tidbits from our life....

There was an article in the newspaper a couple weeks ago about food allergies in the schools. We were interviewed for it, and I think she did a great job. Below is the article. I have blurred out a ton of information, but I hope you enjoy it....

The girls and I have been busy decorating the house for fall! Olivia decided that she wanted to paint her pumpkin this year, and she chose BLUE, of course! :) This is the same color as their room...

She also decided to draw our family. It has been such a beautiful week or so here, and we have been spending a lot of time outside!

just LOVE her! During our times together, just her and I, she would ask many thought provoking questions about God and Jesus. It's great to see her mind beginning to understand!

Here is Olivia's finished product! Mom helped quite a bit, but she did the blue!

And Averys! She did most of it herself! She LOVES red!

3rd grade has been great so far for Avery! It is a world of difference from 2nd grade, which is a welcomed change :)! The kids are required to read 5 nights a week for 15 minutes each time, so Avery has been doing a whole lot of this....

She discovered a new series she liked called "Allie Finkle", and she has read 5 of them since the beginning of school. She'll have to find another series she likes for 2nd quarter!

School for Avery is going well. She's enjoying it, so that is good! She has been reading up a storm at home, and we studied for her first real "quiz" that she took on Friday. I'm so glad that she "gets" school, because it makes it so much easier for me! It will be interesting to see how Liv handles real school. She seems to be opposite of Avery in so many areas, so we shall see! :)

We've been decorating for fall, and getting ready for the change of seasons here. I've been making many many things in the crock pot, so that is becoming our new friend! We've been trying to make 2 main things a week, and it's been going well so far.

Looking forward to a fun, relaxing weekend!

Aunt Holly is serving in the Air Force and is deployed right now...

We miss her tons, and look forward to seeing her at Christmas!

Happy birthday! WE LOVE YOU HOLLY!

The girls had a great first week of school. Avery had 5 full days, and Olivia had 2 sessions and speech. Avery's class spent the week learning 3rd grade rules, and they also did a lot of testing. I look forward to seeing how she tested with not doing "school" during the summer! :) I am beyond impressed with her teacher this year. She emails all the parents EVERY DAY to tell us all what the class did that day! It's amazing! Who does that? We are so blessed with such a great teacher!

Olivia is loving being back at preschool. It is such a warm, friendly enviornment, and the teachers are just so very nice! She has been able to play with many old friends from last year, and some new ones this year! As far as speech goes, we've only went once with the new teacher. All I can say so far, is that I miss Rachel, and Olivia does too. She has shed tears over the summer about her "favorite Rachel" moving away. I just hope we all get used to the new teacher quickly...

Olivia had the biggest monster fit today. The girls went to a birthday party for a boy from church, and when it was time to go (after letting them play for an extra 30 minutes) she didn't want to. She ran away from me, and kicked and screamed all the way to the car. Not only that, but then for the next 20 minutes while driving home, she went on a rant. No one was safe from her mean words. She said some very very hurtful things, and I just sat in silence the whole way home. When we got home, I told daddy that I felt like I was back in High School again, since it had been that long since someone had said mean things like that about me. I didn't know how to respond to her in the right, most effective way. I most definitely had to cool off for a bit, and then I was able to sternly talk to her and punish her for her actions. It's like I'm learning all over again how to do this parenting thing. It's just a very different experience with this child. Lord, help me....

And, sewing again..... :)

I made these 2 skirts (actually 4, one for each girl) this last weekend. One of them is going to be their "Thanksgiving" outfit...I am going to make a turkey applique for a shirt, but haven't gotten to that yet! I made quite a few mistakes with the one on the left, but hopefully no one will be peeking at all the imperfections. The owl skirt is going to also have a matching shirt with an owl on it!

This skirt I made a couple months ago, but just made the shirt tonight. Our school colors are red and black, and then I made a paw print to go along with our mascot! This will be fun on School Spirit Day!!!

This outfit below cost me $3.50. The skirt used to be a skort for a woman, but I figured it would be SO much cuter as a skirt for Olivia! I just tore the seams out of all of it, and re-did it! And, with a matching shirt and hair pretty, we're all set!

This skirt I made a while ago, but just did the shirt and hair pretty tonight to match!

And, here is a sneak peak to what I'm working on for October! :)

This new hobby of mine is just TOO fun!