Since Ike

The last month has been full of ups and downs for us! We are still staying at my parents while we are waiting for construction to begin on our house. We are still waiting on the insurance money and then the roof, ceiling, walls, carpet, furniture can happen. I'm not including pics on the house on this post... coming soon! I thought these were MUCH happier ones!

While staying at Granna and GPop's, Jacob and Rylan discovered that mixing bowls double as hats! And we also have lots of fun dumping water over our heads! While in DFW when we evacuated, we got to have supper with Jason's side of the family. Pictured are Jason's parents, grandpa and two aunts. We visited at Popa's house for about an hour and then ate at Cracker Barrel. We all missed Jason, but he was in San Antonio waiting to be "first response" once the storm made landfall. Susie and Terrie are such delightful ladies! The boys put on quite a show of singing Bible class songs and were excited that Susie and Terrie could sing along!It was a wonderful evening!
Another stop while evacuated was to see Trey, Lacie, Kannon and Braden. One highlight was getting to ride on Kannon's gator!!! My Granny went with mom and I and she has not stopped talking about their house on the hill. Lacie also served her homemade pickles - which were delicious. According to Granny, the best she's ever tasted! Lacie also passed on a new series of books - Abram's Daughters by B. Lewis. I've read all 5 since the storm and I HIGHLY recommend the series about the Amish community. I laughed, cried, gasped, and speculated... oh I could go on for hours!
While at Grandma and Grandpa's, the boys turned the hampers into boats. They pretended to be Jesus and Peter walking on the water and also practiced calling the disciples. VBS really stuck!!! My in-laws were the epitome of hospitable. 7 extra folks under your roof is no easy task, and they made us so welcome, comfortable and we all thoroughly enjoyed the visit! :)
The last stop on our DFW whirlwind was to see Evelyn. My great-aunt Ruthie and Evelyn were BFF... for over 40 years. We would go to DFW to visit Ruthie 2-3 times a year and Evelyn was always with us. Her husband passed away in the 1960s so she and Ruthie were inseparable. She is a shining example of a Christian lady. I felt like Mary, sitting at her feet, soaking up her wisdom. One pearl from her lips was this, "We need to develop a love for lost souls." Visiting with Evelyn was such an encouragement and lesson in Christian living. I pray that when I am 98 that I will be as bright of a light for Christ as Evelyn.
Living with Granna and GPop has been lots of fun and games. A new favorite game is wearing the blocks on our heads instead of stacking them. Hello Blockheads!!!

On October 1st we made Lacie's Famous Fall Mix! You've got to do this with your family. Even though the amount I eat cannot possibly be WW friendly, it is so worth it! hahaha It includes, stick pretzels, rice chex, raisins, M&Ms, candy corn and peanuts. Yummy!!!
Trauma... on Sept 29th Rylan was out on the back porch shortly after breakfast. He was climbing up and down off of the glider swing. I guess he lost his balance because the next thing we know, Rylan in on all fours on the cement with blood pouring out of his mouth. He chipped his front big tooth. It is about half there and half missing. The good news is that we found a pedi dentist, that the root was not damaged, the permanent tooth was not damaged, Rylan got a cook sticker and he had no other facial damage. My poor baby has a first grade hole-y smile now!
GPop has been getting up with the boys and reading them their "rise and shine" stories. Notice Jacob twirling his hair? That means he is still sleepy and wants cuddles! And don't worry, the pacifiers are only for sleep time. Sometime soon they will go bye-bye, but not just yet! We've had enough change for a while.
The boys also got "big boy" church shoes! They think they are so grown up in their brown loafers!

Last weekend we went to a farm about an hour away. I should have made a post for that event alone, but it is tagged on to this one. There was a real live pumpkin patch. I was obsessed with being able to see the full life cycle of a pumpkin - the teacher in me is still alive! :) The boys LOVED tromping all through the patch pointing out the flowers, "pom-kins," leaves and vines. Rylan wanted to sit on each one and Jacob wanted to pick them all up. Here are my 3 favorite boys in the patch!

The farm also a lovely garden of fresh flowers.
And one of the best part for the boys was seeing real live animals. They could have stayed in the barn watching the chickens, turkey, cows, horses and pigs all day long.
And we are in Texas after all... the first football game of the season. We met up with Troy, Heather, Reid and Macy to cheer the Wildcats on to victory!
And I had pink eye for about a week. Yucky! And did I mention that I am scared of eye drops? Poor Jason!!!
So that was our month! Coming soon are pics of our damage, Jason's 32nd BD and our trip to HU Homecoming! We are so excited about the boys first trip to HU that we can hardly stand it!!! Hope to see some of you there!