Stick Hunt

Today Owen and I went on a stick hunt.We decided to go down the alleys. Our neighborhood is old and so the alleys are a charming detour from the side walks sometimes.This kid loves sticks... he loves them with a passion and since we don't allow them in the house any more(after that fateful incident with the smelly oil jar breaking)we have about 10 of them strewn about our yard and porch.

Today we went looking for sticks for me though. I am throwing a baby shower this weekend and needed a couple of small downed branches to help with decor.
It was a successful trip I got two small branches and Owen got one new stick.

I am super passionate about walking with him right now as you may have noticed so the point of the walk was only an excuse really to get out and enjoy his chatter for a while. Owen took it fairly seriously and brought me numerous sticks for inspection.

He told me today "Momma(I love that he still calls me momma)I really love alleys...I have always wanted to live in an alley they are really beautiful"
I feel like my heart will burst some days because of his complete earnestness. He is such a special little and I am a lucky momma.

Stream of conscious

We went on another fall walk yesterday. I can tell that the leaves are going to be gone in a week or so. I really wanted the chance to enjoy them again before their fire and gold brilliance is gone and we are left with nothing but gray for 5 months.




When we go on walks together I make sure and answer(well try to anyway) every question you ask. I ask your opinion on things like the sound of crunchy leaves under our feet and patiently listen to your 10 minute responses. It is good for me to hear you. It helps me to know you...to know your heart and soul.



I feel a little nervous sometimes about having another child in my care...I don't know what it will be like to have two kids or to raise "boys" plural. How will I ever get to really know this baby the way I know you little O? We have been just you and me for so long now that its hard to even imagine it any other way. I am a little afraid of what is to come and how my life will change, but I am so excited to meet this new person God is making inside me. I know he is someone very important for our lives and that we need him in ways we are not even sure of yet... I feel so glad to have this opportunity and so terrified of it at the same time.



Owen you are the one who mad me a momma and I am so happy that you did... it just seems foreign to think that I will be someone elses momma too... I hope that doesn't sound like I'm not excited about it because I am...but its a whole new world that's completely uncharted for me and I am a slow explorer.

Cousins

They really love each other... they always have. Even before Mia was born Owen used to lay quietly on my sisters pregnant belly and listen to his sweet cousin move. Now he sits and listens to her talk and recite nursery poems and lets her tell him what they will do next. She snuggles him on the couch and shares her princess toys with him.



They love to have a sleep over and they never get bored of being together. I hope it stays this way the rest of their lives. I hope he always wants to listen to her talk and that she always wants to snuggle up to him on the couch. I know someday they will be teen aged and it won't be as cool to hang with each other all the time... I hope they don't care.

Colds

I have another cold and so does Owen... this is the second one this month and I am feeling really discouraged by it. When your pregnant you cant take cold meds and that is all I want to do right now. I want to toss back some day quill and feel better. Alas this is not my fate and I will have be snarfely and sneazy until its over.

Side note... I am really enjoying the fall weather and all the beauty that is present. The fall leaves and wonderful pumpkins are really making my heart swell with joy!

Alone time together

It seems Like its been a long time since MG and I went on a getaway together. I had totally been starting to feel the strain of the every days when MG was asked to be the key note speaker for a Campus Crusade for Christ retreat. The retreat came at such a perfect time as we had just had our 4th anniversary so we planned to celebrate after the event.
We went away about two weeks ago and I am just now getting around to sharing about the wonderful time we had. A combination of our family watched Owen so we could have the weekend to our selves and it was a much needed break from the regular routines of life.
MG had the opportunity to teach three times in two days so the actual retreat was not as restful for him as it was for me. It is always a great experience to be able to listen to your husband teach and really grow from it.

After the retreat he treated me to a hotel stay in Portland where we just relaxed and enjoyed some great alone time together.


A view from our hotel room. This room was great it was all windows except the wall the bed was against the views were amazing!


Breakfast at this sweet little french bakery that MG always takes me to when we stay in Portland.

Yes this is a chocolate filled chocolate eclair... that pretty much sums up our time together...Lovely.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch with a few of our friends the other day. It was a really nice warm day and we had fun running around looking for the perfect pumpkins.


We just got this new hat for Owen...it matches one that his Papa has and he really loves wearing it.

We found some really good pumpkins that were just Owens size.


A great shot of the whole crew! Such amazing kids...and super cute!!!


A couple more of Owen in the hat... seriously can't get enough of that face!!

Owen your smile is like sunshine to me!!

Fun with Fall

Sometimes it's fun to just go on a walk with your kid. Don't get me wrong I take Owen on lots of walks ...but usually he is sitting in his stroller while I push and chat with a friend or while we both just zone out. This time I decided that we would actually walk together and talk to each other... it was great.
We took the time to discuss all manner of things from why the leaves change color to why we can see our shadows only some of the time.

We had so much fun together. I cant wait to do this again.

We collected leaves to do a little contact paper project when we got home. This is how it turned out. Not spectacular... but the conversation was rich and the weather was beautiful so the quality of the project really didn't matter that much in the end.

4 years Married

Dear sweet MG,
We have been at it for 4 whole years now and it feels amazing to be your wife.
I know it hasn't always been easy for us-and that it will always have peaks and valley's to come-but this marriage is great. It brings me an incredible amount of joy to be married to a man so devoted to his God and his family. I love your commitment to the things that really matter in life and I love how strong and reliable you are.

I became the luckiest girl I know when you married me(even if I didn't know it yet then).
So thanks for your love and your life. I am so great-full to be sharing this adventure with you
Love
D

Renovations

We have been a busy little family around these parts getting ready for #2. We decided that any thing that needed changing or organizing better get done before the baby gets here or it would be put off for at least a year(it takes me a while to "bounce back" after having a baby).

My dear friend Mrs. N came over and helped me to organize my basement-something that has been on every new years resolution list I have made since living here-and wow does it feel good. There are no before pics because I don't want to remember it that way. I only want to think of it this way. Which may not look awesome to you ...but is a beautiful sight to me!

To actually be happy to do laundry. I have not had a back up for 3 weeks!!


But most of all be able to say "yes of course!" when some one asks to see my basement(instead of "Ummm....probably not a safe plan").


We also re-purposed two rooms making the office the play room and the play room the office...which it was before it was the playroom... but its better than ever with a new set of book shelves in each room and a new desk for the office area.
The new office ( which is still being unpacked but is way more organized than the old one.



The new "play room"


I have also been busy in the kitchen, re-arranging some things and just getting a better system going for the future. I am using this shelf as an external pantry to free up space in my cupboards so I can actually see what I have in them.

Needless to say IKEA was our best friend while gathering shelves to make all these projects happen... gotta love something that really makes a difference on a very tight(non-existent) budget.

So-other than fighting a severe cold for a solid two weeks-that is what the deal has been around here.

Retro fitted

So I am finally showing!
At 23 weeks I don't just look chubby anymore I look mostly pregnant! The reason I have not just popped right on out(like I thought-and was told-I would in my second pregnancy) is because I have a retro-flexed uterus... sounds awesome right? It is-I mean kinda-it basically means my baby oven is tilting towards my back instead of my stomach which is fine. There is nothing wrong with that and there is no reason to worry its just different-which fits me really-so there ya go. I always forget the real term and just tell people who ask why Im not getting as round as fast as other pregnant ladies "its because of my retro fitted uterus"

Stories

Today Owen told Papa and I that "on my way home from work ...on the freeway... there was a man with a snake on his head... I saw him far away while he was doing this(he mimes someone stopping traffic) he was way up there on the freeway but i saw him and he had a snake but it was all part of his costume..."

Then at dinner "I saw a rainbow elephant once...when my daddy(not sure why he chose to say daddy unless he was trying to separate fact from fiction in some way)my DADDY(serious look at me) took me to the zoo in a far away place... it was a real colorful one and that elephant walked right up to me and squirted his trunk right at ME"

Owen you are great and I love being your Mama!

BOY OH BOY!!

Dear sprout,
Your a boy!!! A son, a little brother , a nephew, a grandson and a great grand son!!! We are so excited for boy number two!

This is the way I get to take pictures of Owen now. From behind while chasing him. I am his own personal paparazzi. I say things like "Owen this way" and "smile at your Mommy" but nothing seems to matter he runs and says "no take the pictures Mommy come on".

So this it. the pumpkin patch.

Autumn:fall, fruitage, fruition, garnering, gathering, harvest-time, harvesting, ingathering, intake, output, produce, reaping, repercussion, result,

This Autumn has turned out to be intensely yet joyfully busy. Owen and I have started a new weekly bible study/preschool program, we also started our job working as child care providers for a drug court program 3 time per month and, our family is part of a new missoinal community starting up through our Church, and Michael has been taking two college courses after working ours.With all of this new activity and our regular activities we have basically been full to the brim with life.

Some days I feel like I am barely keeping my head above the water when I realize that I am living a truly fruitful life. I am grateful to be a mother who stays home with her crazy awesome little boy. I am thankful beyond belief for a husband who has a tenacious love for me and a special gift of patience. I am blessed to see that God works in trials, and that I am firmly in His grasp.