I spent last Sunday on my knees, little broom in hand, dusting off the excess sand and packing a few loose stones. I watched the leaves tumble down from the blue skies, the air cool and refreshing. I enjoy manual labor when it means I get to enjoy the outcome. Watching the leaves reminds me of the autumn when I was pregnant with Wyatt and I went to town raking the leaves one day. It was a day like last Sunday, just begging me outside. It didn't matter that I was ready to give birth, it felt good to get something done in the fresh air. I suppose I will have many fall days ahead, filled with falling leaves, fresh air and a longing for something more. I anxiously await November and the memories it will bring. Until then...

because in this life of waiting, something's gotta give.

thanks to maas for the kick in the pants to do something new. challenging, but new.

Fun at Family Tree

(new stuff on eat & drink)

Last weekend I took Cassidy to Family Tree Nursery to enjoy some free fun. There were animals and a lot of free food. It was a nice little outing and if I had been thinking I should have walked since it was just down the street.

Cassie enjoyed the bluegrass music, especially the woman playing the washboard. When we came home she pointed to the one on our mantle and said she wanted to get it down and play it. 

 She loved jumping in the moonwalk bubble thing. She waited in line very patiently and jumped like Neil Armstrong on the moon.

 That is one happy little girl.

 She decorated a free little pumpkin with stickers and puffy pom-poms and glitter (thanks Big Cassie). She even drew a crooked smiley face on it.

 Unfortunately one of his little eyes didn't make it back home. He is a one-eyed happy harvested pumpkin and she doesn't mind one bit.

 Can you see the satisfaction on her face?

 Then she potted a beautiful purple and orange pansy. She has no problem rolling up her sleeves and getting dirty. Well, maybe she didn't roll up her sleeves...

 The pansy is now in our new flowerbed out front. Wait for that post.

 Then we met up with Noah and played in the box of corn. This is a really smart idea and the kids enjoyed it so much.

 I asked them to look at me for a picture and this is Cassie posing for the picture but trying to see if Noah was smiling for the photo also. Silly girl.

These are their silly faces. Mima was pretty sure Noah had corn kernels in his pull-up. I would put money on it, since he intentionally put corn in his pockets. I hope Paul had fun finding that.

It was a bittersweet adventure. It would be nice to have three cute little pumpkins to show off and three beautiful pansies in the front . I wonder what harvest time is like for Wyatt and Zeke.

Tom hasn't had work for the last month and though he's been working diligently on his thesis about the New Covenant, the doer in him needs a break from the computer. He looked on Craig's List and found some sand and flagstone and decided to build a patio. He had some amazing help from Sam, the handiest man I know next to Tom (Neighbor Jim doesn't count) and they pounded it out in about a week. Here are some photos from along the way. 

The dirt pit.

Leveling out the dirt pit.

After the gravel was poured. This was our one big expense, about $30.

They have laid the stone and put sand in between each but it's still setting so I will wait a few more days to post the final product. We are on the look out for chairs, hoping Big Trash Day will provide some great finds. With Big Cass and Sam on the look out, and Maasen to help I think we should have some success.

I'm thankful for Sam and the silliness he brings out in Tom. The stress in our house is so thick but having people around that can make us laugh helps a lot. If it was easier to post videos I would post one that goes along with this photo of Sam and Tom on the board. They were shuffling around like dorks. It would make you laugh, trust me.