Joshua's Turn

Yesterday it was Matthew that tickled me.
Today, Joshua has me chuckling.



All throughout the morning, William would stop his work and ask Matthew if he could call him Matt.
Matthew would say, "Nooooo!"
Finally, Josh had enough of it all.

William: Hey, Matt! What time is it?
Joshua: It's "Don't mess with Matthew" time.



At lunchtime, we were trying to get a better idea of what Carrie might like for her birthday.

William: Carrie, what do you want for your birthday?
Carrie: I don't know.
Joshua: She wants a new bedroom.
Carrie: No I don't!
Joshua: You want to sleep in the barn!

What?????



And this afternoon?

Joshua (when told to use the bathroom before bed): Carrie's in the bathroom. She's in OUR bathroom. And now she's singing. That's even worse. Hey, William. Put that on Facebook. She won't get mad at you.



The thing with Josh is that he is so matter-of-fact when he says things.
And his vocabulary and his dry sense of humor really surprise me a lot of the time.

Maybe because I'm so gullible anyway.
Maybe because he still has a little boy lisp and still says "lello" instead of yellow.



Oh, the many sides of Josh!



Josh, the tender-hearted.



Josh, the silly head.



Josh, the cool man.



Josh, the determined.



Josh, the thougthful.



Josh, the dramatic.



Josh, the stubborn.



Josh, the shy.




Josh, the loyal.



My Joshy-Boy!



Never a dull moment.

Enjoying the Journey,

From the Archives, #1

Matthew.
We call him Matty, and I think that he will always be Matty to us.

He's a pretty funny little guy.
And he sure doesn't mind getting his picture taken.









His laugh comes right from his belly!
It's not hard to get a good one from him.

Last weekend, we went up to Rob and Brandy's house for our family Christmas party. Brandy got a moose pillow pet for Christmas.
Matthew LOVED him!
He laughed and laughed at that moose!





And he rode the moose.
Gitty up!





Sleeping?
No. Just pretending.



He's gaining words by the day and is putting all of those words into sentences.
He repeats everything everyone says...especially what Joshua says.
I love how he talks right now. He puts lots of space in between his words.
Staccato speech.

One thing that Matty really loves is gum.
He likes hot gum best--anything minty is hot gum.
There are some that are too hot for him, but he will try them anyway.
Tonight he got one that was a bit too hot.

Matty: Hot...gum!
Me: Was that gum too hot?
Matty: It's...cool...now.
Me: Your hot gum is cool now?
Matty: Yes. Put...in...frigerator.

Did I mention that he is also a problem-solver? :)

Enjoying the Journey,

Oh, Glorious Day!

Temperatures in the seventies...sunshine...a cool breeze.
That equals the perfect day for a field trip to our local apple orchard!

This is one of my family's favorite September haunts.
For seventeen autumns, this has been one of my favorite fall-time traditions.

There is a great big apple barn with tons of fun buys!
Fresh produce, candles, honey sticks, baked goodies, apple cider, frozen fruit, popcorn, jams and jellies, fudge, chestuts, pumpkins, beautiful big mums, and our favorite...apple cider slushies!

Even though you can buy apples already picked, we love to pick our own!
Nothing beats standing in the middle of an apple orchard with apple trees full of ripe apples!



The games you can play and the things you can do in a really good apple orchard are endless...





The family who owns this orchard even encourages their guests to taste test apples off of the trees.

Off of the trees, Matty!
Not off of the ground!



Mmmmm...good!



Picking with friends makes a trip to the orchard extra-special.







I think Josh is sharing a bit of advice on apple-picking.
He looks pretty serious about what he has to say.



Ahhhh...an expert apple-picker.



William has been picking apples from these trees for a long, long time.



And the pumpkin patch!













A picture of me and the boys.



Carrie had fun hanging out with some friends at the orchard.



Oh, so pretty!
There's just nothing like apple orchard apples!



For years, I've been wanting to try my hand at apple butter-making. A good friend shared her recipe for crock pot apple butter.
Boy, did this smell good!
Who needs a Yankee candle, when you have the real thing simmering in your kitchen?!



I know that I said that I was going to not look back, but how could I resist finishing this blog post that I had started back in September?!

Especially when it is one that brings back such fun, happy memories.

Enjoying the Journey,

Starting Fresh

It has been so long since I have written a blog post.
A real blog post.
Not one of those like I did back in October.

A blog post where I really take the time to write about something that matters.

Every time I sit down to write, I wonder if what I have to say really matters.
I feel like I did when I wrote my very first blog post.

Three times since the New Year has begun, I have been directed to Philippians 3:13-14. Three times from three separate resources.

Is God trying to tell me something?

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Do I spend too much time looking back and feeling bad about all that I haven't done?

Well...YES!
I do!
I am really terrible about that!

So, as I sit in front of my blog, God's Words come to me.
How can I move on now that I've been so neglectful about recording months of family memories?

I will do what Paul has told me to do.
In the book of Philippians, Paul says to "forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead."

Funny thing.
When I asked my Paul about how I could possibly move ahead with my blog, he gave me the same advice.
Don't look back and don't try to pick up where you left off.
Don't look back at all.
Write now...right now!

Well then.
Here it goes...

One of our favorite parts of Christmas vacation is New Year's Eve!
Everything very noticeably slows down the week after Christmas in our home.

The rush of the holidays is over.
The shopping is done.
The baking is done.
Paul has vacation from work for the week.
The house is a wreck, but it doesn't matter.

New Year's Eve is a very quiet time in our home.
I'm not sure why. I'm sure that the noise level is the same as always...maybe even a bit more amplified than usual because of the new toys and gadgets and because of how cluttered the house is.
But every year, when I think back to New Year's Eve day and evening, my memories seem hushed.
Happy and hushed.

We've started having homemade pizza and nachos each New Year's Eve.
Here is one of our creations from this year...



The Littles started their partying early!
Which was a good thing.





A very good thing.
Their New Year's Eve ended a little early.





Josh woke up for a few minutes to see the ball drop, but he didn't remember anything about it the next day.



Paul's first picture of 2011...



My first picture of 2011...
Yes, I am quite bleary-eyed. I had fallen asleep too.
But I do remember seeing the ball drop.



Carrie and William are always the New Year's Eve troopers.
They LOVE staying up late. Their goal every year is to stay up all night long.

Maybe next year. :)





So...off we go into 2011!
This has been a much-anticipated year.
A year of new beginnings in so many areas.

This will be a good year!

A year to "Forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead, pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

I am so thankful for God's mercies which are new every morning!

Lamentations 3:22-23
"Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Enjoying the Journey,