Pumpkin' Patchin' and Bus Ridin'

Erin had her first Kindergarten field trip today, which meant her first ride on the school bus. Appears she really liked it! We went to Hunt Club and the kids did the hay ride, petting zoo, snack and pumpkin picking. A beautiful morning with lots of photo opportunities!

The kids arriving on the bus!

She looks so tall in jeans.
Posing for a picture!

Mommy and the girls!

MawMaw and the girls!

Erin and Kaci

Erin and the baby goats!

The goats took a liking to Anna!

2 cute sisters

To the Pumpkin Patch we go....

On Saturday we followed tradition with a family trip to the Pumpkin Patch with our good friends the Saunders. We certainly missed having the Judds with us this year. We decided to try a new patch where the pumpkins are actually still on the vine. I think Erin liked the "hunt" more and Anna just liked her freedom. We also took a horse drawn carriage ride which was really fun. Some girls from our church that Erin just adores met us at the farm to spend some time with us! Anna has learned the sign for pumpkin and points them out everywhere we go. Erin is just begging me to make a pie out of our pumpkin. Think I'll stick with the canned kind!

Student of the Month and an Anniversary

Erin was awarded "Student of the Month" at school this morning. We are so proud of her and how well she has adjusted to school. She truly loves it and loves learning and I know she is going to have a great year.

Today is also the 1 year anniversary of her asking Jesus into her heart. She has grown in her love for the Lord over the last year and she displays a heart for others. She often tells us that she loves us, but she loves Jesus more. How can we complain about that. I pray that her faith will continue to grow strong and she will be a light to others around her!

Training Her Up!

Before....

After!!!!!!

I guess one thing about having all girls is that I can train them to help me with my chores, whereas Daddy will be left to fend for himself. Erin willingly and happily spent about 40 minutes folding her and Anna's laundry yesterday. Anna loves to help me put it in the washer and now I have this part taken care of it. Before you know it, they'll be able to do it all. I hope the newness of this task doesn't wear off anytime soon!

Anna Banana

Just thought I'd take a quick minute to update what's been going on over the last week. Anna has a renal ultrasound on her kidneys on Tuesday and we received the results today that they are both perfect and there is no need for concern! PRAISE THE LORD! We met with our genetic counselor to go over all the VCFS entails, which is a lot, but we had been doing research so there wasn't anything too alarming. The blessing of having a late diagnosis is that we've already learned about her major issues like the heart and palate, and we know that she has an immune system, just don't know how great it is. Through my reading though it looks like her immune system will get better with every passing year and won't be of too much concern in the future.

Right now our major concern is Anna's speech delay. If she does have apraxia, it will be a long road of speech therapy with her. Our new therapist is so good and is already getting Anna to show improvement after only 2 visits. We have flash cards to do with her and drill her because kids with apraxia need repetition. Children with VCFS though are good at rote memory, so she's got that going for her! Pray that during this critical year of age 2, she will begin to show improvement in her expressive language. She has learned several new signs this week as we want her to have a way to communicate with us! The therapist told us the goal is to have kids with apraxia entering Kindergarten on track and into a normal classroom. I was very encouraged by that.

How's mama doing???? Well, for the most part pretty good. Some days are better than others and I have a more positive outlook. I do have days where I'm discouraged and down, mostly because I see Anna working so hard and feel like she's so smart, she just can't get it all out. She has been healthy for 2 weeks now, and she is so happy. Even though we've been careful to avoid certain germy situations, I haven't felt trapped or lonely. I guess the nice weather helps with that! I really am learning to take it one day at a time and treasure the time I have with her! A new song came out on K-Love this week by Kutless called What Faith Can Do! Both times I've heard it I just start crying, because I know what our Faith can do, and I can't wait to see it happen. One line says, "I've seen miracles just happen and dreams that can move mountains!" I'm claiming that for Anna, still asking for a miracle, but fully aware that it is all part of God's plan for her!

Apple Picking!

On Saturday we headed down to Knott's Island to go apple picking. This is something I've always wanted to do and since picking peaches was so much fun, we decided to invite along our small group. Not everyone could make it, but we did have a great turnout. The apples were a little sparce, but from what I hear, there have already been some delicious apple pies and crisps made. I haven't quite made it to the cooking yet, but the girls sure are enjoying fresh apples. After we left the farm we all crammed on the ferry over to Currituck and enjoyed a picnic lunch which I failed to take pictures of. It was a great morning with friends, fruit and ferrys!

Daddy's Birthday!

We celebrated Joe's birthday this weekend with a trip to Texas Roadhouse. They make you get on a saddle to embarass you and Joe put Erin on his shoulders and then got on the saddle! Then we made our way to Skinny Dip, a yummy yogurt place! Here's to a new year for Joe with lots of blessings, another daughter, and many happy times. We love you Daddy!