Sent On A Mission: Mission Completion....Fall Photos

My goal is to post the rest of the cute pictures taken in the last few months here, but it seems like an unending battle at times, the kids are just more precious every day and their habits endearing! Here we go for an assortment of pictures!

We went on a family boat ride in Forest Park for Elise's baptism birthday. This started out as a twilight outing and ended as a pitch black darkness adventure. I am so proud of my strong armed man! He rowed us back to the dock in safety, only a few ducks nesting were disturbed!

With the home school group we took a trip to the pumpkin farm, this place was quite incredible! There were pumpkins, hay ride, mazes constructed out of hay bales that freaked me out as I crawled through to 'comfort' Elise (yet could not see her even though I was grasping her leg) and a host of animals all with names from Harry Potter. My favorite was the llama named Firenze.

Josiah's favorite part by far was the zip-line, where Elise preferred the tractor bikes. It was a good time enjoyed with friends. The best part was that we got to pick a pumpkin at the end which the kids painted enthusiastically.

There were a few opportunities for us to dress up this fall, of which I take full advantage! We had a trunk or treat at our church the Sunday before Halloween and our friends from the Seminary hosted a trunk with a super-hero theme. Josiah was Spiderman and Elise Super-girl. They are with friends Aiden as Superman and Brody as Dash.

The children also participated as peasants in the Sem Home school's production of Reformation Day. It was a very well done program which the kids performed in front of the chapel immediately after worship, they gathered quite the audience and were encouraged by the boo's and cheering of the crowd.

This collection of photos is not complete without the inclusion of Michael's favorite intramural sport, Ultimate Frisbee! This is the championship game of which he has had the honor of being champion two seasons in a row! (Just don't ask about football!) The guys really enjoy this time together, and it is fun to see the artistic game played. My favorite part is seeing Michael leap into the air above the other guys' heads and snag the Frisbee down....or maybe the best part is the bag of popcorn the kids and I share at each game!

Our family was blessed with the arrival of good friends Miriam and Alex, along with their two delightful twin girls Addison and Jasmine. Elise was enthralled with the thought of these babies to play with, and Josiah is a true baby holder. Between these girls and the Maddry twins, my children think that a double birth is common, and therefore have been praying for twins! I am not discouraging this talk as I have always prayed for that myself, I just hope they are not disappointed if God's answer is no!

After having visitors, we got to visit some friends and family up north before the cool weather hit. The kids and I drove up to Michigan to visit my Grandparents, cousins and Aunts. Michael was working out at the base and finishing up the dry wall in the basement. As we headed up to Michigan we stopped in IL near Chicago to visit some of our friends the Robarges who are out on their vicarage year of seminary. It was good to spend 4 hours together, roaming around a convenient meeting point ~ IKEA! We continued on further in to the windy city and stayed the evening with good friends the Shirley family. They are in a lovely home and sweet boy Kaleb is a lovable cuddle boy, and loved running into the guest bed set up in his playroom. Katrina is also pregnant, about 2 months ahead of me, and she reminded me that the tiredness will go away in a very short while!

At Grandma's, we had fun going on a bike ride, having a tea party, and the boys played a little basement golf. It was wonderful to enjoy the intimate time there, see my Aunts, go to the amazing market of Nino's and enjoy my Grandma's wonderful soups and Grandpa's wonderful stories.

Lastly, I have the photos that were just taken yesterday!!! Wow, I am impressed with myself right now! We have gymnastics every week for the kids. They are in the same class and love to do this together. Elise and Josiah have both learned an assortment of new things and love the running and jumping involved. Their teacher is very patient and enjoys having them in there.