Leah's Nest

Leah cracks us up!!!! Last night, Jer and I were watching tv ("Monk", if you're curious), when around 9:30 we heard this thud, thud, thud down the stairs. Next thing we know, Leah comes trotting down the hall pushing her baby stroller. She does this lately....plays in her room after we put her to bed and then comes down stairs smiling wanting to hang out. So, we put her back to bed. She insisted on keeping her stroller in the bedroom with her. Jer and I went to bed maybe a half an hour later and checked on the kids before hand. This is what we found....

She had packed all her stuffed animals in around herself. Then, somehow managed to get the stroller up on her back before falling asleep.

An Inspirational Message

In light of the recent gush of media over a government that controls our lives and our futures, I thought this message was rather inspirational. I heard it on the Dave Ramsey show. I fear the governments' commitment to reward failure, something our nation was not built upon. My hope for my children is that they'll grow up with the same opportunities and freedoms that Jeremy and I have had. I dream that they will be ambitious leaders that work hard with integrity and share their gifts with others by their own choosing. Through their failures, I want them to get up and try again if it means changing, not look to the government as a source of security and wealth. And I of course pray that God blesses and protects us. We need to keep Him in mind in all we do.

The American Creed (written in the early 1900's)

Be accountable. Don't have an ordinary life. Hear An American Creed.

Dave reads an awesome writing about being accountable and doing the best you can, and rising up to the challenges of life. It's called An American Creed by Dean Alfange.

I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon-if I can. I seek opportunity not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, "This I have done."

Halloween

Carter was a dinosaur and Leah was a fairy princess this year for Halloween. We carved pumpkins with the kids, although they really just watched. The inside was too "yucky" and they couldn't use the knives to carve. So, they told us what they wanted the pumpkins to look like and Jeremy and I carved away. Carter wanted a truck pumpkin, but settled for a simple face (I'm limited on my art/carving skills!).

Steve is really into Halloween and had all the supplies to make some pretty fancy pumpkins. His turned out really cool - wish I had a picture!




Here they are at the end of the night, overdosed on chocolate! Even by the end, we never quite got the pattern down. Knock on the door, say trick or treat when they answer, then ONE piece of candy, thank you very much and off you go. Instead, they would knock and just stare at the person waiting to see what the treat was. No "trick or treat", No "thank you" (until prompted by Jer or I). Just stare in amazement that someone would just hand out candy. Hopefully, by next year we'll get the routine down!!!

The Worthingtons Come to Town

A few weeks ago, Kristy and Joel brought their kids, Reese and Ryan, out for a visit from Indianapolis. We just had the best time!! The kids played so well together and were completely entertained by each other the whole weekend. Kristy and I have been friends since 1996, our freshman year in college...forever ago! It's so cool to be able to spend time not only with her but with Joel and the kids. She has such a wonderful family!!! Thanks for making the drive Worthingtons. You guys were great house guests. Next time, we'll road trip it to Indy!! I borrowed a few photos from Kristy's blog too.

Carter and Ryan "worked" in the yard on Friday.
Reese and Carter raked leaves while the other kids were sleeping on Friday. Finally, when the pile was big enough, Kristy got a shot of them jumping around.
Kristy keeping warm!

Joel was kicking the ball around with the kids and didn't know his own stregth. Here he is attempting to retrieve the ball from the tree. You can't see the ball b/c it's about 10 feet further up in the branches. Rather than risk breaking a leg, we decided to leave the ball there. Leah is hoping it will blow out during the next big storm. Tinkertoys!! This was good fun. G-ma got these for Carter's bday. Everyone joined in building some pretty cool stuff, including a water fountain by Reese and an airplane by Joel.

We went to Pattersons Fruit Farm Family Fest. It was freezing cold and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Here we are taking the tractor ride.
The kids (and dads) loved the slides through the woods.



The hay mazes were a hit. Watch out for Jeremy hiding around the corner!

Walking with the stilts is harder than it looks. I can't believe I was able to capture a shot when they were both walking at the same time.
Kristy and Elliot.

Leah, Reese, Elliot, Carter and Ryan. ....yes, we still have a VHS player and have many old Disney movies!!

The big kids holding Elliot. They were so good with him.

More Fall Fun

The kids love the leaves!!!! Here they are at Grandma and Granpa's house. My mom was running the leaf blower while the kids ran around the yard.

Yard work!!!!

Jeremy brought home a mini-excavator to clear some stumps in the yard and remove some overgrown bushes. Carter rode along and I thought it was cute that he put his hand on Jeremy's as if he were the one controlling the machine.

Elliot - 4 Months Old

Elliot turned 4 months old on October 26th. I took him for his 4 month Dr's visit and he weighed in at 12 lbs 15 oz and has a length of 24 1/4". He's doing great and more interested in his surroundings than ever. Carter and Leah entertain him with toys and talking. Now that he's giving so much feedback, they're constantly trying to get a reaction out of him. It's cute to see how excited Elliot gets when they play with him.

We're still working on sleeping through the night. He's had a few really good nights, when he slept about 10 hours. However, he usually only makes it about six hours before waking up.

His newest activity is the exer-saucer. I just brought it out this week and he loves it! To him it's all new, but it's the same one we've had since Carter was born. It's great to pull out old stuff and get new use out of it. I just went through a bunch of Carter's baby clothes and I love that Elliot is now wearing some of his outfits, makes me think of when Carter was a baby. They look a lot alike too!

Daddy's Newest Helper

Jeremy has been working on remodeling our master bedroom. He was holding Elliot for a while and then decided to set him down on a comforter in order to have his hands free. Shortly thereafter, Jeremy turned around and Elliot had fallen asleep sucking his thumb (his latest trick).

Fall Apple Picking

The kids and I went apple-picking last week at a local fruit farm. We had such a nice time. It was a gorgeous sunny fall day and the smell of the apple trees was amazing. We grabbed a few empty bags from the farm store and walked out into the orchard. Here are some shots of the kids. They were very ambitious, saying they were going to carry their own bag. Of course, once the bag was full, they asked me to carry all 20 lbs back to the store. So far, we've made apple crisp and apple sauce. My apple crisp has room for improvement, but the sauce turned out really good.

The perfect pick!

We sampled along the way.

Carter and Leah are watching a wooly bear we found in the grass.

Leah learns to ride a bike!!!

Leah has learned to pedal a bicycle. She's pretty good too! Here she is circling around the driveway on Carter's orange bike. Way to go Leah!!!! Now we just have to get her to wear a helmet.