a little fall fru fru~

I've been seeing these cute little punkins all over blog land.

I think I originally found it here.

I love it!

I even made a couple for friends.

Don't worry Jill . . . I didn't make one for you girl!

oh and i LOVE this blog. i just happend upon it today. so cute!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Getting ready to go home from the hospital.

2 year old "red" party

4 year old Backyardigan Party


"Today is My Birthday Mommy. I'm 5 now!"

We celebrated a little this morning. As much as you can on a school day.

We celebrated last Friday with Granny & Poppy

and will celebrate some more this weekend in RICHMOND!

*update*
So the sweet 5 year old isn't feeling so well. Poor thing was fine at school, came home with the sniffles and took a 2 hour nap. Decided to try basketball tonight (afterall he did get a goal for his birthday) but then didn't want his birthday dinner. (he previously requested steak!! ~ we will have that tomorrow night either way ~ we can't let that go bad!)

So because a hot bath just made him feel better we sang to him (again) in the bathroom.

He will have his real birthday cake this weekend. We made this after we came home from school. On the way home, he said, "Mommy, can we bake me a cake today?" I couldn't say no! He picked out a Funfetti Cake Mix!

He really is 5!

1 ~ he now pronounces even more letters correctly. as wonderful as that is, i do miss the "little" younger talk that he had. ex. he used to say "i wuv you" . . . he now pronounces his "L's" the right way. he also says M&M no longer emee emee. i know, that sounds so silly but he said it so cute. well any way you hear it, he has a cute voice!

2 ~ he is such a FAST runner! i'm not kidding . . . he's a fast kid!

3 ~ as much as he & jacob tend to argue he truly looks up to his big brother! he wants so badly to be just like jacob and continues to immitate so much of what he does. he also (when in the right frame of mind) thinks about jacob's interests and tries to compromise their wants.

4 ~ he can ride his bike with no training wheels and sometimes no HANDS! aaah! the boys want to turn our back yard into a dirt bike track!

5 ~ this cute little innocent boy has a potty mouth! he LOVES bathroom & body words. UGG! unfortunately i think that is part of being a boy AND growing up. we are continuously working on it and reminding him of MANNERS!

and thankfully, as much as he is growing & changing, he still enjoys being our "baby"! he still longs to be held & carried. although all things in moderation! he still plays with my hair and loves to have his back and arms rubbed while relaxing. special times! he loves to cuddle with any or all of us at any given time.

Thankful Thursday

I don't do this every week and this week I'm a day late. But here it goes! I am grateful for:

~ my sweet husband . . . this week has been the start of cooler temperatures. while i absolutely LOVE walking jacob to school each day i do not enjoy the cold weather! (and it's really not as cold as it is going to get) but my sweet JM has taken on that duty this week and i am thankful. not only do i not have to go in the cold but it gives me a little more time to get things rolling so i can head on over to the preschool. he even started the van a couple of mornings.

~ sweet little rocket . . . he's a little boy in my class and yep . . . that is his name! i feel sure he more than lives up to his name around his home but he is so sweet at school. he brought me a rose yesterday morning. he's somewhat shy but so flirty so when he gave me the rose he closed his eyes really tight. later on in the morning i told him i was cold and he gave me a hug and rubbed my arms. i know his parents must be so good at showing he & his brother love. (and his mommy will be induced with their new baby brother eli on ben's bday)

~ having dinner and enjoying sweet girl time with my beautiful girlfriend jill. i only wish more people could know her and experience her radiant love for her Lord even amidst her trials. she has taught me through the past 2 months to seek after the little glimpses of God but realize they are really big. i never again want to take for granted the sun shining, our healthy boys, a full moon, a day off of school, each little hug & kiss, dinner with a friend, time with family, a new day etc. i love that we were able to chat about our boys, our loves, and just life!

~ i have the priviledge to pray for whoever is in leadership over our country. while i will be thrilled when the campaigning and the election are over i am excited to earnestly pray for our country and the people God puts in place to lead it.

~ i am HIS! our God reigns!

~ my parents wanted the boys to spend the night with them last night. i am glad they are able to do that and have that time together. i am also glad that i was able to sleep in until 8 this morning . . . that's quite a nice stretch from the normal 6:30 or so when Ben usually wakes up.

Have a glorious day!

top ten tuesday

MY TOP TEN FALL THINGS

Mums

Pumpkins

Hay Rides

Colorful Leaves

Costumes (last year we had a pirate and a race car driver - we still have to figure this year out!)

Apple Picking (1 fell off and bumped his head)

Pumpkin Patches

Baking

Ben's Birthday (he'll be 5 at the end of the month)
This year he's having a costume birthday party.

orange, brown, & green

cute little find

I just love her blog and her precious jewelry. Visit her site!

These stackable rings are my favorite. With your first order you receive 15% off just by joining her mailing list!

i can relate

i was so encouraged to read this. thank you miska for your thoughts!

I'm in the mood for some...

of these! i can't wait to make them with the boys. so simple & cute! i also saw an idea to make jack-o-lanterns with oreos dipped in orange colored white chocolate and a green gum drop. simple pleasures i tell ya!


and don't these look yummy!? i copied the picture & recipe from another blogger . . . i hope she doesn't mind. you should definitely check out her blog though. filled with fun things to make & eat!



Pumpkin Spice Blossoms
1 Spice Cake Mix 18.25 oz
14 oz can Libby’s Pumkin
½ Cup sanding sugar
1 bag Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Kisses
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer beat the cake mix and pumpkin until well combined, about 45 seconds. With a cookie scoop, scoop dough and roll top half in sanding sugar (dough is sticky) then place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until cooked through. Quickly transfer to a cooling rack and immediately press kisses into the center of each cookie. I immediately place cooling rack into the fridge for 15 minutes so the kisses don’t melt. I tried both ways and it melts down if just left at room temperature. Enjoy!

About 36 cookies

from http://www.picky-palate.com/

this i also copied but from someone i know. ever since january i've wanted to make one of these. i have the tin and my numbers all punched and ready. i can't wait for the finished product. (again, i hope it's okay that i copied it)

i also can't wait to finish my little swap box of blessings to mail to a friend. i love care packages

. . . sending & receiving them!

fabulous friday is almost here. i love weekends! i already know what we will do as soon as jacob gets home from school!

p.s. if i've messed up with copying pictures that are not mine, please let me know. i don't mean any harm but am not up on all the blogger copyright "etiquit". i can't even spell that "word"!

more Fall Fun!

After a morning (not to mention last night as well) of scrapbooking with the girls, I got to spend the rest of our day with my boys! While I scrapped they had a "boy night" complete with a movie, pizza, & milk shakes. Then this morning they went to Vinton for the fall festivities. I hear I missed out on a great time and there are no pictures to show from it. Then the SkamFam was off to the Layman Family Farm. Ben & I had been a couple of weeks ago with the preschool classes and we couldn't wait to show Jacob & JM.

There was SO much to do. The boys LOVED the underground tunnel slide and the Cow Train. The box filled with corn was fun for them as well. We got a little turned around in the Frank Beamer Corn Maze and enjoyed the hay ride. It was a Beautiful day too!

on the matter of scrapbooking . . . I still haven't finished my almost 5 year olds 1st year Baby album. My new goal is to have it complete by his birthday. That seems manageable . . . I have 2 weeks!

Hittin the Hay!

thankful thursday

~ "c'mon jacob let's go but first let's have a big best friend hug"! overheard yesterday from j's friend that was over to play after school.

~ stephanie boss the teacher i assisted years ago at a preschool in texas

~ opportunities & possibilities

~ hues of fall making slight colorful spots on the mountains

~ upcoming scrapbooking weekend - i hope i'm productive as i still need to finish ben's baby book
~ tom is doing better

~ ben's been in the giggliest mood today from when he woke up and still after school

~ children's voices prasing the lord

~ erica made it all morning w/out crying for her mommy (she's a sweet girl in my class)

~ quick trips to lynchburg to visit and get some yummy jersey mikes subs

that's a wrap!

Ribbon, polka dots, flip flops...OH MY!

Aren't these the coolest?!

yeah . . . I know, a little pricey but what a great idea.
and 3 of my favorite things!

First Fall Fun!

This past weekend was packed with fun.

Most of our time was spent downtown at the market.

for the Harvest Festival.

Truly down home fun!

On our way!

I just thought the combination of JM's shirt with Ben's silly gloves was a little humorous.

These are all for Papa Puckette!

or as Ben still says..."Poka Puckette"

Bull Ridin

Scarecrow Making
Texas T-Roomin

Homemade Ice Cream Enjoying
The Peach was Delicious!
We said our goodbyes to Memaw & Papaw
and our hellos to the Schworms!

After a very Yummy dinner we headed up to the Star.

As you can tell Tina was thrilled!
This is the city.

Truly Thankful

I am thankful for~

*so much!

*a much better week . . . especially with the boys. last week was a rough one all around for us.

*Jacob had a "special snack" day today. whew! (i told him if he had some better days at school we would make a special snack when he came home)

we went into a "fancy" candy store over the weekend and we were drooling over the chocolate covered pretzels w/ Reese Pieces on them. that was a wonderful treat to make today and that's what i call a special snack! we had a great time making them too.

*grandparents are coming down from 'home' . . . i mean richmond

*they are bringing Trader Joes treats!

*i LOVE fall

*i can't wait until we get out our fall decorations

*the schworms are coming too ~ fun weekend!

*pumpkin patches, apple orchards, & cool mornings, oh my!

* i have an amazing husband

*devotion time with the boys has been a wonderful end to our days. jacob really seems to soak it in and enjoy the time spent with us as well as with the Lord.

*t-h-u-r-s-d-a-y! that really is weekend for me

*chats with richmond friends

*i have new etsy stuff on the way from a sweet friend with adorable baby goodies

good night!