Shots and the Glories to Follow!

I remember as a kid the fun of getting a special treat after a hard Dr's. visit. Actually, I mostly remember the fun of getting a special treat after my sister Polly's appointments...she had a LOT of pokes! You know, while I'm thinking of it, I guess I'll tell my most horrible shot story: it was my kindergarten tetanus shot, and I woke up in the middle of the night needing to go to the bathroom but my leg was SO painful I couldn't budge! And of course no one could hear my feeble cries for help. So, I did the only thing I could possibly do. I wet the bed and laid in my urine until morning. How gross is that?! I told you it was my most horrible shot story!

All that was a total rabbit trail. Eleanor had her immunizations on Monday - oh, the tears! - so Todd and I took her to a NEW park and then we all shared a Junior Frosty....she had a blast and I dare say she might endure shots again if she remembers the fun to come after them!

Just for Fun

The Park

One of Eleanor's very favorite places is the park - I'm so glad we have one right down the street from our house! She has signs for the swing, the slide, the merry-go-round, and she "talks" about going to the park every day!

Night Away

A couple of weekends ago Todd and I spent our first night away from Eleanor! Although I admit that I got teary when we hugged her goodbye, we had a wonderful time at dinner, a movie, a beautiful local B&B, and window shopping. And Eleanor survived without a scratch! She had a great time with her Grandpa Steve and Grandma Gayle...they all kept each other busy!

Random Snapshots

Just some snapshots from our lives the last month or two...


My mom's sister and family, the Vinatieri's, came for an evening of fun (the V's are ALWAYS fun!) on their way home to PA. We love them so much and were blessed by their presence in our home!


Eleanor's friend Payton came over for some playtime, dinner, and bedtime while his daddy and mommy went on a double date. He was so much fun to have - totally behaved - and Todd and I got a kick out of some of the differences between boy and girls! While Eleanor tries to climb the stairs without getting her hands dirty, Payton runs for the trash can saying, "trash!" Eleanor and Payton both do some great animal sounds...but I have to say, he has her beat on the ferociousness of a bear!



I had the privilege of helping lead a kid's choir at our church again this summer. This was our concert in the middle of August. It is such a joy to be able to teach kids not only about music, but about worship and about the character of our God! For every song we learned, we had someone come and do a little time of teaching on it during our rehearsals, do the children could understand - and mean - the words they were singing. They blessed my heart!




Yep, she's pretty cute! This is one of the RARE moments Eleanor has recently slept in the car! She likes to do her sleeping lying down in a crib, let me tell you!



We had Eleanor dedicated at church the first Sunday of this month, along with her little friends Abigail and Felicity. I suppose it is more a dedication/commitment of parents, to raise our precious children in the discipline and instruction in the Lord, as Scripture says. I pray daily for Eleanor, that she will know Christ as her Lord and Savior early in her life, and for Todd and I, that we would be wise and gracious parents, doing all that we can do as humans to prepare our children to stand before the judgement seat of Christ. Whew, now that is an amazing responsibility!



Eleanor and Luther have always gotten along fine, but over the last few weeks are definitely developing more of a relationship! It is pretty sweet.

Well, that's all for now, folks. More to come!

Backyard Fun

A month or so ago, two very fun and big-girl toys got passed on to Eleanor from our friends the Zietlows : a backyard playhouse and a little car! She loves to go outside and "drive" her car, and her favorite activity involving the playhouse is to carry rocks from the other side of the yard and fill up her little kitchen sink. She has made quite a few rock trips, and now is starting to fill up the flower boxes, as the sink is overflowing!

Todd's 30th

Todd recently celebrated his "golden" birthday - 30 years old on August 30th! We had a bunch of friends over and celebrated with cake and ice cream...and MEAT! Most of you know that Todd is what I call a Grill Master, and for the past couple of years, whenever I ask him what he wants for ANY occasion, his answer is always "BEEF!" And since I have never had the guts to cram a steak in his Christmas stocking, I figured this was the time to give him what he wants most. So everyone brought a cut of meat and Todd is thrilled to have a freezer stocked with stuff he can grill!

The "Bub Belly" - 34 weeks

We are getting so close to being able to meet our new little boy! Although I don't feel sick of being pregnant, I am definitely feeling ready to see and hold this little guy! We are still working on the name thing, and this week was the first time we started to do anything to get his room ready...we have a busy month or so ahead of us.
I am really looking forward to seeing Eleanor's reaction to her new brother! She has recently developed some serious empathy toward crying babies...she does a fake cry right along with them and is very concerned about what could be wrong. So sweet! We are talking about the fact that newborn babies cry sometimes, even when everything is okay! I have recently seen her patting her baby doll's back, offering her a pacifier (which Eleanor hasn't had in many months, but she knows what it is for!), and giving her a blanket. Of course, I have also see her crush her doll, throw her on the floor, etc....so, we'll see! :D