Halloween Costumes

Clarissa made the ears on her costume herself and was so proud--her first sewing project!
Anderson bugged us about this costume for two months straight before Halloween. He was so happy when he finally got to wear it. He really wanted the Venom version, but I told him he had to be the good Spiderman--he doesn't break character and it can be dangerous.

Meredith took a break from being a princess to be a fairy--so pretty.

Anika is "bed head"--her cousin dressed this way last year and Ani thought it was cool.

Casey was a pirate and I was a witch but we didn't get any pictures. And Rosalie was the pumpkin that I already posted.

New Family Tradition

This year Anderson brought home two monarch caterpillars. So we got to watch them turn into chrysalises and then beautiful butterflies. I think we'll do this every year. We were all astounded and it made for good family bonding time. I could tell you all sorts of things about Monarchs now that I didn't know before.

You know it's fall when. . .

. . .the pumpkins are ripe.

Our Green Eyed Girl

Anika is ten years old now. How did that happen?! She recently told me that she noticed some boy (I won't say who) is cute. I said, "Oh, how disgusting." I was just kidding, mostly. My stomach clenched just a little at the thought of my first baby starting to like boys. (Waah! I'm not ready! She's not ready! No, no, no, no. . .)

Funny Face

Rosalie has a wide range of expressions.

"Children are the reward."

(The quote comes from a lesson I heard in church years back. The woman was talking about how she kept wondering what blessing or reward she was getting for being a mom. Then one day she realized--children are the reward. She said it kind of like she wasn't sure that was the reward she wanted. Now when the kids do something frazzling, Casey and I turn to each other and say. . . But when you look at their funny little faces, you realize it really is the reward worth having.)

Two Little Girls Eight Years Ago

And here are my first two little girls in their matching jackets in the fall leaves.

Two Little Girls in the Autumn Leaves

We had a barn party for little kids at our neighbor's house today. Here are my two little girls in matching jackets.