Happy Birthday Evie

Our ever sweet and a little bit clumsy Evie Rose turned 6 this month.   Evie has grown so much this year.  She asserts her opinions a little more often than she use to.  However, she is still one of our most easy going kids.  She loves breakfast, sweets, Barbies, crafts, friends, school, P.E., and generally being silly.  Today when a friends mom asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up she shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I don't know, a pig?"  SILLY!!!  Evie learned to ride her bike this year.  She also learned to read and write her letters and her favorite parts of the day is sharing our bests and worsts at dinner and her story and video time with Daddy at the end of the day.  We are so thankful for the sweetness that Evie brings into our lives.

Evie celebrated her birthday with chocolate chip cookies at school a day early as we didn't have school on her birthday this year.

On her birthday Evie had donuts for breakfast, opened her gifts (a locking bank and an ant farm), went to the library and Dutch Bros in the afternoon, and had pancakes for dinner.  She had chosen ice cream cones as her dessert but even Evie has a limit and turns out that was just to many sweets even for her so we had to save that for Friday.

Birthday Ice Cream

Watching the ants build their tunnels in her new unicorn birthday jammies from Grammy.  It was quite an adventure getting the ants into the ant farm.  The instructions said to put them in the fridge for 10 minutes before trying to pour them in and we did that but then we pulled them out and had them on the counter for a minute or two not realizing how quickly they'd warm up.  All that to say they were trying to climb out of the farm and kids were screaming and a few ants may have died in the process.  One ant however just lost his "butt" much to Evie's delight.  Daddy named him Bob and she of course being the silly thing she is spent the next 2 days checking on him and telling everyone about him.  Apparently an ant can live 5 days without part of it's body.  Who knew????  Bob only lived 2 so Evie's best on the night of her birthday party was her party and her worst was that Bob died. :) Shenanigans I tell you!

Evie's Party

We love you Evie Rose!

Happy 6th Birthday!

Halloween 2022

Usually I enjoy figuring out costumes and a theme for the kids but this year it all just felt really, really overwhelming.  I think part of it was that I put more time into Sadie's 13th birthday than I usually do so I kinda got behind, but it was also because it's still really hard to get out with the twins.  Few outings are worth it and Halloween costumes always seem to take multiple trips to Goodwill and the dollar store not to mention the time it takes to put them together and none of that felt doable.  

Unfortunately I also went on a cleaning spree this summer and got rid of most of our costumes.  GREAT TIMING. :)  Anyway the kids were pretty good sports about it all.  The 4 little girls picked from the costumes left in our dress-up box, Sadie was a cat, Wyatt wore his baseball uniform, and on our one trip to Goodwill Cooper actually found some football pads.  So I ordered him some pants and he wore his Beavers jersey.  It was definitely the least amount of work we've ever done and honestly it was kinda nice.  I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll be going back to matching.

Funny that although we didn't spend much time on the costumes I actually did take time to take the pictures I've forgotten to take the last 2 or 3 years.  Go figure!

They're all such good sports letting me have my fun taking their pictures. :)

Cooper: A Beaver's Football Player

Evie: A Sweet Unicorn

Wyatt: A Baseball Player

Maddie: A Silly Little Piggie

(This was a last minute change from Anna)

Sadie: A Sassy Black Cat

Hazel: A Spicy Mermaid

Aubrey: Beautiful Elsa

Brian and Amy do an awesome job of hosting this wild crew and their neighborhood is awesome for trick or treating.  This year their neighbors joined us along with Cooper's buddy and his mom who is Hazel's teacher.

Apparently I have another Evie.  Maddie's tongue was out in every single picture.

Pumpkin Carving

After carving and dinner smores.

This one...Miss Maddie Jane...wanted nothing to do with the smores.  Instead she demanded a bag of frozen strawberries and ate that instead.  Whatever floats your boat kid!

 

Evie on the other hand was all in for the smores!

Lighting of the Pumpkins

I think they turned out pretty good.  They needed some help but they're getting better and better.

Sadie's and Hazel's Pumpkin

Cooper and Evie's Pumpkin

Wyatt, Aubrey, and Maddie's Pumpkin

To Mark the First Hearthfire of the Season

Bless this hearth, O Lord, and bless the gatherings that will happen around it in the coming season.

May this hearth be to us a port in the storm, a cheering beacon, and a place of fellowship marked by the consolation of your Spirit.

May it be a place of celebration,

Of conversation, and of caring,

Of the sharing and bearing of burdens,

Of the multiplication of joys, 

Of light in the darkness and warmth in the cold.

May it be a place of prayers and hopes,

Of plans and quiet considerations.

A place of shared stories and of good dreams.

Grant us grace to savor this season as we live it together, that in later days the memory of this place and these times will linger sweetly, shaping our lives, our words, our deeds.

May the comfort and fellowship of this hearth be so kindled in our own hearts, O Lord, that as we journey outward from this place, even in seasons of cold and darkness, we will do so always carrying the warmth of your love, and the light of your mercies.

Amen.

Quoted from Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey

I discovered this book Every Moment Holy about a year ago.  It is filled with liturgies for every day moments.  The idea behind it is that every moment we are given is sacred.  Every person we interact with is created in the Emago Dei, image of God, and every moment of our day whether we are at work or play, celebrating or suffering, alone or together, it is all a part of a good story being written by God and we choose to either acknowledge that or not.  These prayers are intended to help us think differently and to intentionally acknowledge God in these ordinary moments.  

Anyway they're beautiful prayers that have helped me to think a little differently and often pray about things I didn't quite have words for.  This was the first time we tried reading one aloud with the kids and they thought we were a little crazy I'm pretty sure, but I hope that over the years its makes some of these traditions just a little more meaningful and ultimately points our prone to wander hearts back again and again to Jesus, the source of each and every moment we are given.

Pumpkin Patchin'

We were so excited to hear that field trips are back on again.  FINALLY!!! Both Hazel and Evie were able to attend a field trip with their class to the pumpkin patch and then our family took our annual trip to Greens Bridge.

   Evie's Field Trip to EZ Orchards

Apple Picking

Reagan and Evie

The Pumpkin Patch

Evie's Class

The Petting Zoo

Hazel's Field Trip to Greens Bridge

Hazel and Ainsley

The Pumpkin Patch

Hazel's Class

The Corn Maze

Our Family Trip to Greens Bridge

It was blazing hot when we went on Evie and Hazel's field trips but amazing what a couple of days can do.  Fall feels like it is officially here as is the rain.  We got soaked!

Our trip was a success and honestly these kinds of things are getting a little easier.  The big kids are more and more trustworthy and they all do a pretty good job of staying together.  Our take away this trip was that we need to be clear that they can't pick pumpkins they can't load into the wheelbarrow on their own.  One of our pumpkins was 40 pounds and really all 3 were much to big for carving.  So I guess I'll be purchasing some smaller ones for carving and will be using these as decorations. :)