OCTOBER IN PICTURES

I can't believe that it's been almost exactly a month since my last post!! Does anyone know where October went? It went by soooo fast. And here we are, nearing the end of the first week of November already! Geeezz!! Two weeks from today will be Josh's birthday, and in three weeks it's Thanksgiving and the official start to the Holiday shopping madness. Oh my goodness!

Well, before I get ahead of myself, let me review October, and get you sorta caught up...

I've got a lot of pictures to share, and yes, these are just the highlights...

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First up is our not-so-puppy-ish pup. She is getting so big. In this picture, she is sprawled out across all of 2 cushions plus part of the 3rd! Yikes! Enjoying a game of hide-and-seek with Ben...

We went to Lyda's Farm and Grandad's Apples and Such with Papa and Nana on the 9th.
Some "gourd" 'ole fun....
and silliness...
It was a beautiful, sunny day....
perhaps a little too sunny for this one....

The boys begged and pleaded to do the corn maze, though Mom and Dad tried to explain that it was just a little too hot. Nevertheless, they wanted to go. But by the time we found the 2nd checkpoint, they were pleading to leave! By now Mom and Dad were having fun trying to find the other checkpoints, but gave in to the near-crying youngins. ;)

Here is the finished product of the treat bags I made for the boys' classes. A total of 40 altogether.

Cub Scouts, SALUTE!

"...the Cub Scout helps the Pack go..."

Our fall outdoor decorations....before Josie got ahold of a couple of them!!

Getting ready to carve ole Jack....

As always, Josh loves to gut the pumpkin...

(notice the look on Ben's face...)

Ben only likes the actual carving, and he's pretty good at it...

Spooky Jack...

Last Saturday, Ben got to go to a special Cub Scout event, just for the 1st graders at Patton Park. He and Daddy saw the cool ladder firetruck and lots of different police vehicles...

He got to shoot a BB gun...

and a bow and arrow...

Spooky Jack in all his splendor...

Dressed for treats at MCBC's trunk n treat....

and at P and N's door...

AARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!

Wow. As I said before, I can't believe that it's November already, and October is mere memories. (If I can only remember them!! hehe!!)

I am still volunteering at school, twice a week now though. Mrs. Y and I were talking about the activities that we have planned for the month, and how it (November) is going to fly by just as fast as October...maybe faster.

And there's the birthday to plan for...

Birthday cards to make....

as well as Christmas cards...

Scrapping to catch up on...

(I'm still doing our vacation...I'm a chronological scrapper. :P)

Heck, I still have Halloween decorations to take down!!

Oh the fun I shall have!!

(Insert evil laugh!)

Hope everything is well with you all.

Have a great weekend.

Thanks for popping by.

:)

P.S. An update on the baptisms: Due to scheduling conflicts and holidays, the boys won't be baptised until January (unless something changes, which the church will let me know).

Busy, busy, busy...

Yes, things have gotten a little busy around here. Of course, we are settling into a school routine, in the morning, but especially in the afternoon. Both boys have a good bit of homework, except for on Fridays (TGIFs!). And there's Cub Scouts on Monday nights, and whew!, those are the craziest nights! Trying to get homework done, fix and eat dinner, and run out the door by 5:30 to go to Scouts; then rush home shortly after 7:00, bathe the kids and get them ready for bed, and settled down before Dancing With the Stars starts at 8:00!!

But I guess in some ways, I kinda like it, the fast pace keeps me on my toes...like a challenge. I need that, every now and then.

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As I mentioned before (I think), I started volunteering at school, in Ben's class, last week. It was quite the experience. I had fun! And the kids were great. I instructed a craft project. We made owls, which is what they were learning about last week. The craft was made out of a paper lunch bag, and simple shapes (circles and triangles) that they traced and cut and glued. (I'll post a picture of it when Ben brings his home.) It was neat to see how each child worked, some faster than others, some more detail-oriented. They also made an owl snack out of rice cakes, PB, bananas, cereal and cheese. No pictures of that one!--they ate it!!

I will be volunteering every Friday this month, doing a craft that works back to what they're learning about. This week it's bats. I am looking forward to it.

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I've also been hard at work making little cards for the kids in both Ben and Josh's classes.... Stamping, and coloring, and cutting, and gluing! OH MY!! I plan on making little treat bags to go along with them. I can't wait....

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There are also a couple of birthdays this week, so while I had the desk covered in paper, and cutting tools, and glue, I thought I'd make a couple of cards for the occasion. The first one is for Steve's brother-in-law....

This one is for his niece....

And I've saved the best news for last....
On Sept. 23, after sitting for a time-out, Ben talked about a "vision" he had about the Devil killing all the grown-ups. As we talked about it, and particularly about how Jesus saves us, he said with tear-filled eyes that he felt Jesus (pointing to his chest) "right here," and that he wanted to tell the preacher on Sunday morning that he felt him there.
Last year, Josh had talked about being saved, and in particular about being baptized, but wasn't ready to go in front of the church and tell everyone. However, since Little Brother was going to do it, he wanted to do it too. So on Sept. 26, we all went down to the alter, and told the preacher what Ben and Josh wanted to do. And so they prayed the "Sinner's Prayer" with one of the Pastor's assistants, and were saved!
They are now taking part in a special class just for children who get saved, that teaches them more about salvation, and how to be closer to Jesus. When they finish the class--in a few weeks--they will be baptized.
We are so happy and proud.

I will keep you posted as to when they will be baptized.

As always thanks for stopping by, and checking in.

:)

Last Summer Fling, WNC Fair, and other fun things...

Well, the summer is coming to a close, at least the calendar says so...the weather is a different story. It's time to take the pool down, so the boys took one last "dip" in the cool water.

Yes, the water was a bit cooler than before, but they still had a great time!
We've been taking lots of pictures of Josie...she's so silly!

{That's her toy box she's sitting in!}

And she loves her Squeaky Squirrel.

And again, she's in her favorite spot, except part of her is under the couch...

If I sit at the computer, she lays at my feet under the desk...

We have been wanting to take a picture of her with the boys before she out grows her puppy-hood. I can't believe how much she's grown in a month! But it was difficult to get a good photo with everyone looking forward, smiling, and not being silly! So, I'll take what I can get....






And, this past Saturday, we took off to the WNC Fair. We went after supper, as to get the full effect, with all the midway lights and sounds.

The first thing we did was check out all the animals and livestock. But that quickly got boring, and the boys kept pleading to go to the "fun stuff."

But of course the BIG tractor was cool....



Ahhh...the fun stuff!....

The first thing we came to was the first thing we rode. Everyone was excited to get on....

The attendant took these pictures....

and since it is the Tilt*A*Whirl.....

Josh had wanted to ride the "octopus" ride (The Black Widow), but after the tilt-a-whirl, he changed his mind....

Both boys enjoyed the safari climb (?)....

After his experience on the Tilt-A-Whirl, Josh didn't want to ride any more rides, not even the kiddie ones. {I guess 'cause they were "kiddie."}

But Ben wanted to ride everything! {Not enough coupons, Son!}
I know this photo is just a big blur, but I kinda like the effect....

Now this was what Josh was really looking forward to....

he was ready...

and they're off!....

Look at 'im go!

Then there was the BIG slide....AWESOME!!!

And inflatable obstacle courses....

Daddy's nausea finally calmed down enough from the Tilt-A-Whirl to ride the carousel with Ben...(hehehe)....

We never did ride the Ferris Wheel...the line was waaaay to long!

Ben and Mom stand in line for a third ride on the Tilt-A-Whirl, later joined by Josh. I didn't think he would get on it again. He didn't like it the first time...just yelled and screamed for it to stop. {I would've been ROFL if I didn't have to remain seated during the ride! I laughed so hard I cried!! People were staring at me!!} Ben absolutely loved the ride.

Ben would've ridden more rides, except he wasn't quite tall enough...he missed it by an inch or so. He's looking forward to next year, though! {Eat your veggies, Son!}

We all had a great time. We spent more money than we would've liked, but it was worth it.

All in the name of fun, I guess!

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In other news, I will soon be volunteering in Ben's class at school. I will be helping with crafts that center around the seasons/holidays, as well as tie back to the curriculum. And when she gets the "Centers" set up, helping the children with reading and/or just listening to them read. Who knows what else! I may even try to fill in in other areas around the school, if needed, as needed. I'm actually starting to get excited. A little nervous, but excited.

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Thanks ~as always~for stopping by!

:)

Yay, crafting time!

Since the boys are now back in school, I've had a little more time to scrapbook. It's been kinda nice, just pushing through. Actually, I've went backwards, a little. I was sorting through all the homework and classwork from last year (yes, I had kept it all!), and came across school portraits that had yet to be scrapped! My goodness! I had some catching up to do! lol

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This first one was actually done shortly after we got the portraits. I just thought it only fitting to show it here and now, along with the others. It was taken in the fall. This one was the spring picture. Finally got around to scrapping....
And of course, the graduation picture...I wanted to keep this one simple, as to not take away from the message printed on it.
Fall pic....

Spring pic.

Fall....

Spring....

Graduation (of course)....

{And yes, it is identical to Josh's layout.}

I know that I've already shown this one on here, sort of. I added some cute little stickers that I found in my stash. So I thought I should include it again, along with the rest.

And Josh's for comparison. I did it sometime that summer....

This one is more recently completed. The photos are from this summer....

Thanks for stopping by and having a look!

Have a great weekend!

:)