Mommy and Nate Time

A few weeks ago Nate and I went to the Georgia Aquarium together. We started in the glass viewing tunnel under the big tank and then made our way around to each exhibit. What strange and amazing creatures God has made!

electric eels

beluga whale

albino alligator

lion fish

It wouldn't be mommy and Nate time without dessert.

My buddy!

Trick or Treat

Lisping His Praise

Little Bubby still has such a cute toddler quality to his singing. Usually he is more pensive when we sing at bedtime, but in this case a sibling was off camera trying to make him giggle. See below for the lyrics written phonetically in his dialect.

Jethuth, name avub awl nameth; Beautiful Thavior, Gworiuth Wohrd.
(Jesus, name above all names; Beautiful Saviour, Glorious Lord;)

Emmanuewl, God ith wif uth; Blethed Redeemer, Living Word.
(Emmanuel, God is with us; Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.)

Laundry Tip: ALWAYS check the pockets.

Especially when your husband has just come home from a pheasant hunting trip and you are washing his blaze orange vest. And especially when one of the birds survived the pellet spray and had to have its neck wrung, and some feathery remnant went into a pocket...?
I decided that finding a raw chunk of pheasant in my washer was better than finding a cooked chunk of pheasant in my dryer. I thought about posting a close up, but I know you don't really want to see it. (And, by the way, let's pretend that grayish ring around the washer basin is a shadow.)

Apple Picking

For our last October field trip we picked apples and enjoyed fall in the North Georgia Mtns.

Amicalola Falls.

Rome Beauties

Apple Fritters

Meg baking pies for her friends.

Downing Family Reunion

In October the kids and I attended a family reunion in French Camp. This was one of many photos on display: my dad with his parents and two sisters.


This is where my dad grew up. No one lives there now, but it was renovated about ten years ago to facilitate family visits. The best addition was the screened porch all the way around. My cousin Maria had the whole place looking beautiful for the weekend.



This is the best "reunion" photo I took, unfortunately. These are the descendants of Richard Alexander Downing, my dad's paternal grandfather. The reunion also included descendants of Richard Alexander's three siblings.

My favorite Downing descendants

Over the years my extended family has grown very close to the family next door to the "screen house" (as my kids call it). This visit was the first opportunity the kids and I had to meet the Edwards. Caleb was especially drawn to the chickens.

Everything about the Edwards' place is comfortably, rustically beautiful. The little building in the background is the guest house, which they kindly let us use when we have an overflow crowd in town.

Meg and Dabney really hit it off!

What's a family reunion in Mississippi without a few

barefoot kids playing on a rope swing over the ditch?

This old sorghum mill is part of the historic preservation area. Every Saturday in October you can watch the mill in action (complete with a mule) and buy the sorghum. I took this picture on Friday afternoon. On Saturday evening I was so disappointed to realize that in the busyness of the reunion I had forgotten to take the kids back to watch! Maybe next year.

Zip Line + Baby Swing =

Soccer

This year Meg and Nate both played soccer for the first time. Although neither team won any games, they both enjoyed it and want to play again next year. (Actually, they did each score a goal: Meg dribbled halfway down the field and made a great shot from the side; Nate's was a little more accidental. Another boy kicked the ball and it bounced off Nate and into the goal--but it was the right goal and Nate was the last one to touch it before it went in, so we're counting it.)

The (mis)adventures of Caleb Veerman

People often ask what Caleb does each day while I teach the older two. He spends the first hour and half playing in his room, then joins us for snack and recess, then plays out back or with Kate for the rest of the morning. And what does he do during all that time in his room? These first two pictures are a representative sample. (I promise neither was staged!)

Dr. Jekyll

Mr. Hyde

Here's my little guy enjoying some trail mix and solitude out on the deck. I love the profile and the chubby arm. The cutest thing was his stocky little legs and bare feet swinging as he ate, but that didn't show up in the picture.



You know how it is when you're having so much fun at the sand box you just can't be bothered with pulling up your pants (which are at your ankles b/c you just went #1 off the edge of the deck).

Very proud of this block tower he made all by himself.

Personal Grooming and Self-Identification

Me: How did your hair get wet?

Caleb:

Me: What is your name?

Caleb:

Me: Show me how you brush your hair.

Caleb:

Me: And what's your name?

Caleb:

In case you couldn't hear his last line, "A. I'm turning six."

Hmmm.

Eight-year-old Meg!

Good morning birthday girl!

Great gifts for our sweet Marguerite, who does

indeed make quite a lot of books.

Ready for a Fairy Tea- and Slumber-Party


Woodland fairy cake with meringue mushrooms and a waterfall. It was unanimously voted the favorite cake I've made so far, but it looked better in real life than in pictures.



Kirigami craft made by the girls; glow sticks
for the sleepover; Meg's birthday photo album.



Friends


Our Girl!

The next morning: a little zip line fun.

Not Pictured: Some of the girls (and consequently me) staying
awake until midnight and rising at 5:22 am!!! I would expect
that at a pre-teen slumber party, but I had higher hopes for
the 7-8 year old crowd. Oh well; a good time was had by all.

Happy Birthday Meg! We love you!

4th generation hostess

For some reason the other day Meg had all the kids out back raking a few leaves that have already fallen. Often when she gets in a straightening up mood, it evolves into some kind of table setting and food and drink preparation. In this case, she ran back and forth from china cabinet to refrigerator to rag bin to deck. Presently she invited Erik and me to come out and have a mid-morning snack.


For her birthday party she made place cards and this pretty bouquet. She loves beautiful things, has a strong sense of what is beautiful to her, and loves to share it with others. I hope this is the beginning of a life-long gift of welcoming people into her home to share the beauty and love of Christ.

All By Myself

Over Labor Day weekend I had the pleasure of travelling--alone--to visit Mandy and family in San Diego. Thanks to my and Erik's parents who had each invited a pair of grand kids come visit for the long weekend (Meg and Nate actually flew from Connecticut back to Atl by themselves!) and to Erik who arranged all the schedules and flights, I spent a lovely weekend visiting my dear friend and seeing her brand new baby and home and everyday life.

I didn't take pictures of half the things I would like to have, but these three are surprisingly representative as all together they cover: beautiful weather, picnic, Mandy wearing the sling and tending to Greta, Mike and the kids hiking, Olivia's splashy wardrobe choices, Joseph happily tagging along, and a chilly trip to the beach. The highlights were lots of completed conversations (much easier with 3 kids in the house as opposed to the usual 6 when we're together), yummy food, visits to two of the Harbor sites, laundry (I'm such a nerd I even like checking things off other people's lists), Yogurt Land, and the nurturing exposure to good friends who are learning to daily live out the gospel. The best thing is now being able to picture many of the people and places they talk about and feeling more connected to their new home, life, and ministry. That and over 10 hours of reading time throughout the weekend--sans interruptions. So nice.

Meg and Mommy, Meg and Daddy

Recently it was Meg's turn for one-on-one time with Erik and me. She and I spent a Saturday afternoon together, going out to lunch and then to the theater. Last year, her school performed the Sound of Music so Meg was familiar with the story, and when I saw that it was coming to the Fox I couldn't resist surprising her with tickets. She loves to put together fancy outfits and borrowed some of my jewelry and lipstick for the occasion. We went to Panera for lunch because she likes their soup in a bread bowl. We enjoyed watching the musical (mostly through binoculars) and, of course, the Fox is so beautifully and unusually decorated that it is an experience in and of itself. A sweet afternoon together!

A few days later, Erik took her on a one-night camp out at Stone Mountain (which I'm sure she chose because that's what Nate had done.) Since the school year had started, some of their favorite activities were already closed for the fall, but they still had a good time.