Eleven 11

From the date to the activities and the presents, Riley had a fun birthday this year.  He turned the big 11 on 11-11!  

The boys took him out for dinner and to see the movie the Eternals--an action movie in the Marvel Universe that kept us interested and even left us rather interested in what's next--they do a great job with the tidbits in the end credits.  

Riley had lunch at Chick Fil A where the boys work and he got a great reception from the staff he knows there--lots of hearty birthday wishes and even a birthday milkshake!  Sonja got a bonus treat.  :-)  

Riley asked for another fall themed cake (apparently candy corn rank way high!) this year and he was not disappointed.  We had a great time celebrating Riley and ushering in his 11th year.  :-)  

We are so blessed to have you, Riley!  May God richly bless the year ahead <3  Happy Birthday!

Not Just Halloween

This year we changed things up a bit.  The kids love getting new costumes and later playing dress up with them, but we're not really about trick or treating.  Usually we go to some sort of harvest festival.  Admittedly, this year a good harvest festival was hard to find, but we did find an event to attend.  The kids dressed up and we headed out--rain and all.  They were determined to have some fun in costume and I wasn't about to let a bit of rain (really, it wasn't much) dampen the fun.  At the festival, we listened to live bands. watched a couple of wrestlers in the ring (now that was really new and interesting for the kids as well as completely unexpected), visited vendors and collected candy along the way.  By the time we were done, we were pretty wet, but the children had enjoyed themselves and we had created a few fun memories.  :-)  

Billy Coleman from Where the Red Fern Grows--Hudson was a good sport to be part of the costume and Riley was pretty happy that two different men knew who he was dressed as :-)

Camp Pals

Dinah the Diner Girl

Our Bee

The Candy Magnet

Visibly wet at the end but in great spirits

Dinner Halloween night was a wing meal from our local favorite haunt (great play on words, huh?) :-) We had a friend of the boys' join us and we watched classic throw back movies--think Boris Karloff and Frankenstein.  The children were very interested in the old films and we had a lot of conversation about how films used to be made verses now.  

The days leading up to Halloween we took the time to study the origins of current Halloween customs, as well as the history behind Dia de los Muertos, which somehow became a topic of interest this year.  However, the study would not have been complete without studying the history of the Reformation--the light side of the dark holiday that Halloween is.  The children learned a lot of valuable history this year and we look forward to expanding our studies next year.  

We did get and carve pumpkins this year--Hannah carved a cross, Sonja carved a sunflower, Riley carved a maple leaf, and Connor carved a tetrimino design.  Though the carving was fun, we didn't get photos this year, but we did gather the seeds and make pumpkin seed snacks as well as Connor made pumpkin candies from the pumpkin meat--SO good!  The rest of our pumpkins--the heirlooms--we'll carve for harvesting seeds that we can save and plant later as well as harvest the meat so that we can make pumpkin puree to enjoy throughout the year.  Harvest season--such a great abundance of goodness!  :-) 

Fall Family Moments

Once upon a time, our family photo shoots were what kicked off spring and coincided with birthday season.  These days, fall is a more temperate season and is so beautiful that we've taken to scheduling our photo shoots in autumn.  This particular fall day, the weather was so wonderful with a moderate temperature and a light breeze--quite the gift after a few days in a row of cold, wind, and rain.  Meeting with our photographer was fun and the kids were easy to work with.  Before you know it, we had more than enough photos to choose from and we called it a wrap.  :-)  I'm so thankful for Heather joyfully helping us capture a few precious moments and lots of character.  I look forward to updating our hallway frames.  :-)

I took a few photos while we were waiting for our photographer, but Nikolas wasn't quite ready for flashing his pearly whites :-) 

Spiritual Fitness Bootcamp

The Fall Youth Group Retreat this year was a test of physical and spiritual fitness in the woods.  Two days of testing was attending by Connor and Sonja accompanied by Jozsef as a leader.  

The kids tent camped in the woods, were awakened by reveille (though, sadly, they did not end the day with taps), and ran a series of obstacle courses designed by a military veteran who attends our church.

Through rain, mud, and trial the children learned to lean into community and God.  The teens and leaders learned about God, each other, and themselves while they had fun and established or deepened friendships.  

Though they came home wet and muddy, they were smiling ear to ear.  We are thankful that they had they opportunity to go on retreat this year.  :-)  

Apple Fest

 

One of our favorite fall festivals to attend is Apple Festival.  We drive up north and spend the day taking in fresh air and sunshine, vendor booths of all kinds, and seasonal apple treats.  

We didn't take many photos, but we sure did enjoy getting out.  The week had been rainy, so we wore our boots to navigate the fairgrounds, but otherwise, the weather was very pleasant.  John was a bit extra tired since he had completed the Smile Run the night before, but he hung in there well.  This year we took one of the boys' friends with us which added to our fun.  Of course, we enjoyed apple fritters (well, those of us who aren't gluten free did), old fashioned root beer from a keg (a repeat favorite), and fresh apple cider. 

Jozsef, Levi, Nikolas

On the way home, since we were in the area, we stopped by our favorite coffee shop for a seasonal coffee, a bathroom break, and a couple of games of corn hole.  

By the time we got home, it was time to make and have dinner so we unpacked our stuff and got to cooking.  The end of dinner greeted us with twilight and even better temperatures so we headed out to the front yard to play more corn hole before calling it a night. 

Never before has corn hole been so popular in our household.  But in our neck of the woods, the game is largely popular--there are even leagues to join.  And join Jozsef did!  He' s currently in the fall league and learning lots while having fun with the guys.  John, Nikolas, and the boys' friend Levi, have all been playing more to practice with Jozsef and there's talk of all of them joining the next round of leagues.  :-)  Looks like corn hole is now just a regular part of life.  :-)  October isn't over yet and we're hoping to squeeze more in.  Let's see what we can accomplish! 

Smile Run

It's been a year and a half since John broke his ankle.  It's been a long, trying journey back to full healing.  He still has issues with it, maybe he always will, but that remains to be seen.  John is on the two year healing plan and he often has to remind himself that his break was severe and the doctor was very honest about how long this would take to heal and that there may be lingering symptoms.  That is a humbling reality for a guy who has been very active all of his life and John is slowly adjusting to his new abilities.  However, the story isn't over yet, and John truly does not know just how limited he will be in the end.  He's vertical and pretty mobile, but his limits need some testing for us to know just where he stands.  John has taken a few trots and has played with kids a bit, but there has been no full out exertion of his leg's ability.  There is a healthy amount of fear in truly pushing the limits of his leg.  None of us have forgotten the pain of that break and none of us wants to revisit something like that.  Still, there has to be some testing of limits.  After much thought, prayer, and research, John chose to participate in a 5K run.  He chose one with a course that was of good terrain and he vowed to listen to his body.  The goal was to finish.  That's all.  It wasn't about his time.  It wasn't about winning or beating anyone.  It was about finishing.  And if that meant that he had to walk the whole thing, then so be it.  But he wanted to see what he could do and how it felt to move with all of that metal in his leg. 

So he signed up, and on race day, we went out to the park to see him through.  The weather was perfect and John chose a great organization.  The run was actually a fundraiser for an organization formed in memory of a young boy who died of asthma.  There were several activities for the children to enjoy while we waited for John to complete the run and plenty of friendly people to chat with as well.  

The huge bubble makers were a big hit and John tried his hand at it after his run

Corn Hole was a great pass time as were free treats like popcorn and cooling snow cones.

We took Charlotte and Hudson with us and they drew a lot of attention.  American Leopard Hounds aren't very common and many people were interested in learning about the breed.  :-)  

John guessed it would take him about 30 minutes to complete the route--he was pretty close.  He crossed in just about 37 minutes.  John admitted to walking some, but was pleased with how his ankle performed and even more so with how it felt.  The test run was a success.  By no means can we declare John at the finish line of healing, but he is one great big step closer, and for that we are thankful.  God has brought him so far and given him so much ability back--not only is he walking, but he can actually say that he can run. :-)  I do believe that this run will be annual for John--he'll want to be sure to keep (and improve if possible) his mobility.  I can't think of a better cause to participate in--both for the fundraiser, and for John.  There are lots of reasons to smile when you can run.  :-)