A Gorgeous Fall Weekend

Last weekend was SO beautiful!

The weather was warm, blue, and sunny.

I usually start Saturday morning with my apron on – making a big breakfast for everyone and then working on snack food, the salad box, and anything else that needs prepped for the week ahead.

This past Saturday Grant, Addie, and Chad were all at work, but I had my hubby and our trio at home with me!

Our morning started like this – and with an injury – Blake got cut in two places and we spent some time getting some glass out of his finger.

Sigh.

In defense for all Pyrex dishes everywhere, I think this 9×13 glass Pyrex dish was from 1999!

It lasted a looonnnggg time!

This photo is after we had cleaned up the bigger pieces.

It went EVERYWHERE.


After that mess was cleaned up, we all worked together and made lots of good things, including this apple dip!

Addie Mae has been bringing home 10 pound bags of Honey Crisp apples from work!

They are DELICIOUS!

More so with this yummy dip!

I made a double batch!


I also made lemon bars.

YUM.

Tate enjoyed helping with these!


On date night Friday night Blake had the idea to have a cook-out and a camp fire on Saturday night since it was going to be such nice weather!

We have our best ideas on date night.

It’s when we can actually think and have a conversation and all!

I made some cook out food, including these Pioneer Woman Cowboy beans.


We filled the afternoon with outside work.

Grant was home after lunch so the boys mowed the land, Blake and I cleared the garden for the year, and Blake also worked on getting the pool ready for winter!


We had some helpers!

And worm searchers!

I love how River thinks BIG and ran to get a shovel – because surely a huge shovel would do a way better job than our hands could!


I caught Eliza snackin’ on some of the yummy rice krispie treats we had made that morning!


It was such a beautiful day!

Tate took my phone and got some photos of the pretty colors!


Pretty soon Chad and Addie were home from work!

It was time to have some fun!


Dinner was fantastic!

Hard work makes food taste extra good!

It cooled off quick last Saturday night, so the fire was welcomed!


We headed inside pretty early to make sure we were in good shape for church Sunday morning!

Chad practiced a bit more for worship team once we were inside.

Both Chad and Addie serve on our church’s worship team – they lead the singing during our church services!


Saturday evening when we saw the weather forecast for Sunday, I messaged Kayla about doing family photos at sunset on Sunday.

Sunday’s weather did not initially turn out like we thought it should!

But it cleared off beautifully in the late afternoon, and it was in the mid 60’s, so we decided to go for it!


We headed into Cashton and walked around that sweet little town looking for some good backdrops.


We might have bribed some little people.

It was only popsicles!

Don’t judge!!

Kayla set us up and used the timer on her camera….and THIS.

I KNOW.

You probably cannot see it, but everyone is looking AND smiling!

Those cuties earned their popsicles!!!


It was a wonderful weekend!

It felt a bit like “old” times at the farm!

Where we would all work together all day and then sit around a fire eating, chatting, and grabbing hold of each other’s hearts!

We would head inside that old rambling farm house back at Adoni Acres super late, super dirty, and fall into bed super exhausted in the best kind of way!!

The weather has been unpredictable but beautiful!

We see the sun at some point almost everyday!

Thankful for the simple things like the beauty outside!

Don’t the fall colors remind you of the most amazing creative Lord that we have?

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the change of seasons!

You are SO good to us!!

A Trip to Mexico and Other Stuff

Did that title get your attention?

We have taken a trip to Mexico the last two weeks – through books, videos, and projects in school!

It has been super fun and we have all learned a lot.


We studied deserts and the plant and animal life that lives in them!

I seriously tried to find some of the fruit from a saguaro cactus – we wanted to taste it so bad!


Last week we painted some sun faces to look like the clay ones that are sold all over Mexico!


We even had Mexican soup!

It got rave reviews!

It really is just taco soup.


We also kept up with the rest of our school schedule!

Our schedule is working smoothly this year!

I so enjoy watching the kiddos study their Bibles.


We work on Bible memory each morning.


Math finds us in all kinds of positions and places.


The Mama of this nest might have given this Math whiz a sucker at 9:30 a.m.

You might as well notice the big bag of chips over there by Lane too – ha, ha!


Read aloud happens in the master bedroom with the door shut because Chad finds it very distracting!


Speaking of Chad, he is enjoying school too!


All of our “other things” are continuing on…date night is still a favorite of mine!

It’s all about ice cream, singing hymns together to and from town, spending time connecting and having a prayer time together too!


Of course food prep continues!

They are still eating!!

Here is one of the many, many reasons I do our grocery run at the crack of dawn!

It was just me and one other crazy lady in the produce section – it’s the best way to shop!


The weather here at Twin Oaks has been all over the place!

We are having warm, Indian summer like days right now – but it has been cold, windy, rainy, and freezing!


We have had several frosts already too.

Sometimes the weather would change by the hour!

I was sitting by the sliding glass door for less than 30 minutes working on the menu plan and took both of these photos.


The frost has made the trees even more beautiful!


Our bird restaurant is open for the season!

Eliza thinks there should be a prize for the one who sees the first cardinal visiting our restaurant!


This happened to Ruby last week too.

She is SO cute!!!

With long or short hair!


Our afternoons are full of all kinds of things – being outside all that we can, but some inside things too.

I am taking a free Word Press class through our library!

Hopefully I will learn something and be able to work all the bugs out of this little blog of ours!


I am also still reading through the Bible chronologically this year.

We just started the New Testament!!


There is always a game going on somewhere before dinner!


And our favorites!!

We love to spend time with our favorites!


Speaking of those cute grand babies, this was our breakfast table Sunday morning!!

I know, I know! Pinch me!


We also had an extra student for school this week.

I love, love, love one-on-one (ish!) time with my grands!


Addie Mae bought me this shirt!

I LOVE it!


These two are not only the same size at almost five and nine years old, but they are also best friends!

Nephew and Uncle!


Don’t worry, he does not let his size deter him!

Tate is an inspiration, I tell ya!!


Look at the photo someone took at church for us on Sunday!!

Be still my heart!

They were standing on the chairs singing!!


I would say that is a great photo to end this post with!

We are headed to Canada this morning!

I will stamp their passports at 10 a.m. – would you all like to come with us?

Well then, stay tuned!

I’m sure there will be a post soon about our time spent learning about Canada!

We learned some Spanish the last two weeks, but now it’s time to learn some French.

Jusqu’à la prochaine fois!!

Afternoon Snapshots

The sky and the colors today are breath taking!

I just grabbed my big camera, headed outside, and took all of these photos in about two minutes!

I think it is incredible how the photos from the back of Twin Oaks are SO different from the front of Twin Oaks – they do not seem like they could be of the same day.

The sky is ominous out front!

Isn’t it beautiful here?

Twin Oaks is a beautiful spot!!

My kiddos are out playing some disc golf, so I grabbed a few shots of them too!

Your welcome!

It is chilly out there!

Fall is here to stay!

Tomorrow’s high is in the low 40’s!

I know the colors will just get even better this week!

Did you know Thanksgiving is eight weeks from today?

Well, now you do!

Loving the change of the seasons and we are hanging on tight!

Happy fall, everyone!

A Warm Fall Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend, did you all?

It started warm here – unseasonably so!

My amazing husband took Friday off work, JUST to be with US!!

We planned on me doing my early morning grocery run still, and at the last minute Blake came with me.

I could get used to that!

An early morning date, a chauffeur, and help with the grocery run!!

We spent the rest of Friday at home doing things here and there.

Late in the afternoon I received an e-mail from our adoption agency asking for Tate’s five-year post-adoption report that was due back in July.

Oooopppssss.

I had actually thought of this report early one morning at Family Camp when I was laying awake listening the the rain!

I even typed “check on China reports” in my TO DO list on my phone right away!

Obviously I did not check on them!

Well, there was an e-mail notification glitch on our adoption agency’s end, which is why we never received the reminder to do our report.

I spend some time Friday afternoon frantically working to get that report done!

Saturday’s are for work, usually and mostly.

Saturday morning we worked fast and hard inside and outside because we had a plan for the afternoon on such a warm day!

We headed to a park about 45 minutes away for a picnic lunch and 18 holes of disc golf.

It was FUN!

Great exercise!

And VERY BUGGY.

I have the welts all over my neck still this morning to prove that!

After a couple of hours at the park, we headed for ice cream for the kiddos and Starbucks for the chauffeurs!

We had one tired girlie and a sweet brother who carried her!

When we got back home, I got after that report again and finished it!!

YAY!

After church yesterday we had our favorites over and spent the WHOLE day just BEING.

It was SO needed by this Mama and NaiNai, and it made me SO happy!!

I only took one photo, but Addie Mae took some!

We had a delicious meal and chocolate espresso cheesecake (grain-free and dairy-free!!) for dessert!

I KNOW.

In full disclosure I ate a second piece before bed last night!

I also might have been sung to as these crazy ones I call my favorites think it is okay to celebrate how old I am.

We spent the rest of the day inside and outside and sipping cider and snacking and chatting and dreaming and just BEING.

Try it!

It was life-giving!

A front came through yesterday afternoon and that warm day is long gone!

Hopefully so are those bugs!!

Now we are cold, rainy, breezy, and….cold!

LOVING IT!!

The change of seasons is the best!

I can’t wait to make more cider for read aloud this afternoon and pile under blankets too!

Someone is stingy with turning the heat on – yes, it’s me!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend wherever you are and that you are enjoying the season change too!

Blessings on your week ahead!