I am a bit under-the-weather at the moment. More about that later...but for now, I thought I would share some photos of what kinds of things we have been up to lately! There is always something keeping us busy!
We recently had a family movie night where we watched "The Hobbit" (which we have seen a bazillion times already but all love just as much as when we watched it the first time!). Jaxson is a *huge* Lord of the Rings/Hobbit fan and of course, had to get out all of his keepsakes...
Yes, there are Lord of the Rings Pez people, maps, posters, a Middle Earth blanket and Pillow, the *one* ring and of course, Gollum...
We are really looking forward to the next installment coming out in December! :) There is also an extended version of the first movie that we hope to watch! Madelyn is reading The Hobbit right now and is now understanding why I often say: "That's not in the book"! ;)
We attended the annual church picnic at our Pastor's house. We had such a great time of fellowship with people we love! Lots of food, fellowship, encouragement, laughter, fun and for the guys, football! (That's my Chris in the maroon shirt...)
I love to watch him play...
Once the darkness fell, there were fireworks! The children all sat and watched and enjoyed it all!
At home...I have picked, shucked (with help from my children), blanched, cut and bagged lots of sweet corn from our garden...
Some carrots from our raised beds!
*Then* one day this past week...my sister, Eloise and Dinah all came over for a visit (and my mom joined us too!). It was such a nice time. We don't usually all come together at our house. Eloise wanted to learn to knit, so Madelyn tried to teach her ;)...
She tried on her own...she didn't get far (actually, she just tangled the yarn on the needles) but we'll make a knitter out of her one day! ;) I love, love, love those sweet curly-q curls on the back of her head!
We all spent time outside swinging, visiting the goats and digging in the garden...
Then we walked over to the basketball court and the boys rode bikes with El...
And then...this guy got braces!!! All he needs are four along his top front teeth...I think he looks so handsome! His teeth are a little sore...but not too bad! :)

Now, after all that family goodness...I will explain how I am sick. Miss Eloise, my sweet, darling niece somehow got RSV (don't worry, she's having breathing treatments and doing just fine!)...and somehow, she shared them with me (although I would rather her share things like ice cream or flowers with me rather than an illness!). It started with a sore throat the other day...I thought it was just from the weather at first. But as time wore on, I got worse ~ like having a cold in the middle of the summer. After finding out El has RSV, I looked up the symptoms for adult RSV and it completely matched up with my ailments. So, I have been staying home and taking it easy for the past couple of days. I have been teaching myself how to do some different crocheting techniques and am working on patches to make a bag (a pattern shared with my by my friend Kelly in MN!)
So, I am learning you have to take the bad with the good and thank God for it all. Although I don't enjoy being sick...it has given me the chance to take some time to just relax. I am hoping by Monday that I have energy enough to get back-to-busy. I missed spin today (although I did go yesterday morning) and I would like to be back to spinning Monday as well. I hate to miss. We'll also get back to our schoolwork as well. I love routine...but I must admit, these past couple days have been what I needed to just breathe.
Thanks for stopping by! I always love hearing from you!
Warmly,
Katy