|{~This & That~}|

I love this time of year! As I sit down to write this tonight, the snow is every-so-gently falling at my house and we are warm & cozy inside.  The fall colors are still here and I know that while the snow will stick to the ground, it's very wet & won't pose much of a threat to our safety getting around town.  This is always a busy time of year for us.  Kreg's "second job" starts back up as football, hockey, and soon basektball will be in full-swing at the Air Force Academy.  Everyone is hurrying to get their family photos taken for Christmas cards so it'sALLgood photography keeps me hopping.  Then there's all the fun things that come with the start of the Holiday Season!  Despite the business, I just love the smells, the colors, and the memories made.  :)

 And speaking of memories... this month has been full of them! Some of my favorites:

Kreg moved into a new office last month.  We all went up there on a Sunday afternoon to help him get settled in.  It's really very nice & we enjoy our visits to see him :)  Little did we know, his desk is equipped with a "panic" button!  Tucker found it, however, and thought it looked like it needed to be pushed.  A few minutes later, a very nice Police officer showed up to make sure we were alright.  Haha!  I wish I had thought to get a picture.  He gave the boys little sticker badges to wear & told Westin he was in charge of keeping us in line.  Anyway, good to know.  If he ever needs it... we can expect the police to show up within a matter of minutes!

The new & improved!

Our future State Farm agent

We had new carpet installed on our main floor!  We've been putting it off "until next year" for about three years now. (I can't believe we've lived here that long already!) It felt really good to get that one checked off the list, and I think it made my house look SO nice.  Another funny story, though.  Kreg & I spent all afternoon & evening moving ALL of our furniture from the main floor into the kitchen & guest bathroom.  This really was no easy task... but to save a couple hundred dollars, we figured it would be worth it :) The next day, they were supposed to show up between 8 am & 10 am so the boys & I waited in our empty living room... until 10:30.  Then Kreg called to find out where they were and we learned that there had been a mix-up and they weren't coming until the FOLLOWING Monday.  Oh boy.  I couldn't get to my kitchen.  I had no bed.  Tucker had no bed.  And I had to leave it like that for another week OR spent another 6ish hours getting everything moved back for a week, only to have to move it all over again the following week?  I was more than mildly upset.  But, Kreg being the charmer that he is, was able to get us "squeezed in" the next day for no extra charge.  That made me a very happy wife :) Anyway, like I said, I'm SO glad to have it done, I'm very pleased with it & it was all worth it!

All of my belongings...stuffed into my kitchen

Yay! New carpet... this little guy was NOT supposed to be into the candy corn.

It seems like with this time of year, somebody inevitably has to come down with something.  This year, our normally healthy family have ALL been sick.  And not with all of the same things, mind you... just anything & everything.  We've welcomed the stomach flu, colds, and respiratory issues this month.  We're doing our best to boot them out and stay healthy the rest of the year.  It seems like once you "invite" the germs in... it's hard to get everyone's immune systems up & stay healthy! Bring on the vitamins, the herbal tea, lots of rest, and healthy cooking.  We're still working on this, I'll let you know how it goes.

We celebrated Kreg's 26th birthday on October 5th.  We had a lot of fun this year!  We had all of my family over for a big dinner on the 5th-- all his favorites-- chicken & venison in Mamaw's "Oriental Marinade," mashed potatoes, cream corn, grape salad, and homemade rolls with chocolate pie & strawberry pie for dessert. I really do love cooking for him and I wish I could say we cooked like this often... but it just doesn't happen!  Then on the 6th we went to a new Brazilian steakhouse here in town with three other couples and celebrated again.  I feel SO blessed by this man and am so thankful that we were able to take a couple of days to celebrate him.  

We were so thankful to be able to take a little family trip to Arkansas last week.  Kreg & Westin drove down last Friday and spent Saturday on the river in Mountain View, AR with Kreg's Dad, Uncle, Sister, and Papaw Kell.  It was a special time for those boys and I'm so glad it worked out!  Tucker & I stayed behind a couple of days because I had a wedding I was shooting on Saturday so we flew out on Sunday morning.  I was really thankful for this option... in hindsight, it made the trip much more do-able with my 15-month-old.  We timed the flight just perfectly for his morning naptime so it was just EASY.  Quite a bit easier than the 15-hour drive home later in the week, HA!  Despite a NASTY stomach bug that afflicted all but Carol & I... we had a great week :)  It was such a blessing to spend time with family, and as always... we got spoiled!  It had been TOO long.  We had intended to have time to see several friends while we were down there, but since Kreg, Westin, and Tucker all passed the stomach flu around, it didn't happen.  We'll just have to make another trip, I suppose ;).  

A few tidbits this month:

Westin-- 
Westin has a small obsession with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  All of the people he is around on a normal basis have Mickey Mouse "code names" and this is how he refers to us all day long.  There's no slip of the tongue accidentally calling me "mommy."  I'm fondly referred to as "Minnie Mouse."  Kreg is "Goofy,"  Tucker is "Pluto," Chief is "Donald Duck," Mimi is "Daisy Duck," Aunt Taylor is "Clarabelle," Aunt Kortney is "Max," and Uncle Drake is "Pete." Westin, of course, is Mickey Mouse.  And that is how he introduces himself to everyone.  It's HILARIOUS.  

He LOVES to sing.  He sits in church and belts out all the songs, whether he knows them or not, at the top of his lungs.  I know it has to make God smile :) It makes my heart smile & I hope it's something that continues to be a passion for him.

Tucker--
Most commonly used phrase right now: "I need."  He repeats it over & over again and points and motions to whatever it is he "needs" until someone helps him.  He's a good communicator :) Another favorite new word, used in context, is "oww!"  With all the little scrapes he & Westin get themselves into... I hear it a lot.  He LOVES being one of the boys!  He feels very left out if he's not with them and asks me all day long about "DadDEE!?  DadDEE!?"  I tell him he's at work and he sadly says, "oh."  And then asks again a few minutes later :)   He's a very caring little boy who I just can't get enough cuddle time with.  He loves BAYBEEs and DOGGIES and always wants to help me with the little boy I watch a couple times a week (who is only 5 months younger than him).  He loves to give him his bottle!  He takes this job very seriously.