Fall pictures

The leaves are falling one by one...I knew I had to get fall pictures done before we mowed over them this weekend. This morning, it was a beautiful sight to see them actually falling after the frost. It was like it was snowing leaves.

having too much fun with this...

Andrew, Owen and their friend Evan.

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my dad is hilarous...

This is what I got in my inbox today. It is my dad and 2 brothers. Who ever said when you get older, you lose your sense of humor? I think they are full of it!

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A new baby in the house...

means less blogging. I have received a few emails this week asking if everything is ok because my blog hasn't been kept up. Everything is fine. We are adjusting well to Elliott and any free time is consumed by finishing up Soccer, Halloween parties, doing school activities and other family "stuff". By 8:30 in the evening, I am ready to crash and just cannot get myself to the computer. so, to get caught up, I have baby in hand, feeding and typing with one hand. Oh, the talet is just seeping from my veins.

Andrew and Owen are finishing up soccer this week. It has been a lot of fun for our family to go to the games and visit with the other parents on the team. Andrew received his trophy last game (he is now one up on Owen). It doesn't seem to bother Owen much because he knows his is coming and his team is having a party to celebrate a great year.

Aaron's Grandpa celebrated another birthday a couple of weekends ago. His Aunt Terri and Uncle Karl own a beautiful home in the country and had a fabulous get together for him. His Uncles made 1/2 chickens and we had a feast of other yummy foods. It was a great time to spend with his family and for all of the little cousins to get tgether. Here is a picture of all the great grandchildren and Grandma and Grandpa.

Andrew had yet another tooth fall out this past week. He officially looks like the great pumpkin. I have to get over to the park and do some shots of him before they grow in. I would love to color his face orange.

Elliott had his first bath a couple of weeks ago and he did not like it at all. He LOVES getting in the tub with mommy and snuggling up. It is a beautiful site to see his facial expressions of pure enjoyment when he is in the tub with me. LOVE THE MOMENT.


We also did Elliott's first photo shoot yesterday. He was so wide awake and it looked like he was begging me to take his pictures. Here is a sampling. I am glad we did them yesterday, because through the night the poor little guy came down with a cold. It has been a long night and I know it will be a long day. ugh.
Yes, we know he is adorable. :)





I am planning my first trip up to Michigan soon with the baby. As you read in a previous post, my sister Vivian is battling Lung Cancer and I have been longing to visit her. My heart aches for her and her family. I will also plan to see all of my other siblings before the holidays. It seems like as the kids get older, there are less trips up to see my family.

I am trying to fit in a few photography appointments here and there. Originally, I wasnt going to, but I feel good enough to do so. I also am photographing a preschool the beginning of November. yippy

This post took me a total of 1 1/2 hours from start to finish. Wow. Feeding baby, Burping baby, snuggling with baby, changing baby, answering political phone calls,
and taking time to use the restroom. My usual posts usually take me about 10 minutes.

4 weeks and counting...

Elliott is 4 weeks...and we are in love with him more than ever.

Still in survival mode

As I talked to a friend last week, she gave the first 6 weeks home with an infant a great term...SURVIVAL MODE. For me, there is no rhyme or reason to the things I am doing right now. I am not attempting to put Elliott on a schedule, I am not trying to make him fall asleep on his own, I hold him constantly, I let eat when he is hungry, a pillow and a blanket have become permanent decorations on my couch, dinners are usually something that doesn't require a lot of thought, and I am coming to grips that I can't get a shower sometimes until night. ahhh, having an infant changes everything. So, the term Survival Mode fits me just fine right now. I am doing what I can to "get by" these days. I sometimes let him fall asleep right on my chest just to get a little zzz's myself...and when I do manage to get more than 6 hours of sleep...it is a beautiful thing.

A recap of the week...with picures

Elliott is 3 weeks old...


A coming home gift from my friend Cindy...she also made 30 other cookies for the nurses who took care of Elliott in the NICU. Thank you Cindy!


Special visitors...





Enjoying Elliott...

check this out..

So, for the past couple of weeks our bible study has been preparing meals for us and bringing them over at dinner time. This has been soooo nice and the meals come on the perfect days when momma is tired and well, tired. We are almost at the end of our meal "giveaway". Every meal we have had has been very yummy and we have been greatful for each and every one. Last night a couple (Karl and Bethany) prepared a meal for us that is unforgettable. Everything this couple does is above and beyond anyway. They are always organizing things at church, and usually are the first people in line to sign up for things. Our friends Wes and Heidi posted a similar blog post about the meal this couple brought for them. When I read their post, I thought it was unbelievable...not only at the meal they prepared, but the fact that this couple hardly even knew Wes and Heidi very well and the fact that they did this for them was even more unbelievable. At first, I thought that this couple was just a little extra nice to Wes and Heidi...until we received our meal last night.
Karl came over with 2 coolers filled with food. Yes, 2 coolers. The menu was rice/veggie pilaf, Rosemary lemon chicken (enough for about 3 days), Great Harvest bread, Farmers market green beans, a salad bar...(you read that right...Bethany individually packaged about 35 different salad bar toppings and labeled them), fruit crisp that is to DIE for, ice cream on the side, Amish butter for the bread, and lemonade. We were surprised that they didn't milk the cow and make the ice cream themselves.
You have to check these pictures out.





These people are the most genuine Christians you will ever meet. They are always thinking of others and how they can help them. I am so glad they are a part of the Bible study we belong to.
Thank you to everyone in our Bible study for the great meals!

Funny

This is what I saw when I looked outside the other day...My boys have a good dad!

Welcome to this world Elliott Crawford1

Thanks to Jenny S....I found the perfect song for Elliott's video birth announcement. She had created a video from these talented artists. I checked out the rest of their songs and found this...
Song by: Renee and Jeremy "Welcome to this World"