Halloween

We had a fun night celebrating Halloween today! I went to Madeline's school party - it was 2 1/2 hours long! The kids were divided into groups of six and went around to different centers, they also sang some Halloween songs at the Parrish office, and Madeline was kind of a star because her Aunts Margaret Mary and Judy were there working. Margaret Mary yells "Paddlin Miss Madlin" across the room - who knows why she always says that, but Madeline was all smiles at the attention. I left my camera in my purse though, and didn't get a chance to go back and get pictures.

On Sunday we carved our pumpkins - we were proud of them! We carved a spider, a cat, and a traditional Jack - o - Lantern.



Tonight we went over to Mom & Dad's house, had dinner, gave out candy, and did our trick or treating over there. We had a great time, it is such a blessing to be able to spend that time with them! Madeline was dressed as a fairy, and got many compliments :-) She was particularly proud of her make up!

Her costume was beautiful!



She was casting a few spells



And winning a few hearts :-)



Mom was looking cute too!



Dad was a sweetie, and took Madeline trick or treating, but somehow I missed getting his picture :-(

Family Halloween Party

Birthday with Granddaddy and Jeanine

Johnny and Jeanine came by today to wish Madeline a Happy Belated Birthday and to bring her a gift - we had a good visit with them, and she loved the present :-) It was really kind of good that all of her little birthday celebrations were spread out a bit, because she really has enjoyed visiting with each person and playing with her gifts.

Now, if I could convince her that it's time to clean out her closet, I'd be thrilled too!

Corn Maze Fun!

This week-end was good! We went to Rogers' Corn Maze on Saturday night, and had a really good time - we went through the maze - Madeline is quite the little explorer! We went through the un-haunted maze, as you see in the picture. They had a fun crawl through thing for the kids in the hay loft - Madeline yelled "I am never leaving here!" while she was up there.. We rode a hay ride and went through their little petting zoo. It was a lot of fun! It was on my friend's family farm, which was absolutely beautiful. Afterward we went out for Pizza, for the first time in a long time we ate in the restaurant and loved it! Fun, fun....

20 Years!

I was kind of amazed today to read that The Joshua Tree was released twenty years ago! What else was going on 20 years ago? I entered UK as a Freshman, I met Jen, Robin and Paige, Star Trek - The New Generation was on TV (one of Steven's favorite shows), Baby Jessica fell in the well, the stock market crashed, the Cold War was raging, Iran Contra was in the news, Steven was at U of L (studying hard), Steven King was the best selling author, "The Running Man" and "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" were playing at the movies. I know it is cliche to say it, but time certainly flies! I was having a lot of fun at the time, but was also uncertain as to how my life would turn out. Here I am, a happy Wife and Mom, career well under way, and twenty years later, my favorite band is still U2!

What do you think?

OK, we've been speculating on whether Madeline and Sophia look alike, so I tried to find a similar picture of Madeline to one Dad had. Madeline's picture is when she was about 4 weeks old, so she was a bit bigger, my after comparing them I'd say they don't really look alike, but their coloring is about the same. What do you think?

(They are both absolutely beautiful, although I'd say Madeline is 0.000002% cuter :-)

Madeline is Famous!

This week-end somehow I missed my girlie in the paper! Her class took a trip to the Farmer's Market and each kid got a little locally grown pumpkin. They had a great time! I though you'd enjoy seeing the picture -

I'm 6 now!

Madeline had a ton of fun on her Birthday - Dad came over and she had a little family Birthday celebration. They had a really good time opening gifts and having cupcakes together. Later we made a water color painting with her new set - she really enjoyed it, then we did the Zoom toy that Rebecca and Mark gave her, and the whole family had a good time! Overall, I think she had a great birthday. We have gone back to our regular work/school life now, and are settling back into that. Thank you to everyone for making Madeline's Birthday so great!

Madeline's 6th Birthday Party

Fall Break

Fall Break has been fun around here. We went camping (no photos this time - I forgot the camera!), Jeanine's church fall festival, Bridget's mini farm, the Zoo, hung around here, and talked on the phone a ton since we had a new addition to our family! It was really special to me getting to spend a week with Ms. Madeline - her 6th Birthday is Sunday, and it certainly doesn't seem like that long since we bundled her up and brought her home from the hospital. The new baby in the family, plus her Birthday, have certainly made me think about those days when she was brand new.

Madeline keeps saying "I'm most important to you, right?" whenever she hears me talk about the new baby. I've been saying for years that we needed a new girl in town - Sophia will be great for Madeline, and for all of us! I keep looking at Rebecca and Mark's blog - I can't believe my baby sister has a baby! Since I was the oldest, I always took care of Rebecca like she was my child, so this new little one will hold an extra special spot in my heart :-)

I talked to an old friend recently who is very successful professionally, but never married and has no children. I was sad for her in a lot of ways. Honestly, my reasons for taking each and every breath are sleeping down the hall (Steven came back today thank goodness). My job is great for me, I enjoy helping people and feeling like I make a difference in people's lives, but when it comes down to it, my family is where all of my joy originates. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.....

She's Here!

I am on vacation this week - and in the spirit of really being away from work, haven't turned the computer on until now! I have had a good/bad week. I planned to go down for Sophia's birth, but due to Madeline and I getting sick, we were unable to go. I basically cried all day yesterday. Rebecca wants to blog her own baby news, but I believe that I am permitted to tell you that sweet Sophia was born at around 7:30 this evening, and Mom, Dad and Baby Sophia are doing fine! It was bittersweet for me to be on the phone literally all day with them, getting updates and then calling both of my Grandma's and telling them the updates that Mom and Dad gave me. I know what wonderful moments Mark and Rebecca are experiencing right now - the most amazing miracle God gives us! I spent the day at the Zoo with my little miracle, and we had a big time. Then we went to Build a Bear and built a bear we named "Cutes" for Sophia, so that she would have one with her same birth date :-) It was actually a gift from my Dad, who made sure to tell me to make one for Madeline too, because he didn't want to give a gift to one of his Grandbabies without getting one for the other. Very sweet! Anyway, I'll have pictures from the past few days around here soon - my camera battery has died, so I can't get that done today.

Steven has been out of town too this week, and I have been missing him too! I guess being away from my family at this time has just made me lonely.... but, we have a new little baby to love on, and I can't wait!