Here's a short article at WAFF...keep this family in your prayers b/c when I drove by this morning it was clear that this home was completely engulfed and most of this family's material possessions are most likely a total loss.

Fires are something that amaze me. At times, I can stare into a fire and be mesmerized. Other times it completely repulses me. It brings back memories. It takes me back to another fire.

I remember the house I grew up in. I remember playing with my brother in our bedrooms. I remember the sandbox next to the garage that my dad had build for us. I remember riding our bikes in the driveway. I remember eating on picnic table in the back yard. I remember laying on my back next to my dad watching tv--we would prop our heads on the single step that led to the kitchen. I remember the day my mom left the laundry room window open while we were gone, and when we came back there was a squirrel going bazonkers and we were terrified about what could be causing that noise behind the door. I remember laying in the floor pretending with my brother that the large spot in the carpet that had been melted by a fallen lamp was our own personal smurf village. I remember having my friends over to play, and being forced to take Sunday nap even though a friend was there. I remember.

15 months old

Age 3, I think

My 4th birthday

I remember that the summer before 3rd grade the house that I had grown up in caught fire and burned.

My childhood home

My mom, brother and I had gone to Tennessee to visit my grandparents. My dad stayed home to work. One morning a neighbor called my Grandpa (the one in MI) to see if he could get in touch with my dad because there were flames coming out of the back of the house. My dad had left for work about 5:00am. The fire started, they think, around 5:30. The fact that he did not oversleep that day and was not home has always been the source of one of my greatest thanksgivings.

My birthday-'87. House burned in June that year.

We lost almost everything. My mom had made her wedding dress. She had saved our baby clothes. All of our clothing and toys that were in the house. For us in TN, we had our suitcase-full. Dad only had his one set of work clothes. One thing I will always be thankful for is that right before we had moved my mom had relocated all of our family pictures to a large wooden chest. This chest was on the opposite end of the house that the fire stated on, so the things inside were only smoke-stained. All of what wasn't actually burned was smoke-stained, and most of that was ruined.

My baby book. It was under another book, so the part sticking out was smoke-stained.

I still remember that smell. Going through our things, trying to find something we could keep. To this day, those pictures still smell like our burned house. Those who have not experienced it may not be able to differentiate--but it's not the same. It's different from a campfire. It's different from a grill. It's engulfing. It's consuming. It's dirty. I will never forget it.

My parents decided not to let my brother and I walk through the burned house when we got back. In a way I'm glad, but in a way, I really wish I could've seen the inside.

We moved into a hotel, on a short-term basis. It was a Knight's Inn--I totally remember it. We got to go to Toys R Us and pick out one toy--any toy we wanted. I picked a Red-Headed Cornsilk Cabbage Patch Kid. I loved that doll. I'm touched today to see my daughter play with something that marks such an important event in my life. I also received a 'replacement bible' that I don't use for my personal study these days, but that bible holds special meaning to me.

My parents decided to rebuild on our same lot. We lived with my grandparents (only a few miles away) while they tore down our burned house, dug a basement, and built the new one. It was about a year. I am grateful that my Grandma and Grandpa opened their home to us, and I still have fond memories of our time with them.

Halloween at Grandma's house, 3rd grade

There are many events that have shaped me and who I am. I am not exactly sure of the effect this has had on me, but I know it's a landmark. It's definitely an experience that not many people have in common. I think as an adult, it still causes me to have reactions to certain possessions. On one hand, I realize that so many of the things I have make my daily life easier and more convenient, but should I lose them it would have little effect on me. The majority of my possessions are held loosely by me, I think. On the other hand, however, I cling to the things that mark the path of me and of my family. I horde my pictures. I love my videos. I keep the things that remind me of high school, and college, and my life with Jon. I love things that remind me of my kids as babies. I realize that these things can be lost, but I also know that of my material possessions, losing these things is what would cause me the most grief and sorrow.

Losing all of your material possessions is also something that helps one realize the value of life and family. I am so grateful that nobody I love was hurt or lost in the fire. I pray protection over my family, because going through such a tragedy can help you realize just how quickly someone can be lost.

It is weird how seeing that house this morning has thrown me into a day of nostalgia. It's sort of haunting to look back through the pictures. In a way, though, I'm grateful for the memories. Remembering...

Things I don't want to forget...

*These days, every time Lawson sits down to eat anything that is bite-size he pretends it's the Lord's Supper. They learn about the Lord's Supper in Celebration Station, so we've been talking about it too...takes me back to my childhood!! My friends and I used to play "Lord's Supper" with Smarties. Yellow would be the bread, Purple would be the fruit of the vine, and Green would be for the money!

*The kids love casting fishing poles off the porch! Lawson got his for Christmas last year, and Jordan plays with one of Jon's...Lawson is very good at casting, and Jordan is learning. It's very cute! The latest thing Lawson does is cast the line over a tree branch then pull the little tire at the end of the line up and down--he's pretending it's Charlotte the Spider going up and down on her line. He loves spiders!

*Lately I have been SO tired! When the kids wake up in the morning, I usually get them breakfast and cups then turn on a show. Then I lay down and sleep on the couch for a little longer. Today I slept on the couch for a while and they were up in L's room playing. I went up meaning to play, but laid my head down on Lawson's big stuffed frog and fell back to sleep!!! I woke up a little bit later, and Lawson told me I was a "Bedhead" and I needed to wake up!!! That made me laugh!

*My kids are like little Jackrabbits! They jump on anything, anywhere! They jump off couches, beds, steps, curbs, even the van! Lately Jon has started putting them ON TOP OF the van and letting them jump off to him!!! They LOVE this and cry if they don't get 'their turn'. They jump so far! Jordan hardly ever walks anywhere...She hops and bounds...we can hear her downstairs if she's up in her room...she thumps, ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, across the room! We seriously need to get them a trampoline! :)

Cookin' up a storm...

Whew!!! This has been a cooking weekend!
We have been trying to figure out how to cut back on the budget to minimize the impact of my missing paychecks in the next months. We spend so much money eating out--sometimes it's a meal that we have deliberately planned on eating out (think Little Rosie's)--but sometimes I just don't plan ahead. Either I don't have groceries at home. Or I have meat but it's in the freezer. And raw. By the time I think about dinner at 4:30 or 5, I don't have time to thaw an entire hunk of meat and cook it, so we very often default to eating out.

In order to combat this, we have been talking about buying a bulk of groceries and cooking ahead. Friday night, Jon took me on a 'date' to Sam's and we bought SIXTY pounds of meat!!! We bought chicken tenderloins, pork steaks, pork shoulder for BBQ, 2 roasts and frozen chicken breasts. We also bought several bulk sized bags of frozen veggies so we'll always have sides too!

Saturday after the kids went down for their naps, we started. I stuck the pork shoulder in the crock pot. Then I got some water boiling. I cooked and tore 6.5 lb of chicken to be used for soups and casseroles. Jon grilled 20 lb of chicken that we froze in meal-sized portions. These will be used as plain chicken breasts, used on buns for chicken sandwiches, cut into strips to put on top of salads, chopped for chicken salad sandwiches, etc. After grilling all the chicken, Jon grilled 10 pork steaks. We have recently learned that pork steak is one of the kids very favorite meal meats. They LOVE it! Anyways, I put one roast in the freezer raw, and one will cook overnight tonight. It will be roast tomorrow, and maybe one more day, then Beef Stew after that! Sunday after church we at one meal of the BBQ pork that had been cooking since Sat afternoon, then froze the rest.

My freezers are packed with meat!!! I think this will last us most or all of 2 months!! I am so very excited--There is no reason that when i think of dinner at 4:30, I can't just go look in the freezer and decide which cooked meal I want to reheat and what sides I want to cook.

I am thankful that Jon was willing to work together with me so we could come up with a solution, and that he spent his Saturday afternoon cooking up a storm!! :)

It's about that time again...

Most of you are going to think I'm insane...but I'm not. I'm just me. And every year, from October to March or April, I sleep with an electric blanket on my bed! I have since I was in high school. Maybe junior high. Really!

Especially since I get up in the middle of the night and drive around with my windows down for a couple hours...it is really starting to get cool at nights! And I come back SOOOO cold that I can't get back to sleep.

Anyways...usually, Jon fights me about it. He hates it. Luckily, we have a dual-control one, so his side can stay off. This keeps most of the heat off him...

I was SHOCKED Thursday night when offered to put it back on the bed for me! I guess coming home that morning almost frozen through reminded me how adversely I react to 'not-hot' weather!!!

Just in case you were wondering...In our house, it's officially "Electric Blanket Season"!!!! :)

The Long Kiss Goodnight...

Many of you who read my blog noticed that after 5 months my blog-delinquent husband returned...for some very big news, at that! Also, you may have noticed a large, balky, but VERY EXCITING and TEMPORARY Countdown in my sidebar!!!

I didn't write Wednesday, because I really just wanted some time to really soak it in and believe that this can be true!! After almost 3 1/2 years of delivering Huntsville Times subscriptions 7 days a week, I finally turned in my written notice!! They require a 30 day notice to give managers sufficient time to fill the spot...

I am sooo excited about this answered prayer! This is one of those things that I have always imagined would be in my future, but fear that we would never be able to let it go loomed in my thoughts. It's still scary to me to release that weekly paycheck, but I know that we will continue to be blessed with our every need, even if we have to cut back on several of our wants!

I am grateful that during a time of extreme need we were blessed with the opportunity for me to bring home a paycheck while still staying home with 8-month-old Lawson! I am also grateful that after the time I've spent 'under contract' I will be able view so many relatively simple life occurences as pure blessing.

I can already taste the freedom that I will be granted in November. I assure you, this will never be taken for granted by me! Just the ability to sleep through the night. Every night. The option to spend a night away. A camping trip with our growing kids. A weekend away. Just typing this is bringing me much emotion.

As for the title...even though it's near, it's still days away. Days of little sleep, and an irritable, tired mommy for my kids. It's like the end of the school year. As a student and a teacher, I would get so excited about the numbers of the year...'there's only 3 months left...there's only 2 months left...', etc. But when you break it down, you still have to get to the end day by day by day. A long, a monthlong, kiss goodnight...

If you are so inclined, pray that I can finish out this month strong and continue to do my very best at the job I am still doing. In addition, please pray that we will be able to manage our finances so that we can to the best with this opportunity we have been given.

Finally, feel free to rejoice with us in this huge milestone! I feel that without the help and support of so many of my friends and family (especially my awesome Husband!) I would not have made it this long. You have offered words of encouragement and support. You have watched my kids when I just couldn't keep my eyes open. You have truly played a vital role in my survival! Thank You!

Last week's project..

When Jordan turned 2, we started looking for a mattress set so we could switch her out of her crib. We cannot afford to go to a store and buy a full bedroom set for her room (we don't even have one in our room!) so I figured mattresses were a good start. I found a headboard online that I love, and Jon is going to make it for me. I never took down her changing table--she is long past being changed on the table, but I still use the drawer and baskets for her socks, bloomers, swimsuits, and PJs.

A couple weeks ago I answered an ad in the paper for a dresser. I drove out to Gurley to look at it, and instantly loved it. It was only $25 for the dresser!!! I knew I was going to re-finish it in a white, but I bought it immediately!

Projects around my house tend to be put off...sometimes for months and months. I was determined that this would not be the same. In fact, I bought it on the 20th, and I am very proud to say that with Jon and I working on it alternately, it's done today on the 30th! I can't wait to put it up in J's room and break the changing table down! I think it will look so pretty!

The paint and knobs cost about $40. I say $65 for a solid wood dresser is a good deal! I distressed it a little on the edges, and I am SO pleased with how it came out!

Free Family Fun

Friday afternoon I met my friend Heather and her little girl Kaley at a park in Madison. The park is at the top of Stoneway Trail in Madison, and has several hiking trails that branch off and meander around the top of this little mountain. Friday we pretty much stayed at the park, but I began to wonder if my kids are old enough to start doing a little hiking. We walked in on a trail for about 5 minutes, and the kids were just taking it all in. They loved seeing all the nature, and we were going slowly and I was trying to point everything out to them.

I told Jon about it, and Saturday morning we decided to head up as a family and take a little hike. We had pretty low expectations--not knowing how much the kids would tolerate. We just wanted to see how they would do. We love to camp and fish and hike--anything outdoors--and are so excited that both of our kiddos are getting to the age to participate in that kind of stuff with us!!! It was a beautiful day--started off with cool brisk weather and warmed up. The sun was out and we really had a great time out in God's nature!

Jordan wanted help walking down this little trail to the park. Sweet Lawson was there to lend a hand.

There weren't any picnic tables, so we sat on the playscape to eat our picnic.

Jordan on the bouncing horse. I love the expression on her face--she was being so silly!

Lawson and Jon looking at a Daddy Long Legs and his web.

Practicing. This is a good sized little rock that's at the playground. My kids played on it forever...they kept calling it their mountain! Lawson's practicing his rock climbing!

Jordan walking around. She looks so big to me in this picture!

We found two little lizards skittering around on a fallen log. Jon took this picture, then tried to catch one for Lawson to see. He almost got him, but the little guy scurried into his little hole!

This is Jordan's face and expression when she found a huge spider web and turned to tell Jon! This makes me laugh!

Okay, fine...you got me...I think this kid is pretty cute! I can't stop taking pictures of her! :)

We were hiking on this cute little trail. Jordan took off in the lead and ran ahead for a little while, but then Lawson announced he wanted to be the "line leader" so he ran up front to lead the way!

Climbing up this pretty big rock to get all the way up to daddy. I must say that I was impressed that my 2 and 3 year-old kids got up this by themselves!!!

We made it!!!!

Close-up...

Down a rocky trail... Kinda steep, huh?

They did so great...we hiked for about 35 minutes, and they only complained about being tired for the last 5-10 or so. Jordan got a little lift on Daddy's shoulders, and Lawson wanted to sit on this rock and take a rest. When Jordan was climbing up her last little rocky trail before the end, she kept whispering to herself "My heart goes bum-bum, my heart goes bum-bum, my heart goes bum-bum..." SO CUTE! :)

Despite the fact that a couple times a year I am plagued by poison-something--oak, ivy, sumac...I have no idea--I don't know what any of those plants look like. I know you can look them up online, but I can never recognize them in real life--you know, when it matters...

I was totally paranoid the whole time we were walking around, sure that every plant that grows in the wild must have some itch inducing oil on it!!! I saw this plant and it is red and has 5 leaves...someone tell me--did I spot one??? :()

We got back to the park after a completely enjoyable little family hike! I am so excited--the kids did great, and I really think they loved it! I think this is just the beginning of another family hobby for us to all do together. This is when our trail came back to the park. We took a little swing to rest and cool off...then headed home for NAPTIME!!! :)