My First Apple Pie

I have never been much of an apple pie person until now! A lady from church made us the most delicious apple pie ever for Clergy Appretiation month and I could have eaten the entire thing in one setting! Since then I have made two homemade apple pies and they turned out delicious and are so easy to make!

We went to Buell's Orchard in Eastford, CT to pick apples as a family. It was Donnie's first time and he loved it!

Noah had a blast with the pumpkin. He was thrilled to be out of the stroller - finally! :o) He is so giddy! The sweetest!

Let's Pretend

Liliana is at the age where she is always in pretend mode... well this morning she said that she was the mom, I was the dad, Donnie was the Grandpa and Noah was the Grandma!!!!! LOL!!!!!! :o) Noah - the grandma!

Just now she said she fed the whales in the living room and that they are not starving anymore!

The other day I was brushing her teeth and she looked at mine and said "mom, you have beautiful teeth."... I melted.

Yankee Candle Factory

We LOVE the Yankee Candle Factory! I guess it is a tradition for us to go every fall (we have so far - 2 out of 3 and we have only lived here years). :o) This year we went with the Keenagers. We had a blast!

Noah's WALKING!!!

Today was a big day for our little Noah...

This morning as I was reading him a couple of books, he was using his right hand pointer finger to point at the pictures of the mice in the story... he kept doing it.... SO CUTE!!! This is a big thing! :o)

Also, tonight after church he was walking all over the house like he is just some big walker now! So sweet!!!! :o)

Baby Updates

Well, our big boy is walking more and more. He has been taking steps for about 6 weeks now, but has been taking his time. Now you will see him walk from one room to the next. I love how he is just so content. He is his own person and does not seem to be swayed much at all by those around him. Like with the walking... he is just doing his thing at his own pace. He is so steady and sweet and secure. :o)

They are so close... they seem like twins to me... they have such a sweet bond. They play together, laugh together and just follow each other around. This blesses my heart more than words can say!!!!!!
More of Liliana's drawings. :o)
I gave Liliana the last few bites of my Lean Cuisine one day and this is what I found on the table beside her... an artist is an artist!
Liliana and Elmo taking a nap on our bed... what is so cute is that she put him there and they both started out on their backs and when I later came into the room, they were both laying on their side and she was asleep... so sweet!!!

Candor

Candor - Frankness or sincerity of expression; openness; complete honesty.

I love this word, I think it describes me well, at least my perspective of me. :o)

I try not to "be" anyone, I just am... I used to try to be this "perfect version of myself" and just stressed myself out. I find it is best to take short times of self-examination, and then, quickly look right back up to the Lord and just trust Him to "be" in and through me instead of me trying to "be" all... all we need to do is yeild to the precious Holy Spirit... YEILD, ahhh, what a relaxing, refreshing, and trusting word, yeild... the fruit of the SPIRIT, not the fruit of my efforts, the fruit of the SPIRIT is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control........ against such THERE IS NO LAW.... there it is, there is no law that you can adhere to to acheive these attributes because the law has limits - it is only by His Spirit... wow! Ahh, thank you Lord that I don't have to "be" and "do", I simply have to "yeild" and allow YOU to shine through!

Thank you, Jesus!!! :o)

Harvest Girl

Liliana liked the crow on the outside of the apartment office building.

The Best

This morning as Donnie was shaving, getting ready for work, he was singing the "Jesus in the Morning" song . Well, after I got my coffee going, I walked back into the bathroom and found Liliana and Noah in there too (it is a big bathroom)... Liliana of course then has everyone join in song, so there we were singing the same song over and over and over again. The best part was when Noah let go of the box he was holding on to to stand up and started clapping along with a big smile and giggle!!! What a beautiful life!!! Thank you Jesus!!!

Columbus Day 2008

What a perfectly beautiful day we had! We didn't plan anything big, we just met some friends for a late simple lunch cookout at Wickham Park and to our surprise we ended up being SO BLESSED by the BEAUTIFUL sights and some priceless photos... not to mention kindled friendships. :o) It was like God set us up for a surprise party by showing us His beauty though the colors or fall. Liliana got to ride her tricycle! She did awesome and loved it!

Daddy helping Liliana up the hill.

Up and down and up and down the slide.

Noah, our little climber!

Noah surrounded by girls (Savannah and Kinzie)... "he's the man!" :o) So sweet!

Simply Beautiful!

The Big Dinosaur

Target provided great entertainment for the kids by having this giant dinosaur on display! They loved it and looked forward to seeing it each time we went.

What I LOVE about Fall

I LOVE Fall! The beautiful colors of the trees, the smell and feel of the fresh cool crisp air, the sounds of the outdoors coming through your opened windows that have been shut most of the hot summer. I even love the way the sun shines differently thoughout the day and sets earlier in the evening. I just love everything about fall! :o)

The only thing I am not too fond of about fall is... that I just want to eat, eat, and eat some more... ahhhh!!! :o) I am like a cozy bear ready to hibernate and pack on the pounds in preparation for the winter to come! Ha! I am cracking myself up!

Sesame Place

Living in Connecticut we have the opportunity to take lots of one-day fun family trips. Well, this past weekend we went on our first real family vacation. We went to Sesame Place in the Philadelphia, PA area. It was amazing!!!

We were all so star-struck. I got butterflies in my stomach when I first saw Bert and Ernie. :o)

We rode the very-cute carousel many times!
Lalalala..lalalala...
We got to watch a live version of Elmo's World. Pictured above are Elmo and Mr. Noodle talking about fish.

Our picture with Zoe (she and Elmo are showing their bones for Halloween). Noah loved Zoe - he just smiled at her so sweetly! Liliana was so star-struck! She is so innocent and precious!!! She has the sweetest and most sincere spirit. My heart melts with love for her and Noah!!! Donnie and I are so thankful we have the opportunity to bless our children with these types of experiences.

Donnie and I took turns taking Liliana on rides. She liked the fishy ride and the parachute ride the best. :o)

Liliana looking for Oscar the Grouch (seriously!). :o) A whole crowd of kids saw her and gathered round and started looking too. Cute!

Waiting for the Parade... it was awesome!!!

Aren't these guys way too cool! :o)

Bert patted Liliana's cheek as he walked by.

Yes, we ate cotton candy!

We had such a wonderful time! I have sooo many more picutes and so much to say about the trip. I will post more pics and details tomorrow... I need to get to bed for now. :o)

Noah's 7th Tooth

Noah's 7th pearly white revealed itself to us somewhere around this day. :o) He had his first 6 teeth by age 5 or 6 months. He just got those guys over with quick!

Noah Sleeping Through the Night

Our sweetest little Noah slept 9 hours and 47 minutes without waking up once! This is HUGE!!! :o)

He is the sweetest boy ever! So even and calm no matter what is going on around him. He is the perfect balance for our emotional Liliana. :o) She is so cool!

Apple Picking

Liliana picked her first apple of the season and tossed it to the ground. :o)

What a beautiful tree with beautiful children underneath... Liliana, Noah, Ally, and Jack... Nkailu and his mommy Karrell were picking a different type of apple at the time. We had a great time, even though it was chilly and we look forward to going back to Scott's Orchard again later this week or next.

I love Connecticut!

Rules to Live By

A few years ago I worked for an amazing woman of God (PhD, preacher, professor, missionary, prayer worrier...) by the name of Deborah Gill. Well, needless to say, she was one busy woman, but one day she said something that took me by surprise... she said she tries not to multitask... I thought to myself "hmm, that is the opposite of what I have learned and thought that one should do to be the best stewart of your talents and time". Think about it, when you look at job descriptions or ads what is so often one of the listed required skills "must have the ability to multitask". The business of our society today has ingrained inside of us to do as much as you can in as little time at the lowest cost.

I now see exactly where Dr. Gill was coming from. We are to give God and our loved ones our 100+%, the most of our time and at whatever the cost!

Here are some simple yet very, very important principles or rules I try to follow in my daily life in order to give God, my Donnie and my Liliana and Noah my very best 100% of the time:

1. Put God first in my heart, devotion, praise and energy each day... live life as an act of worship towards Him.
2. Never spend time "chatting" on the phone while Donnie is home... our time together is too limited and precious!
3. Never answer the phone while you are eating a meal together! "How rude!" :o)
4. Don't answer the phone while you are reading a book to your children, having a conversation or spending quality time with your children... this is depending on how much time I have to do this... otherwise I would never answer the phone... I am always with my babes! ha! :o)
5. Don't talk on the phone while you are driving... WHATEVER IS BEING SAID ON THE PHONE OF A DRIVER IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT, REALLY!
6. Never miss bedtime prayers with your children. The sweetest!

Now, I am not "perfect" at following my own rules :o) (one should never expect perfection out of oneself or others), but each day I ask the Holy Spirit to keep my in check... and He does! He is so faithful! I can count on Him to lead and guide me each and every moment of each and every day! Thank you, Jesus!!! :o)