These Are The Moments.

Even though the first couple of days (for me) were a blur of drug-laced consciousness and pretty much a wash as far as productivity goes, there have been some real gems extracted from this week. Here are some snapshot moments:

• Waking up in the morning to the sound of Addison reading to Cadence on the couch. The Bible. They decided not to come and get us that day when they woke up (but we heard them anyway), and they were in full blown discussion/devotion.  We of course just laid there and listened in amazement with pride swelled hearts.  

• My backyard.  Happiness is in my backyard.  There is a tree hanging heavy with little miniature oranges almost ready to pick, a deck freshly adorned with little twinkling lights wrapped around big trunks, and these beauties pictured below.  Cut them right off the bush, and they are the sweetest I've ever smelled.  It was a pleasant surprise because I thought our rose bushes were beyond repair. We have some work to do from the summer that almost killed it all, but there is so much potential to have a fantastic outdoor space.  Oh yeah- also my birthday present from Chris that I've wanted for years, a hammock. Yessssssss.                        

                                    

• Complimenting a great outdoor space is the amazing weather in which to enjoy it in.  This week was the kind of weather that you could feel the cool in the breeze and warmth of the sun at the same time. The kind of weather that makes your coffee taste better.  Perfection.  We spent a lot of time outside and look forward to doing it more. And it turns out that snuggles from a warm, cuddly baby on a cold morning is like wrapping in a big, fuzzy blanket.  Only better.

• Conquering a longstanding battle- For whatever reason, it's been such a challenge for Addison to tie his shoes.  Sometimes the simplest of things confound our little smarty pants boy, which can be a good thing because it teaches him patience and persistence.  Well, this week he finally got it figured out with much help from Daddy!  

                                      

• This guy has been playing hard.  Found him like this the other day- just played himself out!  It's very exhausting to be a baby.

                                    

• Learning to tithe.  Our precious Kids Church teachers have been talking to the kids about money on Sunday mornings, and today they marched into church with their pockets jingle-jangling ready to be a cheerful giver.  Love that.

                                          

Yes, these are the moments.  Just a sampling of the moments that fill my days with life and joy.  Peace out from the Pate house.

The Force is Strong With Us

I have this insatiable need wish for my children to coordinate their theme when we dress up for Halloween every year.  Now that we have three the challenge is going to be even more difficult.  I got lucky for this first year.  Everyone just happened to be happy with the idea, and I was able to find an adorable baby costume to boot.  This does not always happen (the everyone being okay with my suggestions part), so I was thrilled.  So prepare yourself for some extreme cuteness if you have not already seen these floating around on FB.  I did include some extras not posted there, though :) 

(cue Star Wars music...it's much better if you imagine that in your head while viewing these)

This is the money shot of the group.  I consider myself very lucky to have captured this one. I still giggle every time I see this because they're just so darn cute.  Look out, dark side- these guys are coming after you :)

 And here are a few out takes in the quest for the money shot...

Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker.

Lovely Leia.  I am proud of this costume.  This is the first time I have attempted to sew a piece of clothing.  It did not turn out perfect, but for a first try it wasn't too bad!

Had to get a shot of the sleeves.  This was actually an angel costume pattern that worked perfect for Princess Leia. 

 Our handsome Jedi Luke Skywalker. Fortunately we already owned that light saber so it worked out.

And finally my little Yoda.  I know- there are hardly words for this. Just take in the extreme cuteness. (Wish I would have creatively camoflouged that rubber band holding his light saber to his hand :)  

Very happy and cute Yoda I am.

Our actual holiday festivities were pretty difficult to pull off.  The Monday before Halloween we went to a party at the Children's Museum that was for members.  Chris got really sick that weekend, barely made it through church, and crashed.  So I took the big kids by myself to the Museum and left a sleeping baby and sick daddy.  Then over this past weekend Chris shared his cold with me so I was the one who crashed hard after a long weekend. And I barely pulled it together so we could all go to one of the really big churches' carnivals here on Halloween.  It was fun but really chaotic.  Didn't even get any pictures because I was too out of it.  But here are a few from the Museum outing:

Mommy and Daddy are still on the mend but it's a lot better than it was, especially Chris.  Addison had a small version for a few days, but nobody else so far.  Still much catching up to do around here.  Hopefully I will be getting to that soon.  My vision for the amped up version of this blog is still there, but with sickness and busyness I haven't had the chance to execute it yet. But I am determined. Peace out from the Pate house.