Life's a Blur

I know that different seasons in our lives go quick, and others go slow, and in some senses it has been quiet but a blur. Last week Kevin was gone for most of the week, and it was both easier, but more tiring. We have been enjoying doing the Wednesday night ministry at church, the kids love doing Rainbows, and we have been working on the letter of the week for the past four weeks. I took the kids out for a walk on the rail trail in Chelmsford, and here are some pictures:

Rachel truly does stop to smell the roses while...

The boys run right ahead.
The kids do love to run, often in opposite directions. I joke that God gave me all bright blondes so I could see them as they ran away from me.
Rachel had the camera here and took a great picture of the trees. I love trees.
As I mentioned we have been working on the letter of the week. Last week it was I. I put a few different stations up for the kids to work on things, and I love sitting back and seeing how the kids approach the different tasks and what they come up with.
Daniel is doing well tracing and with cutting, and Rachel is keeping up. We even did some cool crafts and science experiements. We do some from the confessionsofahomeshooler.com website, and some from starfall.com.

I did have a good birthday, by the way, and can honestly say I feel older. I will be celebrating a little more this upcoming weekend with my dad, brother and sister, as we are ready to run in the Wine and Dine half marathon. I have wanted to run in a Disney world sponsored run for a long time now, and look forward to completing it with my family, and also moving forward with them. It was a race that my brother signed up for before my mom passed away, and it has become a "lets complete it together for Mom" race. Kevin is a hero for watching the kids for the weekend, and does plan on taking them down to New Bedford with his grandparents with a little extra help.

Weekly update

My birthday month is going well. I went to the MFA in Boston this month, travelled to NY, and went apple picking so far. It was a nice warm fall day on Saturday, and the kids all enjoyed picking the apples and eating them. It was fun to see Noah enjoy eating and feeding the goats right along with the other two.

We got the game Hungry Hippo's and everyone played. It was especially enjoyable to watch Kevin and all the kids play together. All three have seemed to grow a lot in the last few weeks, like taller, and they are doing things more independently, I guess I am amazed how quickly the time does go by.
Talking about the time going by, we have lived here in this townhouse for 4 years now. We moved in thinking we were going to just stay for one, and now look where we are. We have still put out applications to NY, and no bites yet, but there are enough good rental places that are bigger that we can enjoy the winter in NE better with, so we are taking the steps to move. Actually our landlord is coming by today to see the state of the place, hopefully he is alright with how we have treated the place!

Well I knew the move was coming, but there is a sense of sadness and excitement. Two of the three have only known this place as their home, and there are a lot of good and bad, memories here. On the flip side, I am getting excited about hosting Thanksgiving this year, and it would be nice in a bigger place. As I was going though these different feelings yesterday, and praying in my heart, I noticed outside there was the perfect weather for a rainbow. I ran out the front door, and low and behold I saw this beauty right outside. Ok God, I get it. He holds us in the palms of His hand and is taking us one step at a time.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference ~ Serenity Prayer

Labor Day 2010

With everything that has happened this year, I have been very thankful to have seen my family members every month so far this year. I don't think I have done that since I left home for college.We were able to enjoy Labor Day in Upstate NY, and it was fun to smell the fall in the air, taste the sweet apples, and enjoy time with family.

Dirt. The kids love it. Here is the new pile in the backyard the kids spent hours playing in.

The kids were all in the bucket as they waited for Kevin to cut down some trees.
A man, his son, and some chaps. I think he looks pretty outdoorsy right?
Noah is so big, we brought his high chair, but he was just as happy climbing up at the table in a chair.
The boys getting ready to eat some marshmallows and enjoy some time around the fire.
So the countdown is on for my birthday, and I am thankful for the shortened work weeks the next two weeks. I began doing preschool with both Daniel and Rachel this morning, they were excited to do some homeschooling. I have been enjoying the running in preparation for the half marathon in less than a month.

Here is a video of the tree falling: If a tree falls in the wood, and kids are yelling at it, is it too much noise?

End of Summer

The last week or so it felt like we were trying to fit in the last minute get togethers, the ones we thought we had more time in the summer to fit in. Our great friends from college, the Clegg's, live in Manchester NH, and we finally got in a dinner last weekend. It was great seeing their daughter Morgann, and two little almost fully adopted boys for the first time. They are truly doing God's work and ministering to the people up in Manchester.

I think it is next to impossible to get the kids all looking at the camera...

I had Morgann take a picture of the adults, she did a great job!
In the mean time, Kevin is off to Georgia this week, just for a few days. I was able to go into work yesterday with the help of Kayleen, and she recommended this playground in Arlington. We had a picnic there this evening, and I got the kids really tired out.
The kids looking over Boston...or debating wether or not to run down the steep hill.
Rachel threw away her pacifier today, she fought it a little tonight, but with that done, and Noah being done with bottles, we are getting out of the infant stages. Noah is literally running all over the place. Well with the end of summer comes fall and changes. It has been super hot here lately, so the break in the weather will be nice...oh and it is my birthday month coming up. Flirty and 30 is it?

Last weekend

Weekends for us are hit or miss, sometimes we have a lot planned, and sometimes we don't. Last weekend was a nice a full weekend with friends and family.

We got together with Dave and Sandra and their three kids, and it is a good type a crazy time. It was fun just playing in their back yard.

The blonde ones are mind, the brown haired are the Libby's:
The next day we were able to meet up with Kevin's Uncle Dave in Maine, something we have been talking about doing for a long time now, and had fun at York, and the zoo and park up there.

This picture is cute, but I couldn't upload it the right way, although I am showing you anyways...

Noah enjoyed playing with the goats...well actually all the kids did.

Kevin and Daniel enjoyed doing the paddle boats. They were chasing the ducks. Rachel got in on some bumper boat action. Daniel did those bit slide rides, and really enjoyed the "Fun Houses".

Here is the beach, it was beautiful and had a nice playground right off the beach. It was also fun spending time with Dave and his friend Dan, we had dinner with them and they showed us around the area.

This week Kevin has been gone to FL, but Beau has been in town, so it has made the week go bye fast. Kevin gets home tonight and we have a fun weekend planned. I also found out I am in the half marathon that my brother and dad signed up for in the fall, so I started a training program, and it just feels good to run again with purpose. Beau has been taking some good pictures this trip, and she has posted some good ones on her blog.

That kind of week.

If I could find my camera I would be showing you pictures of Kevin's cousin's high school graduation party, but I can't seem to find that right now, and that is the type of week I have been having. The kids have been a little harder this week, and with Kevin having a few late nights, it has made this week a long one. But tomorrow is Friday, and I will have another chance and a new day.

I went to Plaster Fun time, which was fun, but what I really went out for was Storytime at the Library, and I was off by a day. So the kids painted, and Rachel threw a huge tantrum at the end of the painting. Sigh. We also went to Target yesterday where she gave me another doozy. She is still two, I still need to remember that. These are pictures from my phone, and they turned out pretty good.

I have also begun the re-organization of the kids toys, and spent the last two days really combing through our stuff. With Noah being one now, we are looking for places for the things we don't need around for him anymore. Anyone know anyone needing baby toys or a baby bjorn? We did have a date night at Kimball farms where Kevin won at putt-putt, but the ice cream was nice, and the evening was beautiful, thanks to Kayleen for letting us go out :-)

Hopefully I will find the camera in all the cleaning I have done and have some more pictures to post soon.

Davis Farmland

I've known of Davis Farmland since we moved here, but we never got the opportunity to go until this weekend, and it was fun! I think this was the first time for me that I saw all three kids enjoy a park like atmosphere, and I think it is getting easier to do things like this with all of them. This was very family friendly, and that helped a lot too!

Rachel was pretty brave with the pony.
They had this amazing sprinkler park where you could play in, and also to the side you could get in this pool of bubbles and then wash off. Daniel and Noah just loved it! Rachel had a scratch on her foot that made it hard for her to walk, so we just people watched. I was fine with that!
I love Noah's face, but also enjoy seeing Kevin have fun! Noah is fearless in the water.


It was a fun weekend, and I don't have that much planned again for this week, but we'll see what happens.