Back in Business

We're alive!  I know, after that last post you're probably wondering, right?  Last week was crazy and between the lice and the washer/dryer installation, I was consumed with just trying to keep the ship sailing.  So this week, I am SOOOO far behind on everything that I pushed aside.  But it's ok, I'm thankful that things are looking up and that we've moved ahead into November!  I love the month of October, but this year it was full of too much drama for this mama :) 

So here we are, celebrating the start of a NEW month!  I have just a few minutes this morning to fill you in on what's been going on over here, mostly so the relatives get their Ava and Carter fix!

-Before everything hit the fan, we went to the twin cities corn maze!  A co-worker from our Church manages this family farm every fall and she invited us to come.  It was super fun and the kids just LOVED it.  I have lots of cute pics to share, but for today I'll just show you these 2.   

We went on a hayride, Ava rode a pony, did the big slide, played in the corn pit, and went to the petting zoo.  It was fun and we had a beautiful, crisp Fall day!  And for those of you who are now thinking, did you pick up lice there?  From the animals?  No.  Ava would have already had it for awhile at this point, her head was covered in a hat the whole time, and the same form of lice can't live on animals and people.  They each have their own kind.  Yes, I am a wealth of lice information these days :)

-Speaking of lice, we are FREE AND CLEAR!!!  From the day we went to the lice lady (last Monday) we haven't had any evidence of another nit or bug.  We went on Friday for our follow-up appt and they searched her head again and found NOTHING!!!  I can't even tell you the relief that brought us.  It was a stressful, nerve-wracking week as we wondered if they truly got it all, but I am a believer in the lice lady!  It was expensive, but it was worth every penny.  We found it at 8am that day and by 4pm we were home and it was all gone.  Considering some people wrestle with it for weeks on end, I would say that she was worth the peace of mind and every penny we paid for it.  Can you even believe those little bugs would invade this sweet little head???  This was taken on the day we took her in, she was such a trooper.  It helped that they put her favorite movie on, baked her homemade cookies, and gave her any snack she asked for!  What a memory :)

-After the world's biggest headache, we were FINALLY able to get our new washer and dryer hooked-up and running on Friday!!!  I didn't know if I would do a dance or cry, I was so thankful.  Right now, doing laundry is a dream.  I LOVE my washer and dryer and I LOVE that I'm finally feeling caught up.  I had dear, dear friends who helped me out BIG time, carting my laundry back and forth to their houses and we even had a sweet family member who called a laundry service for us.  I am a grateful girl. 

(Here is the magic box that made the dramatic hook-up possible!)

-Even with all the drama and stress of the week, this little girl had us in stitches.  Her vocabulary has exploded recently and she is saying the funniest things!  On this day, she told me she was "Going to Church for a little bit" and that it was "So nice to see you, Mommy!"  She also watched Trav get dressed for a run the other day and then proceeded to tell him, "Thanks for coming over Daddy!"  Hope the neighbors didn't hear that, otherwise they're going to be asking questions :)

-The BIGGEST news of the week is that Carter is officially walking!!!

-Last Monday, on lice day, he strung together about 6 or 7 steps on his own and since that day, he's just gotten better and better.  His default mode is walking now and he's gotten pretty fast.  He still falls a lot and he can't quite get up on his own without using something for stability, but he's getting close to doing that too.  It's been fun to watch him, he's pretty proud of himself and I think he loves the new freedom!

-Here are my Halloween cuties!

We had a little pink leopard...

...and a darling cow!

The leopard was happier about trick or treating than the cow! 

It was a fun night and Ava had a blast.  We are all enjoying the crazy amount of candy we have over here, some of us more than others, and we're still catching up on our sleep!  That night wore us all out.

-Life is feeling a little more normal and we are picking up the pieces over here.  Thank you for your sweet comments, your prayers, your calls and emails.  Not sure I would want to repeat last week, however it was a beautiful thing to see the body of Christ support us and love us while we did what we needed to do.  The Lord was faithful, in a million little ways and in some big ways too.  Someday this will be a funny memory, I'm sure :) 

We're alive, we're well, our heads are clean, we're ALL walking , we're doing laundry and we're VERY thankful!  Happy November! 

Hope you have a blessed Wednesday...