Welcome Autumn! We love you!

We're so enjoying cool weather, leaves falling and apple cider that are part of the Fall season!

Loving leaves on the driveway! Yay for Autumn!

What our new house looks like in Autumn.....  We anticipate lots of raking, which I'm actually looking forward to at the moment.

 Can Reading Help You Gain Weight? Yes! 

At our house this week, we've continued to work on helping Luke bulk up. At his check-up 2 weeks ago, he was 50th percentile for height, but 1st percentile for weight. 

I learned a trick recently that has really helped.  Here it is...... BOOKS.  Yes, by the time we're done eating, the floor may look like this photo below, but he's willing to eat much longer.  The books get smeary, but most wipe off pretty easily. 

It still takes 30-40 minutes for each  meal, but when he's done he gets the reward of doing this:

Ahhhh......the satisfaction and pride of a job well done. 

Other Snapshots 

Xin, our Chinese exchange student graciously letting Luke touch his laptop.  We tried this too, but only once. Luke somehow locked the left side of the keyboard. Not a good idea.

Happy 40th anniversary to my parents, Clyde and Elaine!  Here I am with  my sister Beth and Mom with the wedding dress she made herself 40 years ago!

 Mom and Dad sharing life lessons from 40 years of marriage.


New Jersey Shore - last weekend with the Hollinger family

 It's so hard to get a good picture of Luke if he spies the camera - here he is crawling towards it.  Katie and Grace are in the background.

 He's too quick!! Ha ha.  He LOVED the sand and spashed a lot in buckets of sea water.

 Luke's first carousel ride at the FunTown boardwalk - loved it.

 Morning snuggle with Grandpa.

Short visit to the beach before we headed home - it was cool and windy, but pleasant.

We were refreshed to spend time with family, walk the beach and just relax.  Watching the sea often brings me a sense of peace remembering that God is the maker of the sea, something so large and unknowable. He knows all the details of the depths of the ocean.  Surely he can handle the details of our lives! 

Have a great weekend!

Laurie