The Wall Bloggers

Last night, we celebrated my father-in-law's birthday.  As we prepared for his birthday dinner, little did we know that Adrianna had a fever and Abel had an ear infection.  Even in her droopiness, Adrianna created a beautiful card for her Grandpa Steve. Over the weekend, we bought a new booster seat for Adrianna to put in Scott's car.  As Adrianna climbed into the empty box after the seat was removed, we were reminded of times past, and her love for boxes. We decided it would be perfect to surprise Grandpa Steve with an Anna-in-the-box. Sweet Adrianna got in the box as we saw Steve and Julie's car pull up, and stayed perfectly quiet as an unsuspecting Grandpa and Grandma took their time coming in.  We sent Steve over to "open his present," and with impeccable timing, Adrianna piped up, "Happy birthday!"  ...Okay, so Grandpa may have guessed a little someone was in there, but he played it out well!  And Abel had not realized that ...

 Happiness is a book... and a box of beans.

 This year, we had an alligator and a cowgirl at our house.  Abel certainly picked up on the trick-or-treating concept.  He watched Adrianna at the first house, and he had the process down pat by the second.  He even took it upon himself to reach in people's candy bowls and choose his own candy. By the end, Abel was such a tired alligator that he finally let me hold him.  But he had a death grip on that candy bowl!

We are still having technical difficulties with our faster computer not "talking" to the blog and our slower computer being oh, so slow.  So I wanted to post a few recent pictures to catch up. Abel (and Adrianna) have been enjoying the Radio Flyer fire truck that I found at our town's bi-annual kids' resale event.  Boy, was that fun to snatch up in my first two minutes at the event!  :) Adrianna made me smile with a Mom portrait on her Magnadoodle.  It may not seem like much for an adorable little boy to be petting a pretty, fat cat.  However, this is the same scaredy cat that has only let Adrianna pet her a handful of times in the five years they have shared a house.  I think Abel might be a cat whisperer.  Whenever he sees her tail flying away in a furry hurry or hears her meowing down the hallway, Abel searches her out.  Because she is a cat, you will find her pretending disdain while he buries his gentle little fingers in...

Proverbs 27   1  Do not boast about tomorrow,         for you do not know what a day may bring forth.   18  He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,         and he who looks after his master will be honored.   23  Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,         give careful attention to your herds;   24  for riches do not endure forever,         and a crown is not secure for all generations.   25  When the hay is removed and new growth appears         and the grass from the hills is gathered in,   26  the lambs will provide you with clothing,         and the goats with the price of a field.   27  You will have plenty of goats' milk         to feed you and your family         and to nourish your servant gir...

Last week, Adrianna's preschool took a field trip to a local "pumpkin patch," and Abel and I tagged along.  While the "pumpkin patch" was a little disappointing (just pumpkins set up on a church property), there were many pumpkins to be had at good prices.  Abel tried tackling the pumpkins, climbing on them, and attempting to wear me out, while Adrianna dealt with unexplained anxiety about riding the school bus, which turned her into a whining, naggy child.  I guess I would call it a hard morning for a mom. : (I wasn't really a big fan of the alien photo op, but Abel kept posing in it with a huge smile!) After nap time that day, in an attempt to redeem the morning, I let the kids decorate their pumpkins.  Adrianna used paint markers, while Abel used washable paints.  Abel did great painting until he decided he was done, without letting me know that he was done.  I'm afraid to say, I gave him quite an angry reaction when he threw his freshly painted pum...

I felt so inspired helping Adrianna make her flower shirt (see previous), that I got a vision for a shirt for Abel...  And what better time to work on it than when Adrianna and Scott took a special Daddy-daughter trip to visit Scott's brother and his family in Houston? So Abel and I got by for four days while they were gone, and Abel got a new shirt out of the deal.  Thankfully, before I got to the little windows and wheels on this one, by mother-in-law told me about Wonder Under.  This iron-on adhesive has become my new crafting best friend.  Boy, did that save me a lot of hassle with those tiny car parts! I'm pretty certain Abel felt the absence of our other family half (and I know I did!).  On Thursday, he looked over from his car seat, to where Adrianna's seat usually is, and gave his frowny eyes.  Later that night, when I stayed in his room with him so that he could fall asleep, which is what Adrianna usually does by sleeping in there,...