wishing you and yours...

...a very Merry Christmas! Thank you for following along this blog and being such a supportive community to be a part of.  I apologize for my lack of presence here, but promise to resume writing once the holiday craziness is over.  I have lots to update you on!  For now, enjoy the sacred Christmas season with your loved ones.  Turn your phones off...forget about the TV and the scrolling on a screen...and just soak up those life-giving conversations and traditions that we all hold dear.  I'll be spending the upcoming weeks in Louisiana with my family doing just that!

“From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace...”

— John 1:16

May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts always. 
(And may you never be too old for matching holiday jammies and Mariah Carey dance parties;))
Love,
Emily, Bradley, Pier, Eulalie, and Gertie the Cat

halloween 2017

Happy All saints day!  Last night, we drove to the quaint little town of Noblesville for some fun trick-or-treating with friends.  Eulalie went as a snugly polar bear, and Pier dressed up as a llama this year (...if you want to walk down memory lane with me, HERE he is as a chicken the first time he went trick-or-treating).  What can I say, I have a weak spot for babies in animal costumes.  I actually can't wait to start doing family themed costumes and dressing up all together -- maybe next year will be the year?!

Like any holiday with children, it was filled with a lot of joy and good ol' fashion fun.  We ate chili and (the parents) drank beer and even stopped by the local fire station where the firemen were giving out candy (you can imagine how much joy that brought to my two-year-old-truck-obsessed-llama).  

He also loved all the Halloween decorations -- the skeletons, ghosts, and "pun-kins" in particular.  Pier looks so stoic in all these photos probably because he took this trick-or-treating business very seriously. He was on a mission to get that candy and we had a hard time keeping up with him!  Don't worry, he was very polite and said "trick-or-treat" to each person he met on his way...he was a bit confused at what to do during those the first few houses though and started helping himself by walking inside their homes after he got his treats.  He learned by the end of the night that we don't walk into stranger's houses.  

One last thing...The day before Halloween, we carved our very own pumpkin and Pier was in absolute AWE of it.  His favorite book right now is Pumpkin Moonshine by Tasha Tudor and he soaked up every second of carving our own.  And y'all... it's the cutest thing in the world to hear him say "punkin moonshine".  I can't wait to do it all again next year!

our autumn book basket

Pier and I have been snuggling up and reading lots of books about changing leaves, apple pies, and pumpkin patches.  I like to keep a thrifted basket on hand in our living room to be filled with books of the season.  Reading about the changing cycles of nature is my small way of helping my children recognize the beauty that surrounds us each season. 

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The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin | BEATRIX POTTER
The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night | PETER SPIER
Pumpkin Moonshine | TASHA TUDOR
A Apple Pie | KATE GREENAWAY
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves | JULIA RAWLINSON
Tractor Mac Harvest Time | BILLY STEERS
Leaf Man | LOIS EHLERT
Autumn | GERDA MULLER
Thankful | EILEEN SPINELLI
 

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These books are really sweet and fun to read together.  Pier has a soft spot for characters with trucks and animals, and I love books that teach life lessons in order to establish a strong moral code.  I'm always looking for new books to add to our seasonal library...are there any autumn reads that your little ones love? 

matching jammies

If you know anything about me, you know I am a sucker for matching my children.  I personally can't wait for the day that Eulalie and I can wear the same dress in our respective sizes and be twins...but that day is not today (you can tell I haven't given this any thought, right).  Today, I took a few sibling photos of Pier and Eulalie in their matching jammies.   We've all been under the weather the past week, so moments like this are bright spots on those hard days.  My mama heart can't take the cuteness!

Pier fascinates his little sister.  He makes her smile so big and she loves to watch him play.  It's taken a while for Pier to warm up to her presence, but now I think we're making significant progress.  He wakes up every morning and asks where "you-wee" is and whenever he sees her, he exclaims "HI! HI YOU-WEE! HI!!!".  He's lately been really into old church hymns like "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Come Thou Fount".  His favorite right now is "Be Thou My Vision" and he sings it to Eulalie whenver she starts crying...last night, as I was doing the dishes, Pier "taught her" how to dance while we played Be Thou My Vision on repeat.  It calms her down immediately and it's really the sweetest to witness. 

Hope you've enjoyed this rare moment of my kids being magically smiley to one another! Now I'm plotting what pair of matching jammies I can buy next...

the apple orchard!

A day at the apple orchard is one of my favorite family activities to check off on our autumn bucket list.  We spent my birthday weekend doing just that and it was bittersweet knowing that this would be our last fall in Indiana picking apples.  The apple orchard is an outing I eagerly anticipate year round.  Give me some 70 degree weather, fresh apples picked right from the tree to snack on, and a squishy baby to wear and I'm in my happy place...I seriously couldn't wipe the smile off my face the whole time we were there!  And the apple cider donuts. Oh the apple cider donuts.  I could write a love letter to those warm fried circles of dough, but alas, there are no words.

Thanks to my Indy bestie Val for snapping these for us!  I was hoping to get a Christmas card pic out of it, and it looks like we have some great ones to pick from.  Getting a toddler and a baby to smile and look at a camera should be an Olympic sport.