Fall

I just absolutely love fall.  There is something about the cooler weather, fun activities, routine of school starting up again, leaves changing, fall smell in the air, etc. that gives me goosebumps.  With fall comes a whole new world of busyness again, and this year is no exception to that given that we are building.  I can honestly say that I have NEVER been busier in my entire life.  I won't lie - I am ready for things to settle down a little bit but then reality creeps in and I am not sure exactly when "settling down" will come into play given that we will be moving into a new house and having a baby at the same time, all about 6 weeks from now or so.  I feel as if I've been such an unfit mother these past few weeks, as I've been having to spend all my days off from work picking out floors, counters, paint, light fixtures, etc., etc., etc.  Through it all our parents have been absolutely WONDERFUL.  I do not know how we could do all of this without their help.  From Eric's parents so graciously watching the kids while I'm away making decisions to my parents putting in countless hours helping get things ready for the new house, we are truly blessed to have such a great support system.

We sold our house last month, so now that we've closed on that, I can at least not feel like my current house needs to be clean 24/7.  While I am sad to be ending a chapter of our life at a house that I have adored living in and raising two of our children, all of the craziness surrounding the building process has "desensitized" me some to the attachment that I've had to the place.  I will most definitely shed many tears when we pull out of  the driveway for the last time (and especially when we say goodbye to our neighbors).  However, at the same time, it's been exciting watching our new house progress.  Since I posted last the roof has been finished, windows in, insulation blown in, drywall up, and walls primed for painting.  The drywall has really changed the look of things inside!  It really makes it look like a home inside now because you actually see the definition of all the walls.  The carpenters should be back this week to do trim work on the inside.

  

 

  

During the many hours spent out at the new house, the kids have spent some time out back in the woods making a fort (one of many to come in the future, I am sure!).  My dad had some empty wire rollers that they could use for chairs.  Too fun!

The main road we currently live off of continues to be under construction.  Going on 2 1/2 months now, it is getting rather old having a perpetually dirty vehicle and feeling like you're driving in a giant maze around the construction vehicles that are constantly working.  Grant has loved it, though, because he gets to see all kinds of cool equipment up close and personal (and I must say, Brooke has enjoyed it as well!).

In mid-September, G started Young Fives and it has been an absolutely hit so far.  He loves going to school, and especially loves riding the bus and recess (what can I say - he's a boy!).

  

Here is his first day at school.  I got to go along for the day to experience his routine.  Love, love, love his teacher!!

I didn't shed any tears given the realization that my little boy was getting so big; however, the first day of riding the bus made me a bit nervous.  We did a practice bus run a few weeks earlier, but the thought of my little five year old riding an 84 passenger bus (Grant loved it that he could ride such a big one!) with older kids and having to transfer to another bus at one of the elementary schools to get a ride to his school cause a little anxiety on my part.  Grant reassured me, though, that it would be no problem!  "Don't worry mom - I ride bus 49 and transfer to 58.  If I have any questions, all I need to do is ask the lady in the funny hat!"  OK, son, no worries here!  He did great and just loves interacting with all the kids.

G has always been our child who loves to learn.  His latest craze - telling time.  This has been a blessing, yet can also be a curse, because now the comment "just a minute" is taken very literally and if you are asked for an estimated amount of time it is going to take to get somewhere, you get critiqued if you're not close.  What amazes me, though, is his ability to process the workings of a clock and the telling of time.  My grandma bought him his very own watch a few weeks ago, and he wears that all the time.  He also is very keen as to when the Tigers play!  Ha!  We stopped by my parents' house the other night and talked with my dad.  He leaned into the car and asked Grant if he was ready for the Tigers to play in an hour and a half.  Grant looked at the clock in the car that read 7:01 and without even pausing said, "Yep!  Game starts in 96 minutes, Grandpa!"  The shocking thing is, he was right!  It was an 8:37 start time.  How the heck does he come up with this stuff?

He's also very quickly picked up reading.  He can read some books to us now, reads the Bible stories to Eric before bed, reads information on cereal boxes while he eats breakfast,  can read many signs along the road as we are driving along, etc.  I love watching the excitement he exhibits when he reads things and I hope that he continues to enjoy it!

We almost have our first season of soccer under our belt, as Grant was old enough to play this year.  I can confidently say it was a big success!  He has learned a lot (he's got a great coach), has made new friends, and has had a great time in the process.  The only issue - he has a hard time keeping his hands off the neck of his t-shirt, and thus, as you can see in the team picture below, you can fit about 4 heads through the hole!

Well, my cousin gets married today and Grant is in the wedding, so I am sure I'll have pictures to post of that in the future (I almost said "near" future; however, who am I kidding - I do not update this thing very often!).