WIU Visit

Each fall we make a trip to Macomb to visit Josie at school. This year the kids and I visited while Jeremy was working. While we were having a bit of trouble coming up with stuff to do for preschoolers, we ended up with plenty to do. After a tour of the apartment we made a trip to the dollar store. Faith's 3rd birthday was coming up. When Grace turned 3 Josie helped her make a special birthday cup. So, we thought it would be fun to let Faith continue the tradition. It turned out super cute.

After our crafting project we went to pick up McDonalds for a picnic at the park. At the park Jake played with the kids while Josie took some new pictures.

I love these pictures Josie took. They turned out amazing!! My mom & sister just launched their photography business here.

I love how this picture is so similar to one my mom took when Titus was a newborn.

My girls absolutely love Josie & Jake. I am so glad we got to spend the day with them.

Fall "Open House"

I totally love fall, it is my most favorite season! I wish that I could have a party every fall. I love the way my house looks when it is decorated for fall. I totally love fall activities like bonfires, hay rides, and playing in the leaves. And I love all the yummy fall treats like apples with carmel dip, pumpkin bars, and party mix. Oh, and soup. I love when it gets cold enough to have soup & hot chocolate again. And I can't forget all the great fall candle scents...

Can you tell I really like fall?

So.....the girls and I thought we would invite you over for a little fall open house. Use your imaginations. A yummy smelling baked apple candle is burning, my favorite cercamic jack-o-lantern is lit. I've got a cup of cider and a pumpkin bar just for you. Welcome, let the tour begin!

As you come in our front door you'd be sure to spy these beautiful fall inspired flowers my hubbie got for me. My husband doesn't buy flowers for holidays he buys them just because...

Or if you've been to our abode before you might take note of this...
It's my newest treasure. I bought it from a store going out of business down town. I totally love it. I love that its dark wood, its unique, its old, and I got them to sell it to me for $150! It was originally $2,000. (I totally have to share about my good deals)

Below is another something new. Its a memo board I got for my birthday from Charlene. It has served as a perfect spot for our Scripture memory verses. I love the fall themed magnets that came with it. I added the pilgrim magnets, they were my Mom-0's.
Below are two more of my newer treasures. I bought this large glass piece at the same sale, I got it for $1!!! And the sterling silver bowl (converted to a pumpkin pedestal) was GG's. The acorns and pine cone decorations were collected and shared by my little helpers. They love to help decorate!
This is on top of our hutch that holds our tv. The church was a gift form my mom for our first wedding anniversary. It used to be on the floor back in the day, but now with little kids it has found a new spot.
This is the top of my refrigerator. (Please don't mind the dishes in the sink)
This is a wreath that I redecorate each season. I love that its one that we used on the tables at our wedding. My mom has a big one she always does that with. I'm still learning, mine don't look quite like hers yet.
This is our entryway table. It is always decorated seasonally. The pumpkin belonged to my Mom-o and she shared it with me. I LOVE it. When I was little it was always on top of her TV. I would sit and rock with her with all the lights off and only it glowing.
Grace says, "Welcome- check out our crock with our name on it." (a favorite wedding gift)
Tried to capture the glow...can't you smell the apple pie?

This is the top of our china hutch. If you peak through the door you can see the top of our red Humiston family star plate.

This is my quilt rack. The quilt is another inherited treasure. I think it is so fun that it is red & black which coordinates with my house wonderfully. (quilts aren't usually made with dark fabrics) I always put my little scarecrow collection on it.

This is our hallway. I recently moved the full length mirror to this spot. Titus loves to crawl up to it and talk to himself. The tree tapestry is an art project I did with some of my college girlfriends kiddos. I love thinking about them each time I see it. See our red couch- it totally goes with the fall motif, huh?
The girls even decorated their room without much help.
Faith says, "Bye, thanks for coming to visit." (please try and focus on the cute girl and not the fact that our front door really needs to be painted)

(this post is dedicated to my friend Lindsay Davenport, who I love dearly but has never been to our home. I really wish she could have come for the tour...)

Marriage Retreat

In October we were able to "get away" for a weekend and go to a marriage retreat our church sponsored. It was a great weekend. We chose to rent a small cabin and share it with our friends Greg & Tomi Lowes. I am so glad we did. Above are pictures of our little love nest. Little is the key word. Tomi and I both envisioned it having a living room of sorts since the listing said it included a TV. Nope, as you can see the TV was on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen. The only room other than our separate sleeping quarters. We still had fun sitting at the table playing games and visiting when we weren't in sessions.

Since Titus is still nursing he got to come along. While this wasn't the perfect scenario for a getaway weekend it worked out pretty well. He usually slept during the morning session and the late evening session so we were still able to learn a lot. And we were able to visit in our little cabin with the Lowes after he was in bed.

While there was a lot of information presented I think the thing I enjoyed most was the opportunity to focus our conversations away from the everyday and talk about our relationship, dream about the future, and laugh together (without the interruption of little people.....well less little people anyway) One of the things Jeremy an I try and work at is focusing our date conversations on things other than schedule keeping, the kids, the to list, etc. So, we are always looking for fun conversation starters that help us to talk about the kind of stuff we chatted about when we were dating like our dreams, interests, growing up years, etc.

So, I wanted to share with you a Match Game we each filled out and then let the other person try and guess our answers. It made for some fun conversation. I've changed it slightly to update it a bit. (One of the questions was- The coin return is on the right or left side of a pay telephone)