Cutest Monkey Ever

Back in September when our pumpkins were turning orange and we started to talk about carving them on Halloween, my little one announced that she wanted to be Curious George. She's pretty in love with curious george episodes on TV and I love them for her as well. The pictures aren't great because my iPhone doesn't have a flash, but here's the cutest little monkey I've ever seen! Last year we went to trunk or treat at our church. But with 3,000-4,000 people streaming through in a two hour window (yes you read that right....it's a huge event!) it was just too much for Ella. She was tense and afraid and crying. So we changed it up this year. We went over to our friend's house. And it just so happens that our friend's daughter is the same age as Ella and one of Ella's best friends. We pulled the two of them in a wagon around the small loop road and Ella absolutelyADORED it! She usually sings or babbles herself to sleep at night. Last night all we heard on the monitor until she drifted off was, "Trick or treat! Thank-you. Trick or treat! Thank-you...." Then she woke up this morning saying, "I want to go trick or treating with baby." "I want to go to Halloween again!"

A Fall Crock Pot Party in the Snow!

Our friends Megan and Dave threw a fall crock pot party this past Saturday. (I really wish I had pictures, but we were just having to much fun to snap any!) The idea is genius! Everyone brings a warm, toasty crockpot dish. The held it in their barn, strung lights, decked it out with fall decor and threw a few heaters in there in case it was a little chilly....

Well folks...in case you don't remember...Saturday, Oct. 29th, is when we got 10 inches of snow! But let me tell you, that made it even better! After filling our bellies, we threw on snow gear, caught fat flakes on our tongues, made snowmen and snow angels, played on the swingset, took a walk in the white wood at night and the bonfire looked brilliant against the crisply fallen background. I cannot use any other word to describe the night. It was magical!

We lost power that night and Sunday morning Jason went up and got Ella. She camp plodding down the stairs, heavy footed as usual, saying "Mommy! Mommy! The power is not in. A tree fell on the power so we can't turn the lights on and we can't flush the toilet!" Oh how I love her!

There's nothing like a good old fashioned power outage to reset a right perspective in my heart. I was so thankful for our woodstove, for cell phones, for a coleman stove by which to heat water for toasty beverages. As I washed up with a bowl full of warm water I thought about how many people in this world don't have running water...ever. We are SO blessed! If you live in America...even if you are poor....you are wealthier than much of the world and have so many luxuries...yes luxuries that others do not! Oh what a great way to start of this season of thanksgiving!

First service at church was canceled so we spent a lazy morning by the woodstove (so THANKFUL for that!) drinking hot cocoa and eating oatmeal, and of course...playing in the snow! We headed to church and right when we walked back in the door home, the power came back on!Once again, blessed. Here are some photos of my little snow angel and snowman!

The Kolvoord Petting Zoo

A few weekends ago Ella and made the trip up to my sister's. Ella was a huge fan. Jen and Greg have three chickens, two goats, and a quarterhorse at their house. I'm pretty sure Ella thought it was her very own personal petting zoo. She loved seeing all the animals and pretty much wanted to feed them constantly.

Saturday morning we took a trip with Uncle Greg up to the Maine Jump. Crazy on a Saturday, but really fun and Ella did really well considering how loud it was and how many children were there.

Then after a much needed nap, Ella got to go riding! Over the years she has been pretty afraid of horses. She loves them in theory but when she gets next to one of any size she kind of freaks. But that all turned around this year! First she warmed up with a ride on Janie with Auntie Jen. Jen got Janie when she was 12 maybe? Janie is in her 30's I believe, and totally bombproof. She also does tricks...says please, gives kisses and shakes. She's only 14.3, but to Ella that's pretty big and she did awesome. Then we headed over to a barn where Jen keeps another one of her horses. This also happens to be the farm where I grew up going to summer riding camp, so it was very sweet to have my daughter take her very first solo ride here. Jen tacked up Frosty, and away she went. Seriously, to anyone who knows anything about English riding, just look at her form! Perfect :) She's a natural.
Waving to the camera!And if you're wondering if the trip made a lasting impression....well lets just say, at Ella's instance, I've been building, "Jamies" and "Srosties" out of legos for a week. Notice baby riding Janie in the background.
"Jamie needs a blankie because she wears one when she's cold". True."Jamie and Srosty."

Marketbasket Mayhem!

We were running quite low on groceries...but payday wasn't until Friday and we'd already spent all of our grocery budget...so I decided to go shopping today...Saturday...bad idea. REALLY bad idea.

I expected Saturday to be pretty busy but, for those of you that don't live in this neck of the woods, we're predicted to get 6-10 inches of snow tonight! (Yes you read that right.) Apparantly today was SOOOOOOOO not the day to pick to go shopping.

When there were no carts in the return carosels in the parking lot and upon entering Marketbasket there were no carts inside either and I had to wait in a 6 person deep line just to get a cart....I should have just gone home. (And that was the situation even though they had 6 guys 100% devoted to trolling the parking lot and bringing in empty carts as soon as you picked your last grocery bag up out of it. I swear, they were like hungry grocery cart vultures!) Seriously people? We live in MAINE/NH. We're getting 6-10 inches of snow followed by days of 50 degree weather. I think we'll be okay. think you'll be able to get out of your house. I think the world will continue to spin on it's axos. You'd think it was the freaking Apocolypse or something!

But, gosh darn it, we have a family fall crockpot party to go to tonight and if I was going to brave that mess for spinach artichoke dip fixin's, I may as well just get my whole list's worth. I put on my BEST, most cheerful, most patient attitude and braved the mayhem with a sense of humor.

It was PURE insanity. It was a maze of carts that had to be maneuvered through at a snails pace. And the check-out lines? They looked a lot like this...but WORSE. (I swear if I'd remembered that my new iPhone can take photose, I would have totally taken and actual picture for you! THAT is how un-techy I am.) They had EVERY single line open and double baggers at EVERY single register. And each line at each register was still AT LEAST 6 people deep! I have NEVER seen anything like it.

And to my husband, who claims that Marketbasket is "ghetto", I have this to say. They were fully staffed, no super staffed, no uber staffed. They were staffed right out the wazoo. And EVERY employee was upbeat, kind and helpful. While looking for baguettes in a well picked over bakery section, the baker saw my woe and came out and told me he had fresh ones baking and he'd set two aside for me. A helpful deli person came right out from behind the deli and led me to the aisle with artichoke hearts. And the cashier was simply delightful even though she'd been there since 7am. AND you can still get one gazillion groceries for like $1.50. (I'm not even kidding. For all of my friends that don't have a Marketbasket close by and are stuck with shopnsave, shaws, and walmart...I pity you. I really do. If you had a Marketbasket near you, I swear you'd save 1 million dollars a year and eat like kings.) So if that's ghetto, then I, for one, LOVE ghetto.

Organization

Do you have spots in your home that just drive you nuts? They're little so you put them off and put them off, until one day you just can't take it anymore!? Well I do. They're mostly closets and drawers.

But this one is our kitchen counter. I hung a basket up for mail, but papers just seemed to abound on the counter anyway. My measly attempt to contain phones, cameras, charger, keys and sunglasses, was a basket that ended up looking more like a rats nest and causing reeking more havoc than doing good. Here's what it looked like...and this is kind of neat compared to what it usually looks like. Oh man, that tangled basket of wires would keep me up at night!

Yesterday I just couldn't take it anmore. So I did something about it...for free. I used fabric that I had and left over dowels from my puppet theater project. I just need a fabric pen to lab the slots with, but THIS was my inspiration and this is what it ended up looking like. THIS is also a cool idea, which I may end up using for office or junk drawer things, but it would cost me money and again, it would be on the counter. I'm IN LOVE with wide open, clear, clean counter. It's like heaven to me!

Also, THIS is one of my new fave organizing websites. Yes, I think the woman has unlimited funds, but such great inspiration!

Frugal Me

I swear when the cold sets in I just start getting the crafting bug. Money is always tight around here. It's a sacrifice that we stive to embrace. It's the byproduct of us chosing for me to stay at home and of us chosing to aggressively get out of debt. (And I might add that, other than our house, we've not purchased anything by credit since we cut up our card back in 2007!) It's worth it!

But the Holidays are upon us and it's an expensive time of year. We never buy more than one gift for each person, and just a handful for Ella, because we don't want Christmas to be all about presents. But even so, I'm all about way to be frugal! So I'm finding lots of neat stuff to make for super cheap. I just made this doorway puppet theater for Ella. I spent $10 and change on ALL the materials! (I've seen handmade ones just like it going for $65 on Etsy.) I just picked up some felt and I'm going to make her puppets out of those! Very fun to fulfill my creative side and very frugal to save our budget!

Both Are Going Home

"Dear God, tank-you for aunt Karen and baby Jude. Please heal their boo-boos off. In Jesus name. Amen." This is the prayer that Ella has prayed literally every single night since we first found out about baby Jude and my Aunt Karen. She has never before taken such an interest. She asks to see pictures and videos of them each day. Until now, her prayers have been just her repeating after us and maybe telling God a few things she did that day. But she has prayed that prayer every night, on her own, unprompted by us. In fact, she sometimes reminds us.

She would ask me to play the videos of baby Jude over and over. She would say, "Mama, pray for him. No touch him. Touch all his boo-boos and pray for him." And so there we would sit. My laying my hands on each of baby Jude's visible boo-boos, then his heart, as we lifted those things, and the other needs up in prayer. It has been heart wrenching to see Brandon and Mandy go through this. The strength and faith they have had through this all, is a witness, inspiration and encouragement. The way I have watched my daughters faith grow in these last few months is beyond words.

I'm still not sure how I'm going to tell her that baby Jude is in Heaven now. No that's exactly what I'll tell her. That his boo-boos are all better now. That he is healthy and well. No more pain, no more tears. He is in the loving arms and presence of God. He is home.

Please, please, please do not let your prayers stop here. Continue to pray for this precious family and the road they are on. Honor them and read this post that so magnificently captures the beauty of faith, trust, and hope even in the worst possible times.

And please keep praying for my Aunt Karen. She is a walking miracle. She is astounding doctors and physical therapists and occupation therapists left and right. Though her left side is still not moving with the speed and dexterity she'd like and that often frustrates her, she is eating, talking, laughing, writing, walking, climbing stairs, working so incredibly hard...and she is going home! Only two months after we weren't even sure if she was going to make it, she is going home.

I am praising God in both these situations. That may seem hard to understand, but I am thanking God in both because I trust that His is will is best, even though it may not be what I'm asking for all the time. I know that God holds them both in his tight grip and I know that God knew how they'd both be going home.