Let It Snow!

 But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let it snow!

Let it snow!

Let it snow!!!!!

Milo

It's official....we have a cat! It's been about a month and this beautiful boy is still hanging out on our front porch. He has the sweetest disposition of any cat I've ever known. Very loving and gentle, he'll let us hold him for long periods of time. He purrs, LOUDLY, as soon as he sees us...

Belle and Milo relax in the porch rocker together.

...well, all of us but Richard. I'm quite certain it's because Richard carries him around by his neck. Of course, he's not even allowed to pick Milo up, but he manages to sneak in a kitty capture from time to time. Surprisingly Milo hasn't scratched him or bit him once. He's a keeper!

Sick Day

I've been sick the past few days--God's way of telling me to take a break? I decided to stay home with Richard while Dale and the girls made their Sunday social calls to the homes of friends and family. 

Richard and I spent some special, quality time together. 

We read all kinds of books about God and His love for us, such as Waldo, Tell Me About God by Hans Wilhelm and VeggieTale's God Loves You Very Much....

We snuggled close together while watching Jonah,

played with play-doh, painted a watercolor masterpiece, 

baked blueberry muffins....

Proudly mixing muffin batter...

counted the money in his....uhumm....purse....

Please note: Though he looks innocent, he stole the purse from Juliette and the money from me....

A pink purse with a sparkly heart...he's got two older sisters, what can I do?

made a money train, sang lullabies and called it a night.

What a precious baby boy I have! (though I could never call him that to his face; he's a big boy now). "Mom your my best fwiend," he declares often.

I know this time won't last long. At the moment, I'm the most important thing in his little life. Someday he'll be too busy or preoccupied with his own interests to want to simply sit with Mom and be held tight. What a sad reality, but we are not meant to stay babies forever. I've been entrusted with his life to help him become the great man of God the Lord intends for him to be. So I must cherish every second spent with him...

(Feel free to remind me of this when he's coloring on bedroom doors with a red crayon, flushing entire soap bars down the toilet, and peeing in front of a dozen strangers at the playground.)       ;0)

St. Louis Zoo

On Friday, September 17th, my homeschool co-op donned their matching, * ultra fashionable *, bright orange T-shirts and spent the day at the St. Louis Zoo. It was a beautiful, clear sunny day; the type of weather people wish it could stay all year long. We had a total of seven out of our nine families join us for a total of 28 members in all!
Our first stop was to the Stingray exhibit. Visitors were able to get in free for the first hour.

 Then we all met up on the train and traveled through tunnels, over a bridge, past a waterfall...

...until we reached the monkey exibits. I think we would all agree that the most disgusting part of our trip was when one chimp persistently cleaned the back sore of another. First he used his mouth, but apparently it wasn't effective enough because he followed up with a piece of straw. Our group watched in horror as he repeatedly used the "tool" to dig the open sore and then licked the straw clean. I thought my dear friend, Angie, was going to throw up.

Chimpanzees

Somewhere around the Red Panda exhibit,

Red Panda

our group split up and we didn't see each other again until The Children's Zoo at the end of our trip, but my kids and I had a blast with the other half of our group.

The kids couldn't pass up the opportunity to climb all over a life-sized gorilla statue....















Lauren couldn't fit on his back...

Cute-as-can-be ---Lauren

We took a stroll through the Bird Exhibit in Peabody Hall and saw many interesting and beautiful creatures there...

Horn-billed Bird

Love Birds

After lunch, we took a walk through the Red Rock area and saw tigers, a lion, zebras, camels, and giraffes including a newborn giraffe born just this week!

Richard, Emma, and Belle

Juliette, Angie, and Lauren

A couple trips around the Carousel and we were all ready for an afternoon nap.

Abigail, Melissa, and Maggie

A quick look at the Penguin Exhibit...                     

Rockhopper Penguins

We ended our trip with a long train ride so Olivia could sleep, and spent our remaining minutes at "The Children's Zoo" where we played with guinea pigs, observed meerkats, 

climbed on a giant rope spider web, crawled through tunnels, and got out all sorts of remaining energy.

The perfect ending to a perfect day...

Emma

Belle

Labor Day Parade

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall--
Happy Labor Day, Ya'll!

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. ~Ovid

This Labor Day was very special to us because we sat with many of our new friends. It's amazing to think that only one year ago, we were watching this same parade right in front of our house with only one other family. This year, we sat with five. God has blessed us with such amazing friendships, and the best part is those families have young children of their own - so our children are blessed as well. 

I just want to sincerely say Thank you, Lord.

Patiently waiting for the parade to begin....candy bags ready!

I have an indescribable love for old Ford trucks...

Simple adornments make this truck patriotic.

God bless the young men and women fighting for our freedom....

Our friend, Gabe, in football uniform.

Thanks for helping keep the kids out of the road, Angie!

AMEN!

After the parade, we took the children to the park to play. 

I couldn't have posed it better myself...

Juliette and Izzy

Juliette-my little monkey girl

Olivia

The wheels on the bus go round and round...

 A final thought on Labor: "Thank God every morning when you get up, that you have something to do that day which must be done, whether you like it or not.  Being forced to work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle never know." 

~Charles Kingsley