A Leif Amongst the Leaves

October has been such a busy month!  Schooling the kids while working five nights a week is definitely keeping me busy. 

~ Dante has been gluten free this entire month, and in the last two weeks we have been finally seeing some changes.  He is trying to talk more, and hanging out with the family more, instead of just wanting to watch videos on his iPad.
~ Kimberly has glasses now!  She is so adorable, and looks around her in amazement.  Then pulls them off.
~ Kimberly is also sitting up independently.  This is great for her, but we really want to see her crawl.
~ Leif had his right thumb/hand crushed by Amelia when they were practicing some gymnastics, but thankfully nothing was broken!

Last week the triplets and Leif decided to rake some leaves during lunch break.  Not a lot of progress was made in actual clean up, but they had fun!

Leif, Sunny, and Micah were working hard when  Amelia came over and showed them how much fun they could be having!

In the photo below it looks like Amelia has 4 arms, because Sunny happened to be lined up directly behind her.

After they were done "working", it was time for the tire swing.  Amelia is such an amazing big sister, making sure Leif is right there with them.  It is fun now that he is 2+ and able to participate, instead of toddling along wanting to participate.

It was not until we were just about ready to go in that I realize Amelia is wearing two different sneakers!  I bought her and Sunny slightly different pairs so they could tell them apart. (They are different sizes.)

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God is good!

One Year Ago

One year ago (yesterday) Jamie and I drove to Boston so we could experience the saddest day a young couple could experience.  Two young parents handed us their two week old daughter, trusting us to raise her as our own. 

 For the last year we have been doing just that, and we could not be more blessed.

We are thankful for our baby girl.

Our Ultimate Field Trip, Part 3

We had an amazing few days with Alexander.  It was soooo good to see him, and he had a lot to say about Basic Training. 

A picture says a thousand words, so here are a LOT of words. 

We dropped Alexander off at Fort Eustis last Friday, then headed home.  We were able to stop for a visit on Chincoteague Island and spend an hour with my Uncle, not long enough but a nice visit nonetheless. 

Saturday ended our journey, but Alexander's next journey was just beginning as he begins his specialist training at Fort Eustis.

We will see him again just after Thanksgiving, but now that his training focus has shifted we are able to connect with him more often via phone and Facebook.

God is good!

Our Ultimate Field Trip, Part 2

Monday morning we left Pennsylvania and headed for Maryland; our goal was Antietam Battlefield.  In anticipation of this trip, Nikita spent the first three weeks of September studying the Civil War, and this battle in  particular. 

It was a two hour drive, and once there we viewed the inside exhibit with artifacts, then walked around the field outside.  It is sobering to think about how many men (along with woman and children) died at each other's hands in such a short period of time.  To look out at the fields and know that the photos we had just seen inside were of these same fields exactly 150 years ago really brought it home to us. 

Of course, we were in our second day of driving and also took some time to shake off some of the energy that was building up.

We took a small two lane highway from Maryland to West Virginia where we had lunch at Cracker Barrel.  The hostess was raised here in Massachusetts!

After lunch we were back on Route 81 headed to Luray, Virginia.  The ride was absolutely beautiful.

We went to Luray Caverns, where we did not actually even go into the caverns!  While I would have loved to see the Awesomeness of God's Creation on display, I was not going to pay $24 a person to walk through being told they are millions of years old, when instead we could have the hands on fun of the giant Garden Maze and the Ropes Course.  It was such fun!

 (Leif is in the above photo.)

 After all this fun, we drove another hour or so to Harrsionburg Virginia, where we spent Monday night.Tuesday was all about driving, 6 hours down to Fort Jackson.

  We checked in at Weston Lake Recreation Area, a part of Fort Jackson.  Here we would spend the next two nights.  The cabin was beautiful, and right on the water.  Wednesday morning we would be seeing Alexander for the first time in 2 months and 9 days!  Jamie was unable to join us on this journey, but his Dad flew down and stayed at the cabin with us.

Part 3 will feature our time with Alexander!