It's crazy to me to think how much happened and changed during the month of October. Some of it was good, some of it was bad, and some of it was traumatic and heart-wrenching. I never imagined at the beginning of the month that Amy would suddenly be hospitalized and forced to deliver baby Briar. Or that we would have to say good-bye to the baby for which we had prayed and yearned so long.
However, as I get older and experience more life, I realize that deepest sorrow is almost always intermingled with great joy. This month was no exception to that. Here are some of the blessings we experienced this month.
Angie and Jesse welcomed baby Lia Jade on September 22nd. Due to COVID restrictions, they weren't permitted to have any visitors at the hospital. I finally got to meet precious baby Lia on October 1st. Chris graciously agreed to work from home so I could spend the day with Angie and snuggling the sweet baby.
Such a little nugget!
We had a great day together. Angie let me change Lia, feed her, rock her to sleep, and even watch her for a bit while Ang picked the boys up from school.
I appreciated getting to spend the day with my friend, and I think she was happy to have my help and experience! It's crazy how quickly one forgets how needy newborns are, and I was plain tuckered out when I got home.
We had a small catastrophe this month when Brooke dropped and broke her beloved piggy bank. All the kids had emptied their banks so we could cash their change in at the bank, and Brooke tripped while carrying her bank back to her room. She was truly being careful, and it was purely an accident. She was just devastated when she realized that her bank was broken into pieces 😢.
Brooke cried some genuine tears, and Brecklyn immediately got her Timber and another stuffie to snuggle. Then, Brecks just laid on top of Brooke and was sad along with her.
The bank was definitely a gonner.
I'm a sucker for seasonally themed activities, so this month I had the kids doing several autumn worksheets and exercises. One day, I teamed the bigs up with the littles for some greater than/ less than practice using candy corn. They all begged to eat the candy corn, but not one of them like it!
Chris hasn't travelled for work since the middle of February, but he had to be gone to Virginia for three nights earlier this month. On the day he got home, he treated us all to a hibachi lunch. The kids were thrilled! They love going for hibachi, but we're not able to do it very often. We had an amazing chef that let both Brianna and Brooke have a turn cooking.
He also made sure all the kids got balloon hats!
One Sunday, Brianna and I both got ready for church and noticed we had accidently coordinated. Then, we arrived at church and saw that we had also coordinated with Lisa and Chloe . . . photo op!
Brooke and Brecklyn got to spend the night at Grampy and G-Jo's house this month, and G-Jo sent me this pic of them all dressed up. Brooke is wearing the dress that Lisa wore in my oldest brother's wedding in 1991!
My friend, Joy Lin, invited the kids and I to join her at a marching band contest one Tuesday. She said that she hasn't been to a contest in some years and it just sounded fun. I was more excited than I thought I would be because I had also not been to a contest in a few decades! The kids and I met up with her in a nearby town to enjoy the festivities.
Of course, Bren brought his binoculars. I didn't even know he had them until he pulled them out of his bag!
The kids were all very interested in all the happenings,
and I had a great time catching up with JLH. I miss this girl!
💗💜💗
I had on a fun shirt that says, "October is my favorite". I tried to get a pic but failed!
One evening after Wednesday night bible study, several families met at a local park and played glow frisbee tag together. Chris took Brianna and Brenson, but Brooke, Brecklyn, and I went home. I heard that everyone had a great time, and they hope to do it again!
Octobers are perfect for evenings by the fire and amazing sunsets!
Along with their running practices and their big National Running Meet, Brianna and Brenson participated in a virtual 5K to benefit the Tennessee Children's Home where my brother works. Chris also participated.
Chris was sore after this run as both the kids are currently in much better shape than he is. They should be with all the time we've dedicated to running over the past several months!
This was Chris and Brianna's time . . . Bren took off ahead of them early on and they never caught him!
Homeschool continues to go really well. Our favorite days are probably Friday because we reserve that day for *mostly* fun and supplementary activities. Who doesn't love watching a volcano erupt?!?
This is random (kind of like this whole post, haha), but one day I took the twins to Wal-mart to pick up a few items we needed. While we were standing in the check-out line, they asked if I would buy them each a Kinder Surprise Egg. I said no and that was the end of it. They didn't beg or whine or throw a fit (they know better!). So, because they acted so nicely about the no, the lady in front of us bought them each an egg. She handed them to me right as she finished paying, complimented me on how nice the girls acted, and left. I was a little dumbfounded, but Brooke and Brecklyn were elated!
A couple nights ago, we had our first Halloween activity when we joined the S family at the golf course for a little Trick-or-Treating. I'm not sure why the golf course had their event on a Wednesday evening three days before Halloween, but they did. It ended up being cold and rainy that night, so everything was moved indoors and got kind of crazy really quickly. Our crew was sure cute, though!
It was almost impossible to move around with all the people, tables, and chaos, let alone get decent pics of the kids trick-or-treating. This is the only pic I snapped . . . my sweet dragons!
This morning, I closed my bedroom door to get dressed and noticed a dark line. Upon closer inspection, I saw that someone had scribbled across my door and trim with a pencil!
I gathered all the kids together and asked what had happened. It was very apparent (from behavior) who the guilty child was. Of course, I made her help me clean it off. Would you like to guess how thrilled she was about this task?
Cast shade all you want, you still have to fix what you did!
My Aunt Cindy is so good about sending cards and little surprises to my kids throughout the year. When she does this, I always try to text her a photo of the kids with whatever little trinket or gift she sent. This month, she sent them all autumn cards with a two dollar bill inside.
I realize today is not the last day of the month, but I wanted to get this posted while I had the chance. Tonight, we are celebrating Chris's *40th* birthday with a dinner, pie, and gifts, and tomorrow will be full of Halloween fun. Those posts will come soon. Until then, I hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!
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