Waiting

We've entered a period of waiting. Waiting on baby girl to decide when she's ready to enter the world. Everything is in wait-and-see mode. RSVPing for events means we say "maybe", J has to begin every work commitment with "if the baby's not here yet", and the "when's that baby coming?" comments have begun.

We can't wait to meet you little one but we know you'll come on your own schedule. It'd be nice if your schedule was more of the "on time" kind than your brother and sister, but we'll try to be patient.
Ella kitty thinks you're pretty cozy just as you are.

Halloween '11

Here are the highlights of Halloween this year. (A) stayed home sick after our busy weekend in Sewanee so she looks a bit "off" in some of these. They each did their own pumpkins this year and we think they turned out great! Then they got dressed and waited not too patiently for it to get dark enough to go. This was the first year I didn't go trick-or-treating with them, but I was happy to veg on the couch and answer the door to hand out candy in my very pregnant state. The kids got a big haul and that was even with coming home before finishing all the streets. The witch and bat were wiped out from our big weekend, and after checking out (and tasting) some of their goods, they were off to bed.

"home" coming

Going back to Sewanee truly felt like a homecoming. It was wonderful to be welcomed by so many friends and so great to see people from our 3 years there. I didn't realize how busy we'd be trying to catch up with everyone and trying to get the kids to be able to see all their buddies. We hit the leaves at peak time as well so we were able to be there during one of the most beautiful times. We actually got a true dose of Sewanee weather with warm temps changing to fog then rain and then cold, all in one day. I was so glad we brought the kids too, they were SO excited and nostalgic about everything. We drove by our old house and the pond and all our favorite spots and they made sure to point it all out. As we were driving around, *A* informed us that she was "so happy, she was crying". Sweet girl.
When we walked up the hill to the seminary they exclaimed "I remember this hill!" (and this tree, and this blade of grass!) Not really, but it was too cute to see them remembering all the places including the sledding hill outside the seminary that I wouldn't have thought would have had such an impact on their memory.
We enjoyed the lectures and dinner/dance too but really the best part was being with friends and being able to be on vacation in Sewanee. YSR!

Driving to the Cross

We couldn't pass up Abbo's Alley!

They miss hiking and just had to bring their backpacks along!

Almost Time

It's almost baby time around here. I've been pretty "nest-y" lately, insisting J get the stuff down from the attic, washing what few baby things we have, etc. It's not all done and we may still have a few weeks yet but I'm anxious to get it all situated. We just found out the church is having a joint shower for me and the other new priest's wife (who is due 3 weeks after I am), so we went and registered some things we don't have anymore. I was amazed at how many new products there are out there since we last did this baby thing almost 5 years ago. We are experienced enough to know most of the new things aren't necessary, but some of them are pretty cool.

We registered the kids for a Sibling Tour of the hospital a few weeks ago and it was better than we expected! They got to bring a favorite stuffed animal or baby and practice diapering and they were able to tour the rooms and see what to expect. I knew A would be into it, but I was surprised at how into it H was, he listened to every word the nurse said and was eager to answer her questions.
So sweet!
They both got big brother and big sister hats to wear when the time comes to visit their new sister in the hospital.

Ren Fest

A few weekends ago we went to the Renaissance Festival in a town just north of Charlotte. We'd been to the one in Atlanta pre-kids and it was fun, but this one is pretty amazing! It's located on old farm land, open for 2 months, and the buildings are permanent structures including 7 stages, counter service food places, medieval rides/games, and more retail shops than you can imagine. There were actually so many things to see and do that we didn't get to see everything we wanted in one day.
(H) was over the moon with the jousting, pirates, and various places to buy swords (he of course had to add a wooden one to his collection). A loved the ladies in fancy dresses, places to get your hair elaborately (and expensively) braided, and this great fairy named Twig who played a double penny whistle thing and gave glass trinkets to her "favorites". She chose a tiny bottle of fairy dust on a necklace as her souvenir.

Apples!

Last weekend we went to the mountains and went apple picking. This is the first time we've been to a pick-your-own apple orchard and it was such fun!

The kids were able to run with abandon and play among the trees and we could taste as we went along if we found an unusual variety. Some of us thought it would be a good time to practice our juggling too!

It was quite cool that day and we were happy to visit the bakery on site for some warm apple cider and a new-to-us delicacy, apple cider donuts!

Oh my gosh, so good! Apparently something about replacing the milk in the donut recipe with cider makes it extra tasty and a bit more crunchy than regular donuts. I'm anxious to try to make them at home now.

After our snack, we went on a horse-drawn hay ride. All the other hay rides we've been on have been pulled by a tractor and watching the driver manipulate the horses was pretty amazing. They liked to run up the hills (to get them over with I'm guessing), so we really had to hold on at these parts!

It was a pretty perfect way to spend a Saturday in October!

Animal Blessing

Here are a few pictures from the Blessing of the Animals on Saturday. It was a beautiful morning and the animals were so fun to watch! Most of them behaved well, a few barked through the service. There was only 1 cat and we brought the only hamsters, but there was a guinea pig. No scratches or injuries and we received tags with the church's info saying "I've been blessed". Oh and there were treats for the animals and people afterwards, this church thinks of everything!