Friends, Apples, and Pumpkins

Tara, Eva, and Violet came to town for a quick visit.  Thank you Air Force for sending Lew to a conference in St. Louis!  Today we headed to Eckert Farms to do some apple and pumpkin picking. I can’t even describe how excited Madeline was to see her friend. They held hands most of the day and I now have a nicely napping worn out little girl. Here are some pictures of our adventures!

Ready for the adventure!

Madeline not too sure about that HUGE pumpkin behind her.

Waiting for the tractor ride.

 

Look at these two cute 2 year olds!

Eva, Tara, and Violet!

Mommy, Maddie Grace, and Hot Dog

All finished picking apples and waiting for the tractor to take us to the pumpkin patch.

The girls trying to pick the perfect pumpkin!

What a fun day, we finished it off with lunch at the country store. Tomorrow we are headed to the zoo.

Daddy’s Little Helper

Madeline loves to be a helper. It is amazing how she can notice the instant Nick goes outside. She runs to the door eager to help (unless he is using a noisy tool). Here she helping him over seed our new backyard. The funniest part was that Nick had his headphones on and couldn’t really hear her but she talked to him the entire time!

You sure can tell where the front yard sod and the backyard meet!

Here she is telling Nick he has 3 more rows.  I wonder where she gets that bossiness?

Church Day

Today we headed to FBC O’Fallon. Nick & I were both nervous for the nursery and Sunday school drop off. We weren’t feeling any better about it when Madeline cheerfully said in the car on the way there “Here I come Mary and Miss Julie!”  We tried to explain that they were at our old church in Altus to which she replied that she was sure Isabella would be there.  She tried very hard to be brave the whole way in and even waved at a few people. The tears began as we walked away. But she made it! Yep, no having our number flashed on the big screen or anybody show up at our Sunday school room. Now, let’s just pray that Wednesday goes just as great if not better. Here she is before church.

She even found her sunglasses and backpack and headed out the door without us! I wish she stayed this excited when we dropped her off.

This morning as she was getting ready I told her that she should try to find a friend at church and maybe we could invite them over to play this week. When we picked her up the teacher asked if we had just moved to a new house. Then she told us that Madeline had invited her over to play. That sure made us laugh. I guess she really does listen and remember……….. sometimes.

First Day of Bible Study

Wednesday was our first day at BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). It was introduction day. We are waiting to here if we got into a class or if we will be placed on the waiting list. Madeline had a rough time. She was crying so hard they were on their way to come get me when the intro class ended. So let’s all start praying for how Sunday morning goes with the nursery and Bible study. It sure isn’t easy to be 2 and have this much change at once. She even told me in the car that she cried because she was just “pooped out”. So everyone say a prayer around 8:30 Sunday morning when we are dropping her off and 9:10 Wednesday morning.

She was so excited to go to “school”.  I should have taken an after picture. :)

We even matched in our color choice. Can  you believe I’m already at 34 weeks? Not too much longer until we meet baby Hotdog.

Tuesday Bible Study

One of the highlights of our week is Tuesday Morning Bible Study at First Baptist. Not only have we done some great studies (Motherwise,Beth Moore studies, Truth Project, & Experiencing God) but the nursery watches our children so all of us gals can go to lunch every week. Seriously is there anything a mom of a preschool child craves more then a childfree lunch? Well, Tuesday was my last week. It sure was hard to say goodbye to these ladies that I have shared my heart with for all these months but they sure knew how to make my last week special. They threw a surprise shower for me! Of course that made me cry because it was so gosh darn nice. I can’t believe I forgot to get a group shot of all the ladies.

The super yummy cake from Junes! Thank you guys for the special day, it sure helped take my mind off of moving. My Tuesday mornings are just not going to be the same without you guys. I have been so blessed!

Church

There are few things in this world that can make a person feel more at home in a town. One of them is a great church. We have LOVED First Baptist Altus. It has been a wonderful place to start our family and the children’s program has a huge family in Madeline Grace. Here are some of her friends!

Isabella, Miss Joyce (the preschool director), and Madeline.

I can not count the number of times Joyce has comforted a crying Madeline, worked to get her comfortable in a new classroom, or even offered to switch people or classrooms for our Madeline. Thank you Joyce for making it so easy to leave Madeline at the nursery.

Miss Mary and Madeline

Madeline has been with Mary from the time she hit was 12 weeks old. Madeline had the hardest time leaving Mary and moving on to the “big” girl classrooms. There are many weeks we would drop Maddie off at the 2 year old room and pick up Madeline from Miss Mary. She loved Miss Mary and always wanted to help her with the babies. Thank you Mary for loving on our Madeline for all this time.

Miss Fina and Madeline

Miss Fina is Mary’s sister and has had Madeline throughout her time at FBC. This year Madeline moved up to Fina’s room for Tuesday Bible Study. The first few weeks Madeline would tattle on herself and tell us she had cried and cried in Miss Fina’s room. The last few weeks she has done great and there is nothing cuter then seeing the 8 two year olds in the classroom sitting around the table eating lunch. I don’t know how Miss Fina does it but she does! AMAZING!

Thank you First Baptist Church! The next church is going to have a tough act to follow!

Sunday School Class

Nick and I were so blessed to have an amazing Sunday School class in Altus filled with many friends. The greatest part of each week was hearing everyone discuss the lesson, ask questions, and share their hearts. It was a very special place.  The last Sunday we were in Altus they had a fabulous after church potluck to give us a bit more hanging out time! Thank you Larson family for hosting!

The girls from Sunday School, plus Ethan Shaub. :)

The boys from class.

What a fun group we sure are going to miss you guys! Hopefully the Air Force will bring at least some of us back together again.