Enjoying the Great Outdoors!

It would be silly to not take advantage of this great weather. We were outside Sunday afternoon enjoying the weather and each other. Here is Eden with a kitten. She's come a long way from not wanting to be near the cats.

Eliza with a kitty.

Sisters and kitties.

Always a lady, even on the hayride.

Checking out the crick.

And Eliza always has to be where the boys are.

Riding with daddy.

Emmet's driving now.

Can't believe we were wearing shorts and short-sleeves on 10-10-10.

And now it's Ephraim's turn to bring us on home.

WOW! Now we're 3!

Happy Birthday to our beloved girls! They turned 3 on Sunday, 10-10-10. We started the day with cupcakes for their Sunday School class. I wasn't sure how much mess would be made with 15 3 & 4 year olds, but they did pretty good!

And then it was home for lunch and presents after lunch!

The girls with their unopened presents. Patiently waiting.

The boys couldn't resist getting in on the action, even if it was all girl stuff.

I don't know, Emmet seems pretty excited in this picture. This is Eliza and her new Cabbage Patch doll.

Thanks mommy & daddy!

Oh, pretty doll!

Eliza with her doll and a few of the outfits I sewed for her doll.

Eden checking out the clothes that I made for their new dolls.

They do look alike, don't they. Let's not talk about how many hours I spent at www.cabbagepatchkids.com trying to find just the perfect ones. I wanted their dolls to be kind of similar but yet a little different. And I wanted them to have the same hair and eye color. Picky, I know. I was kind of hoping that I could find one with a pink outfit and shoes and another with a purple outfit and shoes. But, no such luck. Or at least not at cabbagepatchkids.com. Now, ebay is a different story, but let's not go there. I have managed to successfully win a bid on a purple shoe set. That'll have to wait for Eliza's Christmas present, so don't spill the secret.

A look at the clothes I sewed. Two coats, two pants, two bubble suits and two dresses with matching panties. I am working on a few more outfits for Christmas. And I helped the girls rummage through the tote of their newborn clothes and we found some outfits/onesies that the girls used to wear and now their dollies can wear. I knew I was keeping those for a reason.

And a look at the clothes that the girls got for themselves. Mostly clearance from Children's Place and Osh Kosh, but nothing wrong with that!

Now it's time for cake.
I wanted to do a butterfly theme. So, I looked online for cake ideas and found something like this. It is three cakes made in a heart pan and then put together like this. The third heart is cut in thirds for the bottom wings and a center piece. The only downside to this is that I had one heart pan, so it took all morning to bake the cakes. But I love how it turned out and I've gotten some great compliments on it, too.

Eliza and Eden with their cake.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Eden & Eliza, Happy Birthday to you!"

And their attempt to blow out the candles.

Notice the butterfly napkins? I stumbled across those at the Dollar Tree. After my mom and I search Des Moines for butterfly napkins and found some at Nobbies. So, we'll use those for the extended family party next Sunday.

What a great day to celebrate! They were happy with their presents and their cake. They bring so much joy to our life!

Autumn Acres is the place to be!

We enjoyed a great Saturday afternoon at Autumn Acres on the 9th. Our church was sponsoring the Fun Day and it was free for all!

Taking a ride.

Painting a pumpkin. Well actually just the boys are painting since I only bought 2 little pumpkins for $2.

Eden sneaking off by herself for a photo.

Ephraim and Emmet with their cousins Mark and John.

Eliza (tossing corn at Grandpa).

And they had so much fun with the big tile. The weather was perfect and we all had a good time together.

Combining Corn!

The corn was ready for combining on Friday, October 8. We all had a great day together. The guys were started by 10am and ended early in the evening. And I fed them lunch at noon. I picked Ephraim up from school at 3:15 so he could get in on a couple hours of the action. All in all, it was a good, busy day for all of us. It also included two trips to a garage sale for me to pick up a used rototiller for the garden. Whoo-whoo! And it also included a 5-minute trip to the vet for our chicken Jezebel to get her beek trimmed. She's been pecking on Delilah so we put a stop to that! Jezebel did pass out during the procedure for 1 second. Anyway, here are pictures of the harvest. We are relieved to have this crop year over with and grateful for the wonderful harvest weather.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect." 1 Timothy 3:4

"We work hard with our own hands." 1 Corinthians 4:12

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" Colossians 3:23.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overlowing" Proverbs 3:9-10

"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy" Pslam 126:2

"And why do you worry about clothes?" Matthew 6:28

"The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much" Ecclesiastes 5:12

"For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete." Deuteronomy 16:15

"The Lord watches over all who love him" Psalm 145:20

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

Gorgeous 2 weeks for harvest

Now the guys are picking beans and having a great two weeks to do it! It's been great. The kids and I got the chance to ride again on Saturday for about 1 1/2 hours.

Enjoying their time with Daddy.

Ephraim and Emmet.

The weather the last two weeks has been a welcome relief after the spring and summer of rain. And now the crops can come out in a consistent manner without having to worry about rain.