~I still don't remember, but this one's good too!~

I've wracked my brain trying to remember what Lily said that was so blasted funny! I simply can't remember, BUT, don't fret, she was hilarious again today!!!
So I had a copy of the Relief Society Lesson out today, and she asked me if she could please read it (no, Lily can't read yet lol). I, of course, tell her she can, so she grabs this talk/lesson and starts "reading" aloud. She then states "WE ARE HERE TO DESTROY YOU, by President Monson", totally matter of fact like. hahaha She then added some things like, 'keep the commandments'. So there you have it, you've been warned!! :)

~Congrats Kyle!~

Kyle's flag football team won the "superbowl"! :) The playoff game was really intense..... a close game! Kyle "sacked" the quarterback at a very critical point near the end of the game, which many referred to as 'the play of the game'. He did such a great job!!! The team and coach were great and the games were so much fun to watch! Congratulations Kyle.... you rock!!!



DJ and I went to the pumpkin patch with some friends. They had a lot of fun in the tiny hay maze and just walking freely through the pumpkin patch. Such cute kids!
Kissing a pumpkin! :)


So Lily said something SO funny the other day and I can't for the life of me remember what it was....... sorry! However, I do remember Toby's, since it happened today. The kids were singing this song (to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell), The cows give us milk, the cows give us milk, hi-ho the dairy-oh the cows give us milk. The chickens give us eggs....and so on. Then Toby starts singing "The Devil gives us milk, the devil gives us milk, hi-ho the dairy-oh, the devil gives us milk....again" I was totally caught off guard. I asked him what on earth he was singing and his response was "DAD", like, duh, you should know that. Because dad brought the milk in from the outside fridge....again. We tease dave about being evil sometimes hahahaha

~Leukemia strikes again~

My friend posted this the other day, and of course, having dealt with Leukemia in our lives, I will do what I can to help.

"There is a little girl named Taylie who is 4 years old and recently diagnosed with AML Leukemia. Her family is obviously terrified and drowning in medical bills that are only going to get higher. I came across a link to her blog, and really felt inspired to help out, and any one can do it too. It just takes a minute of your time to help this family. If you want to help all you need to do is write a short introduction about Taylie on your blog with a link to http://www.tayliebug.com/ then go to adashofseason.blogspot.com and leave a comment there indicating you made the link on your blog and you're done! Someone has offered to donate $2 for every blog with her link as long as you indicate you have done so on adashofseason.blogspot.com. So easy for a family that could really use some help."

Sometimes the smallest and simplest things, can mean the world to someone who is going through something like this. I love to see such beautiful acts of love and service.

~I love this time of year~

After living in Michigan for 5 years and going to apple orchards and pumpkin patches as often as we could throughout the entire fall , I have really fallen in love with the crisp cool air, fresh apples off of the tree, hot apple cider, warm cinnamon apple cider doughnuts, and pumpkin patches where we each pick our perfect pumkpin.
(Thank you Heidi, Kristin, Keirste and Julie for the many wonderful, memory filled playdates there!)

Kyle was a bit younger than DJ is now when we first went to an apple orchard/cider mill. I think he was probably wearing this exact sweatshirt we now see on DJ! haha it's lasted through several children :) It was much easier to keep an eye on just one child.....carry only my pumpkin and his....no school so we could go wherever, whenever.....we could fit our friends in the car with us..... no medical drama and outstanding medical bills......Wow things have changed so much! It really makes me see the importance of 'living in the now', appreciating what we have, right when we have it. I thought Kyle was going to be an only child after 4 years of trying and Dr.'s appointments etc.... and now I have 7 kids!!! :) I never understood the easiness of things with just one or two little ones, with time to spend together. I feel like I did take advantage of what I had, but I look back and wish that I had gloried in that time, instead of just abiding in it. Of course I've had life changing experiences since then and have learned how precious life is, and that life can throw curve balls and isn't always easy. I appreciate everything that I get to do with my family. It makes this trip to the pumpkin patch so much more important and meaningful. When DJ and Lily get so excited, and I hear them shouting "pumpkin patch, pumpkin patch!", it makes me happy, it makes me so grateful to be able to build these memories with them.



This time of year also gives me flashbacks of Toby being so ill. It will be 4 years ago (tomorrow), that we spent our entire day and night in the hospital, thinking we only had one night left with our precious son. He would have been about 8 months older than DJ is right now. He was so young, so little. His life changed in one night.......and so did mine. But boy, have we learned a lot!
So I just went scrolling through old pics to find one from about 4 years ago, and I'm not joking you, Toby is smiling in almost every picture....whether in the hospital, hooked up to IV's, taking yucky meds, or excessively overweight with steroids..... man he's a trooper!!!!! This picture was taken on the 14th, so we had been in the hospital a week at this point, but the steroids and chemo hadn't made any visible changes......yet! :)