Pencil Picasso

The pencil Picasso strikes again!  On the dining room wall....

crisp air and crunchy leaves

Fall is…

Hikes in beautiful falling leaves, on the search for the best acorns and whether the boys or girls can get the most in our bags.

Visiting friends’ farms and holding animals…or going for a hayride.

Eating apples we picked from the orchard and picking pumpkins  (and eating all things pumpkin, of course!!!).

Our annual Chili and Cornbread Night with friends before trick or treat – and then walking our neighborhood to say hi to our neighbors and show off the cutest trick or treaters. :-)

My mini

My Banana. I can't tell you how much I love the fact that I get to have one more year with her. Mornings with just us girls. Princesses. Art projects. Dress up. Dolls. Going for walks. Man, I'm blessed. 

fall and donuts

Fall is undeniably here.  The sun is warm, but the air is crisp.  The apples are sweet and tart.  Soccer cleats and shin guards are strewn all over our garage and the car is packed with chairs and blankets.  God’s palette has turned the landscape into beautiful hues of yellowing greens, purples, and oranges.

And my family is addicted to all things pumpkin.

(That’s our new bamboo floor, btw.  I love it.)

Like pumpkin donuts for example.  Deliciousness.  And really, it takes a lot to say that – because call me strange, I don’t love it as much as everyone else does.  Take Chris – if you put pumpkin spice in anything (Pumpkin Pie Water Ice from Rita’s, Pumpkin Spice Latte from DD or St. Arbucks) he’ll down it.  I even got him pumpkin spice pancake syrup and he’s liking it.

But these yummy things are de-lish-us.  In a Sunday morning search for something yummy to make (Hudson wanted to make donuts with our donut maker), but I found these and they were so much better.  Baked, whole wheat, made with pumpkin and dripping in cinnamon and sugar.  I’ve got you hooked, right?  Or should I say, I’ve got you drooling?

I sent a picture to Chris at church (because he’s there by 7), and he was jealous.  Not just a little bit, but a lot jealous.  Maybe it’s not right to tease a man who is dedicating his morning (and life) to serving Christ and leading others in Worship to the King, but  as his wife I felt it necessary to share the delights he was missing out on.  And a little devilish as it may be, it was fun. :)

Now, click this link and go make some donuts.   Really.  Go.  Now.

All American Girl’s 6th

This lovely little lady turned 6.  SIX!  It’s hard to believe because it seems that her life is flying by – she is so readily full of a smile, a giggle, a song and a laugh bringing so much joy to others.  Her name (which means grace filled) truly fits her – as we prayed it would!

To celebrate this milestone our all American Girl wanted a doll party.  So she invited a few friends and they were to bring their dolls along.  As they arrived to party town, they sat at the table and decorated little pillows for their dolls.  (The pillows were stuffed and quickly sewn up with the machine later while they were playing.)  These little pillows matched their favor, which was a Hello Kitty fleece sleeping bag for the dolls.

The birthday girl was stoked to have friends over and they loved “dolling” it up.  They dined on PBJ, pink lemonade, pretzels, veggies and dip and Anna’s favorite fruit sticks (pineapple and strawberries on a skewer).

After the piñata and presents (I’m realizing this is a very “p” themed party!) she blew out the candles on her Rice Krispy treats and slurped down fresh Rita’s Water Ice.

Camp Staffaroni ‘13

The long awaited Camp Staffaroni this year did not disappoint.  I say “long awaited” because all summer long we heard, “When is Camp Staff this year?”  We waited until Memorial Day weekend this year and it was well worth the time endured apart – well worth it!  We had an extended time together and happened to visit the Poconos during the infamous East End Fair. 

Where much to Papa James’ consternation, we found a bag of 6 of these beautiful hats…being the Mets fan that he is, he found it reprehensible that we would even think about placing the hats on any of his family members.  Apparently, they like to get under his skin :)

We fished, we ate, we hiked, we ate, we played, we ate, we shopped, we ate, we laughed, we ate, we stayed up late….and we ate.  Did I mention we ate?

All the kiddos love being with Gram and Grandpa Staffaroni – even my kids call them Gram and Grandpa – they love the attention.  (Heck, I love the attention too!)

But mostly I must admit, the attention is fabulous, but my number one reason for loving the weekend the most is knowing that my best friend and her family get to hang out with our family – and we have a ton of fun, making a ton of memories.

4th annual b2s partay!

The fourth annual Lehman-Smith back to school party was a smashing success – even down to the homemade ice cream turned homemade handcranked vanilla milkshakes.

I love this tradition of getting together the Friday after school begins to relax, eat, and celebrate God’s goodness to our families….and the opportunity to sit and look at all 6 of our blessings and know that God has given them to us.

back to school 2013

The yearly procession has begun…back to school is here.  But this year is a little different.  No, A LOT different.  This year, we send one to 3rd grade (how is that possible!) and one to Kindergarten.

On the first morning of school Hudson was rip-roaring ready to go.  As was his little sister, but she had to wait 2 more days.  I personally love this little family picture the first morning of 3rd grade.

The next day, Anna got to go to kinder round up.  In our area, the kindergarteners start a few days later so that they have the opportunity to go into the classroom for an hour with a small group of students and do a few activities, talk to their teacher and get comfortable with the environment.  Anna didn’t want to leave Mrs. Smith’s room.  She wanted to stay.

But her day came!  On Friday, she asked every 5 minutes – is it time?  Is it time?  She is in afternoon K, and once the clock hit 12, she knew the time was coming.  At 12:25, we hopped in the van and off to school we went!

She had no problem walking in the door – barely even a wave back to Mommy and Daddy who were in the van watching her.

But the best part?  Watching her BOUND OFF the bus to tell us about her first day.  She loved her first day.  She loves going to school.  We are so excited for her!