the ranch

on our way to celebrate turkey day, we stopped by the ranch.






we loved seeing friends.





who in the end, are like extended family {rhett, wrestling with the kids}.





they can be a little creepy.





but we love them, especially this one!





this guy got a hair cut {by the talented Lauren... you should open a side business}.





we got to see our favorite rara





and of course, eat at the dining hall.... OH HOW I MISS IT.

Happy Halloween....

This year we actually went trick-or-treating, the kids loved it. The law school hosted an event for families {of students or Profs} and we walked the building there in the afternoon. Then we went to some friends house, and all the kids joined in on the mass chaos of the neighborhood {nine kids, 6 and under}. It was actually the most "at home" we've felt since moving. I think it reminded us of the Ranch or time with our community group..... which is funny, I guess we like a little craziness... or it may have been our kids just running around with other kids... in a fairly laid back setting.

Buzz Lightyear and Ballerina Blythe 

attempting to get everyone together

running from house to house

"guys, wait for me" was his quote of the evening.

Alaina {the kangaroo} was Buzz's buddy

our kids quit half-way and wanted to eat instead of collect.

and then we handed out candy to end the night!

Oh and sweet Baby T was a bumble bee.... Pics to come!

Pumpkin Patch

this guy loved the pumpkin patch

he tried to roll them around

and then gave up and sat on them

they loved the farm animals

we fed the goats

he looks like a natural

old fashioned horses were lots of fun

the wining pumpkin 

our buddy Elise

going on a hayride!

thoughts...

Well, it seems as though time has flown by! Leaves have fallen here, and we are gearing up for a cold winter {since moving north}. There are so many things to share, but first I will reflect on our move! It is amazing how the Lord brings us from one place to another. This is not where I thought we would be last time this year, so every once in a while, I still have to pinch myself. This is not a dream. This is reality.

The kids have finally adjusted.

Blythe is in preschool and I imagine she is the ideal student {crossing my fingers}. Pierce spends every day loving his sisters, playing with dinosaurs and pretending he is Buzz Lightyear. Tenley is six months, and I don't know where the time has gone, but she is more and more fun every day.

This time last year we were enjoying trick-or-treating in the quaint town of Siloam. This year, we'll go through our neighborhood, and a Ballerina, Buzz Lightyear and a Bumblebee will accompany us.

We miss our community group.

We are thrilled that several new kiddos will be added to the group through adoption {and we're sad we won't be there to welcome them home off the airplane}. But we pray for each of them, read their blogs and are spurred on towards Christ as a result.

We miss our Ranch.

We miss our sweet neighbors. Not that we have bad neighbors here, but its just not the same {we don't go over to their house and open their fridge... enough said}.

We miss our Rachel.

We are so excited to hear about the new adventures she is on; but, we miss her!

God is so faithful. We have developed community here quickly. We enjoy being in close proximity to things. Church is less than a 5 minute drive, along with the gym, preschool, Law school, and the list goes on! The deep loneliness that we've felt comes less often. I told Justin the other day, "if we ever go overseas on the mission field, we're going with a group of community {we haven't forgotten you Brill's}, because then we wouldn't be alone"... not that it is that simple. But we are so grateful for where the Lord has brought us, we are so thankful for where we've come from. We've learned much the past three years, and we're hoping to continue and put in to practice many of those things. Happy Fall!

*all these pics are from last year fall!

the Second City {our 2nd visit}

We returned to Chicago again {a last minute visit}.

Uncle Joel and Aunt Brigitta came to Illinois for a bitter-sweet celebration: the life of Captain Thomas Heitmann. He was Joel's best friend. a Marine. a helicopter pilot. a brother. a son. an uncle. some one who will be dearly missed. {we did not go to the funeral; but we did see pictures.} it brought tears to my eyes. many tears. all flags flew at half-mast in the state. school children lined the streets waving flags. to honor him. to honor his sacrifice. so i can have freedom.

then we met in the big city.

the zoo is free. enough stuff to do for a whole day.

we went to the farm area.... we're kinda country like that!

she was equal to the weight of two chickens!

rode the train.

rode some hippos.

looked at giraffes.

smiled for the camera {this is rare}

all right in the heart of the city!

then we went to Navy Pier.

being in-laws is always the most fun.

we walked the streets of chicago {grandad and nana came too}.

took a boat tour.

some of us took a nap.

and had fun... but don't be confused.
if you think these kids look more like
my brother and his wife,
you're not the first to think that!

Fun places, silly faces!

We took a lot of picnics this summer to nearby parks. It was lots of fun {and because we no longer live at the Ranch, we have no dining hall entertainment} therefore, we needed to come up with our own meal time gig, the park was sufficient!

this was the favored park, you can see why!

always fun to show off the food in your mouth!

this sweet girl spent a lot
of time observing from here!

We're in to silly faces these days... I guess that happens at about 3.5 years of age... it makes taking pictures very very hard and is just annoying FUN!

We also like to dress our self, which is a big help {and she gets to choose every other day}, so if you see us out and about and she is wearing eight different shades of pink from head to toe... just know it was HER and not me ;-)

I do permit costume wearing outside
the house, as long as they don't
 interfere with seat belts
{this one did not meet that standard}
 But it sure is cute!
{Thanks Grandma Heimer}

This guy also LOVES to laugh and make silly faces, most of his requests these days involve taking pictures of things... he poses or finds something he likes and he says, take a picture!

his scowl reminds me of his daddy!

we're giving him long hair... at least for a while!

this was his costume of choice,
he loves to attack everyone with the alligator head!

This sweet girl gives of lots of fun faces. Mostly all smiles these days!

this is her chubby cheeks picture!