laundry basket fun

enjoy the progression of "fun in a small laundry basket"

pumpkin picking

pumpkin picking lasted two days for us this year.  on saturday, we discovered that elise does not like hayrides, so that idea got scrapped.  so, instead we went to a local farm stand and let the kids wander and pick pumpkins that way.  way more fun...and way more cost effective!  we got 9 pumpkins for $7!!!  if you want to know where it is, just let me know!  if we had gone to the other farms in the area we would have spent $20-$30.  after picking those pumpkins, the kids painted them on saturday.  justin and i carved that night after they went to bed.  and then on sunday, mimi and grampy came over and painted the rest of the pumpkins with us.  very fun times.  oh how i love fall.  

(and p.s. lisey learned how to wink as you will see :)

thankful for albuterol

as many of you will remember, last winter was a hard one for us.  every time elise caught a cold, she battled her newly-diagnosed asthma as well.  nebulizers and eventually inhalers became a constant in our house.  we have tried homeopathic herbs most every day since last winter to help build up her immune system in hopes that this winter would be different.  just last week, she got a cold, and sure enough her asthma returned.  thankfully though, it was mild and only required her inhalers for a short time.  i thank God that we have them.  though i'm not a medicinal person for many things, i am quite grateful we have these and grateful God has humbled me enough to use them.  my heart would break listening to her get into coughing fits in her sleep that she couldn't get out of.  and then just yesterday, isaac also came down with the same cold.  he also had an ER trip last winter for wheezing, and was also prescribed an inhaler.  just this morning, his wheezing returned as well.  he's had his inhaler twice this morning, and i stand amazed at the instant change in his breathing even after one treatment.  Jesus, thank You for medicines like this.  Thank You for working in my heart and relieving the anxiety i was already starting to feel thinking about what kind of winter this is going to be.  it's in Your hands.

sibling fun

i have looked forward to the days when they would be old enough to "play" together...and well...those days are here.  recent fun times have included chasing each other around the house (which is usually started by isaac), playing bumper shopping cart and bumper stroller while running around the house, and this fun ride just started last night.  i love having our kids so close in age...give it another 18 months or so, and another little boy will be in the mix...what will he be doing during these fun and crazy moments, i wonder...

baloche family dinner

we got most of the baloche crew together for dinner the other night and it was quite fun just to hang out and catch up.

mom has not been able to sell this carousel horse (if you're interested, let me know!)...meanwhile, the kids love riding on it!  i absolutely adore this picture.

 eva and mara got the two younger ones playing dress up with them.  they were all characters from Little House on the Prairie.  jonas was "pa" and at one point, elise said she wanted to hide a toy so that pa couldn't get it!

 2nd cousins...isaac and clayton

the boys (make way boys, they'll be another one in 9 weeks and counting...)

 the girls...so sweet...miss you norsey and stella!

she's cracking me up lately

Elise: mama, i want to watch Barney
me: ok, which one do you want to watch? (we have three VHS tapes to choose from)
Elise: it's On Demand, mom.

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me: Ok, let's pray before we eat lunch.
Elise: (after we prayed) You have nice teeth, mom.

four generations

hoodies

these two were cracking me up at breakfast yesterday with their hoodies on.  she loves her daddy.

fall festival

our church has a table at the fall festival each year.  this year the kids were old enough to really enjoy it.  elise got her face painted (thank you, mr. chris!), she got to climb inside a fire truck (twice), hold a bunny, and even got a butterfly tattoo.  isaac finally got to have some fun too inside the fire truck...he gripped onto the side for dear life when it was time to come out.  it was a nice morning and so nice to be welcoming fall!!