The love of fall

I love fall for several reasons, and the pumpkin patch is one of those reasons.  I love the colors of reds and oranges, the smells of a bonfire and crisp leaves, the sights of my kids having fun with games and mazes, and even the tastes of hot chocolate or apple cider on a crisp day.  Love it! 

We have had a glorious fall and are soaking in every last bit of it before it comes to an end soon.  Today we had the opportunity to go to the DeMoss pumpkin patch with Jan and Luther.  Andy was getting in his final hunt of the season, so he didn't make it. 

Here are some pictures of the fun we had! 

Celebration for a special little guy

The kids and I got to go to Minneapolis this weekend to celebrate the 1st birthday of my nephew Declan!  What a great little guy he is!    

 Rusty, Katie, and Declan... (and baby brother whom we get to meet in February 2012 :)

 My sister Katie made an awesome brunch for us all complete with caramel rolls, pumpkin bars, lots of fruit, hashbrown casserole, a delicious pasta salad, sausages and bacon.  And an amazing chocolate cake in the shape of a pumpkin. 

Declan had no problems devouring his cupcake.  Love it!!!!

 After the party, we took the kids to French Park to play on the rope structure and take a great fall walk in the beautiful woods there. 

The cousins have so much fun together and this weekend was no exception. 

Playing Ring-around-the-rosy on the beach of Medicine Lake.

Fall Hodge-Podge

So what have we been up to the past month???????????  Plenty!  Here's a little hodg-podge of some of our fall activities.

A trip to the Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton with cousins.  The monkeys (the ones in the cage- not the ones pictured below :) kept us highly entertained once again.  I seriously could watch them all day long.   

Kaelynn keeps telling me she wants to be a veterinarian.  I'm thinking it is a very real possibility.  She has no fear of animals! 

 WHOA!!!!!!!

Yep, it's that time of year again.  Ducks are invading my freezer.

Football, football, and more football!  The season has now ended as of yesterday.  The boys had a great time and learned a lot about the game.  It was fun to see them work together as a team and improve each game.  It wasn't a winning season for their team, but it sure was a fun one! 

In the last game both boys had some great blocks and tackles.  Carson is blocking in the picture below.

Carson was quarterback and Connor was center on this drive.  They got it all the way to the 2 yard line.  It was a good drive. 

The Kingdom Kids Choir sang for the first time this season in church today.  Last year we had about 27 students, this year we have 56!!!!  There is not much that gives me more joy than being able to lead these kids in worship of their Creator!!!!  The boys are old enough to be in the choir this year.  They are really enjoying it and so am I! 

Other than these things, the boys have started piano lessons; I am loving my job and am so thankful for it; and all of the kids are doing great in school.  A little shout out to Carson- he has gotten 100% on all of his spelling tests so far. 

Andy is out of town until Wednesday night so life is busy as a single mom the next three days, but I am so grateful for the opportunities God has given us to be involved in so many awesome things.  More and more these days, my prayer is that we would be the light of God to those in our sphere of influence.