A Pumpkin Party!

We celebrated Emma's 5th birthday on Saturday, October 4. It was a fun-filled afternoon in our back yard with about thirteen little girls! Emma wanted a pumpkin theme, so we made our back yard into the "pumpkin patch."


I got all creative on how to welcome everyone into our back yard, using posterboard and orange lunchbags filled with rocks.

I got some jack o'lantern face ideas online and then free-handed them onto the paper bags with a magic marker. It looked pretty cool, actually.

We posted some important rules for our pumpkin patch on the side of our shed so everyone could see it upon entering the back yard. Note the one about the scarecrow.

The girls enjoyed the activities we had planned: hay rides in our wagons.

Cousin Makenna was able to make it to the party, all the way from Michigan! Emma was very excited to see her because they are "best cousins and sisters."

Leaf jumping.

Mini-pumpkin decorating.

We even had a pumpkin cut-out where the kids posed for pictures.

Of course, the party wouldn't be complete without the good food! Note the sad-looking pumpkin cake that cracked in half...we called it our spooky pumpkin cake!

I tried to hold it together for pictures.

When it was time for the cake, I lit the candles and started to sing "Happy Birthday," as I brought the cake to the table. By the time I got there, though, Emma was nowhere to be seen. She had sneaked off under the tree and was hiding. So we sang the birthday song a second time while Emma covered her ears.


Emma and her friends didn't mind that the cake looked funny. They were having a great time!



Oh, and the scarecrow...was....Daddy. Can't believe he did it! All the girls thought it was funny to see Mr. Doug dressed up. But Emma and Abby were especially excited because they planned a game just for Daddy Scarecrow to play: chase and catch them if he could!



Here's our whole Scarecrow family at the end of the afternoon. Perhaps a bit worn out, but we all enjoyed the gorgeous fall weather (mid-60's) and had fun playing and celebrating a very special day with Emma.

Playing in the Leaves

It was such a beautiful fall day in Stoughton today. A little breezy, but perfect for jumping into the newly fallen leaves in our front yard. I decided this would be a good morning for Lizzie to get her first experience in the leaves.

She wasn't sure what to think of it at first, just sitting there with a funny look on her face. I thought I'd better snap a few pictures before things got worse.


Then Lizzie began to cry, which was sort of cute and a little funny. I picked her up and comforted her, and then she was okay. So I decided to try and sit her in the leaves again, this time on her big sister's lap. She was fine....until I picked up the camera.


I finally decided she was afraid to have this new experience on her own without me. So I decided to sit in the leaves with her and show her how much fun it was. She was not impressed, but did pick up a few leaves and kick her feet a few times. So I asked Emma to quick catch a picture before the moment passed...

Emma is turning out to be quite a good photographer, don't you think?

After a few more moments playing in the leaves, Lizzie had enough and then it was Emma and Abby's turn! They enjoyed raking the leaves and jumping in the pile. I love fall, don't you?

Emma Reads

Emma loves to read, especially when she can read to her sisters. Abby and Lizzie enjoy it too, as you can probably imagine. Here is the scene at our house, just before bedtime on Sunday. It was such a sweet moment!

Welcome Home, Daddy!

Finally, after 16 days without Daddy, he returned from Italy in one piece!

I decided it would be a lot of fun for me to surprise him at O'Hare airport. Since I had never driven there before by myself, I was a little bit nervous about getting in and out without getting confused. Our pastor's wife, who the girls call "Mrs. Suz" (or Thooz, if you're Abby) watched Emma and Abby for the afternoon so I would have fewer distractions.

Here are Emma and Abby in Mrs. Suz's car getting ready to go to Papa Pastor and Mrs. Suz's house for the afternoon. They were pretty excited that Daddy would be coming home soon!



Doug's plane was scheduled to land at 2:30pm and he was supposed to catch a bus that would not have left until 5:30 in the evening, putting him home by about 8:30pm. On my way there, I sent Doug a text message on his cell phone, hoping he would get it when he landed and not go to wait at the bus stop. As I approached O'Hare, I saw an American Airlines jet getting ready to land and wondered if that was Doug's flight. About five minutes later, Doug replied to my message, saying he had just landed and wouldn't be able to use his cell phone again untl he had past customs.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the International Terminal at O' Hare has to be about the easiest place to get in and out of. Parking (at least at 3:00pm on a Monday) was easy to find and only a short walk to the terminal building. Not knowing how long it would take for Doug to get through customs, I settled into a spot with Lizzie in her stroller and waited just outside the door to the baggage claim area. I called and checked in with Suz and let her know that I made it okay and was waiting for Doug. About a minute after I got off the phone, out walked Doug!



He was very glad to see me, of course, and seemed relieved that he did not have to wait the extra few hours for the bus. I wasn't sure what Lizzie's reaction would be since 16 days is a long time for a baby...would she remember him?


Lizzie just stared and stared for a long time, occasionally looking at me. She seemed a little confused that she was actually seeing Daddy instead of just hearing his voice on the computer!

We got back on the road as quickly as we could so we could miss the Chicago rush hour. We met up with the girls in the parking lot of Menards in Janesville.

Here is their reaction to their first glimpse of Daddy.

Abby immediately gave Daddy lots of hugs, smiles and snuggles. She was very happy!

It took Emma a few more minutes to get used to the idea of Daddy being back. She preferred to react to the emotions of seeing Daddy by acting very silly.

Once she recovered from all the excitement of the moment, Emma decided she needed to take a picture of Mommy and Daddy together again. Thanks, Emma!

I am so grateful that our family is together again. It was a definite challenge for all of us to be apart that long. I got a taste of what it must be like every day for those who are single parents. I am trying, with God's help, to remember to be thankful every day for all those little things that are easy to take for granted.

A Special Present From Daddy

Before Doug left on his trip, he set aside a special present for Emma's birthday. It was something she's wanted for a very long time: a toy cash register.

Here she poses with the unopened present.

Can't you see the excitement on her face after she opened it?

Next, she read the card to herself in typical Emma fashion: upside down on the floor.

I asked her to read it to me, but instead she held up the card for me to take a picture.

So you wonder how she likes her new present? To quote Emma, "I've been playing with it like crazy!"

Emma's 5th Birthday Playdate!

Emma is very proud to 5 years old now!

Since Daddy wasn't home to celebrate, we made the day special by going over to Evie Jackson's house to play. They spent several hours playing together and didn't want to say goodbye when it was time to go home.

Abby, Evie and Emma posed for some birthday pictures on the swing before we had to go.

Good friends!

Milestone

I just had a feeling that while Doug was away, Lizzie would learn lots of new things. She is now sitting completely unsupported. She enjoys being able to move around and reach whatever she likes, which is usually whatever is furthest away from her. She also rolls around the floor to get where she wants to go. The older girls haven't quite figured this one out yet, and Mommy has had a few heart attack moments when finding little tiny toys in Lizzie's vicinity.

Lizzie is very happy about her new-found freedom. Her personality is beginning to shine.

Although I don't have pictures of this yet, she also just figured out how to wave and clap at church today. It was so sweet to see her proud of her accomplishments. She beamed from ear to ear, especially when she got attention from Mommy and sisters.

Abby and Emma wanted me to take these pictures so they could say hello to Daddy.

Hello, Daddy! We love you and miss you!

Hello Daddy!

After church on Sunday, Emma and Abby decided that we should take a picture of them saying hello to Daddy. Abby is sporting a "hippie-do," what I call it when she puts her own headband on. (She doesn't quite understand the concept of putting it on under her hair.)

Hello Daddy, we love you!

We've been corresponding with Daddy via e-mail and facebook since he's been gone. Emma mostly wants to tell Daddy about how much she misses him. Abby, on the other hand has gotten quite creative with her notes.

One of them was, and I quote, "If you eat a cow you will get sick and have to go to the hospital."

Very random and very funny. Her style can best be described as stream of consciousness. It's difficult to type as fast as she talks. Especially when you're laughing...

I had a picture of myself to put on here too, but somehow it got deleted....

Saying Goodbye Is So Hard To Do

On Saturday morning, we dropped Doug off at a bus station in Janesville, so that he could go to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. He flew to Italy to attend the Nida School of Translation Studies for the next two weeks. That leaves me at home with the girls for 16 days on our own. The first 3 days have gone okay, but that first one where we said goodbye was a very sad day in the life of our little girls.

Here are some pictures from Saturday morning. Oh, how hard it it to say goodbye!

Daddy and Lizzie

Daddy with his little girls.

Emma just couldn't smile.

Abby put on a happy face, though.

Comforting Emma while Doug waited for the bus.

Standing in line waiting to board the bus.

One last hug for the girls before he got on the bus.

It's okay, Emma. I'm coming back.

Waving goodbye.

A silly face to make us feel better.

We were all sad to see him go, but we know that Doug is learning lots of new things and will have lots to share with us when he gets back. Besides, the day looked a lot brighter after we stopped and had McDonald's hot cakes and fruit & walnut salad for breakfast!

Uncle Ezra Stops Over

Uncle Ezra stopped by last Thursday night on his way to see baby Delaney in Michigan. The girls all enjoyed having some time to play with him. Lizzie was happy just to have him hold her while he walked around.

Ezra was on his way by Friday afternoon, but had a moment for me to catch a quick picture with the girls before he left.

Emma and Abby waved goodbye until they couldn't see his "classic" car anymore.