Pumpkin Picking

The girls had a half-day of school on Friday, so I decided to surprise them with lunch and a visit to the local pumpkin patch!

I am SO glad I decided to go earlier in the month as the patch was empty!  We had the whole place to ourselves!  It was great!

Besides picking pumpkins, they offered a hay ride!

This next photo is the face of someone whose hay ride driver just told her that there is palm tree ahead that has an animal in it who might jump out at her...needless to say, she ran right over to me!

This was the animal....ha!

You will notice that Emerson is missing from a lot of the above photo opportunities....that is because she camped herself in front of the goat pen for most of our time there!  She is our animal lover, of couse!

Taking it all in - and loving every minute of it.  Every time I would turn around to look for her, she was off becoming one with her animals! :-)

Hello friend!

As we purchased our pumpkins, I caved and spent $1.00 to buy Emerson some carrots so she could feed her friends!  It was the best gift I could have given her!

Telling her friends that she had a treat for them....

These next two pictures are my MOST favorite from the day!  The goats were fighting each other for the carrots and she literally stopped and gave them a stern warning to wait their turn!  I truly think she is "one" with the animals and is so comfortable around them!

The goat whisperer - getting ready to say good-bye until next time!

Notice what the goats are doing to each other in this picture...

"Now you be kind to each other!"

Her work is done here...

Our porch placement!  Six pumpkins for the six of us!  We picked one for you, too, Daddy!

Did I mention how much I detest carving pumpkins? Maybe they will want to paint them this year?!

30 days

30 days down!  Only about 156 or so to go! :-)

I decided to take a little time to reflect on the last month...mostly so I have something to look back upon when this is all said and done!

**  The days have gone by fast - although some minutes go by very slowly!  I will say that we have been so busy with school starting that this month has gone by quickly...I guess it is another plus to having four kids - never a dull (or quiet) moment around here!  The nights are a bit lonely - although to look on the bright side, I have control of the remote and can watch as much Bravo or recorded daytime TV as I want!

**The girls miss Joe a lot and talk about what they are going to do when he returns.  Elleanor kissed the air at Church on Sunday when it was time for the Sign of Peace and said that she was sending love to Daddy...so don't worry, Joe...they haven't forgotten about you! :-)

**We are really lucky to be able to talk on the phone or Facetime as often as possible.  Our situation could be a lot worse and we might only be able to speak once a week or once a month.  For this, I am very grateful.

**The outpouring of love, kindness and support from family and friends - near and far - has been extremely humbling to me.  I will never be able to thank everyone enough.  Certain notes or conversations seem to come on the days when I just need them the most.  This month has made me realize how much of an impact a small gesture or random act of kindness can have.  I hope to become a better person in this area of my life as I have seen (and felt) how much it can mean.

**And finally, as a side note, I have come to realize how much I DESPISE yard work.  I do not mind taking care of my flowers and their pots, but the rest - weeding...clipping...the bugs...the extreme heat we have been having...I just do not like it!  I will promise to show more appreciation for Joe's hard work and dedication in the yard when he returns! :-)