Josh did "need a rest" after a while...

but the "cheese" grin returned for both boys when we made it to the end!

I couldn't resist adding this "corny" picture of Micaiah!

Caught...

in a tight place.

"Mommy, I really wanted this little rock and stick...now would you please help me get out?"

"No Mommy, I promise...I was not playing in the dirt!"

Quote of the day...

Micaiah comes in from riding his bike outside (if you didn't see the pictures from yesterday...go ahead and take a look) and he says...

"Nonny, tomorrow I'm going to try something that might scare you on my bike."

Well, considering that earlier in the day he asked me to place the jump at the edge of the sidewalk so he could "jump off of the sidewalk"...I can't imagine what he would be referring to!

Random Pictures from the weekend...

fun with Poppy...

smiling Eli...

run Poppy, run!

Fall party...

Wes says..."It just gets higher from here!"

Field Trip Fun...

at First Fruits Farm...a Christian ministry that has over 40 acres dedicated to growing fresh fruits and vegetables to feed the hungry...

our job for the day...place the beans in bags so they could be transported to the shelters...

the kids raced to fill the bags, and then raced to see who could fill the most bags...

our group filled ~93, 45lb. bags with beans and then placed them in the truck to be sent out...

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat....I tell you the truth whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." - Matthew 25:35, 40.

Eli's favorite journey...

Micaiah and Joshua run upstairs screaming "find us Eli"...Eli climbs up the stairs... he crawls down the hallway...

and "peeks" under the bed and screams some jibber jabber as he...

finds Joshua!

It's one of those things that Wes and I realize won't last forever, so we wanted to capture it before it slips away!

Little man...

on the move!

Fun with friends...

at the WVU game.

it was a pretty good game but the real entertainment was behind us...anyone that would wear pants like this has got to be the life of the party!

"Santa" thinks Uncle Josh would look great in a pair of these beautiful golf pants!

Stream Walk...

the boots of some of the explorers...

this was our first field trip of the year with our homeschool group...the kids had a blast walking through the streams looking for "living things"...

the task...determine which stream was healthier...during our trek we found a frog, water striders, crayfish, fish and we even saw a snake slithering through the water (thankfully we were on the bank of the stream when it slithered by)!

The Naturalist encouraged the kids to make sure they returned everything back to the stream...

so Micaiah emptied his boots of the water he had been storing!

I had to laugh...

while we were reviewing the definition of a noun (the name of a person, place, thing or idea)...Micaiah looked at me and inquired, "Is there really a person named noun?"

We're learning...

to put on our socks...

but we're not quite there yet!

Poor Spiderman!

He was the perfect size...

to be made into a mummy!

So Micaiah cut the strips of linen as we discussed things like...why the Egyptians believed in so many gods...why we can't make just anything a God...how the one true God is different because He conquered death...and then we took a break for the day.

So today, we finished mummifying Spiderman and took a quick picture...

because Micaiah decided he didn't want Spiderman to be a mummy!

A snowstorm in September?

The snow plows and diggers were ready...

so was the dump truck...I spoke with the foreman and this is what he had to say..."The dump trucks take the snow to the cleaner factory. The cleaner factory takes all of the leaves and dirt out of the snow; then, the snow is sent back to the ice cream factory to make ice cream."

...an ariel view of the machines working in the snow...

...the foreman...

...he looks like he loves his job!

Spiderman and his cohort...

off to fight crime!

Don't worry you're safe with these two around!

Joshua...

coming in for "rest time."

Wow, he must have had so much fun...

I only wish that I would have waited to change his sheets!

Ugly-Beautiful

A recent post by Ann Voskamp at Holy Experience (the one blog I faithfully follow) has challenged me to look deeply into the "ugly" in my life and begin to see the beauty. Check out this link if you get a chance...http://aholyexperience.com/2008/09/get-closer-to-ugly.html. So here I go...

ugly: baking soda paste to soothe fresh bee stings...

beautiful: a sketch by Micaiah 15 minutes prior to his "ugly" interacation with the bees...

I must say that I was very impressed...in the midst of the pain and crying Micaiah says through long sobs, "Is that bee dead?...as he remembers that they sting and then die he says..."I must of been stung by two bees!"