This morning we had a Halloween playgroup at our friends Kathleen & Rylan's house. It was a lot of fun and we got to see all of Avery's little friends dressed up in their costumes! Tonight we went trick or treating with our neighbors and friends Adam, Karen & Kaleb. It took us over an hour to walk down our street and back! The kids had so much fun! Kaleb got the hang of getting the candy and putting it in his bag quick! And he was very polite with a "thank you" each time! Avery kind of followed Kaleb and would only talk when prompted! But she did have her "trick or treat" and "thank you" down pretty well! When we got back to our house we passed out treats to a few kids and I couldn't help but think of Avery in a few years. She won't need me to walk her to the door anymore and make her say "trick or treat" and "thank you". She'll be able to do it all on her own! That made tonight even sweeter because she needed me - to help her up the stairs, to carry her bag, to hold her when she was tired! I loved every minute of it! I had one of the best nights in a while - on Halloween! Can you believe it? God can use any situation and occasion to show us how blessed we are but only if we are willing to stop and see it! I must say I am truly blessed!

Flying the friendly skies

It's been a while since Avery and I have flown on a commercial airline - at least a good 6 months or more - before she was walking! Now that she has that little independent streak, she hardly ever wants to be carried or to sit in a stroller. She definitely doesn't want to sit in my lap on an airplane! We flew from Raleigh to Atlanta on October 19, which, thank God is only an hour flight. As soon as we got to our seat, the man next to me says "Are you sure you don't need 2 seats?" I think he knew what his plane ride was going to be like with a 20 month old sitting on her mother's lap! I said "No, thanks". There wasn't an empty seat on the plane anyway and we were lucky enough to be on that flight. So, we sit down. About 10 minutes into the flight the madness started. She was screaming "I walk, I walk!" for what seemed like an eternity, so, I put her down in the aisle next to me. She was so happy! She didn't want to walk, but just stand there and look at everyone. Her happiness was shortlived by the stewardess that said "Ma'am I am sorry I know she is upset but she is going to have to stay in your lap!". Great! So, up she came and then started the hysterics of "I walk, I get down, I walk, I get down" I felt really bad for the passengers around us but kept telling myself they should be glad it's only an hour flight! She would calm down for a few minutes but then realized that she wanted down again and would start screaming. So, I tried to let her stand on the floor in between my legs (hidden from the stewardess) which just wasn't cutting it. About 30 minutes into the flight I came up with a brilliant idea... let's take a trip to the bathroom! So, in the stall we go, we stayed in there so long that I was scared the stewardess had caught on and would ask us to leave our little playground. I just had to forget about the germs that were all around us and be thankful for the silence! Once we came out of the bathroom and went back to our seats, we found something to occupy us - Mommy's water bottle - the best $2.50 I ever spent at an airport! Lucky me! I had to ignore the fact that she was taking the top off and rubbing it all over the seat coushin in front of us, then putting it back on, then opening it and drinking! Ugh! Can you imagine the germs?!!! By the end of the trip she was no longer screaming "I get down" but "Trouble, trouble, trouble" because I kept saying "You'll get us in trouble if you get down"! I wonder what people were thinking then! Needless to say it will be a while before we travel by commercial plane again!

Can you see the resemblance?

Amen

We have been trying to establish a good family dinner time with Avery since she started eating table food. So, whether we eat sandwhiches or steak we try to sit down at the table and all spend a few minutes together. We normally all hold hands and say the blessing over the meal and Avery says "Amen" at the end after Daddy! It's super cute. But tonight we were about 5 minutes into dinner and Avery tries to grab my hand and is saying "Amen, Amen". She wanted to pray again! Of course, I don't want to discourage praying so we joined hands and said a quick prayer. We start eating and talking and a few minutes later Avery reaches over and says "Amen, Amen" again. So, we join hands and prayed again! After 3 prayers in the middle of dinner I guess we finally mentioned what she wanted us to pray for and didn't bring it up again.

First Things First

This is my first official blog post and I have 2 shout outs to give before I go any further! First is to my very techno savy friend Megan. Without her I would have never gotten started with uploading pictures and videos to the web. She is my inspiration to stay on top of things and make sure our distant friends and family can keep up with our lives. If she can be so internet savy with 4 kids then I should have no problems! Thanks Megan! My second shout out is to my friend Shelley. I have been trying to think of a name for the blog and she came up with this one without even a hesitation! I am very impressed! I know it's nothing spectacular but it's simple and that's what I love the most about it! Thanks Shelley! So, here I go...venturing into a new part of the internet...wish me luck!