the halo

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:8-11

Recently we made it to church on Wednesday night. No small feat for us. Of course, someone in all of the "we are about to be running late" madness forgot to put Ryne's shoes on. We didn't realize this until we got to church. We panicked, laughed and then carried him in. Hey, at least he was wearing socks... plus we got to see him wearing a halo (that's a rare thing, ya know). wink.

thankful

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God... 1 John 3:1

walking

Emma Kate (a little over 10 months old) is now walking! She wobbles around from room to room... picking up items along the way. She is also clapping her hands, pointing, and giving high fives. She recently got her top two front teeth and is now eating table foods like banana pieces & blueberry muffin tops. She is not quite the eater her brother was at this age. I say so many times "He lives to eat and she eats to live".

Still gives those slobbery kisses... we love.

day three...

Sunday morning was absolutely beautiful. We couldn't have asked for a better day; spent the morning on the beach, took some great pictures of the family and then said goodbye to Uncle D & Aunt Reecie. That afternoon we played on the beach, then watched our last sunset.

Emma Kate and I watched the sun rise Monday morning. Note: Because of the time change we were up EXTRA early. After breakfast we packed up (EK slept) and headed home.

day two...

We woke up Saturday (Halloween) to an overcast, cold and windy morning. Dad, Mom and I tried to take a stroll on the beach... it lasted for about 10 yards and we turned back.

So I opted to start a feeding frenzy instead.

My view...

Ryne didn't care what the weather was doing. He was going to have fun...

chase the birds with his Grandaddy...

dream about taking a dip...

and playing in the sand.

Emma Kate stayed inside where it was warm.

After we had gone inside I noticed my "followers" still holding out hope that more food was to come. Look at those persistent little faces. They stood out there long after we had all gone in. It was a good laugh.

Before long the sun came out and we spent the afternoon enjoying the warmer weather.






Talk about optimism...

day one on the island

Who stays at the beach at the end of October?! Apparently nobody... but us, oh and this guy wind surfing. We arrived on Friday afternoon to our island getaway. It was windy and a little chilly, but we had the beach to ourselves. So we quickly got acquainted with our surroundings. Ryne loved kicking the sand and getting his feet wet... he apparently got a little to close to the waves. After a quick change on the steps he was back on the sand and chasing his Grandaddy.

happy halloween

Last night we took the kids to trunk-or-treat at our church. Ryne was dressed as a "backup" quarterback and Emma Kate (a little under the weather) was a cheerleader... for Alabama, of course. The crowd this year was unbelievable. I think my children were a bit overwhelmed by all the people. Emma Kate clung to me and Ryne didn't venture off too far. It got chilly so we stayed long enough to chat with a few friends and grab some M&Ms.

I took this picture before I cleaned the orange crayon off the cabinet doors... and that is not a bleached spot on the carpet, it's light reflecting off the mirror. I mean I DO try and keep a clean house. ;)

Ryne kept the eye stickers on all night. I didn't know if he was even going to let us put them on, but once we did he kept asking to look in the mirror.

The package was right... "won't sweat off" or wash off for that matter. He FINALLY pulled them off while watching himself in the mirror, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Boys...

Can you guess which one Ryne painted?

ryne's favorite things

Charlie Brown

He asks to watch Chawie Bown (and "Soupy") everyday. We have the holiday collection, he is currently stuck on The Great Pumpkin. I recently bought him a Peanuts coloring book so he can color all the characters... he knows them by name, like "Wucy & Winus". He is kind of watching C.B. right now, in between playing baseball and running around like a mad man. It's so bedtime.

Oatmeal

It's rare that he doesn't request it for breakfast. One packet of plain mixed with one packet of cinnamon roll. It's perfection in a bowl.

Baseball & Football

He loves sports and these two are his favorites. As a matter-of-fact I just got through throwing the baseball to him (his dad was preoccupied at the moment). He held out his glove and of course, I made sure the ball found it. It's so cute to see him run around like he just made a big play.

M&M's

A sweet tooth. He loves "nim-nims". His favorite candy... and my "helper" in potty training.
"Kate"

She is definitely his favorite sister. He gives her "air" kisses and smothers her (literally) with hugs. I have to constantly keep an eye on the two. Although he doesn't always obey us (shocker, I know), he thinks she should. If I hear, "No touch Kate" or "No ma'am" it's usually because she is doing something HE has gotten in trouble for. He enjoys making her laugh, racing her with the push toys and taking a bath with her. As long as he doesn't try to rinse her hair again, we're good.

Coloring

He loves to color and draw. His favorite colors are green and brown. At least those are the ones he usually wants to color with. He likes for me to color with him too. I enjoy it, even if I have to color with whatever crayon he hands me. He has a little desk that he keeps his supplies in. He knows most all of the colors, buts gets a few mixed up sometimes. We have quite a bit of orange artwork displayed around the house right now... it's the color of the month at school, no doubt.

Praying

Ryne loves to pray at bedtime. Mealtime... he would rather start eating. At night he and Alan say the Lord's Prayer and then he prays for everyone who is dear to his heart. He closes his eyes and asks the Lord to bless each one individually, by name. It is the sweetest thing for a parent to hear. "Bess momma"...

Singing

The boy loves to sing! I have to tell you the funniest singing story. Alan was driving and he thought Ryne who was sitting right behind him, was choking. Some panic. I, I, I, I'm (could sound like choking) and then Alan hears, "stayin alive". So funny. Our child was just singing one of the BeeGees greatest hits, of course. Lately he has been singing The Wheels on the Bus and some of his favorite bedtime songs like Jesus Loves Me and He's Still Working on Me. I wish I could bottle up his sweet little voice to have forever. Sigh.

MDO.... that's Mother's Day Out

Ryne loves school. His teacher, Ms. Tasbira, is wonderful. She has taught him a lot, like how to cough into his arm (not hand) and how to create beautiful finger paintings. Oh, and other stuff like his colors, shapes, etc. On Tuesdays he gets to go to music class. I have a feeling that's where he learned The Wheels on the Bus... he sings it all the time and I didn't teach it to him. Next week is the Nursery Rhyme Parade and Picture Day, both should be interesting.

nine months

15lbs 6oz (5%) 26in (10%). 2 bottom teeth now. Crawling. Climbing into and onto everything. Cruising. Babbling... Da da da, Ma ma ma. Loves to give wet kisses. Laughs at her brother. Wakes up smiling. A mommy's girl. Enjoys a ride in the stroller. Plays with Ryne's old push toys. Puts everything in her mouth. Is constantly exploring. Starting to eat some "chewy" foods. Isn't much of a drooler. Sleeps with her lovey, Lord, help me if that thing gets lost. Loves attention from her brother, just not the WWF kind. Makes everyone in the HSBC nursery smile, they fight over who gets to hold her. Let's you know when she is ready for bed. An absolute joy to be with. Glad she is mine.

the boy in the window