In Awe of Autumn

Gabriel in his pajamas after trick-or-treating

Sporting my fancy witch hat

Tim's costume in line with current events

Chase as Raphael the Ninja Turtle, Bella as a witch, and Gabe as a dragonsaurus

Ken as a cop, Laurie as a prisoner, and Baby Caroline as a lady bug

Gabriel during one of his happier dragonsaurus moments

Our pumpkin art (most of the credit goes to Tim for the carving)

Here we are a couple days into November and I’m in awe of how quickly autumn is flying by! Since my last posting, we’ve been slam busy enjoying the season.




Chase is two months into Kindergarten and I couldn’t be any prouder of him. He has adjusted fantastically to being in school for full days. His teacher has reported several times that he’s doing extremely well with writing, math, and phonics. Academically, he’s excelling, but his only downfall is the occasional day he has when he’s overly talkative during class. Hey, you can’t expect perfection out of a 5-year old. Fortunately, his teacher Mrs. Parker (along with the rest of the staff at FOEC) is very kindhearted, patient, and understanding. I was able to chaperone the Kindergarten field trip to Disney’s “Frozen on Ice” in September and witness firsthand that Chase isn’t the only talkative child in his class.



Aside from school, Chase was very busy playing his first season of soccer during September and October on the Isle of Wight league team called “the Thunder.” It was so much fun watching Chase and the rest of his teammates improve with each game. By the end of the season, Chase was scoring goals every game and was definitely one of the MVPs! Meanwhile, Gabriel would play on the playground at the park or kick a ball around on the sidelines of the soccer field. We endured many temper tantrums from Gabe during practices and games, but we survived.



Gabriel is definitely living out the “terrible 2’s.” He’s very independent and can be extremely stubborn at times. I sure hope his persistent attitude will serve him well later in life because it sure is giving Tim and me a good run as parents. Nonetheless, we love our little guy and wouldn’t trade him for anything. He still has his sweet moments when he likes to cuddle on the couch and watch TV with us. He’s slowly coming around with his speech; we’re sure his lack of being able to communicate well with us intensifies his frustration and temper tantrums, but we know the day will come when he’ll speak fluently.



The month of September kicked off the fall with soccer games and a picnic with some of my co-workers. October consisted of four different family birthday celebrations (with the commonality of pizza, cake, and bounce-houses): Emily (13), Bella (5), Jaycee (4), and Kenden (9). We concluded October by spending Halloween with Laurie, Ken, Bella, and Caroline. They came over our house for trick-or-treating. Laurie and Ken stayed home with Caroline to hand out the candy while Tim and I took the kids around the block. The kids were adorable in their costumes and even we adults dressed up to join in on the fun. Bella and Chase were well behaved, but Gabe was over trick or treating about an hour into the ordeal, so we had to head home a little early. However, Chase, Bella, and Gabe had more than enough candy even with us not stretching out trick-or-treating any longer.



Now that Halloween is over, we can focus on the impending holidays. I especially like the month of November because it encompasses the theme of being thankful. First Thessalonians 5:18 instructs us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” My prayer is for this verse to be our focal point this month and throughout the years to come. Happy Thanksgiving Month!