Dewberry Farm

Today was our annual Dewberry Farm trip and I think we enjoyed it more this time than we ever have before. It's so much fun doing stuff with kids, so I'm really glad God gave me three of them because they sure make life so much more fun. I've actually heard my mouth tell several people lately that I would have 2 or 3 more kids if Brian would let me because they are just so much fun! I don't know what to do with that thought, but it's out there so we'll see what God has for us.
Anyway, It was such a beautiful day today and the crowds today weren't nearly as bad as the last time we went, and I ran into a few new friends from the running club I recently joined, so it was just all around a great day. (Yeah, I just said running club. I am hoping they will help motivate me to get my rear back in shape. When I remind myself that i ran a 26.2 mile marathon 4 years ago and now I can barely run 2 miles without cramping up & quitting, I feel really sad that I've let my fitness go. The girls are all moms like me and they like running and some of them are trying to train for a half-marathon or some other event, so I'm just excited to see where it takes me.) Anyway, back to Dewberry Farm. Here are some of my favorite pictures from today.


Precious girls finding precious minerals















My middle pumpkin















A nice family on the hayride took our family's picture:














You can see all our pigtails in these pictures. Laney's were too cute!














I love Laney in this picture. She was on the bale of hay.













I can't believe we got them all to actually look at the camera at the same time. I'd pick them all!














Avery played on the swings in the hay FOREVER!














I remember when Avery wore these overalls that Tatum has on. I thought they were the longest overalls I had ever seen. Now my little Tate is about to outgrow them!!














We showed up to the "Dairy Classroom" just in time to see the farmer milk this precious jersey cow named Annabel. She looked into my eyes and she knew that I knew. We had a moment. We understood each other. I've never felt such an inner bond with a cow before.














They must have gone down this roller slide 87 times.














Thanks Dewberry Farm for another fun fall day! We'll be back next year.




Prayer Request: Please say a prayer for my sweet Dad. He started bleeding again today similar to what happened a couple years ago when he lost all the blood in his body and we almost lost him. Thankfully he is stable and he is staying in the hospital tonight for observation, but no one knows what is causing the bleeding. Pray that God will heal him and pray for my mom & dad to be comforted and at peace. THANKS so much!

All About Avery..

Purple pajama party!!

So what did the tooth fairy do for Avery's first tooth? I happened to have this cute note card in my stationary stash, so here's the note that was under her pillow when she woke up, along with $1.00 and a page of cute pumpkin stickers (they were put on the note later on). Thankfully she has no concept of money, so she thought she was rich with her $1.00 bill. She very proudly put it in her piggy bank. Both this note and her tooth are now safely tucked away in her baby box.

I can't believe how grown up Avery is getting! She's already named her first future child. Are you ready? "Violetta" will be my first grandchild, and it must be pronounced properly too. "Vee-a-letta", and by the way, my grandma name is going to be "Mammy." I honestly do not know where she comes up with this stuff, but it keeps me smiling. She is such a little momma at heart, and it is so sweet to see how she gently leads her flock of sisters throughout the day.

She had her last soccer game on Saturday, and although she really improved throughout the season and she tried her best, she really did not like soccer. She told me very matter-of-factly that she would like it if she never had to play soccer again. She told everyone that she was going to do dance instead of soccer now. I'm hoping she "gets" dance a little better than she did soccer! It's so funny how God works... I am absolutely thrilled at the thought of her being a little ballerina or gymnast, even if that is the furthest thing in the world from what I would naturally have chosen for her to do. I have had so much fun researching the different dance classes around town and seeing all the fun things she will learn. I can't wait to see where it is she finds her niche.

So along with dance, she has recently began caring very much about what she wears. I guess I'm lucky I've made it until she's 4.5 before she's started caring b/c I know alot of little girls care much much earlier! She has been so laid back up until now and put on anything I chose for her, but lately she has only wanted dresses, no jeans, no pants, no leggings, just dresses. So I took her to the resale store to see if we could find a few cute dresses to satisfy her, and this is the dress that caught her eye. She had to have it. I would never have chosen it myself, but she loved it, so I paid $8 for it and we took it home. She LOVED herself in it. And I must admit, I have begun to love it too, if only because it is so "her" right now. It is bright neon yellow/green with a tie around the neck and a big pink flower pin on the side. Here she is before church this morning in all her glory:

These cowboy boots on Tatum are the single greatest joy in my life whenever she wears them. She wears them with everything and it makes me so happy to see them on her cute little self. Tatum is just plain cute. There is nothing you can do about it.

Here's the girls in their bunk beds!
















Tatum is not allowed to get in Avery's bed, so sometimes Avery gets in Tatum's bed to snuggle.
















Tonight I got to witness Brian, the Tooth-master, at work. After brushing her teeth, he & Avery were looking in the bathroom mirror, just wiggling the second loose tooth around. Then he told Avery to scream & yell, and as she was enjoying hearing herself scream he yanked her second tooth out of her mouth! I thought to myself, that is genius! My man has skills! So here she is tonight with her TWO bottom teeth missing.





























The adult tooth from the one that came out last week is already peeking through her gum and my goodness, is it crooked! I guess we better start saving up for braces!

Laney is doing great too, I just don't have any pics of her to post right now. (Mom, could you send me the one of her in her Rosetta costume??) I need to get a picture of her toothy grin because it brings tears to my eyes, it is so cute. She is almost 10 months old and standing up on her own. She took one step by herself a couple days ago, so I think it won't be long until she figures out how to walk. Today when I told her "i love you," she said "i luv" very clearly. I'm not lying. I so wish I had it on video. She lights up our day and gives me more reasons to smile than I deserve.

Much Ado About Teeth

It finally came out! I don't know what Brian did, but while he was helping her brush her teeth tonight, the tooth finally decided to fall out! I was downstairs watching the Kate special on TLC so I didn't even hear the commotion until they got downstairs. I told Brian that my parents always made us gurgle warm saltwater when we lost a tooth, so he got Avery a HUGE glass of VERY salty water and told her to gurgle it. She took one sip and spewed it out on the kitchen floor. I don't blame her. I fondly remember the yucky taste of saltwater, mixed with the inner excitement of knowing what a huge accomplishment it was to lose a tooth. Anyway, Avery was so excited and proud of herself! And I must say, I am so proud of her. My brave little Ave!

Now we need to go figure out what the tooth fairy is going to put under her pillow tonight!! The tooth right next to it is loose too, so whatever we do tonight is going to set the standard for the rest of the three mouths full of teeth that will eventually all fall out. Huge night for us, huh? Er, I mean, the tooth fairy!

Speaking of teeth, Laney's top two teeth just poked through her gum last week. I can't wait until they drop down to where I don't have to hold her lip up to see them.

Lastly, I am so sad for Jon & Kate and their kids. So very sad. I don't know what to make of it, or who to blame for what happened to their marriage and I know that's not my job anyway. I think my job is to pray for them that God will heal their marriage, restore their faith and provide for their needs. Wouldn't that make an awesome tabloid story!