Pumpkin Patch Fun

This past weekend our family went to the pumpkin patch in Arcadia, OK. Caroline had a great time riding a pony, petting farm animals, taking a hay ride and swinging on the tire swing and rope swing. I love doing things like this with Caroline, and I am really looking forward to the time when William can join in the fun. I love watching Caroline experience life. She is so fearless. She jumped on the pony and fed all of the animals without any fear. She is my brave little girl. What a fun day!

My sweeties!

My Big William

My sweet baby William is a big guy! We went for his two month check up last week, and he was 15 lbs 3 ounces and 24 inches long. He is in the 97% in height, 90% in weight and 75% head size. He is a big growing boy for sure. He had his first set of shots, and he was not happy about them. The nurse told me that she couldn't use the newborn needles due to the weight limit being 13lbs. Poor baby had to have the big shots. He cried so hard - it absolutely broke my heart.
William is the sweetest baby ever. He loves to smile and laugh at James, Caroline and me. He tries to "talk" to us and interact with us. He sleeps well, eats well and plays well. He is such a wonderful addition to our family. I couldn't be any more thrilled with my little man. He melts my heart in ways I never knew possible. I stare into his beautiful navy blue eyes and wonder what he will look like and be like. I think about the wonderful life journey I get to share with him. He is such a gift.

Cooler Days

Fall is my favorite time of year. I am even more excited for its arrival this year. We are finally over the 100 degree weather that has been hanging around for the past 60+ days. The cooler weather is here, and we are so thankful. When the cool weather came we had a great family trip to the Zoo, a funfilled day of football game watching, a trip to Enid to celebrate Nana's birthday and a fun picnic in the park with Mimi and Papa. Welcome Fall! We are excited about all the fun things to come during this wonderful season.

Ballet

My sweet girl has become a ballerina! She started taking dance classes in late August, and she loves it! It is so much fun to watch her grow. I know that this is just the begining of a hectic life filled with after school activities for the kids. I will definetly love my memories of Caroline's first year of dance. So far, my favorite dance moment is looking through the window watching my sweet girl trying her hardest to dance without falling down due to her tap shoes being on the wrong feet. That doesn't get her down- she keeps on smiling and having fun no matter what. She is such a wonderful person, and she is becoming a wonderful dancer. I love my little ballerina as big as the sky.

The End of Summer

The end of summer has been a little hectic! During the last week of August we had several wildfires that burned close to here (about 1 mile away) for three days. It was a very scary time for us. We were evacuated from our home on Tuesday. James came home from work, and together we grabbed every item that was valuable or important to us. It was not easy to pick and choose which items were worth bringing. Thank goodness we had my mom and dad's house to go to wait it out. Wednesday was an amazing night. All of my neighbors stood with us in our driveway watching the orange flames buring near the neighborhoods surrounding us. It was beautiful but frightening. I decided that I wanted to do something for the firemen that were risking their lives to fight these fires around us. They were coming from as far away as 160 miles and some had been fighting the fires for 30 plus hours. I asked my neighborhood for donations, and they really pulled through. We raised over one thousand dollars in just two days. Lots of local stores donated items to the firemen. I contacted McAlisters Deli and Jersey Mike's sub shop. Both donated a very generous amount of sandwiches for the firemen. Thursday night after most of the fires had settled Anne Braden, Max, Caroline and I all loaded up to deliver food and Gatorade to the firemen. We found one group that was still out in the field fighting hot spots. They were unbelievably greatful; some of them had not eaten since 8am. We left that group of firemen and went to the "command center" they had set up. When we arrived there were tons of firemen and emergency personel. The Red Cross had run out of food, so when the Red Cross volunteer saw us she was over-joyed. She told us that we were a blessing because she had firmen coming out of the woods starving. It was an amazimg night for me and for Caroline. She had the oppurtunity to see generosity and kindness first hand. She saw the strangers generosity when they donated food, our generosity when we delivered food, and the amazing generosity of the firemen riskig their lives for us. What a gift for my daughter. I will never foget my three year old daughter looking up at a huge soot covered firemen and saying "thank you for keeping me safe in my house." What a beautiful sight. I am greatful for the goodness of all those friends, family and even strangers.