Bittersweet

Leaves are so fun!
Yum! Rocks!

Where's Booger? I want to pull his fur!

I'm not supposed to be climbing the stairs

Playing in the leaves

Where's Daddy to mow with me?

I went to church today and couldn't help but feel overwhelmed at the thought of moving. Our church has been the center of our activities and friendships here in Spokane. I have met so many great people and the kids have made some really great little friends. Tyler was the greeter this morning. He smiled and hugged all of his buddies that walked into the nursery today. I have been so supported as a mom by my friends there. Being at home with the kids and just being a new mother was a difficult transition for me. The other moms I met at church helped me through that rough patch and are great at giving advice/commiserating.

I came home to my next door neighbor mowing the lawn for me. What a great sight! I HATE lawn work with a passion. We raked some yesterday but that was all I could stomach. Our neighbors here are so wonderful. Mr. Ron, Ms. Gloria, Ms. Kay and Mr. Dennis have adopted us as if we were their own children/grandchildren. Tyler gets way too many "goodies" from all of them. It breaks my heart to know how much Tyler (and the rest of us) are going to miss them. Will we find such a community in MN?

I know the answer to this question is yes. I had the same fears and doubts leaving Colorado. But it doesn't make it any easier to be leaving. We decided the kids and I will drive out to MN Nov. 12th. We will only be back to our house here sporadically. Hopefully it sells before then! I am not sure how I will feel leaving that day. This is the place I brought my babies home to, the place where Smokey died, the place we became a real family...

Here are some pics for Ryan from the weekend. Apparently I don't post/update this often enough. :)

Long time, no blog

Well, our lives are topsy turvy right now. On Chris' first day of work, he was asked to move to Minnesota rather than Chicago. Crazy, right? It will actually work out great because Minneapolis is closer our family. Plus, the taxes are cheaper there. I will continue to stay home with Tyler and Allison full time. Some days I think it would be nice to go back to work. :) But there will be time for that soon enough.

Chris left for training in Chicago at the end of September. I am on my 4th week as a single parent. Wow is it hard! Most days, the kids don't nap at the same time leaving me with no time to myself. I am really cherishing after 8 pm right now. Allie has become Ms. Mobile. She pulls up on everything and can stand alone by herself. She has also become much more demanding. She is able to tell me more often what her needs are. It is great on one hand and much more difficult on the other.

The first week that Chris was gone, we went to the pumpkin patch with Tyler's preschool class. It is very difficult to take pictures while trying to corral the two of them. Chris came home last weekend and we celebrated his birthday. He is going to have more birthday fun this weekend when his good friend Scott joins him in MN. Here are some pics of the pumpkin patch and Chris birthday cake. Tyler picked it out.