October Wrap Up

During Aidan's fall break a couple of weeks ago, we went to the Smoky Mountains for a long weekend and rented a cabin with Michael's parents. We had a fabulous time and the mountains were just beautiful. God had painted the trees with a million different beautiful colors. This was our first vacation as a family of 5 and Bella loved every minute of it. We introduced her to all of our favorite places to go and eat. One thing we have learned about Bella is that she LOVES syrup. She will dip anything into syrup. If you ever have seen the movie "Elf", that is who she reminds us of. She had sausage, potatoes and green beans the other night. Everything got dipped. We figure we can get her to eat anything as long as syrup is on her plate. Sooo, she loved the pancake house in Gatlinburg and ate 2 HUGE pancakes.

Here are some pictures from our trip ...

We hiked, went on the alpine slide, raced cars and ate lots of yummy food. We got to see three bear cubs up in a tree. Bella loves to ride rides. She squeeled continuously while on them. The boys raced cars by themselves for the first time this year. They are both very competitive ... not sure where they get that (wink wink).

We have also had some fun days at home. Keenan, Bella and I got to play in the leaves in our backyard the other day. Keenan was all about jumping into the pile, but Bella looked at him like he was crazy. I ended up lifting her up and putting her in them. She cooperated for a couple of pictures, but then she was done with them.

I have also found out I have 3 painters. This was the first time I let Bella paint and by the time she was finished, she was a mess! I ended up taking her clothes off and at some point, she had her whole body in the paint. Needless to say, she got to take a bath - another favorite activity for her.

And last night she got to experience trick or treating. Let's just say she was not a happy bumblebee at first, but then got into the hang of it. Aidan was Indiana Jones. Keenan was the new and improved G.I. Joe. They had a great time. After trick or treating was over, we went to some friends for a little party. Everyone slept in this morning since we had an extra hour before church- yay!

Please pray for me this week. I have been working from home since we returned from China, but I go back to my regular schedule at the office this week. This is going to be not only a transition for Bella, but for me and Keenan as well. Bella and Keenan will be starting a new preschool/daycare for the 3 days that I work this week. We had to say goodbye to the preschool that Keenan has gone to for the last 2 years and that Aidan went to before that. It was such a hard decision to make because we loved it there, but feel that this new school along with some state run programs that Bella should be able to receive will be best for her. So please pray for all of the transitions and changes that we will be facing this week.