Trick-Or-Treat

We had a great time trick-or-treating tonight!

The boys got many, many treats, and many, many laughs

with all our friends and neighbors!

Ethan as "Ice-Wolf Ninja"

Elliot as "Indiana Jones"

Elliot and his "wink"

The other day the boys and I had a great time carving pumpkins!  I let the boys design a face that they wanted on their pumpkin, and then I cut it out.  You would never know from these pictures, but they turned out really cute!  Just in the last few days, they have been through extreme heat and extreme cold!  They are now rotten heaps of mush~ 
but they provided a great memory and some yummy toasted seeds!

Elliot's

Ethan's

~Our neighbor-friends who always make it extra-fun and extra-spooky!~

Happy Halloween!!

...off to brush our teeth!!

x

Mummies

Happy Halloween!

Pretending to be mummies, or as Elliot calls it, "mommies"!

Why don't mummies take vacations?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





Because they're afraid they'll relax and unwind! Hahaa

Life So Sweet

"That it will never come again ~
is what makes life so sweet."

~ Emily Dickinson

~ Coming home from the hospital with Ethan ~

~ Ethan's 2nd Birthday ~

~ Elliot always smiling~

~ Elliot's 1st Birthday ~

~ Me and my boys, Autumn 2004 ~

Christmas Dress

Thank you Staci
for the beautiful Christmas dress!

Apple Farm

One of our Autumn traditions is to go to a local farm
for fresh apples, warm cider donuts,
hayrides and scarecrow stuffing ~
We always look forward to this special day
and the beautiful colors of the farm this time of year!

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself

than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

~Henry David Thoreau

~ Ethan looking for apples ~

~ Elliot enjoying a warm cider donut ~

~ Making apple butter ~

~ Johnny Appleseed tells his story while playing harmonica,
and making fresh-squeezed apple juice ~

(the boys were fascinated!)

~ Elliot chases chickens ~

~ All aboard for a hayride ~

~ Ethan kissed by the Pumpkin Fairy ~

So long apple farm ~

until next year!!

October Secret Buddy Gift

Thank you Secret Buddy
for the spooktacular gift box!!

These were the best ghosts we ever ate!! :)

We even made gooey ghostly campfire s'mores !!

Thank you for the many fun and festive treats
and for the very cute card!

("May the CCAA offer up more "treats"
than "tricks this month"!)
Ha, yes, I would love to see some CCAA "treats"!! :)
Happy Halloween!!

One Year

Our dossier arrived China one year ago today.

Victoria!

This is such great news to me and worthy of it's own post!!

The return of Victoria magazine!!

I was thrilled yesterday to see the newest edition of Victoria in my mailbox after four long years since it ceased publication!  I've been a reader of this magazine since the early 90's and have saved each and every issue.  I was heartbroken back in 2003 when I found out they were no longer going to publish it.  This summer I just happened to catch wind of it's return and immediately re-subscribed!

As is so beautifully stated in this issue by the new editor-in-chief, 

" I held my breath as I opened the cover. 

Every page enriched my soul, inspired my thoughts,

and took me on a visual vacation.  I was captivated. "

It now comes out six times a year (instead of twelve) and they doubled the price, 

but I always did think they charged too little for such a magazine. :)

I look forward to each and every issue, sitting in my favorite chair and being inspired!

Tae Kwon Do

Ethan started taking Tae Kwon Do again and is really, really enjoying it. He has a plan for himself to become a black belt by a certain date and is very serious about it. He does very well in class and his instructor is training him to become a class leader. It's so great to see his commitment and enthusiasm! Naturally, he loves to come home and "practice" on and share with his little brother all that he is learning. :)!

Of course Elliot, being the super-hero that he is, 
wears gloves and a cape.:)

They both need their haircuts!  I've been telling them for two weeks that today
is the day, but things keep coming up.  I was planning once again 
to take them first thing this morning, but now they're both in bed
with sore throats and no voices.
I'm looking forward to a restful, quiet day. The hair can wait. :)

No Sale

I am so incredibly discouraged.

The family that was considering buying our home

decided to go with the other one ~

we just got word this morning and I'm just so mad.

I was really, really hoping that this was it!

It was such a huge part of our week last week,

and I was so hopeful.

We were told the decision came down

to them driving by later on in the day and seeing

more children playing outside there than here.

(We later found out they built a house behind us
and were mostly viewing ours for ideas, which is just NOT right.)

So, we continue to wait ~

in our clean house.

I guess I can go ahead and do some holiday planning.

My Week

Thank you to everyone who left a comment
on my " less blogging"  post,
I was very, very touched by your kind thoughts,
and appreciate all the encouragement!!

As I closed out my post last week, I was looking forward to the week ahead
and getting a lot done.  One of the things I wanted to do, was  thoroughly clean
the house, maybe taking a room or two a day until it was all done.

Well, first thing Monday morning we got a call letting us know that a realtor was bringing someone by to look at our house, and they'll be there in two hours!!
In two hours!!  The house was a complete mess, our lawn hadn't been mowed,
and my husband had an hour-long conference call!

It's amazing what one can really get done when it's down to the wire ~
I was racing around the house like a mad woman~
just all over the place and keeping an eye on that clock!
Wouldn't you know, they showed up right on time?!!
We literally ran out the back door as they walked in the front.

We got a call that evening letting us know that they loved it, and they were coming back the next morning.  We spent the rest of the evening doing yard work in the dark, and finishing up what we hadn't done that morning ~ now, we're just hoping for an offer!  And the house is clean!!  And to think I was gonna take all week, ha!

We still didn't have a great week in homeschooling, but we did manage to get some work done.  We've been thinking about putting Ethan back into school this year instead of waiting until next Fall, but a lot depends on us selling our home, and also some positions my husband is considering, so we'll give it some more time and then rethink everything.  There are things I love about homeschooling and will miss,
it just seems the better choice is to have him in school. :(

I was able to get some crafts done for the bazaar next month,
although, not a lot, at least it's a start ~ I'm making snow cottage boxes, an ice-skate ornament, and hopefully some stuffed bears ~ which I need to get started on!

I also made a couple more dresses this week, but those are not for the bazaar.
This is the thing that I really love doing!  I will post pictures soon!

Have a great week ~

xx

A Gift From Tiffany

Something very special for me this past week
was to receive a gift box from my blog friend Tiffany!
She sent a beautifully wrapped box of her daughter's
hand-me-downs that she no longer has use for, 
as they will soon head to China to bring home their son!!
Everything is just darling and I look forward to using them!
Thank you so much Tiffany and Lily
for passing these on to our daughter!

Just last week, I sent out a package for our new niece Maya,
and included this same bear, but in a little different fabric.
It was something I had bought awhile back for our daughter
and decided to include it in Maya's package,
thinking I can always get another one.
I was so surprised to open this package
and see the same bear right on top!! :)

~ A beautiful hand made card with a picture of her own hydrangea ~

~ Love the pink and brown and polka dots ~

~ A white cotton sun dress ~

~ A floral one piece ~ love this!!

~ A lavender dress with lanterns ~ so cute!!

~ And a cute three piece mix and match set ~

Thank you so much Tiffany for thinking of us,
we appreciate your kindness,
and look forward to using these!
Thank you for making it all look so pretty too!