Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Wizard of Oz cast of characters! 

Grace as Dorothy 

Jack as Toto

Eve as the Wicked Witch of the West.

Our Little Wicked Witch!

What a beautiful night it was for trick-or-treating. Here is a look at our little Wicked Witch. Many more pictures of my Wizard of Oz crew coming later. Happy Halloween!

It's Almost Halloween...

Every year since Grace was born my amazing and extremely talented Mom has designed and sewn all of Grace, Jack and Eve's Halloween costumes. Every stitch and detail is done with so much love and care. I can't thank my Mom enough for all of the hard work that she puts into making Halloween so special and forever memorable for Grace, Jack and Eve. Here is a little sneak peek into this year's Halloween theme. 

Wishing everyone a very safe and fun-filled Halloween tomorrow!

Clementine Jacks!

Every Halloween we draw jack-o'-lantern faces on clementines and oranges. They are so fun to make and even more fun (and healthy!) to eat.

Pumpkin Carving at Pineland Farms

October

Happy last week of October...how very quickly this month has gone by!

My Ever So Strong & Brave Gracie Girl

For the past week Grace has not been feeling well. She went to the hospital last week to have an ultrasound of her abdomen due to some intense right sided abdominal pain. Her pediatrician was concerned about appendicitis but the ultrasound revealed that Grace has swollen lymph nodes surrounding her appendix. This condition is called mesenteric adenitis. When Grace came home from school yesterday the pain in her abdomen had intensified and did not resume overnight. Her pediatrician sent Grace to the emergency room this morning. After nearly six hours of testing it was discovered that the lymph nodes on her left side are also now affected. Unfortunately this condition may persist for several weeks. What struck me today as I sat watching Grace in the emergency room is just how very strong she is. If you just look at Grace and watch her you would really not know how much pain she is in. Her bright and positive personality continue to shine despite her not feeling well. I am also very proud of the way Grace conducted herself in the emergency room today. Grace took complete control of her health by asking many thoughtful questions to all of the doctors and nurses in order to understand everything that was happening to her. Although Grace looked so tiny lying in that hospital bed her spirit was so very big and bright.

The Perfect Way To Spend A Rainy Day...

Eve and I spent our morning reading books together at our public library. Eve could have stayed there all day long. The library is one of her favorite places...so many great books to choose from and the perfect way to spend a very rainy day!

A "Little" Face Painting!

We did a "little" face painting the other day. Jack asked if he could paint my face. I thought I was going to end up with a few little cat whiskers but instead this is what happened! When Jack was finished he stepped back and looked at me for a long time before very seriously saying, "Oooooooo, Mama. I have never (with a very strong emphasis placed on the word "never") seen you look more beautiful. You really, REALLY should look like this every day." 

My Grandmother

My mother took this beautiful picture of my Grandmother last week.  My Grandma is "Great-Grandma" to Grace, Jack and Eve.  Four generations...my grandmother, my mother, me and my children!

Monarch Butterfly!

Late last week we started to see monarch wings inside of our chrysalis. A day later a beautiful monarch butterfly emerged. Over the weekend we released him (it's a boy!). We are all so happy to have warmer weather this week, which gives our monarch butterfly the best possible start to its long journey to Mexico. Safe travels, sweet little one!

 

Peace

The Little Legers Baseball Team!

Grace, Jack and Eve love playing baseball together. They set up their own baseball field in our yard and can't wait to get home each day after school to play ball together!  By the way...look at how green everything was just a few short weeks ago!

Jack's Last Soccer Game of the Fall Season!

Jack's last soccer game of the fall season was this morning...and what a great season it was!  The best part of watching Jack on the soccer field has always been seeing him smile as he is playing.  Jack is such a sweet and happy little boy!

Jack loved having his Daddy coach his team this season.  Here is "Coach Bob" giving a pep talk to his team just before the final game started this morning.

 Following the game this morning was an awards ceremony where Jack, Bob and his teammates all received trophies!  Here is Jack just after he received his very own trophy.

 The Triceratops team with their trophies...led by Coach Bob and assistant Coach Grace! 

Eve at the Pumpkin Patch

Grace's Blue Pumpkin!

Gracie girl has big plans in mind for her pumpkin too. The first step of her project is painting the entire pumpkin blue!

Meet "Jack!"

Jack was so excited after school on Friday afternoon to discover that Eve had picked out a big pumpkin for him to carve.  Jack immediately went right to work to design a jack-o'-lantern face.

 Jack worked so hard to carve his jack-o'-lantern all by himself.  He was very proud of his work!

 Meet Jack's "Jack!"

Sunshine!

We were so happy to see the sun shining brightly today after many days of clouds and rain!

Let the Countdown Begin...

The excitement is building!